Holden leads Barons to shootout win

Jamie Holden turned aside 35 Hershey shots and was perfect in the five-round shootout to earn his first AHL win in Cleveland’s 3-2 victory on Tuesday night.

Josh Hennessy scored the game-winner in the final attempt of the shootout.

Holden, a rookie out of Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn., was making his second appearance for the Barons. Cleveland is without both Nolan Schaefer and Dimitri Patzold, on recall to San Jose after injuries to Evgeni Nabokov and Vesa Toskala.

After a scoreless 20 minutes, the second period saw both teams trade goals. Mike Iggulden scored the game’s first tally, his third of the year, for the Barons at the 12:13 mark. Bears captain Boyd Kane followed with a redirection of a Lawrence Nycholat shot for a shorthanded marker.

Patrick Rissmiller gave the Barons a 2-1 lead with his third goal of the season at 8:33 of the third period, but Hershey answered on a power play as Boyd Gordon slapped home a rebound goal past Holden with just over six minutes left in regulation time.

Hershey was awarded another power play in overtime but could not score.

It was the third shootout loss of the season for the Bears, who dropped to 5-3-0-3. Cleveland improved to 3-6-0-0.