Game Story: Hershey - 3 at W-B/Scranton - 2 (1/27/24)

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins played in another hard fought battle against the Hershey Bears in front a giant crowd of 7,787 at the Mohegan Sun Arena Saturday night, ultimately coming up short in a 3-2 setback that provided a flair for the dramatics after a potential Sam Poulin game-tying goal with 5.9 seconds left in regulation was called back.

Poulin swatted a puck past Bears' goaltender Clay Stevenson and momentarily sent the home crowd into a frenzy. The referee in position behind the net adamantly signaled it was a good goal, meanwhile the referee in the neutral zone saw things another way - concluding after the officials gathered to discuss what they saw that Poulin played the puck with a high stick.

Poulin admitted as much to InsideAHLHockey.com in a 1-on-1 interview after the game.

"Yeah, obviously it's disappointing. It is what it is. I think they they made the [right] call," Poulin explained, adding, "It's on me to wait until the puck is under the crossbar before hitting. I'll know better for next time.

Penguins head coach JD Forrest, though he didn't officially state that the referees made the wrong call, was upset at the way the situation was handled.

"The ref right next to the play is adamant that there was a goal and then there was one out in the neutral zone looking through five bodies and said it wasn't. And apparently he knew better. So I don't know," a visibly frustrated Forrest said after the game.

Ethen Frank led the way for Hershey with a pair of goals, including the game-winner in the third period, while Pierrick Dube recorded his team-leading 22nd goal of the season. Mike Sgarbossa had a game-high three points (three assists) while Clay Stevenson stopped 32 of the 34 shots he faced.

The Penguins got goals from Radim Zohorna and Vinnie Hinostroza, while Joel Blomqvist stopped 25 of 28 in the loss.

GAME STORY

The Penguins got off to another hot start Saturday, and unsurprisingly it came with the Zohorna-Poulin-Puljujarvi trio on the ice.

Puljujarvi appeared to poke check the puck off a Bears' forward's stick in the Penguins' defensive zone, and Zohorna picked up the loose puck with speed and burned through the neutral zone - weaving his way to the net before beating Stevenson for his first goal with the AHL Penguins this season.

The goal just 1:10 into the contest gave the Penguins the early advantage, but credit to the Bears for responding just over five minutes later after Mike Sgarbossa nudged a puck to Frank in the neutral zone.

Frank skated into the Bears' offensive zone and let a laser of shot go, with the puck kissing the crossbar and going post-in for his 19th goal of the season to tie the game up at 1-1.

The Penguins had a chance to re-gain the lead on a power play opportunity with 6:24 left before the first intermission, but saw that man advantage chance end abruptly after Joona Koppanen was whistled for slashing.

In fact, the Penguins took back-to-back penalties to end the period - giving the Bears 1:27 of carryover power play time to begin the middle frame.

Hershey didn't score on the carryover power play to begin the period, but took the lead after Jack Rathbone was tagged for slashing 4:58 into the middle frame.

Some quick, short passes in the right-wing circle between Dube, Sgarbossa and Henrix Lapierre resulted with Lapierre setting up Dube from inside the circle for a quick shot that eluded Blomqvist with 13:36 left in the second frame.

The two teams settled into a hard-fought and hotly contested affair from there, with several big hits laid as every inch of the ice was battled for.

The Penguins appeared to find themselves shorthanded again late in the middle frame, and for a few seconds looked to be heading to a 5-on-3 penalty kill after a collision between Sgarboss and Jagger Joshua caused the referees to stop play and assess an interference minor.

The penalty ended up going to Sgarbossa, ending the Bears' power play and giving the Penguins a brief power play in the final two minutes with a chance to tie up the game.

Hinostroza did just that, after Peter Abbandonato was high-sticked along the wall and resulted in a Bears' turnover. Alex Nylander picked up the loose puck and sent it across to Hinostroza, who exhibited patience before snapping one to the back of the net past a sliding Bears' defenseman - tying the game at 2-2 with 1:21 left before the second intermission.

The Penguins and Bears continued to engage in a tightly-contested third period, with an early-period penalty preventing the Penguins from getting on the attack until the midway mark of the period.

After a turnover in the offensive zone was jumped on by Hershey, the Bears were able to convert in transition on a 3-on-2 rush with Joe Snively setting up Frank for his second goal of the night to put the Bears back in front by a 3-2 count with 8:31 to go.

The Penguins pressured and upped their game from their, out-shooting the Bears 13-6 in the final frame, but were unable to find a game-tying goal.

They pulled Blomqvist for the extra attacker and appeared to tie the game with 5.9 seconds left on a scramble play that resulted in Poulin swatting a puck out of mid-air past Stevenson, but the goal was later called back and the Bears prevailed.

Hershey Bears Lineup Notes

Clay Stevenson got the start in net for the Bears Saturday night against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Hunter Shepard served as the team's backup goaltender.

Bears scratches: Lucas Johansen (upper body, week-to-week), Alex Limoges (upper body), Matt Strome (upper body)

Lines/Pairings

Joe Snively - Mike Sgarbossa - Ethen Frank Mike Vecchione - Jimmy Huntington - Pierrick Dube Ivan Miroschnichenko - Hendrix Lapierre - Bogdan Trineyev Garrett Roe - Riley Sutter - Henrik Rybinski

Aaron Ness - Dylan McIlrath Hardy Haman Atkell - Vincent Iorio Chase Priskie - Logan Day

Clay Stevenson (Backup: Hunter Shepard)

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Lineup Notes

Joel Blomqvist got the start in net for the Penguins Saturday night against Hershey. Magnus Hellberg, who stopped 37/40 in a win in Allentown Friday night, served as the team's backup.

Only one lineup change from last night's game for the Penguins, as the veteran scratch rotation continues.

Taylor Fedun served as the team's lone veteran scratch Saturday, while Xavier Ouellet returned to the lineup after sitting out Friday's game.

Penguins Scratches: Garret Sparks, Taylor Fedun (veteran), Jonathan Gruden, Sam Houde, Raivis Ansons, Avery Hayes

Alex Nylander - Peter Abbandonato - Vinnie Hinostroza Sam Poulin - Radim Zohorna - Jesse Puljujarvi Jagger Joshua - Joona Koppanen - Austin Rueschhoff Matt Filipe - Marc Johnstone - Corey Andonovski

Ty Smith - Jack St. Ivany Jack Rathbone - Xavier Ouellet Dmitri Samorukov - Owen Headrick

Joel Blomqvist (Backup: Magnus Hellberg)

GAME SUMMARY

1st Period

1:10: WBS - Zohorna (1) - unassisted 3:36: HER - (PP) Snively, minor (delay of game) 6:25: HER - Frank (19) - Sgarbossa, Ness 13:36: HER - (PP) Frank, minor (holding) 14:38: WBS - (PP) Koppanen, minor (slashing) 19:26: WBS - (PP) Poulin, minor (high-sticking)

2nd Period

4:58: WBS - (PP) Rathbone, minor (slashing) 6:24: HER - PPG Dube (22) - Lapierre, Sgarbossa 9:46: HER - (PP) Day, minor (hooking) 16:14: WBS - (PP) Johnstone, minor (slashing) 17:05: HER - (PP) Sgarbossa, minor (interference) 18:39: WBS - PPG Hinostroza (5) - Nylander, Abbandonato

3rd Period

4:00: WBS - (PP) Poulin, minor (hooking) 11:29: HER - Frank (20) - Snively, Sgarbossa 16:59: HER - (PP) Vecchione, minor (hooking) 16:59: HER - (PP) Vecchione, minor (slashing)

BOXSCORE

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

Shots

Hershey  12 - 10 - 6 = 28 W-B/Scranton  12 - 9 - 13 = 34

Goalies

HER: Clay Stevenson (32 saves - 34 shots) WBS: Joel Blomqvist (25 saves - 28 shots)

Power Play

HER: 1-for-5 WBS: 1-for-6

Penalty Kill

HER: 5-for-6 WBS: 4-for-5