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Tonight' Game Preview: Bears at Bruins

February 12, 2016

HERSHEY BEARS at PROVIDENCE BRUINS
Friday, February 12, 2016 - 7:05 PM
Dunkin' Donuts Center


Broadcast Information (Pre-game 6:25 PM):
Caps Radio 24/7
WQIC-FM 100.1
WTKT-AM 1460
iHeartRadio App (Fox Sports 1460 Harrisburg)

CapsRadio247.com
FoxSports1460.com
AHL Live


REFEREES:  Ryan Hersey (8) & Mark Lemelin (41)
LINESMEN:  Todd Whittemore (70) & Daniel Panciocco (36)

 

BEARS vs. BRUINS:  Tonight’s game pits two of the league’s hottest teams against each other, as the Bears head to Rhode Island for the first of three visits with a matchup against the Providence Bruins.  Providence is the top AHL developmental affiliate of the Boston Bruins.

HOT STREAKS:  The Bruins have a string of 14 consecutive games with at least a point (10-0-3-1), while the Bears have a string of 13 (9-0-2-2).  Providence’s streak is the longest active in the league and second longest this season.  Hershey’s is the second longest active streak in the league and third longest this season.

THE LAST TIME:   The only meeting of the season to date took place back on Thanksgiving Eve at GIANT Center.  For the second consecutive season, that matchup required overtime.  Paul Carey, the former P-Bruin, netted the opening goal of the game and the three-on-three winner for first-star honors in the Bears’ 2-1 victory.  Noel Acciari scored the lone Bruins goal.  Justin Peters made 27 saves for the win, while Malcolm Subban turned away 19 of 21 shots. 

 

2015-16 REGULAR-SEASON SERIES (1-0-0-0):

Wed. November 25

PROVIDENCE

GIANT Center

OTW 2-1

Fri. February 12

at Providence

Dunkin’ Donuts Center

 

Sat. February 20

PROVIDENCE

GIANT Center

 

Sun. February 21

PROVIDENCE

GIANT Center

 

Sat. April 2

at Providence

Dunkin’ Donuts Center

 

Sun. April 3

at Providence

Dunkin’ Donuts Center

 

 

 

ATLANTIC DIVISION STANDINGS (as of February 12):

POS

TEAM

GP

W

L

OTL

SOL

PTS

PTS%

GF

GA

1.

W-B/Scranton

47

31

14

1

1

64

.681

154

111

2.

HERSHEY

50

27

13

3

7

64

.640

170

150

3.

Portland

45

26

18

1

0

53

.589

133

121

4.

Providence

47

22

15

8

2

54

.574

142

133

5.

Bridgeport

48

26

19

2

1

55

.573

130

128

6.

Hartford

47

24

21

2

0

50

.532

116

126

7.

Lehigh Valley

49

23

23

2

1

49

.500

146

142

8.

Springfield

46

18

22

3

3

42

.457

118

150

 

RECENT RECAPS: Despite a four-point game from Scott Gomez and three-point nights from Riley Barber and Jakub Vrana, forward Andrew Rowe scored the game-tying goal and the only one in the shootout to help the visiting Bridgeport Sound Tigers to a 7-6 victory on Wednesday night at GIANT Center.  The lead shifted three times in the first period, with the Bears striking first. Barber corralled a bouncing puck in the right circle while skating backwards and tapped it right back for Connor Carrick to slap past starter Christopher Gibson at 2:33.  Bridgeport tied the game when defenseman Kevin Czuczman carried the puck all the way to the bottom of the left circle and lobbed the puck toward the net.  It hit Justin Peters’ blocker and somehow dropped in at 8:29, tying the contest.  Colin Markison was later awarded a penalty shot at 10:26 and converted it, putting the visitors in front for the first time in the game.  Hershey answered back on a power play, however, when Vrana cleaned up a deflected pass from Travis Boyd at 17:08.  Bracken Kearns led off the second period by scoring just 10 seconds into the frame, taking a Ryan Pulock feed and skating to the open slot before sending a wrist shot into the upper-left corner for a 3-2 Sound Tigers lead.  Hershey jumped right back, scoring three times in a span of 3:46 to take a 5-3 lead.  First, Boyd ripped a cross-ice feed from Gomez behind Gibson at 1:24.  Garrett Mitchell would later poke the puck away from a falling Kyle Burroughs, sending Zach Sill in alone from the left side.  Sill skated toward Gibson and lifted a shot under the crossbar at 3:58, putting the Bears back on top 4-3.  Barber then made it 5-3, swatting at a loose puck while on the ice in a goal-mouth scramble at 5:10.  Parker Milner would come on in relief of Gibson at this point.  The Bears had another power play opportunity after the Barber goal, but it would be Bridgeport to score.  Kearns raced after a loose puck and scored past Peters on a breakaway for a shorthanded goal, and cut the Bears’ lead to 5-4.  Hershey would jump back in front by two at 1:54 of the third period, when Vrana accepted a pass from Gomez, whirled around at the top of the crease and beat Milner five-hole for a 6-4 advantage.  After an apparent near-goal for Hershey, one in which the goal lights came on after a Paul Carey chance, Bridgeport’s Scott Mayfield skated the other way and banked a sharp-angle shot off of a skate and between Peters’ pads at 6:20.  Both plays would be reviewed, with the Bears’ chance negated and Mayfield’s goal standing.  With time winding down in regulation, Bridgeport would pull Milner for a sixth attacker.  The Sound Tigers then worked the puck around the Bears’ zone while on a delayed penalty, and eventually tied the game as Rowe batted a pass from Taylor Beck at the top of Peters’ crease into the net with 1:37 left to play.  A thrilling overtime followed, highlighted by Peters stopping Beck and Ryan Pulock on a two-on-none rush.  The Bears also had to kill a delay-of-game penalty assessed to Peters in the final 1:52 of the extra period.  Rowe would beat Peters for the only goal of the shootout, while Milner stopped Chris Bourque, Vrana and Gomez in succession for the win.

Providence, meanwhile, comes into tonight’s game following a 3-2 road win over the Albany Devils.  Rookie Frank Vatrano continued his torrid goal-scoring pace, scoring the first goal of the contest and the game-winner with 3:20 left in regulation.  Justin Hickman tallied the other Bruins’ goal.  The Bruins’ league-leading power play finished 1-for-2 on the night.  Mike Sislo scored both Devils goals.  Jeremy Smith, reassigned from the Iowa Wild in the wake of the injury to Malcolm Subban, stopped 25 shots for his first win with Providence this season.

 

 

BEARS vs. BRUINS – TEAM LEADERS (Stats Exclude Players on NHL Recall):

 

HERSHEY

Providence

Goals

Chris Bourque (21)

Frank Vatrano (19)

Assists

Chris Bourque (31)

Seth Griffith (33)

Points

Chris Bourque (52)

Seth Griffith (48)

PIMs

Liam O’Brien (76)

Tommy Cross (55)

Plus/Minus

Connor Carrick (+20)

Colton Hargrove, Frank Vatrano (+6)

Power-Play Goals

Chris Bourque (7)

Frank Vatrano (9)

Shorthanded Goals

Sean Collins (2)

Austin Czarnik (2)

Game-Winning Goals

Chris Bourque (4)

Alexander Khokhlachev (5)

Wins

Dan Ellis (16)

Malcolm Subban (14)

Goals-Against Average

Dan Ellis (2.45)

Malcolm Subban (2.46)

Save Percentage

Dan Ellis (.905)

Jeremy Smith, Malcolm Subban (.911)

 

BEARS vs. BRUINS - SPECIAL TEAMS:

 

HERSHEY

Providence

Power Play

35-for-210 (16.7%) – 16th in AHL

42-for-174 (24.1%) – 1st in AHL

Penalty Kill

175-for-213 (82.2%) – 19th in AHL

140-for-163 (85.9%) – 5th in AHL

 

BEARS vs. BRUINS – PLAYERS AMONG THE AHL:

Hershey

LW Chris Bourque

1st, points (21-31-52); T2nd, assists (31); 2nd, PP points (7-14-21); 3rd, goals (21); 4th, shots on goal (131).

 

C Travis Boyd

T3rd-rookies, points (14-21-35); T3rd-rookies, PP goals (6); 4th-rookies, PP points (6-8-14).

 

RW Riley Barber

7th-rookies, points (15-19-34); T2nd-rookies, shots on goal (112).

 

D Connor Carrick

T3rd-defensemen, goals (10); T1st-defensemen, SH goals (1); 1st-defensemen, shootout goals (2); T1st-defensemen, shootout-winning goals (1); 3rd-defensemen, shootout percentage (40%).

 

D Christian Djoos

T2nd-defensemen, shootout goals (1); T1st-defensemen, shootout-winning goals (1).

 

G Dan Ellis

10th, GAA (2.45); T5th, shutouts (3).

 

 

 

Providence

RW Seth Griffith

T2nd, points (15-33-48); 1st, assists (33); 2nd, PP assists (17).

 

C Alexander Khokhlachev

T11th, points (14-25-39).

 

C Frank Vatrano

1st-rookies, goals (19); 1st-rookies, PP goals (9); T16th-rookies, points (19-8-27); 2nd-rookies, shooting percentage (19/74=25.7%).

 

C Austin Czarnik

T3rd-rookies, points (13-22-35); T3rd-rookies, SH goals (2); T2nd-rookies, SH points (2-1-3); 4th-rookies, PP assists (12); 3rd-rookies, PP points (4-12-16).

 

 

BEARS RECENT TRANSACTIONS:

Feb. 11

DEL

RW

Caleb Herbert

Reassigned by Washington (NHL) to South Carolina (ECHL)

Feb. 9

DEL

D

Joey Leach

Returned on loan to South Carolina (ECHL)

Feb. 7

ADD

D

Connor Carrick

Returned on loan from Washington (NHL)

Feb. 7

ADD

LW

Paul Carey

Returned on loan from Washington (NHL)

Feb. 5

DEL

D

Connor Carrick

Recalled from loan by Washington (NHL)

Feb. 5

DEL

LW

Paul Carey

Recalled from loan by Washington (NHL)

Feb. 5

ADD

C

Zach Sill

Returned on loan from Washington (NHL)

                                                                                               

 

BRUINS RECENT TRANSACTIONS:

Feb. 7

ADD

G

Jeremy Smith

Reassigned by Boston (NHL) from Iowa (AHL)

 

 

HEAD TO HEAD:  Paul Carey (2-0-2) and Aaron Ness (0-2-2) lead the head-to-head scoring.  Noel Acciari (1-0-1), Brandon DeFazio (0-1-1) and Ben Youds (0-1-1) lead the way for Providence.

 

BEARS NEWS AND NOTES:

 

BOURQUE ON TOP:  Chris Bourque has eight points (1-7-8) in his last four games to retain the AHL points lead (21-31-52).  He also ranks tied for second in assists and third in goals.  Bourque’s 445 career points in Hershey (152 goals, 293 assists) rank ninth all-time.  Clicking over a point-per-game average in his Bears tenure, his 439 career games with the Bears ranks tied for 21st all-time with legendary Hall-of-Famer Willie Marshall.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK:  Rookie Jakub Vrana matched Chris Bourque’s offense on the weekend with three goals and four assists, and was selected as the CCM/AHL Player of the Week.  Vrana missed all of November, December and January due to injury, and following his two-point effort on Wednesday, has 16 points (7-9-16) in 13 games played.

FLYIN’ RILEY:  Rookie Riley Barber followed up his first pro hat trick on January 30 with six points on the weekend (3-3-6).  Following his three-point game on Wednesday. he has moved into a tie for seventh in AHL rookie scoring (15-19-34) and ranks third on the Bears.  He has seven goals in his last six games.

TRAVIS TURNS THE TRICK:  Rookie Travis Boyd produced the Bears’ second straight home-ice hat trick on Saturday vs. Lehigh Valley, the highlight of his current six-game point streak (5-4-9).  Boyd has points in 15 of his last 17 games (9-10-19) and totals (14-21-35) to move into a tie for third among AHL rookies and second on the Bears.

GREAT SCOTT:  Veteran Scott Gomez recorded the Bears’ second four-point game of the season – and first four-assist game – with his effort on Wednesday.  Gomez has seven points (1-6-7) in his last two games, and has 18 points (3-15-18) in his 11-game stay with the Bears to date. 

 

BEARS BULLETS:  Hershey is tied for the most points (64) in the Atlantic Division, is tied for the most home wins (17) in the AHL and has the most home points (40)…The Bears have played the most shootouts (nine) and most overtime games (16)…Providence has eight overtime losses, second-most in the AHL…The Bruins have the third-fewest penalty minutes (532) in the AHL…Hershey ended with four power play goals on Sunday, the most in a single game since the club’s five on April 14, 2013 at Portland… Providence leads the AHL with 31 home power play goals and five home shorthanded goals…Hershey has scored five or more goals in six straight games, and in seven of its last eight, to move into third in the AHL in goals per game average (3.40)…The Bears are 20-0-0-0 when allowing two or fewer goals.


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