Press Release Details
TONIGHT'S GAME PREVIEW: WHALE at BEARS
01/12/2013 -
TONIGHT’S GAME NOTES
CONNECTICUT WHALE at HERSHEY BEARS
Saturday, January 12, 2013 - 7:00 PM
GIANT Center
REFEREE: Graham Skilliter (#48)
LINESMEN: Bob Goodman (#90) & Jud Ritter (#34)
BEARS vs. WHALE: The HERSHEY BEARS return home and will now play back-to-back games against the Connecticut Whale beginning tonight at GIANT Center. The matchup between the BEARS and Whale is the second of four in the regular season. Connecticut is the top AHL developmental affiliate of the New York Rangers.
ALL-TIME: The two teams will play their 34
th all-time meeting tonight, with the Whale holding the edge in the series. The BEARS are 14-17-2 (W – L/OTL – T/SOL) against the Whale, which includes the totals against the Hartford Wolf Pack from 1997-2010.
THE LAST TIME: The BEARS and Whale last met on October 26 at Hartford’s XL Center, with Connecticut grinding out a 3-1 victory. The hosts jumped out to a 2-0 first-period lead by the time the game was 6:25 old. Brandon Segal opened the scoring with his fourth goal of the season, and Tommy Grant doubled the lead just two minutes later. Neither team found the score sheet in the second period, with Whale goaltender Cam Talbot and BEARS backstop Dany Sabourin turning aside all of their opposing shots. The BEARS finally solved Talbot on the team’s third power play chance of the night, when Dmitry Orlov sent a long slap shot past Talbot at 13:25. But with the BEARS net empty in favor of a sixth attacker, Ryan Bourque hit pay dirt with 1:15 left to play to give the Whale the win.
2012-13 SEASON SERIES:
|
Fri. October 26, 2012 |
@Connecticut |
XL Center |
1-3 L |
|
Sat. January 12, 2013 |
CONNECTICUT |
GIANTCenter |
|
|
Sun. January 13, 2013 |
CONNECTICUT |
GIANTCenter |
|
|
Fri. March 22, 2013 |
@Connecticut |
XL Center |
|
RECENT RECAPS: The BEARS played their eighth game of 12 regular-season contests against the rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last night in northeastern Pennsylvania. The Penguins, having lost six of the seven meetings to date, finally found a way to win. Brad Thiessen stopped 23 shots and Brian Dumoulin netted the only goal of the game on a first-period power play, sending the Penguins to a 1-0 victory. Dany Sabourin played a solid game in goal, especially keeping his team in the game with big saves on two Penguins power plays in the second period. The BEARS had two man advantages in the final period, but Thiessen was at his best on his team’s penalty kill as well.
While Thiessen and the Penguins blanked the BEARS last night, they were shut down in Hartford last Sunday in Connecticut’s last game played. Jason Missiaen recorded his first AHL shutout with 35 saves in the game, and Kyle Jean provided the Whale offense by beating Thiessen with two goals. Connecticut was also perfect on three penalty kills.
EAST DIVISION STANDINGS (as of January 12):
|
POS |
TEAM |
GP |
W |
L |
OTL |
SOL |
PTS |
WIN% |
GF |
GA |
|
1. |
Syracuse |
36 |
24 |
7 |
2 |
3 |
53 |
.736 |
130 |
96 |
|
2. |
Binghamton |
34 |
22 |
8 |
1 |
3 |
48 |
.706 |
109 |
84 |
|
3. |
HERSHEY |
36 |
17 |
17 |
1 |
1 |
36 |
.500 |
91 |
89 |
|
4. |
W-B/Scranton |
36 |
16 |
17 |
2 |
1 |
35 |
.486 |
85 |
93 |
|
5. |
Norfolk |
34 |
14 |
17 |
2 |
1 |
31 |
.456 |
85 |
103 |
HEAD TO HEAD: Connecticut forwards Ryan Bourque, Tommy Grant and Brandon Segal, and BEARS defenseman Dmitry Orlov, lead the head-to-head series with one goal each. Tomas Kundratek and Mattias Sjogren each have an assist for HERSHEY, while Brandon Segal, Matt Gilroy, Marek Hrivik, Kyle Jean and Logan Pyett all have points for the Whale.
SABOURIN SOLID: Goaltender Dany Sabourin has recorded a goals-against average of 1.62 and a save percentage of .942 in his last three starts (2-1-0).
TOMAS THE TANK ENGINE: Former Connecticut defenseman Tomas Kundratek is coming off his second two-goal game with the BEARS, having lit the lamp twice in Tuesday’s win at Bridgeport. Kundratek scored in the first period, and then netted the overtime winner with 26.5 seconds left to play to earn first-star honors. His 11 goals rank third among defensemen. He has a total of 23 goals and 19 assists in 91 career games with HERSHEY.
KANE JOINS 900 CLUB: Captain Boyd Kane, who played in the 1,000
th game of all the top professional leagues on Tuesday at Bridgeport (ECHL-71, AHL-898, NHL-31), will now join the ranks of only 12 other players who have 900 AHL games to their credit. In BEARS history, Kane ranks 37
th in all-time games played, seven games behind Brian Willsie. Current Connecticut Whale head coach Ken Gernander ranks ninth all-time (973 GP).
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 |
899 |
|
|
Larry Wilson |
1951-1968 |
15 |
899 |
|
15. |
Dick Gamble |
1954-1970 |
14 |
898 |
THE CLASSIC COMETH: HERSHEY BEARS and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins will play in the showcase of the BEARS’ 75
th season, as the teams clash at HERSHEYPARK Stadium on January 20 in the Capital BlueCross AHL Outdoor Classic.
BEARS vs. WHALE – TEAM LEADERS:
|
|
HERSHEY |
Connecticut |
|
Games Played |
T. Kundratek, G. Mitchell, J. Taffe (36) |
FIVE TIED (35) |
|
Goals |
Tomas Kundratek (11) |
ChadKolarik (14) |
|
Assists |
Jeff Taffe (27) |
Kris Newbury (19) |
|
Points |
Jeff Taffe (35) |
Kris Newbury (29) |
|
PIMs |
Steve Oleksy (109) |
Michael Haley (105) |
|
Plus/Minus |
Zach Hamill (+10) |
LoganPyett (+5) |
|
Power-Play Goals |
Tomas Kundratek (5) |
ChadKolarik (6) |
|
Shorthanded Goals |
Garrett Mitchell (2) |
Kris Newbury (2) |
|
Game-Winning Goals |
Zach Hamill (3) |
LoganPyett (3) |
|
Wins |
Braden Holtby (12) |
Cameron Talbot (12) |
|
Goals-Against Average |
Braden Holtby (2.14) |
Cameron Talbot (2.61) |
|
Save Percentage |
Braden Holtby (.932) |
Cameron Talbot (.918) |
BEARS vs. WHALE – SPECIAL TEAMS:
|
|
HERSHEY |
Connecticut |
|
Power Play |
23-for-165 (13.9%) – 24th in AHL |
24-for-154 (15.6%) – 19th in AHL |
|
Penalty Kill |
136-for-163 (83.4%) – 15th in AHL |
134-for-165 (81.2%) – 22nd in AHL |
BEARS RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
|
1/12/13 |
ADD |
RW |
Alex Berry |
Recalled from loan to Reading (ECHL) |
|
1/12/13 |
ADD |
RW |
Matt Pope |
Recalled from loan to Reading (ECHL) |
|
1/12/13 |
ADD |
LW |
Barry Almeida |
Recalled from loan to Reading (ECHL) |
|
1/7/13 |
ADD |
D |
Brett Flemming |
Reassigned by Washington (NHL) to Reading (ECHL) |
|
1/7/13 |
ADD |
G |
Philipp Grubauer |
Reassigned by Washington (NHL) to Reading (ECHL) |
|
1/7/13 |
DEL |
RW |
Alex Berry |
Returned on loan to Reading (ECHL) |
|
1/7/13 |
DEL |
RW |
Matt Pope |
Returned on loan to Reading (ECHL) |
WHALE RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
|
1/9/13 |
ADD |
C |
Shayne Wiebe |
Signed to SPC |
|
1/8/13 |
ADD |
LW |
Andrew Yogan |
Reassigned by NY Rangers (NHL) from Greenville (ECHL) |
|
1/6/13 |
ADD |
C |
J.T. Miller |
Reassigned by NY Rangers (NHL) from United States (WJC) |
BEARS AMONG THE AHL:
G Braden Holtby: T,2nd – shutouts (4);
3rd – save percentage (.932); 4
th – GAA (2.14).
C Jeff Taffe: 3rd – assists (27);
T,5th – scoring (8-27-35).
D Tomas Kundratek: 2nd (D) – shooting percentage (11/65=16.9%);
T,3rd (D) – PP goals (5);
3rd (D) – goals (11);
T,17th (D) – scoring (11-9-20).
D Steve Oleksy: 5th (D) – PIM (109).
WHALE AMONG THE AHL:
LW Tommy Grant: T,2nd – shooting percentage (9/36=25.0%).
LW Michael Haley: 3rd – major penalties (15).
G Cameron Talbot: T,1st – shootout percentage (5/5=100%);
4th – saves (748).
LW Marek Hrivik: T,3rd (R) – assists (18);
T,13th (R) – scoring (4-18-22).
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