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After losing to Hershey at home Friday, WBS wins away from Mohegan Sun Arena.
HERSHEY – After punching away through the entire first period, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins finally poked holes in Braden Holtby.
And at the other end, John Curry sewed up the net long enough to put the Hershey Bears down for the count.
Curry turned away 27 Hershey shots while pitching a shutout until the final two minutes Saturday and the Penguins thwarted four early power plays – including a 5-on-3 – as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton won its final regular season road game by hammering out a 4-2 victory over hated Hershey at the Giant Center.
That was a little payback for Hershey’s 2-1 victory in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s building the previous night.
“We knew we had to respond after (Friday) night,” Curry said. “They came into our building and out-played us. We want to go into the playoffs proving to everyone out there, and to ourselves, that’s not how we play.”
Saturday night was more like the Penguins.
David Marshall tallied the lone goal of the first period by taking a pass from Brian Strait and wrapping it around Hershey goalie Holtby and into the net with 13.3 seconds to play in the opening period.
“(Friday) they took it to us a little bit,” Marshall said. “But guys responded and put it on their shoulders today.”
Marshall’s tally opened the floodgates against Holtby, who shut down Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in Hershey’s 2-1 victory Friday and came in with a goals-against average of 2.22.
The Penguins nearly doubled that in less than 28 minutes.
Brett Sterling sizzled home a shot with 6:30 gone in the second period for a 2-0 Pens lead, and that grew to 3-0 just 30 seconds later when Nick Petersen whistled home a power play shot.
Then Bryan Lerg and Marshall played pitch and catch with the puck until Lerg lifted a laser over Holty for a 4-0 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton lead with just under eight minutes remaining in the second quarter.
But those weren’t the only big shots of the night.
The game began with a flurry of fists, instigated by Hershey winger Ashton Rome. After throwing a couple of knees at the Penguins in the game’s first five minutes, Rome started throwing punches, pummeling the unsuspecting Zach Sill to the ice.
With Sill trying to fight back from his back, Rome continued chopping away long after Sill had hit the ice – a rarity in hockey.
That prompted another round moments later, when Penguins enforcer Jesse Boulerice first caught his balance after nearly tumbling to the ice, then dropped Hershey’s big man Patrick Wellar with a hard left hook.
There was more of the same in the second period, when Penguin Ryan Schnell and Hershey’s Phil Oreskovic squared off for Saturday night fights. And Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Joe Vitale was smack in the middle of the skirmish inside Hershey’s cage.
“Both teams wanted to make a statement,” Marshall said. “Neither team wanted to back down. You’ve got Boulie (Boulerice), Schnell fighting, you’re playing hard.”
But for the most part, fans at Hershey’s sold-out Giant Center were mainly hooked on the action.
The bulk of it was defensive entertainment by both teams.
But Curry proved the standout until the final two minutes.
Just after Hershey’s 5-on-3 expired, the Bears still holding a man advantage for more than 40 seconds, Curry stepped up to stymie the charging Bears.
He stopped three consecutive wicked shots in one sequence, including two dead-on attempts that boomed off his blockers.
“Our penalty kill was unbelievable that first period,” Marshall said. “I think we killed about 10 minutes off, including a 5-on-3.”
There was more of the same for Curry through the second period and most of the third, until Hershey scored twice 31 seconds apart.
Penguins
1
3
0
—
4
Bears
0
0
2
—
2
First Period – 1. Penguins, Marshall 5 (Strait, Boulerice), 19:46. Penalties – Penguins, Sill (fighting), 5:11; Bears, Rome (fighting), 5:11; Penguins, Boulerice (fighting), 5:18; Penguins, Schnell (delay of game), 5:18; Bears, Wellar (fighting), 5:18; Penguins, Street (interference), 6:31; Penguins, Bortuzzo (cross-checking), 8:54; Penguins, Thompson (delay of game), 12:50; Bears, Greentree (interference), 13:09.
Second Period – 2. Penguins, Sterling 27 (Vitale, Lerg), 6:30; 3. Penguins, Petersen 3 (Street, Sterling), 7:00; 4. Penguins, Lerg 15 (Marshall, Mormina), 12:07. Penalties – Penguins, Schnell (fighting), 4:29; Bears, Oreskovic (fighting), 4:29; Bears, Souray (delay of game), 6:30; Penguins, Vitale (goaltender interference), 9:21; Penguins, Lerg (delay of game), 19:54.
Third Period – 5. Bears, Gordon 27 (Aucoin, Kane), 18:01; 6. Bears, Lacroix (Carroll, Fahey), 19:32. Penalties – Bears, McNeill (cross-checking), 11:21.
Shots on goal – Penguins 10-10-5=25; Bears 9-8-12=29. Power-play opportunities – Penguins 1 for 3; Bears 0 for 6. Goaltenders – Penguins, Curry (23-13-0-2) (29 shots, 27 saves); Bears, Holtby (17-10-2-5) (25 shots, 21 saves).
A – 5,535.
Referee – Jeff Smith. Linesmen – Bob Goodman, Jameel Chaudry.