Colin McDonald’s two-goal night helped lead the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a 3-1 win over the Hershey Bears in Game One of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal.
The Penguins put a clamp on the Hershey offense in the first period – outshooting the Bears by a 12-3 margin – and were able to take a 1-0 lead at 14:40 on McDonald’s power play goal. Standing at the left blueline, Alexandre Picard slapped a pass to the slot that McDonald redirected past the left side of goalie Dany Sabourin.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton took to the man-advantage once again to build a two-goal cushion midway through the second period. Playing the point, center Jason Williams slipped the puck to the near post that Cal O’Reilly swept into the Bears’ net for his first goal in a Penguins uniform.
In the third frame, McDonald gave his team some insurance with 8:04 remaining in regulation. Skating in on a 2-on-1 rush, McDonald took matters into his own hands as he ripped a snapshot from the right circle that whizzed under the blocker of Sabourin.
Mike Carman foiled Brad Thiessen’s shutout bid with 1:52 left, tipping Kevin Marshall’s point shot inside the far post. Thiessen stopped 19 shots overall on the night for his first win of the postseason. Sabourin made 26 saves for Hershey.
The Penguins went 2-for-5 on man-advantage and were perfect in three power play opportunities against.
Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal between the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Hershey Bears will be on Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza (7:05 ET, AHL Live).
