Tomas Surovy and Kris Beech scored in the final 3:26 of regulation, turning a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton victory over Hershey on Friday night.
The comeback snapped the Penguins’ seven-game winless streak and moved the fourth-place Pens five points ahead of the Bears in the East Division playoff race.
Mathieu Darche scored twice for Hershey and Brett Clark had two assists, and the Bears were poised to move within one point of the final playoff spot in the East.
But Surovy tied the score at the 16:34 mark of the third period, and Beech gave the Penguins their first lead of the night 64 seconds later.
Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 16 saves on the night. Peter Budaj stopped 25 shots in the loss.
Elsewhere on Friday:
Cam Ward made 33 saves as Lowell clinched a playoff berth with a 3-1 win over Providence… Steve Begin and Tomas Plekanec scored 25 seconds apart midway through the third period, lifting Hamilton to a 5-3 win over Milwaukee… Paul Healey scored with 6:38 left in regulation to give Edmonton an important 5-4 win over St. John’s… Frederic Cassivi‘s 25-save shutout allowed Cincinnati to beat Houston, 3-0, and tie the Aeros for third place in the West Division… Eric Manlow and Kip Miller each had a goal and an assist as Grand Rapids beat Utah, 4-2, to stay one point behind Cincinnati and Houston… Ryane Clowe and Marcel Goc recorded a goal and an assist as Cleveland posted a 3-1 win over Syracuse… Jesse Fibiger picked up a goal and two assists during a four-goal third period as Binghamton beat Rochester, 5-1… Mike Cammalleri recorded a goal and two assists for Manchester in a 4-1 win over Portland… Wade Dubielewicz made 19 saves for Bridgeport in a 3-1 win over Philadelphia… Scott Clemmensen made 41 saves as Albany earned its sixth straight win, 4-1 over Norfolk… Jay McClement scored in overtime to give Worcester a 4-3 win in Springfield.
