MINARD COMES UP BIG IN OT

GAME NIGHT AUDIO:
Todd Richards | Tim Brent & Chris Minard

HERSHEY, PA – The playoffs are a time to suck it  up, step up and perform.  And Chris Minard stuck to that formula perfectly on Wednesday night.

The Penguins’ leading goal scorer during the regular season, Minard blasted a puck past goaltender Frederic Cassivi 4:52 into overtime to lead the Penguins to a 2-1 win against the Hershey Bears in Game One of the East Division Semifinals at the Giant Center.  Games Two and Three take place in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday and Sunday.

The fact that Minard was even on the ice for the extra session was remarkable.  He tumbled into the boards with less than five minutes to go in regulation, and skated off the ice in obvious pain, clutching his shoulder as he headed down the runway to the Penguins’ locker room.

“I was a little worried when he left the ice there in the third period…My first thought was we were going to lose him for the series,” said head coach Todd Richards.  “From what I understand he pinched a nerve in his shoulder.  They worked on it a little bit getting ready for the overtime.

“That’s what playoff hockey is.  It’s playing hurt, it’s playing through certain things.  It’s a lot of time doing things that you probably normally haven’t done through an 80 game season.”

You would have never guessed Minard was shaken up by the way he fired the winning shot.  His one-timer off a feed from Tim Brent caught a piece of Cassivi, but found its way into the Bears net, giving the Penguins their first ever playoff victory at the Giant Center.  They had dropped all five previous postseason contest played in the building.

Brent took advantage of a dropped stick by Hershey defender Sami Lepisto, sending the feed past his skates to Minard on the far side of the ice.

“I’m really not sure how he lost his stick, but I recognized it on the half wall, and it’s a much easier play to put it by his feet when he’s got no stick, into an area where Minny could shoot it,” said Brent.  “I don’t know if Freddie was ready for it, but Minny got it away so quick.”

“Brenter stole a puck off a guy off the wall and made a good play,” Minard said.  “I knew he was going to pass it to me.  I just saw him look over his shoulder, and it was right on my tape.”

The late-game heroics overshadowed an outstanding goaltending duel, which pitted rookie John Curry against the ageless wonder Cassivi.  Curry was making his professional postseason debut, while the Hershey backstopped stepped between the pipes for his 79th AHL playoff contest.

But on this occasion, it was youth that beat out experience.

“Our guy stood on his head all night and gave us a chance to win,” said Minard.  “He’s probably the reason we won tonight.”

To be fair, both goalies turned in valiant efforts in the series opener, which featured no shortage of quality saves from each.

Curry smothered a Shawn Collymore shot from six feet away with eight and a half minutes to go in the first, then saw Cassivi stop Nick Johnson’s backhander from close range just one minute later.

The second period saw more of the same.

Hershey threatened to score late in the second period when Ryan Stone was called for goaltender interference.  A shot from the left circle deflected off of a sliding Alain Nasreddine, and could have easily fluttered into the visitor’s net had it not been for an alert Curry, who gave a two-handed swat that sent the puck wide.

Cassivi robbed Kurtis McLean from the slot with 47 seconds left in the period, before Curry corralled an Alexandre Giroux attempt with 12 seconds left in the frame to keep the game scoreless through 40 minutes.

Connor James finally erased the Bears’ shutout by poking home a cross-ice feed from Nathan Smith just 17 seconds into the third period.

The 1-0 advantage held until midway through the third, when Chris Bourque picked up a rebound at the top of the Penguins crease and chipped in his first of the postseason to tie the score.

“That’s just usually the way it happens with momentum.  As soon as you go up in the third and they have their backs against the wall, the other team tends to turn it up,” commented Curry.  “They were coming hard all night, crashing the net and they were rewarded for it.  But guys hung tight, we responded really good.”

The Penguins spent much of the next six minutes playing in their own end, fending off a sustained Hershey attack, before getting a chance to end the game in regulation with 1:30 to play.

McLean found himself all alone in the neutral zone with a lead pass, but had to turn to keep an approaching defender at his back.  His feed to a streaking Alex Goligoski just hopped over the defenseman’s stick, keeping him from hitting a virtually empty net and ensuring overtime.

“It’s a big win, and that’s all that matters,” said Minard.  “We’re up 1-0, we’ve just got to stay even keeled now and get ready for Game Two.”

NOTES:  The game was the 26th overtime contest in postseason history for the Penguins, who upped their record in OT games to 16-10, and 10-6 on the road…The win snuffed a seven-game Game One losing streak for the Penguins.  Their last victory in the opening round of a postseason series came on May 18, 2004 against the Hartford WolfPack, 3-1…The Penguins are now 7-10 in Game Ones, 3-6 in road Game Ones.