Penguins Fall 4-1 to Bears

Garrett Mitchell scored twice for the Bears, one on a penalty shot and one that needed to be reviewed to count, and Hershey takes care of the Penguins by a final score of 4-1. Trevor Smith scored the lone WBS goal in the second period.

Despite the loss, the Penguins are 8-3 in their last 11 games after that 0-4 start. They won't have to wait long for the rematch either.

Brad Thiessen got the start in net for the Penguins against Braden Holtby and the Bears. Keven Veilleux and Philip Samuelsson replaced Steve MacIntyre and Brain Strait. Brian Gibbons was again the 13th forward and healthy scratch.

The Bears got on the board first when Beau Bennett's pass to the point was tipped and stolen by Garrett Mitchell. Mitchell came in on a shorthanded breakaway and was hauled down by Brian Dumoulin and granted a penalty shot. Mitchell beat Thiesseen with a backhand to forehand move to the glove side.

Things got heated early in the second period when Matt Clackson and Joe Morrow got tangled up along the Bears bench. Clackson immediately dropped his gloves and began throwing punches to a rather defenseless Morrow and that caught the attention of the Penguins bench. Just 35 seconds after that scrum, Bobby Farnham chased Jeff Taffe up and down the ice and made him drop his gloves.

The Penguins tied the game at one midway through the second period while on a power play. Eric Tangradi received a stretch pass and spread out the defense, finding Beau Bennett who sent a cross ice pass to Trevor Smith. Smith buried one past Hotlby at 8:10 to even things at one.

The Bears responded late in the middle frame, when Mitchell's backhander snuck in under the crossbar. The ref initially ruled no goal but it was overturned after the goal was reviewed. Mitchell's 2nd of the game gave the Bears a 2-1 lead.

The dagger in the side came in the final moments of the second period. With Morrow in the box for tripping, the Bears power play struck gold with .4 seconds left in the period. Tomas Kundratek tapped home a rebound and sent the Giant Center into a frenzy. The goal gave the Bears a two goal lead they would never look back on heading into the third period.

The Penguins had their chances in the final period but were unable to get anything past Holtby. Boyd Kane added an empty net goal with 30.3 left to seal the deal. But the excitement didn't end after the final seconds ticked off the clock at Giant Center.

A pair of fights broke out at the final horn featuring Bobby Farnham and Dominik Uher against Steve Olesky and Kevin Marhsall respectively, leaving some bad blood on the ice for the next time these two teams play. Oh yeah, they rematch at the Giant Center on Wednesday!