The Hershey Bears scored two quick goals midway through the third period, propelling them to a 5-1 victory over Charlotte on Saturday and a 2-0 lead in the teams’ best-of-five division semifinal series.
The series concludes in Hershey, beginning with Game 3 on Wednesday.
The Checkers cut the Bears’ lead to 2-1 with 10:45 left in regulation, but Connor McMichael restored the two-goal cushion 35 seconds later and Sam Anas made it 4-1 just 23 seconds after that.
Garrett Pilon and Joe Snively each tallied a goal and two assists for Hershey, and Aliaksei Protas added a pair of helpers.
Hunter Shepard (2-0) made 19 saves for the Bears.
Ryan McAllister scored Charlotte’s only goal in Game 2. J.F. Berube (1-1) stopped 11 of 15 shots in net.
Atlantic Division Semifinals (best-of-5)
A2-Hershey Bears vs. A3-Charlotte Checkers
Game 1 – Fri., Apr. 28 – Hershey 5, CHARLOTTE 2 | Recap
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 29 – Hershey 5, CHARLOTTE 1
Game 3 – Wed., May 3 – Charlotte at Hershey, 7:00
*Game 4 – Thu., May 4 – Charlotte at Hershey, 7:00
*Game 5 – Sun., May 7 – Charlotte at Hershey, 5:00
*if necessary… All times Eastern