McGroarty’s OT Winner Sends Hershey Bears to 2-1 Series Hole

Rutger McGroarty tipped in the overtime winner Tuesday night as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins beat the hershey bears 4-3 at GIANT Center and took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five Atlantic Division Semifinals. The Penguins are one win from advancing after a game that swung back and forth from the opening period.

McGroarty Finishes At GIANT Center

McGroarty scored five minutes into overtime for the first playoff goal of his professional career. His tip on a point shot ended a game that Hershey had briefly turned in its favor after falling behind twice in the first period.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton got on the board first when Phil Kemp scored at 3:15 of the opening period. Three minutes later, Mikhail Ilyin netted his first AHL goal, and the Penguins had a 2-0 lead before the first frame was halfway done. The Bears answered with first-period goals from Ivan Miroshnichenko, who scored his first of the postseason at the midway mark, and Bogdan Trineyev, who tied it 2-2 just before intermission.

Hayes Forces Overtime

Hershey pushed ahead again 37 seconds into the second period on Brett Leason’s goal, and that edge lasted deep into regulation. With 3:03 left, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton pulled its goalie for an extra attacker, and Avery Hayes scored 10 seconds after the face-off to force overtime.

That final sequence kept the Penguins alive after the Bears had carried the lead for much of the middle stretch. Sergei Murashov finished with 26 saves for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, while Clay Stevenson stopped 23 shots for Hershey.

Series Shifts To Thursday

The result sends the series back to GIANT Center for Game 4 on Thursday, May 7 at 7:00 p.m. If Wilkes-Barre/Scranton wins again, the best-of-five set ends there. If the Bears level the series, Game 5 is set for Saturday, May 9 at 6:05 p.m. at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.