February 27, 2019

The Hershey Bears scored four goals in a single period for the first time this season in a 4-1 comeback win over the Hartford Wolf Pack on Wednesday night at the XL Center. Riley Barber tallied twice in the third period to support the rally.

Both the Bears and the Wolf Pack were scoreless after 20 minutes, but Hershey goaltender Ilya Samsonov made several key stops early, including two saves on a 2-on-1 sequence, followed by a breakaway. Shots after 20 minutes were 12-4 Wolf Pack.

Next period, the Pack drew first blood and capitalized after Mike Sgarbossa was boxed for slashing at the 9:19 mark.

Gabriel Fontaine cut along the left wing and towards the middle on a power move to the net. A quick forehand-backhand move beat Samsonov five-hole to give Hartford a 1-0 lead at 10:08. Shots after 40 minutes were 19-14 Wolf Pack.The Chocolate and White rallied in the third period, and the comeback began with a power play strike of their own. On the man-advantage, Nathan Walker fed a backdoor feed to Barber at the net front for a quick conversion on Wolf Pack goaltender Brandon Halverson at 12:55. Only 24 seconds later, the Bears grabbed a sudden 2-1 lead. Jonas Siegenthaler threw a puck on goal from the left point that beat Halverson through a screen.For the remainder of regulation, Hershey dictated the pace in the offensive zone and forced the opposition on their heels. The Bears were rewarded with a gift for their third goal at 17:59. Halverson left his crease to play the puck, and fumbled the biscuit right onto Barber's tape. Barber scored into an open net to tie his career-best 26th goal of the season. Walker added an empty net tally to finish a 4-1 final at the 18:41 mark. Final shots on goal were 29-24 Hartford. Special teams finished the night 1-for-4 on the power play and 1-for-2 on the kill.The Hershey Bears improved their record to 32-21-0-3 in the victory, and improved their point total to 65, third-best in the Atlantic Division. Hershey closed February with a successful 11-1-0-0 record during the month.The Bears return to action on Friday, Mar. 1 with a 7 p.m. road tilt against the Utica Comets. Voice of the Bears Zack Fisch will have the call on the Bears Radio Network.