With 26 standings points up for grabs in the last five weeks, the Hershey Bears sit 14 points back of the Charlotte Checkers for the final playoff spot.
Two consecutive 3-0 shutouts kept the Bears at two points from the weekend, coming in a win over the Syracuse Crunch.
Syracuse outshot the Bears 30-18 in the fixture at the War Memorial Arena, but Pheonix Copley made 29 saves to thwart the team in second place in the North Division.
No goals came in the first while Colby Williams and Alexander Volkov fought with a few seconds left in the period.