Another comeback, another win.
The prize? A berth in the Calder Cup playoffs.
The Hershey Bears are headed back to the postseason for the third straight season, nailing down a berth as the East Division's fourth seed with a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phantoms Saturday night.
Hershey rallied from a two-goal deficit and got the game-winner from Jason Morgan early in the second period of a game that was testy throughout and finally blew up into a brawl in the third.
The Bears, who played in the Calder Cup finals the last two seasons, will play the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the first round, beginning Wednesday (7 p.m.) at the Giant Center. Games 2 and 3 will be played in Wilkes-Barre.
The Phantoms' loss to Hershey nailed down the division title for the Penguins.
Hershey headed into Saturday's game knowing they needed just one point — or a Bridgeport loss — to secure a playoff spot. With six minutes remaining in the game, the 9,714 at Giant Center were informed of Bridgeport's loss.
By that time, however, the Bears had not one but two standings points well in hand with a three-goal lead.
"It's been like a cloud hanging over us, trying to get into the playoffs,'' said Hershey coach Bob Woods. "Now, maybe I can sleep at night.''
Nothing seemed assured at the game's start. The Phantoms got early first-period goals from Andreas Nodl and Kyle Greentree to take a 2-0 lead. Making it harder to take for Hershey was the fact that Philadelphia curiously scratched three of its top five scorers.
The Phantoms entered the game with a chance to finish first in the division. Sure, they needed help from the Penguins to do it but the lineup deletions seemed to indicate they were conceding.
Hershey, however, recovered from an early funk and a hit by Chris Bourque on the Phantoms' Frederik Cabana was the spark.
"That turned the tide and got us rolling,'' Woods said.
Andrew Gordon started the comeback when he intercepted a pass by Phantoms goalie Martin Houle and rifled the puck into the net before Houle could get back into position.
When Triston Grant was whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct on top of Pete Zingoni's penalty for high-sticking, the Bears had a 5-on-3 power play.
All Hershey needed was nine seconds of the two-man advantage to tie the game at 2-2. Kyle Wilson made a perfect cross-crease pass to Gordon who scored on a one-timer for his second goal of the game.
The Bears took the lead for good early in the second period when Morgan kept the puck on a 3-on-1 break and blasted it past Houle.
"I made up my mind to shoot early,'' Morgan said. "I leaned into it and it worked.''
Ryan Flinn gave the Bears a 4-2 lead later in the period, whacking in a rebound after Houle had made an initial save on Steve Pinizzotto's shot.
Jay Beagle made it 5-2 early in the third but fireworks followed. Hershey goalie Daren Machesney got his stick up on Jesse Boulerice and Boulerice, with a history of on-ice altercations, punched Machesney in the head.
A couple of Bears went after Boulerice and then all 10 skaters were engaged in one corner of the rink. When Machesney recovered from the hit, he joined the fray and counterpart Houle skated the length of the ice to seek out Machesney.
The end result? 126 minutes in penalties (the game totaled 172) and seven ejections.
"I didn't know it was [Boulerice],'' Machesney said. "If I did [knowing his history], maybe I would have [hit] a different guy. He clocked me pretty good. After that, I headed for the pile.''
The Bears, however, are headed for the playoffs.
"We're coming together as a team,'' Morgan said.
Notes: The complete first-round schedule: Game 1: WB/S at Hershey, 7 p.m. Wednesday; Game 2: Hershey at WB/S, 7:05 p.m. Saturday; Game 3: Hershey at WB/S, 5:05 p.m. Sunday; Game 4: WB/S at Hershey, 7 p.m. April 23; Game 5 (if necessary) Hershey at WB/S, 7:05 p.m. April 25; Game 6: (if necessary) WB/S at Hershey, 7 p.m. April 26; Game 7: (if necessary) Hershey at WB/S, 7:05 p.m. April 27.