The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have won a playoff series for the first time since the 2016 season.
Head coach J.D. Forrest said it "wasn't exactly how we drew up the ending there."
After splitting the first two games of the best-of-three first-round series, Wilkes-Barre hosted the Hershey Bears for a decisive Game 3 on Monday night.
After Hershey scored the game's opening goal in the first period, the Penguins evened the score with a goal from veteran defenseman Matt Bartkowski, then took a 3-1 lead in the third period with goals from Radim Zohorna and Sam Poulin.
But with the goaltender pulled in favor of the extra attacker late in the period, the Bears roared back.
Hershey scored two 6-on-5 goals in the last 1:35 of regulation to tie the game and force overtime.
Alex Nylander was the hero at the 8:22 mark, a shot from the left circle that was set up by Zohorna and P.O Joseph:
Bar down.
"I saw that the D wasn't gapping up on me when I got the puck from (Zohorna)," Nylander recalled of the goal. "So I thought I was just going to take it in, actually fake go in, and keep going in the middle. But after I made my move, I thought I should just shoot it and it was awesome. It was really nice that it went in and it was a huge win for us. It's unbelievable to be ready here for a second round."
Forrest said that he knew Hershey would be a "tough team to put away."
"They battled back at the end with those empty net goals," Forrest said. "But our team has been through so much this year. I mean, I wasn't really nervous, it would have been nice to finish them in regulation, but I knew we'd bounce back, we've got that scar tissue built up. Of course, jubilation in the locker room, I couldn't be happier for the guys. It was a hell a win. A really high-character win."
The Hershey/Wilkes-Barre/Scranton rivalry has been a natural one ever since the Penguins joined the AHL in 1999. This was the eighth playoff series all-time between the in-state rivals, with each team now with four series wins apiece. During this regular season, Hershey was a team that gave Wilkes-Barre trouble early on. The two teams faced off 12 times in the regular season, and Hershey came away with the win in the first seven. Wilkes-Barre had the edge as the season went on, going 4-1 in the final five games.
Forrest did admit to another element of satisfaction in ending Hershey's season, given both the rivalry between the teams and the trouble Hershey gave Wilkes-Barre earlier in the year.
"I mean, it's a historic rivalry here," Forrest said. "You know, they had our number there earlier in the season for a long stretch. So to finish off this way, yeah, it's a bit of a nice way to cap off a series against a team like that."
Zohorna was the Penguins' leading scorer in the first round, recording two goals and three assists in three games. The Penguins also got goals from Nylander (2), Poulin (1), Bartkowski (1), Felix Robert (1) and Will Reilly (1). Tommy Nappier -- the undisputed No. 1 goaltender with both Louis Domingue and Alex D'Orio still in Pittsburgh -- started all three games. Nappier stopped a combined 87 of 92 shots faced for a 1.60 goals-against average, a .946 save percentage and one shutout.
Wilkes-Barre will face the No. 2 seed Springfield Thunderbirds in the best-of-five second round, a series that gets underway on Wednesday. The Penguins had success against the Thunderbirds in the regular season, going 4-1-0-1 in six meetings. They were tight matchups, though, with four of the six games being decided by one goal.
The Thunderbirds, AHL affiliate of the St. Louis Blues, will be coming into the series rested, having not played since April 29 after receiving a first-round bye.
"They were one of the top teams in the division all season," Forrest said of Springfield. "They're fast, they're hard-working, they've got some good veteran leadership over there. It's going to be a challenge for us."
Game 1: Wednesday, May 11 – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton @ Springfield, 7:05 p.m.
Game 2: Thursday, May 12 – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton @ Springfield, 7:05 p.m.
Game 3: Sunday, May 15 – Springfield @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 5:05 p.m.
Game 4*: Monnday, May 16 – Springfield @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 7:05 p.m.
Game 5*: Wednesday, May 18 – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton @ Springfield, 7:05 p.m.
*if needed