Chirps from Center Ice

           vs.          

4                                 3

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The Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins mounted a third period comeback in the third period and were 12.5 seconds away from getting things right and snapping out of this slump that they are in.

The Hershey Bears had other plans.

Chase Priskie’s goal with 12.5 seconds left ties it, then Hendrix Lapierre’s goal in overtime ended it. Wilkes-Barre loses 4-3 in overtime.

The Penguins will look to get right Sunday afternoon in Allentown.

Here’s how they lined up…

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Lineup Notes: Mathias Laferrière made his Penguins debut for Jonathan Gruden (I heard on TV that Nick Hart said Gruden was injured. Gruden was in the locker room for a large part in the second period but finished out the game.) Filip Larsson’s first start in over a month in goal.

First Period: Physical period. Ville Koivunen injured Hendrix Lapierre, Lapierre returned later but they were taking runs at Koivunen all period.

Avery Hayes picked off a pass in the Bears zone and the Penguins were up 1-0.

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Second Period: Penguins stared the period on a power play but don’t connect. Hershey would on theirs when Alex Limoges tipped in a shot from the far wall that tied the game at one.

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I thought it was a better two periods as opposed to what you saw the night before against Lehigh Valley.

Third Period: Hershey would go up 2-1 on a Pierrick Dube deflection in front that put the Bears ahead 2-1.

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But the Penguins showed great resolve, and got a Valtteri Puustinen goal in the slot that tied the game at two.

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Puutstinen had time and space and picked his spot there. What a goal.

1:35 later, Avery Hayes scored his second goal of the night with this highlight reel tally that gave the Penguins a 3-2 lead.

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But then the Penguins found themselves in some penalty trouble when Vasily Ponomarev was assessed a match penalty for fighting giving the Bears a 3:00 major power play. They would not score but this was late and likely wore them down a bit.

With starting goaltender Clay Stevenson pulled, the Bears would indeed find the equalizer and scored to tie the game with 12.5 seconds left. Chase Priskie with the rebound.

Overtime: It wasn’t a possession fest like it was the night prior against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, more even here but Hendrix Lapierre found time and space at the top of the slot and world one past Filip Larsson to give the Bears the extra point.

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Three Stars: 3) Pierrick Dube (goal) 2) Chase Priskie (goal) 1) Hendrix Lapierre

The Good: Hung in there with the back to back defending champs and gritted out a point.

The Bad: Kirk MacDonald has his hands full. They were 12.5 seconds away from a four point deficit on Hershey for the division lead. These points count all the same now and in April.

Turning Point: Another game that chased it to the end, the Lapierre overtime game winner gets it here.

Around the Division: I wasn’t at the game in person tonight because I get these half colds that run through me in the span of like 72 hours. That said, with it being a 6:05 start I am not sticking around for the 7:05 starts. That’s Lehigh Valley hosting Syracuse and Springfield having all the fun out in Rockford. Boxes in the links for the respective games. In the earlier games Charlotte shutout Hartford 4-0 and Providence did the same to Bridgeport 5-0.

Standings: Hershey 65 – Providence 59 – Penguins 58 – Charlotte 57 — the rest are still in action the time this goes up but won’t catch the top four no matter what they do Saturday.

Wheeling Update: Nailers lose 3-1 in the low country, or in South Carolina against the Stingrays. Sergei Murashov stopped 35.

Video Highlights: Whistling past the graveyard here again….

Back at it to close out the three in three Sunday afternoon against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Sunday afternoon.

Let’s Go Pens!