Press Release Details
CLASSIC PREVIEW: PENGUINS at BEARS
01/20/2013 -
TONIGHT’S GAME NOTES
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON PENGUINS at HERSHEY BEARS
Sunday, January 20, 2013 - 5:00 PM
HERSHEYPARK Stadium
REFEREES: Chris Ciamaga (#24) & Chris Brown (#86)
LINESMEN: Bob Goodman (#90) & Scott Pomento (#25)
AN INSTANT CLASSIC…: After months upon months of preparation, the HERSHEY BEARS finally get to take the game outside and face off against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the Capital BlueCross AHL Outdoor Classic. Tonight is the ninth of 12 regular-season meetings between the clubs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is the top AHL developmental affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Capital BlueCross AHL Outdoor Classic will mark the second consecutive outdoor game in which the BEARS will play. HERSHEY played in the culmination of the NHL’s Winter Classic week-long celebration in Philadelphia last January 6 against the Adirondack Phantoms. Tonight’s game is also the fifth outdoor game in American Hockey League history, following successful games in Syracuse (2010 – New York State Fairgrounds), Hartford (2011 – Rentschler Field), Philadelphia (2012 – Citizens Bank Park) and Hamilton (2012 – Ivor Wynne Stadium).
…BUT A BIG TWO POINTS: The two teams will play their 145th-time meeting tonight, with the BEARS holding the edge at 72-61-11 (W – L/OTL – T/SOL). HERSHEY posted a record of 5-5-1-1 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season.
THE LAST TIME: The BEARS and Penguins met nine days ago in northeastern Pennsylvania. After dropping six of the first seven games of the series, the Penguins finally figured out a way to win, and it came down to goaltending. Brad Thiessen made 23 saves, the Penguins penalty kill went 4-for-4 and Brian Dumoulin netted a power-play goal for the only tally past Dany Sabourin in a 1-0 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton victory. Sabourin ended the night with 20 saves.
2012-13 SEASON SERIES (6-2-0-0):
|
Sun. October 28, 2012 |
W-B/SCRANTON |
GIANTCenter |
3-2 W |
|
Fri. November 9, 2012 |
@W-B/Scranton |
Mohegan Sun Arena |
3-1 W |
|
Sat. November 17, 2012 |
W-B/SCRANTON |
GIANTCenter |
4-1 W |
|
Wed. November 21, 2012 |
W-B/SCRANTON |
GIANTCenter |
0-4 L |
|
Fri. December 7, 2012 |
@W-B/Scranton |
Mohegan Sun Arena |
5-4 W (OT) |
|
Wed. December 26, 2012 |
W-B/SCRANTON |
GIANTCenter |
2-0 W |
|
Thu. December 27, 2012 |
@W-B/Scranton |
Mohegan Sun Arena |
4-1 W |
|
Fri. January 11, 2013 |
@W-B/Scranton |
Mohegan Sun Arena |
0-1 L |
|
Sun. January 20, 2013 |
W-B/SCRANTON |
HERSHEYPARK Stadium |
|
|
Sun. February 3, 2013 |
W-B/SCRANTON |
GIANTCenter |
|
|
Fri. March 1, 2013 |
@W-B/Scranton |
Mohegan Sun Arena |
|
|
Sun. April 7, 2013 |
@W-B/Scranton |
Mohegan Sun Arena |
|
RECENT RECAPS: Newly-named All-Star Mike Sgarbossa and veteran forward Bill Thomas each registered a goal and two assists to pace the Lake Erie Monsters in a 3-2 win over the HERSHEY BEARS on Friday night at GIANT Center. The BEARS would strike first, getting a power play goal from Boyd Kane – his second consecutive game with a lead-off goal on a man advantage – to take a 1-0 lead at 12:39 of the first period. But off of the ensuing faceoff, the Monsters peeled back at their blue line and instantly took off on an odd-man rush that was started by Sgarbossa. He fed the slot for a driving Thomas and the Monsters tied the game just 15 seconds after falling behind. The BEARS would then get into serious penalty trouble, as Lake Erie was handed six consecutive power plays, three of which were lengthy two-man advantages. On the first of the three, the Monsters capitalized to take a 2-1 lead. With Thomas partially interfering with Philipp Grubauer, Lake Erie worked the puck to the right circle where Agozzino had an open net into which he deposited the go-ahead goal. The BEARS escaped with just a one-goal deficit heading into the third period. But it was another penalty parade by the BEARS that gave the Monsters an insurance power-play goal. Sgarbossa banked a shot off of the glove of Grubauer 2:32 into the third, extending Lake Erie’s lead to 3-1. After the BEARS finally pulled back to full strength, their power play earned two more chances late. With Grubauer off for a sixth attacker and with Gabriel Beaupre in the box for holding, Jeff Taffe buried a one-time pass from Jon DiSalvatore at 17:09 to pull the hosts within one. Grubauer would go to the bench once again in the final 38 seconds, but the Monsters held on for the win.
After losing 13 of 15 games, the Penguins are now winners of three consecutive games, courtesy of a 4-2 victory over the Norfolk Admirals on Tuesday at Norfolk Scope. Brad Thiessen, in the net for all three of the wins, needed to make just 11 saves in the game for the victory. Nick Schaus gave the Admirals a 1-0 lead which Norfolk held at the first intermission. Riley Holzapfel’s power play goal in the second period then tied the game for the Penguins, and Paul Thompson’s tally early in the third gave the Penguins their first lead of the game. Josh Brittain tied the game at 14:46, but Alex Grant delivered the game-winner with a power play goal with 2:50 left to play. Brian Gibbons hit the empty net with under 28 seconds left to play to seal the win.
EAST DIVISION STANDINGS (as of January 20):
|
POS |
TEAM |
GP |
W |
L |
OTL |
SOL |
PTS |
WIN% |
GF |
GA |
|
1. |
Binghamton |
38 |
25 |
9 |
1 |
3 |
54 |
.711 |
124 |
93 |
|
2. |
Syracuse |
39 |
24 |
10 |
2 |
3 |
53 |
.679 |
134 |
108 |
|
3. |
HERSHEY |
40 |
20 |
18 |
1 |
1 |
42 |
.525 |
105 |
97 |
|
4. |
W-B/Scranton |
38 |
18 |
17 |
2 |
1 |
39 |
.513 |
91 |
96 |
|
5. |
Norfolk |
38 |
15 |
20 |
2 |
1 |
33 |
.434 |
92 |
114 |
HEAD TO HEAD: BEARS forwards Zach Hamill and Jeff Taffe each have registered two goals and four assists in the season series to date, to lead the head-to-head scoring. The two forwards are a combined plus-six as well. Garrett Mitchell, Boyd Kane and Mathieu Beaudoin have all recorded five points and are a combined plus-14 against the Penguins. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Benn Ferriero has registered (2-3-5) to lead the hosts’ squad.
DESTROYING THE SAVE PERCENTAGE: In the eight games played against the Penguins, the BEARS are averaging just 20.1 shots on goal per game – but are outscoring the Penguins 21-14 in winning six of the eight meetings.
IT’S BEEN UP TO THE GOALIES: Both of the BEARS’ losses to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton have been shutouts (0-4 L, 11/21 and 0-1 L, 1/11).
GAME-WINNERS: In the last four wins recorded by the BEARS against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, two have come from defensemen (Kevin Marshall, Steve Oleksy). Forward Garrett Mitchell has the other two.
TOMAS THE ALL-STAR: Defenseman Tomas Kundratek, who was named to the Eastern Conference All-Star Squad on Thursday, is riding a four-game point streak (1-4-5). He has recorded three goals and four assists in eight January games, and ranks second among active AHL defensemen in scoring (12-13-25).
TAFFE AT THE TOP: C Jeff Taffe came back from a three-game injury absence and scored a power play goal on Friday against Lake Erie. Taffe leads the BEARS with (9-27-36) and ranks tied for eighth in the AHL scoring race. His 27 assists rank tied for third overall.
KANE JOINS 900 CLUB: Captain Boyd Kane, who played in the 1,000
th game of all the top professional leagues on January 8 at Bridgeport (ECHL-71, AHL-898, NHL-31), became the 13
th player in history to appear in 900 AHL games on January 12 against Connecticut. Ironically, Kane played his first AHL game on November 20, 1998 as a member of the Hartford Wolf Pack, the team that became the Whale after the 2009-2010 season. In BEARS history, Kane ranks 37
th in all-time games played, three games behind former BEARS forward Brian Willsie. Former BEARS left winger Les Duff ranks 12
th in all-time games played.
All-Time Leaders, AHL Games Played
|
Rank |
Player |
Played From-To |
Seasons |
GP |
|
9. |
Ken Gernander |
1991-2005 |
14 |
973 |
|
10. |
Jim Bartlett |
1955-1973 |
16 |
955 |
|
11. |
Jimmy Anderson |
1954-1970 |
16 |
943 |
|
12. |
Les Duff |
1955-1970 |
15 |
927 |
|
13. |
BOYD KANE |
1998-Present |
15 |
903 |
|
|
Larry Wilson |
1951-1968 |
15 |
899 |
ANOTHER MILESTONE FOR KANE: Boyd Kane’s power play goal on Friday against Lake Erie was the 200
th point of his HERSHEY career (95-105-200).
BEARS vs. PENGUINS – TEAM LEADERS:
|
|
HERSHEY |
W-B/Scranton |
|
Games Played |
Tomas Kundratek, Garrett Mitchell (40) |
R. Holzapfel, W. Peters, T. Smith (38) |
|
Goals |
Tomas Kundratek (12) |
Paul Thompson (12) |
|
Assists |
Jeff Taffe (27) |
Beau Bennett (18) |
|
Points |
Jeff Taffe (36) |
Beau Bennett, Riley Holzapfel (24) |
|
PIMs |
Steve Oleksy (113) |
Bobby Farnham (116) |
|
Plus/Minus |
Garrett Mitchell (+10) |
Joey Mormina (+4) |
|
Power-Play Goals |
Tomas Kundratek (6) |
Paul Thompson (5) |
|
Shorthanded Goals |
Garrett Mitchell (2) |
Benn Ferriero, Brian Gibbons (1) |
|
Game-Winning Goals |
Zach Hamill (3) |
Paul Thompson (3) |
|
Wins |
Dany Sabourin (6) |
Jeff Zatkoff (11) |
|
Goals-Against Average |
Philipp Grubauer (2.05) |
Jeff Zatkoff (2.21) |
|
Save Percentage |
Philipp Grubauer (.932) |
Jeff Zatkoff (.911) |
BEARS vs. PENGUINS – SPECIAL TEAMS:
|
|
HERSHEY |
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton |
|
Power Play |
30-for-186 (16.1%) – 18th in AHL |
28-for-193 (14.5%) – 23rd in AHL |
|
Penalty Kill |
150-for-179 (83.8%) – 15th in AHL |
160-for-184 (87.0%) – 3rd in AHL |
BEARS RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
|
1/19/13 |
DEL |
RW |
Alex Berry |
Returned on loan to Reading (ECHL) |
|
1/18/13 |
ADD |
RW |
Alex Berry |
Recalled from loan to Reading (ECHL) |
|
1/17/13 |
DEL |
G |
Drew MacIntyre |
Released from PTO |
|
1/17/13 |
DEL |
D |
Tom Poti |
Recalled from loan by Washington (NHL) |
|
1/15/13 |
ADD |
D |
Cameron Schilling |
Returned on loan from Washington (NHL) |
|
1/15/13 |
ADD |
G |
Drew MacIntyre |
Signed to PTO |
|
1/14/13 |
DEL |
RW |
Alex Berry |
Returned on loan to Reading (ECHL) |
|
1/14/13 |
DEL |
D |
Brett Flemming |
Reassigned by Washington (NHL) to Reading (ECHL) |
|
1/14/13 |
DEL |
RW |
Stanislav Galiev |
Reassigned by Washington (NHL) to Reading (ECHL) |
|
1/13/13 |
DEL |
G |
Braden Holtby |
Recalled from loan by Washington (NHL) |
|
1/13/13 |
DEL |
D |
Cameron Schilling |
Recalled from loan by Washington (NHL) |
|
1/13/13 |
ADD |
D |
Tom Poti |
Conditioning loan from Washington (NHL) |
PENGUINS RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
|
1/19/13 |
DEL |
C |
Chris Barton |
Released from PTO |
|
1/19/13 |
DEL |
C |
Paul Crowder |
Released from PTO |
|
1/17/13 |
ADD |
LW |
Beau Bennett |
Returned on loan from Pittsburgh (NHL) |
|
1/17/13 |
ADD |
C |
Jayson Megna |
Returned on loan from Pittsburgh (NHL) |
|
1/16/13 |
ADD |
D |
Carl Sneep |
Reassigned by Pittsburgh (NHL) from Wheeling (ECHL) |
|
1/16/13 |
ADD |
D |
Cody Wild |
Signed to SPC |
|
1/15/13 |
ADD |
C |
Adam Payerl |
Reassigned by Pittsburgh (NHL) from Wheeling (ECHL) |
|
1/13/13 |
DEL |
LW |
Beau Bennett |
Recalled from loan by Pittsburgh (NHL) |
|
1/13/13 |
DEL |
D |
BrianStrait |
Recalled from loan by Pittsburgh (NHL) |
|
1/13/13 |
DEL |
LW |
Eric Tangradi |
Recalled from loan by Pittsburgh (NHL) |
|
1/13/13 |
DEL |
C |
Jayson Megna |
Recalled from loan by Pittsburgh (NHL) |
|
1/13/13 |
DEL |
LW |
Robert Bortuzzo |
Recalled from loan by Pittsburgh (NHL) |
|
1/13/13 |
DEL |
LW |
Simon Despres |
Recalled from loan by Pittsburgh (NHL) |
BEARS AMONG THE AHL:
C Jeff Taffe: T,3rd – assists (27);
T,8th – scoring (9-27-36).
D Tomas Kundratek: 2nd (D) – shooting percentage (12/74=16.2%);
T,3rd (D) – PP goals (6);
3rd (D) – goals (12);
T,6th (D) – scoring (12-13-25).
D Steve Oleksy: 4th (D) – PIM (113).
PENGUINS AMONG THE AHL:
G Jeff Zatkoff: T,5th – shutouts (3);
6th – GAA (2.21).
LW Beau Bennett: T,12th (R) – scoring (6-18-24).
LW Bobby Farnham: 1st (R) – PIM (116);
T,1st (R) – major penalties (10);
2nd (R) – minor penalties (18).
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