Penguins Finish Off Bears With 4-3 Win

The Penguins come away with a 4-3 win this afternoon over the Hershey Bears and have won five games in a row. They're playing well and peaking at the right time, with just two weeks left in the regular season.

The defense and goaltending has been there all season long, but it has to be especially rewarding to the goal scorers this weekend, putting up 11 goals in three games and taking six points in the standings.

The Bears got off to a quick start, scoring 1:54 into the game and taking a 1-0 lead. But from there, the Penguins took over.

Jayson Megna flew down the wing, made two Bears defenders miss and then put a perfect pass between his legs across the crease to Paul Thompson, who buried it to tie the game.

The power play was clicking again tonight, and Brian Dumoulin gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead late in the first period with a shot from the point through traffic that eluded Philipp Grubauer.

"They have always put pucks at the net and now they're just bearing down and finishing them," Dumoulin said of the Pens' recent offensive surge. "When you have the whole team going, you get to see more good things happen."

Chad Kolarik extended the lead 3:43 into the second period, beating Grubauer to the five-hole after a nice pass from behind the net from Trevor Smith. Kolarik came out hard early in the third and got his second of the night early in the third period, putting the Penguins up 4-1 at that point.

Kolarik's two goals today have many thinking he might be the league's leading scorer when all is said and done with the regular season. Before Jeff Taffe added an assist, Kolarik was tied for the league lead. Here's what Kolarik had to say about that:

"I'm not really worried about it," Kolarik said. "I don't think about it when I'm on the ice. If it happens, it happens but I would rather win a championship to tell you the truth."

No one was expecting the Bears to go away quietly into the night. They came into this game tied for the 8th and final playoff spot and are fighting for their playoff lives. They took advantage of some chances midway through the third period and managed to bring the game back within a goal with 6:12 to play.

"You know what happens. Football, hockey any sport when you lay off and try to play prevent defense it doesn't work," Kolarik said.

The Penguins took their timeout and got things under control, hanging on for the win.

The Penguins have some time before their next game, which isn't until Saturday night up in St. John's. They will begin practice next week on Tuesday at the Coal Street Rink but check back tomorrow for a feature on one of the Penguins forwards. I'll give you a hint: He hasn't scored many goals this season but, like the rest of the team, he has elevated his game and has been playing his best hockey the past few weeks.

ROSTER NOTES

Brad Thiessen got the start in net, picking up his 15th win of the season stopping 31 of the 34 shots he faced.

Beau Bennett was called up to Pittsburgh this afternoon, confirming he was held out last night as a healthy scratch with the intentions that a call-up was on the way.

Lines:

Holzapfel - Smith - Kolarik
Megna - Gibbons - Thompson
Payerl - Peters - Collins
Farnham - Sill - Uher

Reese - Dumoulin
Mormina - Samuelsson
Grant - Wild