Press Release Details
TONIGHT'S GAME PREVIEW: BEARS at PENGUINS
12/27/2012 -
TONIGHT’S GAME NOTES
HERSHEY BEARS at WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON PENGUINS
Thursday, December 27, 2012 - 7:05 PM
Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza
REFEREE: T.J. Luxmore (#49)
LINESMEN: Bob Fyrer (#72) & Jud Ritter (#34)
BEARS vs. PENGUINS: The HERSHEY BEARS and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins will meet again tonight in Wilkes-Barre Township to complete the post-Christmas home-and-home set. The matchup is the seventh of 12 in the regular season. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is the top AHL developmental affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
ALL-TIME: The two teams will play their 143
rd all-time meeting tonight, with the BEARS holding the edge at 71-60-11 (W – L/OTL – T/SOL). HERSHEY posted a record of 5-5-1-1 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last season.
LAST NIGHT: It was another game in which the BEARS were outshot by the opposition, and another situation in which it translated to a victory. Behind Braden Holtby’s 33 saves, the BEARS skated to a 2-0 decision over the Penguins at GIANT Center. Both goals came off of turnovers by the Penguins, one early and one late. Inside the game’s first four minutes, the BEARS forecheck forced defenseman Brian Strait to try a pass from behind the visitors’ net. Garrett Mitchell knocked the pass down, and Ryan Potulny fired a shot from in close that Penguins backstop Jeff Zatkoff turned aside. The rebound bounced right to Mitchell, who fired it home while on one knee to give HERSHEY a 1-0 lead. The score would hold up all the way to the final minute of regulation, but the time in-between was filled with solid penalty killing from both teams. The Penguins would earn six opportunities on the man advantage, while the BEARS picked up five chances. Holtby’s goaltending and the Penguins’ shot-blocking were what stood out in keeping goals off of the board. With time winding down, Jeff Taffe stole a puck on the left boards and promptly took a shot that found the empty net, which was vacated by Zatkoff for an extra attacker, and gave the BEARS a 2-0 lead which would be carried to the final horn.
2012-13 SEASON SERIES:
|
Sun. October 28, 2012 |
W-B/SCRANTON |
GIANT Center |
3-2 W |
|
Fri. November 9, 2012 |
@W-B/Scranton |
Mohegan Sun Arena |
3-1 W |
|
Sat. November 17, 2012 |
W-B/SCRANTON |
GIANT Center |
4-1 W |
|
Wed. November 21, 2012 |
W-B/SCRANTON |
GIANT Center |
0-4 L |
|
Fri. December 7, 2012 |
@W-B/Scranton |
Mohegan Sun Arena |
5-4 W (OT) |
|
Wed. December 26, 2012 |
W-B/SCRANTON |
GIANT Center |
2-0 W |
|
Thu. December 27, 2012 |
@W-B/Scranton |
Mohegan Sun Arena |
|
|
Fri. January 11, 2013 |
@W-B/Scranton |
Mohegan Sun Arena |
|
|
Sun. January 20, 2013 |
W-B/SCRANTON |
HERSHEYPARK Stadium |
|
|
Sun. February 3, 2013 |
W-B/SCRANTON |
GIANT Center |
|
|
Fri. March 1, 2013 |
@W-B/Scranton |
Mohegan Sun Arena |
|
|
Sun. April 7, 2013 |
@W-B/Scranton |
Mohegan Sun Arena |
|
EAST DIVISION STANDINGS (as of December 27):
|
POS |
TEAM |
GP |
W |
L |
OTL |
SOL |
PTS |
WIN% |
GF |
GA |
|
1. |
Syracuse |
29 |
18 |
7 |
1 |
3 |
40 |
.690 |
105 |
80 |
|
2. |
Binghamton |
26 |
16 |
7 |
1 |
2 |
35 |
.673 |
87 |
68 |
|
3. |
HERSHEY |
30 |
15 |
13 |
1 |
1 |
32 |
.533 |
79 |
76 |
|
4. |
W-B/Scranton |
28 |
14 |
12 |
1 |
1 |
30 |
.536 |
75 |
76 |
|
5. |
Norfolk |
27 |
13 |
13 |
1 |
0 |
27 |
.500 |
73 |
80 |
HEAD TO HEAD: RW Garrett Mitchell picked up his third goal against the Penguins in the season series last night to lead the head-to-head goal scoring. Zach Hamill (2-3-5) and Wilkes-Barre’s Benn Ferriero (2-3-5) lead the respective teams in scoring.
BUCKLING DOWN ON “D”: The BEARS have held their opponents to one goal or less in five of the team’s past six games, and now rank third in the AHL in goals against per game (2.53).
HELD BY HOLTBY: G Braden Holtby picked up his 73
rd career win and 14
th career shutout in a HERSHEY sweater on Wednesday night. Hotlby ranks seventh all-time in wins, 10 victories behind Rollie Boutin; and fifth in shutouts, just two behind Phil Sauve.
P-MAC CLIMBING: D Patrick McNeill is also moving closer to a big HERSHEY milestone, having played in 288 games with the BEARS. He sits in 47
th place in all-time games played, and his 139 career points (31-108-139) rank ninth in team history.
TAFFE AT THE TOP: C Jeff Taffe got back on the score sheet on Wednesday with an insurance goal, and became the first BEARS player to hit the 30-point plateau this season. Taffe shows (1-10-11) and a plus-3 rating in 10 December games.
KANE’S COUNTDOWN TO 1,000: Captain Boyd Kane is close to two significant milestones in his 15-year professional tenure. The left winger needs just six games to reach 900 played in the AHL, and only four games to reach 1,000 in his pro career.
TWO GOALS, NO PROBLEM: Wednesday night’s victory was the third time this season that the BEARS put up just two goals and won the game. HERSHEY is 3-2-0-0 when scoring twice.
BEST FANS: Through 17 games at GIANT Center, the BEARS are once again at the top of the attendance standings, averaging a crowd of 9,261 per game.
BEARS vs. PENGUINS – TEAM LEADERS:
|
|
HERSHEY |
W-B/Scranton |
|
Games Played |
FIVE TIED (30) |
FIVE TIED (28) |
|
Goals |
J. DiSalvatore, Z. Hamill, T. Kundratek (9) |
Trevor Smith, Eric Tangradi (10) |
|
Assists |
Jeff Taffe (23) |
Beau Bennett (16) |
|
Points |
Jeff Taffe (30) |
Beau Bennett (21) |
|
PIMs |
Steve Oleksy (98) |
Bobby Farnham (83) |
|
Plus/Minus |
Zach Hamill (+9) |
Tom Kuhnhackl (+3) |
|
Power-Play Goals |
Tomas Kundratek (5) |
Eric Tangradi (6) |
|
Shorthanded Goals |
Garrett Mitchell (2) |
Benn Ferriero (1) |
|
Game-Winning Goals |
Zach Hamill (3) |
Paul Thompson (3) |
|
Wins |
Braden Holtby (12) |
Jeff Zatkoff (11) |
|
Goals-Against Average |
Braden Holtby (2.11) |
Jeff Zatkoff (2.06) |
|
Save Percentage |
Braden Holtby (.934) |
Jeff Zatkoff (.920) |
BEARS vs. PENGUINS – SPECIAL TEAMS:
|
|
HERSHEY |
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton |
|
Power Play |
22-for-147 (15.0%) – 22nd in AHL |
22-for-149 (14.8%) – 23rd in AHL |
|
Penalty Kill |
118-for-141 (83.7%) – 13th in AHL |
124-for-141 (87.9%) – 3rd in AHL |
BEARS RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
|
12/27/12 |
DEL |
D |
Brett Flemming |
Reassigned by Washington (NHL) to Reading (ECHL) |
|
12/26/12 |
ADD |
D |
Brett Flemming |
Reassigned by Washington (NHL) from Reading (ECHL) |
|
12/21/12 |
DEL |
D |
Brett Flemming |
Reassigned by Washington (NHL) to Reading (ECHL) |
PENGUINS RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
None.
BEARS AMONG THE AHL:
G Braden Holtby: T,2nd – shutouts (4);
2nd – saves (634);
T,3rd – wins (12);
4th – save percentage (.934);
8th – GAA (2.11).
C Jeff Taffe: T,3rd – PP assists (11);
3rd – assists (23);
T,4th – scoring (7-23-30).
D Tomas Kundratek: T,2nd (D) – PP goals (5);
3rd (D) – shooting percentage (9/50 = 18.0%);
T,3rd (D) – goals (9);
T,5th (D) – PP points (5-7-12);
T,15th (D) – scoring (9-8-17).
D Steve Oleksy: 3rd (D) – PIM (98).
PENGUINS AMONG THE AHL:
G Jeff Zatkoff: T,4th – shutouts (3);
6th – GAA (2.06).
LW Beau Bennett: T,3rd (R) – assists (16);
T,8th (R) – scoring (5-16-21).
|
TONIGHT’S BROADCAST INFORMATION:
BEARS Radio Network: WTKT-1460 AM, WQIC-100.1 FM, WRBT-94.9 FM HD-2
Internet Audio: http://www.1460theticket.com, iHeartRadio || Internet Video: http://www.ahllive.com
Twitter: Scott Stuccio (Voice of the BEARS): @ScottStuccio ||Official HERSHEY BEARS Twitter: @TheHersheyBears
ENJOY THE GAME!
|
LW Bobby Farnham: 1st (R) – PIM (83);
2nd (R) – minor penalties (14);
2nd (R) – major penalties (7).
Image updated every 10 minutes - 
