Overview
- Wilkes‑Barre/Scranton, which won 4-3 in overtime Tuesday at Giant Center, leads the best‑of‑five Atlantic Division semifinal 2-1.
- A 2-0 Penguins start gave way to a Bears surge for a 3-2 edge before Avery Hayes tied it with 2:53 left on a 6‑on‑5 after Sergei Murashov was pulled.
- Rutger McGroarty ended it 5:03 into OT on a deflection that left players looking for confirmation as the puck hit the back bar and kicked out fast.
- In‑arena replays looked murky—one angle was blocked by the goalie’s bottle—and officials did not review, while an AHL overhead clip posted later showed the puck clearly crossed, prompting fans to throw debris and linger in protest.
- Hershey’s coach and players argued a Penguins slash knocked Ilya Protas’s stick away before the tying goal, and the Bears now must win Game 4 on Thursday to extend the series.