ROCHESTER, N.Y. — It was a long 29 years, but the Hershey Bears finally got a postseason victory in Rochester, New York.
They hadn't won in the Flower City since April 1994.
On April 20, 1994, Mike McHugh scored the overtime winner in a 4-3 victory that saw Hershey sweep the Amerks in the Southern Division Semifinals.
Much of the credit for the win can be given to goaltender Hunter Shepard, who stopped 31 of 33 shots.
He was named the First Star of the Game by the FOX43 broadcast.
Shepard was pulled in game one of the series, but has responded with two straight stellar performances.
The game's third star as picked by the broadcast, Logan Day, credited Shepard for the victory.
"He's probably one of the best goalies I've ever played with," Day said after the game.
"It's fun to have him back there and you know that if you make a mistake, he's usually there and shuts the door," Day added.
Hershey weathered the Americans pressure and the raucous home crowd for the first 10 minutes of the game.
At nearly the 12 minute mark, Day put the Bears on the board with a rocket of a one-timer from near the blue line.
Day would add an assist on Hershey's next goal for a two point night.
He set up Sam Anas for a power play goal a little more than five minutes into the second period to make it 2-0.
Rochester's Zach Metsa answered back a few minutes later to make it 2-1.
Bears' forward Connor McMichael gave Hershey another two goal lead at 10:57 of the second period.
He went to the net and slammed the puck home after a power move by defenseman Lucas Johansen.
The Americans dictated the play for nearly half of the third period. The pressure paid off with a Sean Malone goal to make it 3-2.
Hershey went into shutdown mode for the rest of the game. Shepard made a few critical saves to keep the Bears in front.
Aliaksei Protas sealed the game with an empty netter with under 45 seconds to play.
The Bears and Amerks meet Monday at 6:00pm for game four of the seven game series.
The game will be televised by FOX43 and simulcast on NBC Sports Washington.
With the win Saturday, Hershey improves to 7-9 in Game 3s dating back to the 2013 postseason.
The Amerks outshot the Bears 33-25.
Hershey was 1-for-2 on the power play. Rochester went 0-for-2.
Rochester goaltender Malcolm Subban went 21-for-24 in the loss for the Americans.
Shepard is now second in the AHL postseason in wins with 8.
His 1.90 goals against average is best among goaltenders still in the playoffs.