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HERSHEY — There was a solemn look on the faces of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton players as they filed out of the locker room after Sunday’s Game 7 against Hershey.
A loss in overtime will do that.
But there was also a sense of pride when they spoke, knowing they gave it all they had in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Bears.
“I was really proud of my teammates. Every guy showed up,” said captain Tom Kostopoulos, who may have played in his final game. “I almost expected it to go into overtime.”
The Penguins put everything on the line right from the start. Tom Sestito and Hershey’s Liam O’Brien renewed their rivalry with a fight off the opening faceoff.
Sestito connected with his first punch and sent O’Brien to the ice, but it was the Bears who sent the Penguins into a deficit less than two minutes later. Casey DeSmith went behind the net and tried to sweep the puck around to Ryan Parent in the corner, only to have it intercepted by Dustin Gazley, who skated out in front and put it in the open net for a 1-0 lead.
The Penguins answered with a power-play goal later in the period after Justin Peters made a save on Dustin Jeffrey’s shot, but couldn’t clear the rebound and Mattias Plachta crashed the crease to push the puck in to even things up, 1-1.
The Penguins controlled the first half of the second period and outshot Hershey 11-5 in the frame, but the Bears gained a 2-1 lead when Carter Camper stickhandled into the slot and beat DeSmith in close.
Hershey was limited to only four shots in the third period and the Penguins tied it up in the process. Near the four minute mark, Jeffrey ripped a shot that hit one post and then stopped at the other on the line. Kael Mouillierat swooped in to poke the puck in the net to tie things up, 2-2.
“This team has been resilient all year,” head coach Clark Donatelli said. “We push back and don’t give up.”
The Penguins kept the pressure up, and Jake Guentzel came close on a breakaway that Peters stopped and again with 30 seconds remaining when he shot just wide of an open net.
It’s a play that Guentzel will be replaying in his mind.
“I thought I had a chance to score that one right there,” he said. “I’ll re-live that one for a little bit.”
In overtime, the Penguins continued to press abut found themselves hemmed in their own zone by the midway point. Donatelli called a timeout to rest his players, but on the ensuing shift Hershey’s Travis Boyd shot the puck from the corner and put it over DeSmith for the win.
“I’d like to have that one back,” DeSmith said. “The guys deserved better than what they got.”
Kostopoulos said he wasn’t surprised it took overtime to decide the final game of the series.
“We almost expected it with the way things have gone between us and Hershey,” Kostopoulos said. “They got us pinned in our end. We were tired. We just couldn’t get it out.
“It was great playoff hockey.”
Donatelli, who took over the head coaching position during the Christmas break, didn’t fault any of his players for the outcome and instead credited them for overcoming a season that saw the team depleted by call-ups and endure three coaching changes.
And it seemed fitting that the season concluded with a grueling seven-game series against long-time rival Hershey.
“I’m happy with the way we played. Not happy with the result but I thought our guys gave a great effort,” Donatelli said. “You’re playing your archrival in Game 7 in overtime. I truly loved our effort.”
When asked if Sunday marked his last game after 17 seasons, Kostopoulos said that’s something he’ll have to talk over with his wife.
“For now I’m happy with the way all my teammates competed. It was a lot of fun to play with them,” he said. “I think we gave it all we had.”
