A pesky, watered-down WBS Penguin squad claimed their 14th and 15th points, out of a possible 20 in their series against the Hershey Bears, downing the Bears in a regulation win, 5-4, and grounding the Bears\u2019 hopes of winning the title of \u2018first overall\u2019 in the American Hockey League. <\/p>\n
The Bears, who had one win and two losses during the weekend, also were not operating at full strength, electing to keep several players, including Graham Mink and Staffan Kronwall, out of action. Hershey Bears\u2019 head coach, Bob Woods, did not display a lot of concern about the lack of wins over the three-game stretch.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really haven\u2019t had our whole lineup,\u201d said Woods. \u201cI look at it as we\u2019ve got a week here to get everybody healthy. We could\u2019ve dressed a better lineup tonight as well, but I think it\u2019s more important to make sure the guys that are hurt are healthy for whenever we start this series.\u201d<\/p>\n
A plethora of early icing calls contributed to a sluggish, and strangely silent, first period at Giant Center that featured no goals and few quality scoring chances. <\/p>\n
Bears\u2019 starting goaltender, Daren Machesney, making only his sixth start in Hershey\u2019s last 20 games, faced just seven shots in the first period, with his best work occurring late in the period, snuffing out a Paul Bissonnette backhand bid. Pens\u2019 netminder, Adam Berkhoel, also saw limited rubber in the first period, facing only eight shots, and spared further fatigue by Hershey\u2019s tendency to make one too many passes on numerous occasions.<\/p>\n
Luca Caputi\u2019s goal began a cascade of action where the teams traded goals, with each club having two on the board after the dust had settled.<\/p>\n
Francois Bouchard\u2019s 15th goal of the season, on the power play at 19:02, gave Hershey a 3-2 lead heading into the second intermission.<\/p>\n
Janne Pesonen, a persistent point producer against the Bears this season, tied the game at 1:45 with his 31st goal of the season, and then put his team up for good in the game with his 32nd at 5:07 on a power play. Pesonen, satisfied with his goal-scoring exploits, played playmaker, assisting on Nick Johnson\u2019s goal at 17:16, giving the visitors a 5-3 lead.<\/p>\n
Alexandre Giroux\u2019s 60th goal of the year, with a setup by Keith Aucoin at 18:49, made for an interesting finish, cutting the Hershey deficit to one goal. Aucoin contributed mightily to Giroux\u2019s historic season by assisting on 38 of Giroux\u2019s tallies.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s a good friend and a great player,\u201d said Aucoin, who finished second to Giroux in league scoring. \u201cWhen he was breaking all those records, I just wanted to be a part of it. I\u2019m happy he had a great year, and I\u2019m thrilled to be a part of it.\u201d <\/p>\n
Bears\u2019 captain, Bryan Helmer, who already has his named etched on the Calder Cup, saw sunlight through the despair of the Bears\u2019 lost opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously every guy here is disappointed,\u201d said Helmer. \u201cYou always want to win first overall. I think we\u2019ve had a good season up till now. Winning your division is a big plus, and now we\u2019re looking forward to the new season and hopefully bringing the 10th Calder Cup back to Hershey.\u201d<\/p>\n
Notes:<\/p>\n
The Penguins played without regulars Jeff Taffe, Chris Minard, Connor James, Alex Goligoski, Ben Lovejoy, and goalie, John Curry.<\/p>\n
Hershey played without Patrick McNeill, Tyler Sloan, Steve Pinizzotto, Daren Reid, Graham Mink, Grant McNeill, Staffan Kronwall, and Sami Lepisto.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"