March 11, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 11, 2011
CONTACT: John Walton-HERSHEY BEARS
BEARS HEAD COACH MARK FRENCH WINS HIS 100TH AHL GAME FRIDAY AT CONNECTICUT
HERSHEY’S SECOND-YEAR HEAD COACH THE FASTEST TO 100 WINS IN AHL HISTORY
HERSHEY â€" The 2010 Calder Cup Champion HERSHEY BEARS announced today in conjunction with the American Hockey League that head coach Mark French won his 100th game behind an AHL bench Friday. The announcement was made today by BEARS President/GM Doug Yingst. The BEARS defeated the Connecticut Whale 2-1 at XL Center in Hartford.
French, who won 60 games during his rookie year in leading HERSHEY to a Calder Cup championship, won his 100th game in 147 games coached, the fastest any coach has ever reached 100 wins in the 75-year history of the league. He won his first game on October 3, 2009 vs. Norfolk at
Giant Center. After Friday’s win at Connecticut, French’s record stands at 100-39-1-7.
Under French, the BEARS won an American Hockey League record 34 home games in 2009-10, won a franchise record 12 straight games overall last season and won an amazing 76 games including the 2010 Calder Cup playoffs. HERSHEY put up 123 points in 2009-10, and has already accumulated 85 points in 2010-11 with 16 regular season games remaining.
The Milton, Ontario native assumed the coaching duties in HERSHEY July 13, 2009, after serving as assistant coach under current Washington Capitals assistant coach Bob Woods.
The BEARS play at Adirondack Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Faceoff Saturday is at 7:00 p.m., with airtime at 6:30 p.m. on the BEARS Radio Network.
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