Rookies Riley Barber and Jakub Vrana scored third-period goals as the Hershey Bears earned a split on the road with a 3-1 win over the Portland Pirates on Saturday night.
The Atlantic Division champion Bears head home for the final three games with the best-of-five series all square at 1-1.
Barber’s power-play goal 91 seconds into the third period snapped a 1-1 tie, and Vrana gave Hershey some breathing room at 8:07.
Garrett Mitchell also scored for the Bears and Justin Peters (1-0) made 31 saves for the win.
Sena Acolatse scored the only goal for Portland.
Atlantic Division Semifinals – Series “A” (best-of-5)
A1-Hershey Bears vs. A4-Portland Pirates
Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 22 – PORTLAND 6, Hershey 4
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 23 – Hershey 3, PORTLAND 1
Game 3 – Thu., Apr. 28 – Portland at Hershey, 7:00
Game 4 – Sat., Apr. 30 – Portland at Hershey, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sun., May 1 – Portland at Hershey, 5:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern
