Rob Flick’s goal off an odd-man rush ended the longest game in franchise history and gave the Portland Pirates a 2-1 victory over the Hershey Bears at Giant Center on Thursday night.
Flick took a pass from Rob Schremp and one-timed a shot from the right-wing circle that beat Justin Peters at 3:10 of the third overtime period, giving Portland a 2-1 series lead more than four hours after Game 3 began.
By 64 seconds, it was the longest game in the Pirates franchise’s 23-year history. It was also the longest game ever played at Giant Center, and the second-longest game in the 78-year history of the Bears.
Nathan Walker scored for Hershey early in the second period, but Mike McKenna shut the Bears out over the final 77:43 of the contest, finishing the night with 41 saves.
In his first game back with Portland after skating in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with Florida, Greg McKegg notched a goal for the Pirates in the third period.
Peters stopped 42 of 44 shots in the loss for the Bears, who host Game 4 on Saturday looking to stave off elimination.
The teams combined to kill off 16 power plays in the game. Portland was 0-for-9 with the man advantage; Hershey was 0-for-7.
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 2, HERSHEY 1 (3OT)
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
Rob Flick is the triple OT hero for the @PortlandPirates as they take the game 2-1 #HERvsPOR pic.twitter.com/mzRzP1lVJO
— AHL (@TheAHL) April 29, 2016
