Penguins Deflate Bears 2-1 in OT… Again

HERSHEY, PA – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton celebrates their game winning overtime goal against Hershey Sunday night (Kyle Mace – Sweetest Hockey on Earth)

The biggest rivalry in the American Hockey League renewed itself on Super Bowl Sunday when the Hershey Bears played host to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Chad Kolarik of Wilkes-Barre blasted a power play, overtime game winning goal with only seconds remaining in the extra frame to set back Hershey.

It was rather evident neither side liked one-another, as only 3:10 into the first period Steve Oleksy dropped the mitts with Bobby Farnham. Throughout the first ten minutes both teams threw chances near the net, but failed to finish. Neither team hit pay dirt in the opening period, as Hershey carried a 10-8 shot total into a scoreless first intermission.

Into the middle frame the Bears faced their first two power plays of the game due to a Steve MacIntyre double minor. Minutes after embellishing an Oleksy trip, MacIntyre received two minutes for charging and an extra two for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Hershey struggled to set up their power play unit on the first half on the minors, but tallied only 15 second into the unsportsmanlike penalty. At the 11:34 mark, captain Boyd Kane unleashed his inner Ryan Potulny with a perfect one-timer from the face off circle to the left of Jeff Zatkoff.

Casey Wellman earned the secondary assist on the play, marking his first career point as a Hershey Bear.

In the third period the Bears were hanging on by a thread until shot number 33 on Dany Sabourin. A scrum in front of the cage and Riley Holzapfel muscled the puck through a dog pile of bodies to tie the game up with only 7:57 remaining.

The late strike sent the game to overtime in a 1-1 tie, very similar to the Outdoor Classic on January 20. With 1:15 remaining in the sudden death round, Boyd Kane was given an unsportsmanlike penalty for a comment he made towards a linemen. To replicate the 2013 AHL Outdoor Classic, Chad Kolarik tallied in overtime to win the game for the Penguins.

More photo’s from tonight’s game:

Steven Oleksy drops the gloves with Bobby Farnham

Ugh….