The Bears pushed the pace and created chances, but key moments and a hot goalie shifted the game as the Penguins pulled away late.

HERSHEY, Pa. — The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins eliminated the Hershey Bears from the AHL playoffs Thursday night, winning Game 4 by a score of 4-1 at home to take the series. The Bears, who needed a win to stay alive, could not solve goaltender Sergei Murashov down the stretch and fell short despite outshooting the Penguins 38-30.



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Murashov stopped 37 of 38 shots and was named the game’s third star. He was pulled briefly in the second period but returned and shut the door the rest of the way.

Wilkes-Barre took a 1-0 lead when Joona Koppanen scored just 75 seconds into the game. Hershey answered late in the first on a power play goal from Ivan Miroshnichenko at 19:54, assisted by Louie Belpedio and Andrew Cristall.

The turning point came early in the second period. Wilkes-Barre was shorthanded when Harrison Brunicke scored at 6:20, assisted by Gabe Klassen. That shorthanded goal, which proved to be the game-winner, came moments after an opportunity the Bears could not convert on the other end.

Bears head coach Derek King pointed to that sequence after the game.

“Sometimes they think they got to score on every shot they make,” King said of his young players. “The fact that he’s getting the opportunities, our guys are getting opportunities, sometimes you run into a hot goalie and you can’t… I told him after the game, like you guys had your chances, they just didn’t go in today, that’s all.”

Ville Koivunen made it 3-1 at 3:33 of the third period, and Klassen added an empty-net shorthanded goal at 19:29 to seal it. Wilkes-Barre scored two shorthanded goals on the night while going 0-for-4 on the power play. Hershey went 1-for-6 with the man advantage.

King, who finished his first season behind the Hershey bench, said he has no regrets about how he managed the series.

“I think we outplayed them for the most part,” he said. “No regrets.”

The Bears dealt with significant injuries all season, which gave younger players extended opportunities. King said that experience will pay off.

“They need to learn that every time they step on the ice, the game’s on the line,” he said. “It might be a twenty-second shift or a minute shift. It doesn’t matter when you’re out there, you have to think that way.”

King spoke warmly about veterans Aaron Ness and Matt Strome, both of whom had uncertain futures with the club. He called Ness “probably one of the best captains I’ve had to deal with” and said he would speak with him in the coming days.

“I’m excited for next year because I think these guys are good,” King said of the young players. “They have that taste now.”