Press Release Details
TODAY'S GAME PREVIEW: PENGUINS at BEARS
02/03/2013 -
TODAY’S GAME NOTES
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON PENGUINS at HERSHEY BEARS
Sunday, February 3, 2013 - 2:00 PM
GIANT Center
REFEREES: Trevor Hanson (#47) & Jon McIsaac (#45)
LINESMEN: Tommy George (#61) & Leo Boylan (#97)
BEARS vs. PENGUINS: This afternoon your HERSHEY BEARS host the visiting Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a special 2:00 PM start. Today is the 10
th of 12 regular-season meetings between the clubs, and the last meeting in Chocolatetown in 2012-2013. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is the top AHL developmental affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
ALL-TIME: The two teams will play their 146
th-time meeting today, with the BEARS holding the edge at 72-62-11 (W – L/OTL – T/SOL). HERSHEY posted a record of 5-5-1-1 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season.
THE LAST TIME: In front of 17,311 fans at HERSHEYPARK Stadium, the BEARS took to the temporary rink to host the Penguins in the Capital BlueCross AHL Outdoor Classic. After a scoreless first period in which BEARS backstop Dany Sabourin and Penguins goaltender Jeff Zatkoff stood tall, the BEARS finally got the jump and brought the crowd to its feet late in the second. Tomas Kundratek was the recipient of a perfect pass from Jeff Taffe, and from the slot, Kundratek sent a wrist shot past a screened Zatkoff for the 1-0 lead. The lead would hold all the way until the 7:57 mark of the third, when Riley Holzapfel converted a two-on-one rush with Paul Thompson. Both teams would get chances as time wound down in regulation, but the game would go to overtime. Just 1:19 into the extra session, the Penguins would spoil the party after Thompson was sprung at the offensive blue line by Jayson Megna for a breakaway. Sabourin got a piece of the shot with his glove but the puck got past him, sending the Penguins to their third victory in nine tries against the BEARS.
2012-13 SEASON SERIES (6-2-1-0):
|
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 |
1-2 OTL |
|
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: The BEARS were looking to start February off on a strong note last night, and did just that. Scoring two goals was enough for the Chocolate and White, as Philipp Grubauer made 22 saves on 23 shots to help the BEARS skate to a 2-1 win over the Manchester Monarchs. Barry Almeida started things off just 2:05 into the game, burying a snap shot from the slot past Monarchs goaltender Martin Jones off of assists from Matt Clackson and Mike Carman. From there, Jones became the story of the game, as did the BEARS defense. The first period ended with the BEARS ahead 11-9 in shots on goal, the tightest period of the game. In the second stanza, HERSHEY rattled off 19 shots and allowed the Monarchs just five, and Jones came up huge on several instances. The BEARS, meanwhile, kept Manchester on their side of center ice for most of the period. Cameron Schilling then netted a big insurance marker early in the third, as he drove down the slot and chipped a cross-ice pass from Carman over Jones’ shoulder. Linden Vey finally managed to solve Grubauer late in the period, after defenseman Chris Huxley scooped up a loose puck from a goalmouth scramble and fed the winger in the left circle. Vey found an opening with Grubauer scrambling to get into position and cut the BEARS’ lead to 2-1. But two delayed off-side entries by Manchester would kill off valuable seconds and any further chance at a comeback. Jones finished with 42 saves in the losing effort.
After dispatching the Monarchs on Friday night, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton played another defensive gem, allowing just 20 shots on goal and having Brad Thiessen turn them all aside in a 3-0 win over the Adirondack Phantoms last night in northeastern PA. The Penguins scored once in each period, getting two goals from Warren Peters and one from Alex Grant. The game was marred by penalties, but each team’s penalty killing units finished perfect. The Penguins killed off all five of Adirondack’s power play chances, while going 0-for-8 on their power play.
EAST DIVISION STANDINGS (as of February 3, 2013):
|
POS |
TEAM |
GP |
W |
L |
OTL |
SOL |
PTS |
WIN% |
GF |
GA |
|
1. |
Binghamton |
43 |
27 |
12 |
1 |
3 |
58 |
.674 |
132 |
103 |
|
2. |
Syracuse |
43 |
25 |
12 |
2 |
4 |
56 |
.651 |
146 |
122 |
|
3. |
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton |
44 |
23 |
18 |
2 |
1 |
49 |
.557 |
108 |
103 |
|
4. |
HERSHEY |
44 |
21 |
19 |
2 |
2 |
46 |
.523 |
111 |
106 |
|
5. |
Norfolk |
44 |
18 |
23 |
2 |
1 |
39 |
.443 |
106 |
131 |
HEAD TO HEAD: BEARS center Jeff Taffe leads the way with seven points (2-5-7) in the nine games played between the teams. Garrett Mitchell paces all goal scorers with four tallies. For the Penguins, winger Beau Bennett (1-4-5) leads the way, while Riley Holzapfel and Paul Thompson have scored two goals each.
IMPRESSIVE DEBUTS: Not only did forwards Peter LeBlanc and Casey Wellman have little time to practice with the BEARS prior to playing last night’s game, the two played on the same line and – along with center Ryan Potulny – accounted for 40% of the team’s shots on goal (LeBlanc-5, Potulny-6, Wellman-5).
FOURTH STAR: Overshadowed by the goaltending of Philipp Grubauer and Manchester’s Martin Jones, BEARS center Mike Carman picked up assists on both of HERSHEY’s goals in last night’s 2-1 victory.
GAME-WINNERS: Defenseman Cameron Schilling potted the eventual game-winner last night against Manchester. Schilling has scored four goals this season, and three are game-winning goals – which ties for third among AHL rookies.
TOUGH TANDEMS: The goaltending duo of Philipp Grubauer and Dany Sabourin – along with the recalled Braden Holtby – has combined to push the BEARS into fourth place in the AHL in goals against per game average (2.41). The Penguins, whose last four shutouts have all been provided by Brad Thiessen, rank second (2.34).
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 36
th in all-time games played (334). Former BEARS left winger Les Duff ranks 12
th in all-time AHL 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 |
907 |
|
14. |
Larry Wilson |
1951-1968 |
15 |
899 |
ONE-THIRD OF THE WAY THERE: Defenseman Patrick McNeill is one-third of the way to Kane’s milestone, having played the 300
th game of his HERSHEY career last night against Manchester.
BEARS vs. PENGUINS – TEAM LEADERS:
|
|
HERSHEY |
W-B/Scranton |
|
Games Played |
Garrett Mitchell (44) |
ChadKolarik (45) |
|
Goals |
Jon DiSalvatore (12) |
ChadKolarik (17) |
|
Assists |
Jeff Taffe (29) |
ChadKolarik (19) |
|
Points |
Jeff Taffe (38) |
ChadKolarik (36) |
|
PIMs |
Steve Oleksy (125) |
Bobby Farnham (120) |
|
Plus/Minus |
Garrett Mitchell (+9) |
Philip Samuelsson (+9) |
|
Power-Play Goals |
Jon DiSalvatore (6) |
ChadKolarik (7) |
|
Shorthanded Goals |
Garrett Mitchell (2) |
ChadKolarik (2) |
|
Game-Winning Goals |
Cameron Schilling (3) |
Paul Thompson (5) |
|
Wins |
Dany Sabourin (6) |
Jeff Zatkoff (14) |
|
Goals-Against Average |
Philipp Grubauer (1.89) |
Jeff Zatkoff (2.04) |
|
Save Percentage |
Philipp Grubauer (.930) |
Jeff Zatkoff (.917) |
BEARS vs. PENGUINS – SPECIAL TEAMS:
|
|
HERSHEY |
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton |
|
Power Play |
31-for-196 (15.8%) – 17th in AHL |
30-for-218 (13.8%) – 25thin AHL |
|
Penalty Kill |
160-for-190 (84.2%) – 11th in AHL |
180-for-206 (87.4%) – 3rd in AHL |
BEARS RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
|
1/31/13 |
ADD |
C |
Casey Wellman |
Loaned from Washington (NHL) |
|
1/31/13 |
ADD |
C |
Peter LeBlanc |
Loaned from Washington (NHL) |
|
1/31/13 |
DEL |
RW |
Mathieu Beaudoin |
Traded to Rockford (AHL) |
|
1/31/13 |
DEL |
C |
Zach Hamill |
Recalled from loan to Washington (NHL) |
|
1/30/13 |
ADD |
D |
Patrick Wellar |
Recalled from loan to Reading (ECHL) |
PENGUINS RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
|
2/1/13 |
ADD |
C |
Chris Barton |
Signed to PTO |
BEARS AMONG THE AHL:
C Jeff Taffe: T,2nd – assists (29);
T,11th – scoring (9-29-38).
D Steve Oleksy: 3rd (D) – PIM (125).
PENGUINS AMONG THE AHL:
G Jeff Zatkoff: 4th –GAA (2.04).
G Brad Thiessen: T,3rd – shutouts (4).
LW Beau Bennett: T,15th (R) – scoring (6-18-24).
LW Bobby Farnham: 1st (R) – PIM (120);
T,1st (R) – major penalties (10);
2nd (R) – minor penalties (20).
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