Bryan Lerg registered a goal and an assist and Brad Thiessen made 27 saves to help the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins down the Hershey Bears, 3-1, on Saturday at the Giant Center.
Already up 1-0 going into the second, the Penguins would further their lead thanks to a dominant period that saw them outshoot the Bears, 12-3. A turnover at center ice allowed Colin McDonald to start a 3-on-1 rush and drop a pass that Simon Despres one-timed past Braden Holtby for his first professional goal, coming at 7:49.
Lerg extended his point streak to five games with the second assist on Despres' tally and made it five straight games with goal on an even-strength marker eleven minutes into the second. A textbook give-and-go with Paul Thompson gave Lerg his team-leading sixth tally of the season and made the score 3-0 for the Penguins.
Hershey broke through on its sixth man-advantage of the contest as Boyd Kane spoiled Thiessen's shutout bid with 3:19 left in regulation.
The Penguins were able to jump out to a 1-0 edge on a power play goal by Brian Gibbons. Some quick passing around the Hershey zone opened up the slot for Gibbons' redirect of a feed from Jason Williams at 3:36 of the first.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton put forth an 8-for-9 effort on the power play and was 5-for-6 on the penalty kill. The win was the Penguins' sixth consecutive at the Giant Center.
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins continue their four-game road stretch next Friday, October 28 at 7:30 PM against the Syracuse Crunch.
