The fisticuffs, which were largely responsible for 223 minutes in penalties, drew everyone's attention Sunday night at the Giant Center.

But when the scoreboard read 0:00 at the end of the third period, the Bears picked up two desperately needed points with a 5-0 victory over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to keep their hopes alive for post-season hockey.

Five different Bears scored goals and Hershey goaltender Phil Sauve stopped all 21 shots he faced as the Bears won for just the second time in their last seven games.

Hershey, however, is just one point out of the playoff mix. The Bears need to finish among the top five teams in the East Division. Four teams, including the Bears and Penguins, are jockeying for the final three playoff slots. Only two points separate the four vying teams in the East.

So, fights aside, grabbing points is the name of the game as the regular season dwindles. The Bears have nine games left in the season and six of their next seven are on the road.

"Everybody knew how big a game it was and we responded," said Hershey tough guy Dennis Bonvie, who completed the fabled Gordie Howe hat trick: a goal, an assist and a fight. "It's great to see. We grinded and stuck to the game plan."

We'll never know if Bonvie's bout with David Koci just 10 seconds into the game was part of the game plan. Hershey's Cody McCormick paired off with Ross Lupuschuk five seconds later.

"We just wanted to set the tone," McCormick said. "I don't go out there to fight. But I'm not going to back down and if we can get the momentum going right off the bat, I know it will help."

The Bears outshot the Pens 15-4 in the first period but came away with no goals, thanks to WBS goalie Andy Chiodo who made several big saves among his 39 for the game.

Hershey's Shane Willis solved Chiodo first, scoring on a backhand shot while the Bears were on the power play early in the second period. McCormick then gave the Bears a 2-0 lead, converting a pass from Bonvie.

The Pens reeled off six straight shots midway through the second period but couldn't get anything past Sauve. The goalie was helped greatly by Hershey's defense, which efficiently cleared each rebound.

The Bears put a strangehold on the game early in the third with a goal by Sheldon Keefe, who had a three-point game.

"For the first time in a while we put together three solid periods," Keefe said. "We played a solid team game and kept things pretty simple."

Steve Brule made it 4-0 with his team-leading 27th goal of the season and Bonvie beat Chiodo with a rebound to finish the scoring.

But the game was far from over. In the final 3:18, there were six fights. At one point, the goalies came together and tangled but didn't really fight. Also, a water bottle was thrown from the Penguins bench into the stands. After the game, no one was sure who tossed the bottle or whether the water missile was provoked.

"There's no room for that," said Hershey coach Paul Fixter. "There are kids at the game. It's too good of a game for stuff like that."

What made Sunday's late-game antics all the more interesting is that the teams meet Friday in Wilkes-Barre.

"As for the necessity (of the fights), probably none," said Bonvie, the AHL's career leader in penalty minutes. "That stuff happens, emotions run high. Both teams are trying to prove a point. The main thing is nobody gets hurt and you move on to the next game."

Fixter chose, for the most part, to focus on the much-needed victory.

"That's where I want the focus to be," he said. "I was very pleased with the effort we had and the way we responded. We know the situation we're in. We have to win hockey games."

Notes: Hershey's shutout was its ninth of the season, tying a franchise record set during the 1996-97 season.... The Bears were 3-for-9 on the power play while WBS was 0-for-3.... WBS was called for 33 penalties for 117 minutes. Hershey was 29 for 106.... Despite the Bears' win, the Pens lead the season series 4-2-1-2.

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