Riley Sutter, Ethen Frank and more Capitals prsopects helped Hershey to its first win of the Calder Cup Finals.
The Washington Capitals saw their prospects and rising stars step up to the plate on Tuesday to help the Hershey Bears to a much-needed Game 3 win over the Coachella Valley Thunderbirds -- but it didn't come easy.
Riley Sutter, the Capitals' 2018 third-round pick, scored the OT winner after the Bears surrendered two late goals to Cameron Hughes in the third after jumping out to a 4-2 lead. Mason Morelli and Beck Malenstyn assisted on the OT winner.
Joe Snively and Ethen Frank had multipoint games along with Garrett Pilon, Sam Anas and Logan Day, while Connor McMichael Malenstyn also shined en route to the 5-4 victory.
Frank, who has seen his fair share of scratches these playoffs amid struggles following an All-Star regular season that earned him an NHL contract with D.C., opened the scoring for Hershey, but Coachella Valley tied it up to close out the first.
In the second, Snively scored his second of the postseason while falling in front to give his team the lead, with McMichael nabbing one of the helpers. Then, Anas struck to give the Bears a two-goal lead, with Frank assisting for his second point of the night.
While the Firebirds managed to pull within one, Pilon responded shortly after to make it a 4-2 game. Hughes tied it late, but Sutter struck on a rebound after a high-pressure shift from the fourth line to secure the win.
It was a much-needed victory for the Bears, who went down 2-0 in the series after being blanked in the first two games -- 5-0 and 4-0 of the Calder Cup Finals back in Southern California.
Hershey now trails the series 2-1 and will play the next two games at home at Giant Center. The club can even things up on Thursday.