PAQUETTE, ALMEIDA REJOIN READING ROYALS

March 18, 2013

HERSHEY, Pa.– The HERSHEY BEARS announced today that the club has returned forward Barry Almeida to the ECHL’s Reading Royals, and that forward Danick Paquette has been reassigned to Reading.  The announcements were made by BEARS President/GM Doug Yingst.
 
The two players return to a Royals team that has already punched its ticket to the ECHL postseason.
 
Almeida, 24, has appeared in 35 games with HERSHEY and leads all BEARS rookies with 14 points (six goals, eight assists).  With the Royals, Almeida has put up 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) and a plus-two rating in 21 games.
 
The 5-7, 176-pound native of Springfield, MA joined the BEARS for the club’s final regular-season game of the 2011-12 season, fresh off of winning the 2012 NCAA National Championship with Boston College (HE).  There, he set career highs in goals (22), assists (18) and points (40) in his senior season.  Almeida posted 92 points (45 goals, 47 assists) in 159 career games with the Eagles.
 
Paquette, 22, played in two games with the BEARS, going scoreless with five penalty minutes.  He appeared in 14 games with Reading, recording four points (one goal, three assists), 62 penalty minutes and an even rating.
 
The 6-0, 210-pound native of Montreal, PQ has four games of AHL experience with the Chicago Wolves in 2008-09, where he was scoreless with 12 penalty minutes and a plus-two rating.
 
Paquette has played 126 ECHL games with Gwinnett, South Carolina, Utah, Chicago and Reading, and has accumulated 52 points (27 goals, 25 assists) and 450 penalty minutes.  Prior to turning pro, he played four years of junior hockey with the QMJHL’s Lewiston MAINEiacs and Quebec Remparts, totaling 175 points (94 goals, 81 assists) and 691 penalty minutes in 250 career games.
 
Paquette was originally selected by the Atlanta Thrashers in the third round (64^th overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.
 
The HERSHEY BEARS will now embark on a three-game road trip beginning in Hartford’s XL Center on Friday, with a 7:00 PM faceoff against the Connecticut Whale.  The BEARS will return home on Saturday, March 30 for a 7:00 PM matchup against the Providence Bruins.  All fans in attendance will receive a ticket to Pocono International Raceway for the June 8th NASCAR Event Weekend, and all fans will also have the opportunity to come down onto the ice post-game for the Dietz and Watson Ham Shoot and a chance to win Easter food items.
Tickets for the three remaining BEARS home games may be purchased at the GIANT Center box office, by calling (717) 508-BEAR or online at TicketMaster.com.
 
Single seats remain for both nights, and are available at the GIANT Center box office, by calling (717) 508-BEAR or online at TicketMaster.com.