Sutter Posts Multi-Point Game, Pens Top Bears in Preseason Opener
October 5, 2022 – American Hockey League (AHL) – Hershey Bears News Release
(Wilkes-Barre, PA) – Riley Sutter had a goal and an assist, but the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins earned a 3-2 victory over the Hershey Bears in Wednesday’s morning preseason opener at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
The Bears opened the preseason with a power play goal at 13:57 of the opening frame. Sutter struck for Hershey on the man advantage, batting a skyward puck out of mid-air and past Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goaltender Taylor Gauthier to make it 1-0 for the visitors. Rookies Vincent Iorio and Henrik Rybinski collected the helpers on the lone tally of the first period.
In the middle stanza, a wild sequence saw three goals scored in a span of 1:11. The Penguins equalized on a delayed penalty as Max Johnson tallied from the left wing, accepting a Corey Andonovski pass, and beating an outstretched Hershey goaltender Garin Bjorklund at 9:17.
Hershey quickly grabbed the lead back at 9:43 as Julian Napravnik scored to make it 2-1. Moments after taking over for Gauthier in goal, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton netminder Tommy Nappier found himself under attack, as Hershey’s Sutter pulled him out of position. Sutter fed Napravnik who struck from the bottom of the left circle to put Hershey ahead.
As the game opened up, the Pens had the answering goal again at 10:28. On a three-on-one rush, Justin Addamo one-timed a saucer pass from Sean Josling past a diving Bjorklund to make it 2-2.
The lone goal of the third period turned out to be the winner for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Andonovski. The Penguins darted into the offensive zone, and Bjorklund denied a Ty Glover shot, but was knocked to the ice. Andonovski pounded on the rebound and flipped the puck over the fallen Hershey goaltender at 3:23 to make it 3-2 Penguins.
Shots finished 25-24 favoring the Bears. Netminder Hunter Shepard started the game for Hershey and was a perfect 7-for-7 in his 20 minutes of work before yielding the net to Bjorklund. Hershey was 1-for-5 on the power play while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was 1-for-3.
The Bears are next in action on Saturday night for a preseason content at Lehigh Valley at 7:05 p.m. The game will be available via an audio stream via Facebook.com/TheHersheyBears. The Bears and Penguins rematch for Hershey’s lone home preseason game on Sunday afternoon at GIANT Center. The puck drops at 5 p.m. and tickets are available via HersheyBears.com.
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