April 10, 2010
The 2009-10 HERSHEY BEARS will take one more curtain call Saturday night, concluding the most successful regular season in AHL history in Norfolk against the Admirals. Face-off is at 7:15 p.m.
HERSHEY won its 60th game of the season Friday night in Hampton Roads, all but crushing Norfolk’s playoff hopes in a 6-1 victory. Alexandre Giroux scored three goals and was named the game’s number one star to stand one goal short of 50 on the season. Ashton Rome, Andrew Joudrey and Andrew Gordon all scored single goals to help lead the BEARS to the rout of the Admirals. Goaltender Braden Holtby, in what is expected to be his final start of the regular season , earned the win in net.
Even as the BEARS play in Game 80 on Saturday night, the team does not yet know who will provide the opposition in the 2010 East Division Semi-Finals, set to begin Wednesday night at
Giant Center. The Bridgeport Sound Tigers and Lowell Devils each have 84 points as a potential Atlantic Division crossover team, two more than Norfolk. The Admirals are currently the fourth place team in the East, but must win Saturday against Hershey and hope the Tigers or Devils stumble.
HERSHEY hopes for one more significant bit of AHL history Saturday night. The BEARS stand one point short of the 1992-93 Binghamton Rangers for the most standings points ever accumulated by an AHL club. Heading into Saturday night’s action, HERSHEY has 123 points this season, and the Rangers had 124 points 17 years ago.
Saturday’s game can be heard via the BEARS Radio Network (100.1 FM and www.Sportsjuice.com) beginning at 6:55 p.m. John Walton has the call of the action from downtown Norfolk.
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