GAME STORY: Hershey - 3 at W-B/Scranton - 4 OT (Game 3 - 5/9/22)

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Hershey Bears not only went the distance, but traveled even further than that in a decisive Game Three that needed overtime to find a series winner.

After the Penguins held a 3-1 lead late into the third period on goals from Matt Bartkowski, Radim Zohorna and Sam Poulin, Hershey responded with two extra attacker goals - from Garrett Pilon and Brett Leason - in the final 1:35 of regulation to even the game at 3-3 and force overtime.

On Monday night, it was Penguins forward Alex Nylander playing the role of hero - sniping Bears' goalie Pheonix Copley 8:22 into the first overtime period to lift the Penguins to a series-clinching 4-3 win on home ice. Penguins' goalie Tommy Nappier stopped a career-high 34 shots in the win.

The win advances Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to the Atlantic Division Semifinal round, where they will battle the Springfield Thunderbirds in a best-of-five series beginning with Games 1 and 2 in Springfield on Wednesday and Thursday nights.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Lineup Notes

Tommy Nappier got the start in net for the Penguins in Game 3 Monday in Hershey. Samuel Harvey served as the team's backup.

Only one lineup change for the Penguins, as forward Jonathan Gruden served his one-game suspension and returned to the lineup to center the fourth line.

Anthony Angello was added to the Penguins' injury list following Game 2, so Sam Houde remained in the lineup and was bumped up to the third line wing to slot in for Angello. Head coach JD Forrest said post-game that Angello (undisclosed) is day-to-day and will be re-evaluated on a day-to-day basis.

Penguins Scratches: Filip Lindberg, Taylor Fedun, Corey Andonovski, Niclas Almari, Michael Chaput, Nathan Legare, Colin Swoyer, Jonathan Gruden and Ty Glover

Lines/Pairings:

Filip Hallander - Sam Poulin - Valtteri Puustinen Felix Robert - Radim Zohorna - Alex Nylander Sam Houde - Jordy Bellerive - Kasper Bjorkvist Jamie Devane - Jonathan Gruden - Kyle Olson

Juuso Riikola - Mitch Reinke P-O Joseph - Will Reilly Cam Lee - Matt Bartkowski

Tommy Nappier - Samuel Harvey

Hershey Bears Lineup Notes

Pheonix Copley got the start in net for the Bears in Game 3, while Zach Fucale served as the team's backup.

It was the same 18 skaters for Hershey in Game 3, though Beck Malenstyn and Bogdan Trineyev swapped lines and Malenstyn was on the top line with Mike Sgarbossa and Garrett Pilon.

Bears Scratches: Clay Stevenson, Jake Massie, Vincent Iorio, Macoy Erkamps, Shane Gersich, Ethen Frank, Joe Snively, Riley Sutter, Matt Moulson, Brian Pinho, Julian Napravnik, Benton Maass, Kody Clark, Kevin Fitzgerald and Bear Hughes

Lines/Pairings:

Garrett Pilon - Mike Sgarbossa - Bogdan Trineyev Aliaksei Protas - Mike Vecchione - Brett Leason Beck Malenstyn - Mason Morelli -Marcus Vela Eddie Wittchow - Drake Rymsha - Kale Kessy

Lucas Johansen - Alex Alexeyev Tobias Geisser - Dylan McIlrath Bobby Nardella - Cody Franson

Pheonix Copley - Zach Fucale

GAME STORY

1st Period

Both goalies - Tommy Nappier for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and Pheonix Copley for Hershey - made incredible stops to begin the hockey game.

First, Aliaksei Protas and Mike Vecchione connected on a 2-on-1 but Nappier made a sliding pad save on Vecchione in the opening minute of the contest.

At the other end, Pheonix Copley made a big save & followed it up robbing Kasper Bjorkvist's rebound attempt to keep the game scoreless in the opening 90 seconds.

The Penguins got the Bears' fourth line on a long shift after an icing call, which later resulted in Eddie Wittchow inadvertently playing the puck into the crowd.

Unfortunately for the home team, they were unable to convert on the game's opening power play.

Instead, Hershey killed off Wittchow's delay of game minor and opened the scoring shortly thereafter on a cycle play that ended with a back-door tap in.

Credit Mason Morelli for going hard to the net and engaging a Penguins' defender at the net-front while Alex Alexeyev fired a pass from the left-wing wall to the right side of the net where Mike Sgarbossa was able to tap it in past Nappier to put Hershey ahead 1-0 with 14:38 left in the opening period.

Despite holding an 8-3 edge in shots on goal and generating the better of the chances in the opening half of the period, the Penguins found themselves trailing 1-0.

As the period progressed, the physical play picked up. There were several big hits being dished out by both teams. At one point, Mason Morelli blasted Juuso Riikola into the Bears' bench and then the next four players to touch the puck were all dropped with big checks shortly thereafter.

Late in the period, the Penguins were able to break through and tie the game on what was quite a fortuitous bounce.

Matt Bartkowski wound up for a slapper from atop the right-wing circle, but broke his stick on the shot attempt. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the fanned on shot darted into the slot and off of the inside of Bears forward Beck Malenstyn's leg and into the net behind Copley. Filip Hallander and Valtteri Puustinen added assists on Bartkowski's first of the postseason.

The goal counted just like any other, and the Penguins got a big goal to even things up with 2:22 left before the first intermission.

The high-intensity, high-event period didn't let up until after the final horn sounded, and even then the two teams were engaged in a post-whistle scrum. There was plenty of fight left in both teams heading into the middle frame.

2nd Period

The high-intensity continued in the middle frame, as neither team took their foot off the proverbial gas.

The Penguins did a good job of getting into the slot and getting pucks through, but Copley was in position to make the necessary stops to keep the game even at 1-1.

In the opening half of the period, Hershey was largely kept to the perimeter - unable to get pucks through to Nappier with any sort of regularity.

As the period progressed, the Bears were able to generate some quality chances and it was Nappier's turn to come up big to keep the game even at 1-1 - especially during a Bears power play chance with 7:42 left in the stanza.

The two teams once again fought to the final horn, literally, with a shoving match between Mason Morelli and P-O Joseph resulting in matching minor penalties and four-on-four hockey to begin the third.

3rd Period

The thrill-a-minute hockey continued in the third period, with the Penguins breaking the 1-1 tie early in the stanza after another wacky one.

Radim Zohorna took a pass from Felix Robert in the offensive zone and fired a shot to the net. Copley appeared to be in position to make the stop, but the puck dribbled up and over his glove and crept passed the goal line and into the net.

That sent the fans at Mohegan Sun Arena into a frenzy, and the home team fed off the energy from the crowd - drawing themselves a power play less than two minutes later.

The Penguins pressured for the entirety of the ensuing power play, but credit Copley with several big saves to keep his team in a one-goal game as the halfway mark of the period approached.

The dagger for the Bears came with 7:55 left as a seemingly harmless shot from the left-wing wall from Sam Poulin trickled in past Copley, extending the Pens' lead to 3-1.

Hershey didn't quit and call it a night there, however.

With Copley pulled for the extra attacker for the final 3:28 of regulation, the Bears went to work and chipped away - getting a goal from Garrett Pilon with 1:35 left to draw Hershey within a goal.

Then, with Copley back off for the extra attacker after a Penguins' icing call, Mike Vecchione fed Brett Leason for a game-tying goal with 52.9 seconds left.

Two extra attacker goals 43 seconds apart turned a sure-fire 3-1 Penguins win into a 3-3 game and forced overtime to decide the series winner.

Overtime #1

The pace continued in the overtime period, as the two teams went whistle free in the opening 6:43 as the back-and-forth play continued much like it did in the opening 60 minutes.

The overtime hero tonight was none other than Alex Nylander as he took a pass from Zohorna and wired one to the top shelf 8:22 into the first overtime to lift the Penguins to a 4-3 win and a series-clinching victory that sends them into the Atlantic Division Semifinals against the Springfield Thunderbirds (St. Louis).

GAME SUMMARY

1st Period

2:31: HER - (PP) Wittchow, minor (delay of game) 5:22: HER - Sgarbossa (1) - Alexeyev, Pilon 18:38: WBS - Bartkowski (1) - Hallander, Puustinen

2nd Period

12:18: WBS - (PP) Lee, minor (interference) 20:00: WBS - Joseph, minor (roughing) 20:00: HER - Morelli, minor (roughing)

3rd Period

4:44: WBS - Zohorna (2) - Robert 6:36: HER - (PP) McIlrath, minor (cross-checking) 12:05: WBS - Poulin (1) - Bellerive, Reinke 18:25: HER - Pilon (1) - Johansen, Nardella 19:07: HER - Leason (1) - Vecchione, Protas

Overtime

8:22: WBS - Nylander (2) - Zohorna, Joseph

BOXSCORE

Hershey Bears 1 - 0 - 2 - 0 = 3 W-B/Scranton  1 - 0 - 2 - 1 = 4

Shots

Hershey Bears 13 - 9 - 13 - 2 = 37 W-B/Scranton  15 - 7 - 19 - 4 = 46

Goalies

HER: Phoenix Copley (42 saves - 46 shots) WBS: Tommy Nappier (34 saves - 37 shots)

Power Play

HER: 0-for-1 WBS: 0-for-2

Penalty Kill

HER: 2-for-2 WBS: 1-for-1