Bryan Helmer’s one-timer from the point with 1:04 remaining in regulation gave the Hershey Bears their 17th consecutive home victory, a 5-4 decision over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Sunday afternoon.
Like their parent club, the Washington Capitals, did against Wilkes-Barre’s parent club, the Pittsburgh Penguins, earlier in the afternoon, Hershey erased a three-goal deficit to extend its winning streak. The Bears have won 10 in a row and 22 of 23 overall, and their 17-game win streak on Giant Center ice is now just two shy of the all-time AHL record.
Mathieu Perreault’s first career hat trick brought the Bears back from 3-0 down in a game that was rescheduled from Saturday after two feet of snow fell on the Hershey area. After the Penguins pulled even at 4-4 on a Chris Conner goal, Helmer took a pass from Perreault (pictured) and blasted it top-corner over the glove of Brad Thiessen for the winning strike.
Andrew Joudrey scored his third goal in two games and Kyle Wilson recorded three assists for Hershey, which sits at 39-9-0-2 on the season, good for 80 points in 50 games (.800).
