The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are moving on after a decisive 4-1 victory over the Hershey Bears, punching their ticket to the Atlantic Division Finals. They'll now face the Springfield Thunderbirds in what promises to be an electrifying series.

The Penguins came out flying, scoring on their very first shot of the game. Tanner Howe forced a turnover from Hershey's David Gucciardi in prime scoring territory, setting up alternate captain Joona Koppanen for a slot-shot goal just 1:15 into the first period. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton dominated the early going, outshooting the Bears 11-3 over the next 11 minutes. But Hershey fought back, and a Penguins misstep led to a power play that forward Ivan Mioshnichenko capitalized on with just five seconds left before intermission, tying the game 1-1.

The second period saw Hershey on the power play again at the 5:01 mark, but the Penguins turned defense into offense. Defenseman Harrison Brunicke scored a shorthanded goal to put Wilkes-Barre/Scranton ahead 2-1, a momentum swing that proved crucial.

In the third period, Hershey controlled the early action, firing the first three shots and five of the first six. But the Penguins struck back when forward Ville Koivunen forced a turnover in the Bears' end. The puck quickly moved the other way, and a crisp 3-on-1 rush involving forwards Mikhail Ilyin and AHL All-Star Tristan Broz resulted in another goal. The Bears outshot Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 14-8 in the final frame, but their power play struggled mightily: nine of those 14 shots came across four unsuccessful man-advantage opportunities, and they even surrendered another shorthanded goal to seal the 4-1 final.

Penguins goaltender and AHL All-Star Sergei Murashov was outstanding, stopping 37 of 38 shots for a .974 save percentage. On the other end, Hershey's Clay Stevenson made 26 saves on 29 shots, finishing with an .897 save percentage.