Potulny and the Bears defeat WBS Penguins, 3-2 (SO)

Holtby gets the win tonight in Wilkes-Barre. Photo by Anthony Fabrikant/AFC Media.

The Bears broke their losing skid just in time to face the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on the road. With a nice day off to feast, it was back to business for Hershey tonight.

Ryan Potulny, in just his second game back from injury, scored on the power play to give the Bears the first lead. Julien Brouillette started the play by crashing through the defense and getting a shot on goal. Potulny closed in on the rebound to pot his first goal of the season. This goal was followed by two fights and you knew it would be another crazy night.

You also knew it would only be bad news when Potulny was penalized for a high-stick in the second period. Not just a high-stick penalty, but a four minute penalty. Sure enough, the Penguins used this to their advantage and tied it up after they got Braden Holtby moving post-to-post.

That’s how we were heading into the always crucial third period. In the second half of the period, some penalties changed the dynamic of the game. The Bears were heading for a power play when there was a late hit after the whistle that angered Hershey. Boyd Kane was kicked out with a game misconduct as well as a 10 minute misconduct and an elbowing major. The Penguins sent two guys to the box for minor penalties. With their 4-on-3 power play, Potulny scored his second goal of the game. Graham Mink provided the screen to help out.

Just when the time starting dwindling, Nick Petersen danced through the Hershey defense and tied it up once again. That meant we needed extra hockey. We had to end it with a shootout.

Despite having bad luck in shootouts and games against the Baby Pens, the Bears finally pulled out the win, 3-2 (SO).

Tonight’s Notes:

• As I mentioned earlier, there were some pretty good fights tonight. The first fight was Patrick Wellar vs Ryan Schnell. It was a very long bout that ended in a draw as both guys got in some good punches.
• The second fight involved Zach Sill and Garrett Mitchell. The decision definitely went to Sill who never stopped throwing punches but Mitchell did stand his own ground.
• D.J. King did not finish the game after getting hit by Joey Mormina. He immediately went down the tunnel and did not return.
• Despite having the top power play goal percentage in the league, the Bears aren’t so hot with in on the road. Their road power play ranks 13th in the league. Tonight they went 2-for-5.
• They did do a great job on the penalty kill though. Hershey killed off 8-of-9 penalties, including some big momentum changers toward the ends of the periods. Mattias Sjogren was a penalty killing machine tonight. He stopped a lot of WBS chances.
• Keith Aucoin earned the game winner in the shootout. Holtby stopped four of five shots in the shootout to cement the win. He had a major victory celebration towards the end and the Penguins did not take too kindly to it.
• According the scoresheet, Holtby earned a ten minute misconduct for his celebration. Ryan Schnell also got a slashing minor when the two teams scrapped after the game.

Lines and Pairings:

Kane – Aucoin – Bourque
Micflikier – Potulny – Mink
Hanson – Sjogren – Ford
King – Carroll – Mitchell

McNeill – Miskovic
Brouillette – Flemming
Wellar – Kundratek

Three stars of the game:

1. Keith Aucoin (HER)
2. Ryan Potulny (HER)
3. Ben Street (WBS)