November 25, 2009
HERSHEY kicks off a busy Thanksgiving week Wednesday night as the Providence Bruins come to call. Face-off is at 7:00 p.m.
HERSHEY did not trail at any point in regulation or sudden death overtime Saturday, and did gain a standings point against Springfield, but lost in a shootout 3-2 against the Falcons here at
Giant Center. The game marked only the second time this season that HERSHEY played into overtime, and the first time that the Chocolate and White advanced to play in a shootout in 2009-10.
The BEARS will be through the first quarter of the 2009-10 season after Wednesday’s game against Providence. Heading into the one-quarter mark, the BEARS have scored the second most goals of any team in the AHL (67), and are tied for first in the league in goals against (40). HERSHEY also enters play Wednesday with the second best penalty kill out of 29 teams, killing off opposition power plays an astounding 93 percent of the time. The BEARS have a six-point lead over second place Norfolk/Binghamton entering play against the Bruins, with games in hand against both the Admirals and Senators.
Washington assigned defenseman John Carlson and right wing Andrew Gordon to HERSHEY on Tuesday, and recalled defenseman Karl Alzner Wednesday morning to D.C. Carlson made his NHL debut this past Friday against the Montreal Canadiens, in a game that Michal Neuvirth started in goal for Washington. The Bears also announced Wednesday that forward Rick Cleaver has been released from his player tryout contract and has returned to Kalamazoo (ECHL).
Providence begins the night in eighth place in the Atlantic Division, but only eight points behind the first place Lowell Devils. Right wing Mikko Lehtonen and defenseman Andy Wozniewski leads the P-Bruins in scoring with 20 points apiece. Providence has struggled on the road this season, winning just twice in eight games.
Left wing Grant McNeill is poised to make his return to the HERSHEY lineup after a full recovery from ACL surgery this past spring. McNeill last played on May 8 in Game 4 of the East Division Finals against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, a game in which he scored a goal. McNeill was set to make his return last week when the flu bug felled him. He is available to play Wednesday after more than six months since his last game.
A busy week for many AHL teams gets underway Wednesday, with Lake Erie skating at Toronto against the Marlies at Ricoh Coliseum. Syracuse is at Albany Wednesday, while Manchester is at Bridgeport, Hartford travels to Lowell to face the first-place Devils at Tsongas Arena, and Worcester plays at Springfield. Elsewhere, Norfolk wraps up a two-week road trip in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton against the Penguins, Houston is at Hamilton to play the Bulldogs, Grand Rapids invades Chicago, Abbotsford is at Peoria, Manitoba plays at Rockford and Milwaukee is at Texas to face the West Division leading Stars.
Wednesday’s game can be heard via the BEARS Radio Network (100.1 FM and www.Sportsjuice.com) beginning at 6:45 p.m. John Walton, Ed Coffey and Jim Jones have the call of the action from
Giant Center.
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