Bears Get Point in 3-2 OT Loss to Penguins

March 22, 2025

Mike Vecchione scored twice, including the tying goal with less than a minute and a half left in regulation, but the Hershey Bears (38-16-6-1) only came away with a point in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (34-18-7-1) on Saturday night at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza, as the club continued its 2024-25 season, presented by Penn State Health.

Hershey's record against the Penguins this season dropped to 5-3-1-1, with three games left in the regular-season series. The Bears are now 5-1-1-1 during their franchise-record 10-game road trip.

BOX SCORE

NOTABLES:

• Mike Vecchione netted his 16th of the season at 18:36 of the first period with Hershey on the power play to put the visitors ahead 1-0.
• After the Penguins jumped ahead 2-1 in the third, Vecchione added his second of the night at 18:29 of the third period with netminder Hunter Shepard on the bench for an extra skater to level the score.
• Hendrix Lapierre assisted on both of Vecchione's goals.
• Avery Hayes netted the game-winner for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2:09 into the extra frame.

SHOTS: HER 26, WBS 31

GOALTENDING: HER - Hunter Shepard, 28-for-31; WBS - Sergei Murashov, 24-for-26

POWER PLAY: HER - 1-for-1; WBS - 0-for-2

THEY SAID IT:

Bears head coach Todd Nelson on if he saw an improvement tonight compared to Friday night's loss at Hartford:
"I thought everybody in the locker room put their best foot forward tonight and our compete was high. We knew it was going to be a tough game based on what happened to Wilkes [in their loss] last night, and I knew it was going to be a playoff-style game. So the guys all played hard. We found a way to get a point, but it was just self-inflicted errors by us that cost us a couple of goals against; once again, we talked about beating ourselves and the last couple goals was certainly that."

Nelson on Hershey killing a four-minute double-minor penalty midway through the third period and goaltending of Hunter Shepard:
"I thought the killers did a really good job. We gave up some chances and when we did, Shep was there. So I thought Shep made really big saves for us through that stretch. And actually in the third period he made some key stops, but we just ran six forwards and they all did good. We got through it and gave ourselves a chance to tie it up to get a very important point."

Nelson on looking ahead to Wednesday at Bridgeport as Hershey continues its slate of road games:
"We'll think about Wednesday on Tuesday - right now I think the guys just need to get away from the rink for at least tomorrow. It's been a pretty long road trip so far, and right away after getting back into our own beds we go back out on the road, so I want guys to just clear their heads, get rested up, and we'll focus on Bridgeport when we get there."

NEXT GAME:

The Bears continue the 2024-25 regular season, presented by Penn State Health, when they visit the Bridgeport Islanders on Wednesday, March 26, at 7 p.m. at Total Mortgage Arena. Hershey returns home to host the Utica Comets on Sunday, March 30, at 5 p.m. at GIANT Center for Hall of Fame Night and Toyota Postcard Night. Purchase tickets for the game by CLICKING HERE.