Tonight's Game Preview: Bears at Americans

October 14, 2016

Game 1: October 14, 2016, 7:05 p.m.
Hershey Bears (0-0-0-0) at Rochester Americans (0-0-0-0)
Blue Cross Arena- Rochester, New York

Pregame coverage starts at 6:40 p.m. with the new Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
The Hershey Bears open their 79th season on the road this evening versus the Rochester Americans. The Bears are coming off a season in 2015-16 in which they finished with a 43-21-5-7 record and the top spot in the Atlantic Division. The Bears beat Portland, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and Toronto in the 2016 Calder Cup Playoffs to advance to the Finals versus Lake Erie, where they fell, four games to none. Rochester went 34-38-3-1 last season, which saw them land in sixth place in the North Division and out of the playoff picture. The Bears and Americans play three additional times after tonight’s game. The two teams square off in Hershey on Nov. 6 and Dec. 11, and return to Rochester to play on Apr. 7.

HEAD-TO-HEAD VS THE AMERKS
The Bears are seeking their first win in Rochester since Feb. 17, 2013, when they beat the Americans 4-1. Philipp Grubauer stopped 35 shots that evening and Ryan Stoa had the game-winning goal. Tonight is only the seventh time over the past five seasons that Hershey has played the Americans. The Bears are 3-3-0-0 in those contests, and are 1-2-0-0 in Rochester during that span. Last season, the two teams played a pair of games, with Hershey winning 3-1 at the GIANT Center on Nov. 8 and the Americans earned the 5-4 victory over the Bears on Jan. 8 in Rochester. In those two contests, Hershey forward Garrett Mitchell collected three points.

THE BOYS ARE BACK
Hershey returns 15 players who appeared in a game for the club during the 2016 Calder Cup Playoffs. Among the returners is AHL Most Valuable Player, Chris Bourque, who led the league with 80 points last season. His brother Ryan also returns after being obtained by the Washington organization at the trade deadline last year. A fellow returner up-front is Riley Barber who enters his second season after notching 26 goals as a rookie, as well as Jakub Vrana, a 2014 1st Round selection of Washington who scored 14 points in 21 playoff games. On the blue line, Madison Bowey returns after finishing with a team-best +22, and registering 29 points, the top mark among Hershey defenders in 2015-16.

NEW GUYS IN GOAL
The Bears welcome two new goaltenders to the roster this season. Joe Cannata was signed by Washington on July 1 and joins Hershey after having a breakout season with the Utica Comets last year. In 2015-16, the Merrimack grad posted career-bests in games played (40), wins (20), and shutouts (2). Joining Cannata is Vitek Vaneck, a 2014 2nd Round selection of Washington who joins the Bears full time after making his Hershey debut in the 2015-16 regular season finale, earning a 2-1 shootout victory over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on April 17. With South Carolina of the ECHL last season, Vanecek went 18-7-6 in 32 games and finished with the second best goals-against average in the ECHL at 2.03. The 20-year-old native of the Czech Republic earned league honors four times during the 2015-16 campaign, including being named to the ECHL All-Rookie Team.