BEARS BACK HOME SATURDAY WITH BABY PENS

March 5, 2010

HERSHEY returns home Saturday to kick off a two-game weekend, hosting the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at 7:00 p.m. Alexandre Giroux scored his 31st and 32nd goals of the season to lead the BEARS to a 6-3 win over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers Tuesday at the Arena at Harbor Yard. The win enabled the Chocolate and White to a two-game season sweep of the Sound Tigers, with Tuesday’s win coupled with a 9-2 victory last Saturday at Giant Center. The win was HERSHEY’S 47th win of the season, collecting points number 95 and 96. Steve Pinizzotto collected his 10th goal of the season Tuesday night, and goaltender Michal Neuvirth won his 12th game of the season for the BEARS. The BEARS have already set an American Hockey League record for longest home winning streak at 21 in a row. HERSHEY is one win short of tying the 1965-66 Muskegon Mohawks (International Hockey League) for the longest home winning streak in pro hockey history. The longest home winning streak in the NHL is 20 games, set by the 1929-30 Boston Bruins and tied by the 1975-76 Philadelphia Flyers. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton lost forward Luca Caputi at the NHL trade deadline, as Pittsburgh traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a deal that brought Alexei Ponikarovsky to western PA. Caputi was second on the club in scoring at the time of the trade. The Baby Pens are in a dogfight for the final playoff spot in the East Division, with the threat of an Atlantic Division crossover looming. Dustin Jeffrey leads the team in scoring with 19 goals and 57 points. Goaltender John Curry leads the team in appearances with 39, although Brad Thiessen has played the last two games against the BEARS. 14 games appear on the AHL docket Saturday, with Rochester playing at Toronto, Binghamton at Adirondack, and Providence at Bridgeport leading off the day. Manitoba is on the road at Grand Rapids, Hartford is at Hamilton to play the Western Conference leaders at Copps Coliseum, and Lowell skates at Springfield. The Albany River Rats play for the second straight in Norfolk against the Admirals in a game with large East Division ramifications Saturday, while Portland is at Syracuse, Milwaukee is at Chicago at Allstate Arena, Lake Erie is at Peoria, and Rockford is at San Antonio. Houston is at Texas to play the Stars in Austin and Worcester is out west in Abbotsford to face the Heat. Abbotsford has surged to second place in the AHL’s West Division. Saturday’s game can be heard via the BEARS Radio Network (100.1 FM and www.Sportsjuice.com) beginning at 6:40 p.m. John Walton, Ed Coffey and Jim Jones have the call of the action from Giant Center.