Wilkes-Barre/Scranton entered the third period of Sunday's game against the Hershey Bears trailing by just one goal.
The Penguins were given a golden opportunity at the 6:35 mark when the Bears went to the penalty kill as a result of a delay of game penalty.
Jordy Bellerive, working with the top power play unit, took a shot from the right circle that Bears goaltender Pheonix Copley stopped, but Copley was unable to cover the rebound. Bellerive drove to the net and fired the loose puck into the net:
No official signaled that it was a goal on the ice, and after a lengthy discussion, play resumed without the Penguins getting credit for the tally. No official ever gave an explanation over the address system at the Giant Center.
J.D. Forrest was exasperated on the bench after receiving an explanation from the officials.
I asked Forrest what explanation he received.
"They didn't see it."
And since the AHL isn't having video review this season due to COVID protocols, there was no opportunity to review it, either.
"That's just some adversity that you have to find a way to overcome," Forrest told me. "That's tough. It's a hard one to swallow. We had the benefit of seeing it on video, and we don't have that ability to review it here. I guess sometimes it goes against you like that. I thought our guys kept with it, we had some chances after that. There's nothing you can really do. You get upset about it, but you have to play the next shift and try to knock one in there. Their goalie made a couple of nice saves on some good chances we had there."
Wilkes-Barre trailed in the first period after Hershey's Aliaksei Protas capitalized on a bouncing puck in front of the net:
Wilkes-Barre had a slow start to the game, allowing the first six shots of the contest and being outshot 10-5 through the first 20 minutes.
"I thought we settled into the game," Forrest said. "We took a little bit to get our wheels going. Once we did find it, we continued to work through the whole game. I guess it wasn't an ideal start, but Max (Lagace) was good in net for us. He kept it close and gave us a shot there. Unfortunately it had a wild ending, so."
The Penguins got a spark in the second period from gritty rookie forward Kyle Olson. Olson had a big, clean hit on Hershey's Martin Fehervary, and Kale Kessy stepped up and made Olson answer for the hit with a fight:
It energized the Wilkes-Barre bench.
"That was huge," Forrest said. "He plays a hard-nosed game. It was a really good hit, a clean hit. Then he gets jumped by that guy on the other team and I thought he handled it really well. We fed off of that energy. Olly doesn't fear anyone, as evidenced by his play. The guys certainly appreciated that type of effort from him."
The Penguins weren't able to find the back of the net again after the blown call on Bellerive's goal, and the Bears sealed the win in the final minute with an empty-net goal.
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Zach Trotman was again absent from the game after leaving Saturday's game with a lower-body injury. Forrest still didn't have an update on him, telling me after the game that he was still being evaluated. Billy Sweezey played in the game in his absence.
• P.O Joseph was a late scratch in favor of Will Reilly, setting social media into a panic given the proximity to Monday's trade deadline. Good news, though. He wasn't being held out for a trade, and he isn't injured, either. Forrest said that Joseph was out with an illness and is day-to-day.
• Cam Lee quarterbacked the top power play unit in Joseph's absence. The Penguins went 0-for-4 on the man advantage, but Forrest didn't make excuses for the power play, even with the top unit missing so many regular pieces.
"Other guys get opportunities," he said. "You just have to execute it and make some plays. That's why you're on the power play. We just didn't have that in our game tonight for whatever reason."
• Lagace started in his second game in as many days and made 20 saves on 21 shots.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Video highlights
• AHL scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics
THE THREE STARS
As selected at Giant Center
1. Aliaksei Protas Bears
2. Pheonix Copley, Bears
3. Max Lagace, Penguins
THE INJURIES
• Defenseman Jesper Lindgren left the first preseason game after sliding into the boards and underwent successful shoulder surgery. He's out for the rest of the season.
• Defenseman Zach Trotman left Saturday's game with a lower-body injury and is still being evaluated.
THE LINEUPS
Forrest’s lines and pairings:
Justin Almeida-Jordy Bellerive-Nick Schilkey
Tim Schaller-Chase Berger-Kyle Olson
Felix Robert-Jonathan Gruden-Jan Drozg
Luke Stevens-Zach Nastasiuk-Sam Miletic
Jon Lizotte-Will Reilly
Cam Lee-Billy Sweezey
Kevin Czuczman-Josh Maniscalco
And for Spencer Carbery's Bears:
Matt Moulson-Philippe Maillet-Brian Pinho
Axel Jonsson-Fjallby-Connor McMichael-Damien Riat
Joe Snively-Aliaksei Protas-Brett Leason
Kale Kessy--Riley Sutter-Shane Gersich
Martin Fehervary-Paul LaDue
Cameron Schilling-Reece Willcox
Eddie Wittchow-Rob O'Gara
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins will play the Phantoms on Friday at home.
THE CONTENT
Visit our team page for everything.