Game Story: Hershey - 1 at W-B/Scranton - 3 (12/16/22)

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins got out to a 2-0 lead in the first period and rode goaltender Dustin Tokarski and the Penguins' penalty kill the rest of the way to a decisive 3-1 win over the top team in the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Pens' in-state rival, the Hershey Bears.

Jonathan Gruden, Kyle Olson and Sam Houde scored for the Penguins in the win, getting stellar goaltending once again from Tokarski who stopped all but one of the 30 shots he faced in yet another strong outing for Tokarski.

Gabriel Carlsson got the Bears on the board in the final minute of regulation, but it was too little too late for Hershey. Zach Fucale stopped 23 of 26 in the loss.

The two teams are set to rematch again Saturday night in Wilkes-Barre.

The Penguins got on the board first to take an early 1-0 lead 4:57 into the contest. Nathan Legare entered the offensive zone with speed, and later protected the puck down low in the corner before getting it up to Xavier Ouellet at the left point.  Ouellet fired a hard shot and Gruden was in position at the net, screening the goaltender and also getting a stick on the shot - re-directing it past Fucale for his sixth of the season.

The back-and-forth pace continued with both goaltenders making some saves until the Pens extended their lead to 2-0 near the midway mark of the period. Corey Andonovski got a puck from down low up top to Mitch Reinke at the right point. Reinke's shot was blocked down, but Tyler Sikura picked up the rebound inside the left-wing circle and turned and shot one that trickled in past Fucale. It was later discovered - after seeing a replay of the goal - that Kyle Olson got a piece of Sikura's shot atop the crease for Olson's first goal of the season.

Hershey spent more time on the attack in the second half of the period, generating some decent scoring chances on their 10 shots in the opening frame. Tokarski was simply equal to the task to prevent the Bears from generating much momentum.

The Bears dominated the middle frame, out-shooting the Pens 11-3 in the period and spending a majority of the stanza on the attack trying to cut into their 2-0 deficit thanks to three Penguins penalties in the period.

Unfortunately for Hershey, Tokarski brought his A-game Friday night. The Penguins netminder made several big stops - including some key saves late in the period with the Penguins shorthanded - to preserve the Pens' 2-0 lead heading to the third period.

The Pens extended their lead to 3-0 early in the third after Houde picked up a rebound at the side of the net and opted for a wrap-around before roofing one into an open upper half of the net for his third goal of the season.

Hershey ended Tokarski's shutout bid with 49.7 seconds left to play on Carlsson's first of the season, but that's as close as the Bears would get as the Penguins secured the 3-1 victory.

Post-Game EXTRA!

Head coach JD Forrest

On guys playing higher in lineup, but not changing the way they're playing in an elevated role.

"I think guys that were elevated in the lineup, position-wise, did a great job of continuing to play their game and not trying to adjust for you know, first line style or change what makes them a good hockey player because they're put with someone put with another player or put in a certain spot in the lineup. So that was the biggest part of it. And that's not always easy to do. So give credit to the players for kind of staying mentally strong in that one and not getting sucked into kind of a temptation of playing a different game just because where you are in the lineup. Then whenever you get contributions from those guys, that's a big deal. And it certainly helped us tonight."

Hershey Bears Lineup Notes

Zach Fucale got the start in net for Hershey Friday night against the Penguins. Clay Stevenson served as the team's backup goaltender.

Bears Scratches: Garrett Pilon, Michael Kim, Martin Has, Henrik Rybinski and Matthew Strome

Lines/Pairings

Mike Vecchione - Mike Sgarbossa - Ethen Frank Mason Morelli - Connor McMichael - Sam Anas Henrik Borgstrom - Hendrix Lapierre - Julian Napravnik Kale Kessy - Riley Sutter - Shane Gersich

Aaron Ness - Logan Day Gabriel Carlsson - Dylan McIlrath Jake Massie - Vincent Iorio

Zach Fucale - Clay Stevenson

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Lineup Notes

Dustin Tokarski got the start in net Friday night for the Penguins against the Bears. Filip Lindberg served as the team's backup goaltender.

With Mark Friedman and Drew O'Connor called up to Pittsburgh, the AHL Penguins called up Colin Swoyer and Jordan Frasca from their ECHL affiliate Wheeling Nailers.

Frasca made his AHL debut, beginning the game as the team's fourth line center.

Ty Glover returned to the Penguins' lineup after suffering a lower body injury in practice. It marked Glover's first game back since November 6.

Penguins Scratches: Colin Swoyer, Lukas Svejkovsky, Sam Poulin (personal leave of absence), Jamie Devane and Filip Hallander

Lines/Pairings:

Drake Caggiula - Sam Houde - Alex Nylander Nathan Legare - Jonathan Gruden - Valtteri Puustinen Corey Andonovski - Tyler Sikura - Kyle Olson Ty Glover - Jordan Frasca - Raivis Ansons

Ty Smith - Taylor Fedun Jon Lizotte - Mitch Reinke Xavier Ouellet - Jack St. Ivany

Dustin Tokarski - Filip Lindberg

GAME SUMMARY

1st Period

4:57: WBS - Gruden (6) - Ouellet, Legare 8:37: WBS - Sikura (4) - Reinke, Andonovski 18:14: HER - (PP) Morelli, minor (boarding)

2nd Period

0:46: WBS - (PP) Houde, minor (tripping) 13:26: WBS - (PP) Olson, minor (tripping) 17:14: WBS - (PP) St. Ivany, minor (interference)

3rd Period

3:48: WBS - Houde (3) - Glover, Fedun 6:56: HER - (PP) Kessy, minor (roughing) 6:56: HER - Kessy, ten-minute misconduct 6:56: WBS - Frasca, ten-minute misconduct 10:12: HER - (PP) McIlrath, minor (high-sticking) 16:58: WBS - (PP) Andonovski, minor (cross-checking) 19:10: HER - Carlsson (1) - Vecchione

BOXSCORE

Hershey Bears  0 - 0 - 1 = 1 W-B/Scranton  2 - 0 - 1 = 3

Shots

Hershey Bears  10 - 11 - 9 = 30 W-B/Scranton  13 - 3 - 10 = 26

Goalies

HER: Zach Fucale (23 saves - 26 shots) WBS: Dustin Tokarski (29 saves - 30 shots)

Power Play

HER: 0-for-4 WBS: 0-for-3

Penalty Kill

HER: 3-for-3 WBS: 4-for-4