The Hershey Bears constructed an early 3-0 first period lead, nearly saw the foundation crumble, but managed to pick up the pieces and escape the Wachovia Spectrum with a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Phantoms.<\/p>\n
Andrew Gordon\u2019s goal 1:20 into the first period gave the visiting Bears an early 1-0 lead.
\nGordon buzzed a shot past Philly goaltender, Jean-Sebastian Aubin, after wiping out just prior to the Philly blueline, scoring from between the circles off a pass from Quintin Laing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had the puck in the neutral zone and I toe-picked due to my new skates and fell down on my stomach,\u201d said Gordon. \u201cBy the time I got up and drifted into the zone, I didn\u2019t see most of the play. I was trying to get back off the ice and into the play, but I saw Laing had the puck in the corner, and I started yelling as loud as I could and he made a great play to get it out to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though Hershey failed to score while Phantoms\u2019 Patrik Hersley was doing time in the sin bin, Bears\u2019 Kyle Wilson scored his 20th goal of the season, with assists from Graham Mink and Gordon, four seconds after the expiration of the power play. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was hard work from down low from all three of us. Gordon made a nice play out front to Mink and he saw me back door,\u201d said Wilson. \u201cThe 20th one is always a tough one to get,\u201d he said about reaching the 20-goal plateau. \u201cI sat at 19 for a while, and it\u2019s nice to get to 20. It takes a lot of hard work to get there. I\u2019m pretty proud of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Graham Mink\u2019s goal at 9:44 gave the Bears a cozy 3-0 lead against their division rivals, and marked the third time in five visits to Philadelphia that the Bears have scored three goals in a single period.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was trying to throw the puck on the net,\u201d said Mink. \u201cI don\u2019t know if it hit something, but it kind of dribbled through across the line and luckily the ref was right there because Aubin snatched it up pretty quick. He saw it go in, and he signaled it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fifty-one seconds after the Mink goal, Jonathan Matsumoto roofed a shot over a sprawling Bears\u2019 netminder, Daren Machesney. Matsumoto\u2019s goal at 10:35, which cut Hershey\u2019s lead to 3-1, was his 19th of the season and 6th against the Bears.<\/p>\n
Hershey, who enjoyed a sizable shot differential of 12-3 in the first period, saw their lead cut to a single goal just 52 seconds into the second period when Andreas Nodl converted a Patrick Maroon pass on the Phantoms\u2019 fourth shot of the game. <\/p>\n
\u201cAt the start of the game, we were all over them, and they got a couple breaks and they scored,\u201d said Machesney. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely not the start you want when you haven\u2019t played for about three weeks. You just have to bear with it, and I thought as the game went on, I felt more comfortable out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tyler Sloan, who would be in the middle of a lot of the action in the second period, connected for his second goal of the season off a beautiful cross-ice pass from Kyle Wilson at 3:43. Sloan\u2019s goal gave the Bears a little breathing room with another two-goal cushion.<\/p>\n
Sloan\u2019s slashing penalty at 12:00 sent the Phantoms\u2019 power play unit out for the first time on the night. In the early seconds of the advantage, Machesney made his best save of the night, going from left-to-right to deny a Jason DeSantis bid from the doorstep, maintaining his team\u2019s two-goal lead. <\/p>\n
\u201cI just wanted to contribute to the team. I hadn\u2019t really done much besides get dressed,\u201d Machesney joked. \u201cI read the play, I was already down, and I got the leg out there and he hit me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Late in the period, at 18:33, Sloan was whistled off the ice for another minor penalty, giving the Phantoms a chance to cut their deficit to a single goal before the end of the stanza. Needing just under a minute of the power play, David Laliberte\u2019s 4th goal of the year at Hershey\u2019s expense, at 19:31, again made it a one-goal game at 4-3.<\/p>\n
Feeding off the momentum of Laliberte\u2019s late second period goal, Laliberte and linemates Matsumoto and Maroon had Hershey on their heels from the opening face off of the third period. The tenacious trio maintained possession of the puck in the Hershey zone for the 1:15 of the period, nearly getting the equalizing goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought Matsumoto\u2019s line was really good tonight. We had a hard time containing them. They had some pretty good opportunities,\u201d said Woods of the trio who have combined to score 12 goals against the Bears in the season series.<\/p>\n
The Phantoms carried the play for much of the third stanza, including a point blast from former Bear, Danny Syvret, which was snared by the glove hand of Machesney. Despite Philly\u2019s persistent pressure, Hershey was able to keep them off the board in the third period for the 7th time in nine meetings this season, before Andrew Gordon\u2019s 2nd goal of the evening at 18:33 sealed the Phantoms fate, making the final score 5-3.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a minute and a half left. I didn\u2019t want to try to beat the defenseman in case he strips me and they go the other way. I was thinking I should get it on net and change up (lines),\u201d said Gordon, who also contributed a pair of goals in the Bears\u2019 last outing with the Norfolk Admirals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"