In a game with playoff implications contested in a playoff like atmosphere, the Hershey Bears came out on top, grounding the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Saturday night at Giant Center, 3-2.
The fast-paced first period, which featured a combined 13 shots on goal, was the first time in the seven games between the inter-state rivals this season that a goal had not been scored by either team.
The best chance in the period came near the end when Penguins’ leading goal scorer, Kris Minard, who entered the game with four goals in four games against the Chocolate and White this season, beat Varlamov from close range; however his shot rang off the goal post and bounced harmlessly away from danger.
Special teams played a vital part in the second period. After Hershey’s low-ranking penalty kill unit neutralized the Pens’ fifth power play of the evening, Graham Mink’s goal from the doorstep gave Hershey a 1-0 lead at 13:30.
After drawing a penalty to Penguins’ defenseman, Alex Goligoski, Mink doubled his second period goal scoring pleasure, converting a pass from Alexandre Giroux to net his 30th goal of the season at 19:45 with the Bears in the midst of their fourth power play.
“I saw him coming and he actually called for it,” said Giroux. “I saw him going to the net, and I knew he was coming, so I just put it there.”
Former Penguin, Grant McNeill, who punched his way to a narrow victory in a first period fight against Paul Bissonnette, punched home his second goal of the season, with the help of Steve Pinizzotto and Andrew Joudrey, past Pens’ goaltender, John Curry at 3:40 of the third period.
“I like getting a fight out of the way early; it sets the tone. It’s a release for me, then I can just play the game,” said McNeill of his throwdown with Bissonnette.
McNeill’s line relied on a lot of grit, and not so much glamour to get the job done.
“Joudrey threw it to the net, and that’s a key for the whole team. If our line throws the puck to the net, and get a couple guys banging and crashing, we’re hard to handle. It‘s a simple game, but it works.”
After the Penguins scored two quick goals to waddle back into the game and close the gap on the scoreboard, Hershey head coach, Bob Woods, utilized his time out to rally the troops.
“They had the momentum, and we just needed a few shifts back in their zone, and I thought we did that,” said Woods. “I thought we went out there and we took the play to them a little bit and snuffed it out. That’s what you have to do in those situations. We were in control of the game, and they got a couple of quick goals and you just want to make sure that everybody’s positive and not panicking, and just getting back to what got us the three goal lead.”
The Bears regained their composure, limited their opponents to just two shots the rest of the evening, and holding on for their second win against the Penguins this season.
Although hitting the 30-goal plateau for the 2nd time in his career was a personal milestone for Mink, the Bears’ alternate captain displayed his leadership abilities, choosing to focus on his team’s accomplishments, rather than his own.
“You always love to get the round numbers, but at this point in the year, you kind of put that stuff aside. I was more happy to get the win tonight. That’s a great thing you can look back on later, but the important thing is that we got two points against Wilkes-Barre, and they didn’t get any.”