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Game Preview: Bears at Wolf Pack

October 26, 2016

Broadcast Information (Pre-game 6:30 PM)
LISTEN ON: WQIC-100.1 FM, WOYK-AM 1350 (select games), the Bears app via Fox Sports 1460 Harrisburg, 
WATCH: AHLLive.com

BEARS at WOLF PACK:  The Hershey Bears visit the XL Center this evening to battle the Hartford Wolf Pack for the first time this season. Hershey is 7-7-0-4 in the last five years versus the Wolf Pack with three wins coming at the XL Center.

2015-16 REGULAR-SEASON SERIES (1-1-0-2):

Sat. October 24

HARTFORD

GIANT Center

W, 3-2-OT

Sun. October 25

HARTFORD

GIANT Center

SOL, 3-2

Fri. December 4

at Hartford

XL Center

SOL, 4-3

Fri. April 1

at Hartford

XL Center

L, 5-1

ATLANTIC DIVISION STANDINGS (as of October 26):

POS

TEAM

GP

W

L

OTL

SOL

PTS

PTS%

GF

GA

1.

Springfield

4

3

1

0

0

6

.750

10

9

2.

WB/Scranton

4

3

1

0

0

6

.750

11

5

3.

Bridgeport

4

2

2

0

0

4

.500

10

10

4.

Hartford

4

2

2

0

0

4

.500

15

18

5.

Lehigh Valley

3

1

1

1

0

3

.500

10

12

6.

HERSHEY

4

1

2

1

0

3

.375

10

12

7.

Providence

5

1

3

1

0

3

.300

8

14

RECENT RESULTS: The Hershey Bears went 1-0-1-0 this past weekend as they opened the home slate of the 2016-17 schedule. On Saturday, goals from five different players, and 24 saves from netminder Joe Cannata, led Hershey to 5-2 victory over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the club’s home opener at the GIANT Center. The Bears brought the GIANT Center crowd of 8,085 to its feet only 4:22 into the contest. Forward Paul Carey scored his first goal of the season to make it 1-0 Hershey. The Bears would add to the lead in the second period as former Sound Tiger Aaron Ness scored his first goal of the season on the power play at 7:44. The third period saw five goals scored, including three from Hershey. The frame started with the two teams trading three goals in a span of 1:50. In the period, Brad Malone, Nathan Walker, and Madison Bowey scored for Hershey, and Colby Williams notched an assist in his professional debut. Hershey’s penalty kill was busy on the night, but held Bridgeport to just 1-for-8 on the power play. Hershey was 1-for-5.

On Sunday, sensational goaltending was the storyline, but an overtime penalty shot goal was the difference as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins beat Hershey 2-1 at GIANT Center. Dominik Simon’s tally earned the Penguins the extra point in the first clash of the 2016-17 season between the two Atlantic Division rivals. Hershey netminder Vitek Vanecek and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Tristan Jarry turned in save after save throughout the balance of regulation. In the goaltender’s duel, the Bears opened the scoring midway through the second period. A clearing attempt hit the glass and deflected right to Hershey’s Chris Bourque on the left wing. He fired a pass across to teammate Riley Barber on the right side of the ice. Barber's one-time shot beat Jarry to make it 1-0 Bears. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton would tie the game in the third period on a goal from Jake Guentzel. In the extra session, Simon darted in on a breakaway and was slashed from behind. The forward took a shot that Vanecek stopped, but a penalty shot was awarded. On the penalty shot, Simon was able to slip a backhand shot past the Hershey goaltender to give the Penguins the win.

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

 

HERSHEY

Hartford

Goals

Jakub Vrana, Brad Malone (2)

Five Tied (2)

Assists

Chris Bourque (4)

Six Tied (2)

Points

Chris Bourque (4)

Marek Hrivik (4)

PIMs

Darren Dietz (16)

Chris Brown, Tanner Glass (9)

Plus/Minus

Boyd, Walker (+3)

Hughes, Glass, Hrivik (3)

Power-Play Goals

Jakub Vrana, Aaron Ness (1)

Justin Fontaine, John Gilmour (1)

Shorthanded Goals

N/A

N/A

Game-Winning Goals

Brad Malone (1)

Nicklas Jensen, Cristoval Nieves (1)

Wins

Joe Cannata (1)

Magnus Hellberg (2)

Goals-Against Average

Vitek Vanecek (2.01)

Magnus Hellberg (3.45)

Save Percentage

Vitek Vanecek (.938%)

Magnus Hellberg (.885%)

BEARS vs. WOLF PACK - SPECIAL TEAMS:

 

HERSHEY

Hartford

Power Play

2-for-14 (14.3%) – 19th in AHL

2-for-25 (8%) – 26th in AHL

Penalty Kill

16-for-19 (84.2%) – 17th in AHL

11-for-16 (68.8%) – 27th in AHL

BEARS RECENT TRANSACTIONS:

Oct. 18

ADD

D

Joey Leach

Recalled from loan to South Carolina (ECHL)

                       

WOLF PACK RECENT TRANSACTIONS:

Oct. 16

ADD

F

Justin Fontaine

Loaned from New York Rangers (NHL)

BEARS NEWS AND NOTES:

BROWN AND BOURQUE BATTLE: Tonight’s contest is the second time that forwards Ryan Bourque and Chris Brown will play their former clubs since a deadline deal last season that saw the two forwards trade places. The Capitals swapped Brown for Bourque on February 28 of this year. Brown spent parts of three seasons with the Capitals organization, and appeared in 20 games with the Bears, scoring nine points, prior to the deal. Bourque was the captain of Hartford prior to the trade, and notched five points (one goal, four assists) with Hershey in 19 games last season. Chris Bourque also returns to Hartford. He spent the 2014-15 season with the Wolf Pack, scoring 66 points (29 goals, 37 assists) in 73 games. Last season, the former Wolf Pack forward torched his old team, scoring five points (one goal, four assists) in the season series.

D-MEN COME UP BIG: The Bears got goals from five different players in Saturday’s 5-2 win versus Bridgeport, and two tallies came from defenders. Both Aaron Ness and Madison Bowey scored, and in total, defenders chipped in six points. Bowey had a goal and an assist, while rookie Colby Williams, making his AHL debut, adding his first career point with an assist.

MALONE SETS TONE: Forward Brad Malone scored his second goal as a member of the Hershey Bears last Saturday, and dropped the gloves with the Chocolate and White for the first time. The gritty forward collected the game-winning tally in the Bears 5-2 win over Bridgeport. It was the first game-winning AHL goal for Malone since April 6, 2012 when he collected the deciding marker in a 2-1 win for Lake Erie over Rockford.

GAZLEY INJURED: The Bears will be without the services of forward Dustin Gazley for the next several months. The forward was injured in Sunday’s 2-1 overtime loss to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Gazley took a hard fall into the boards behind the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton net and had to be helped off the ice. He sustained a fractured foot and will miss 10 weeks, VP of Hockey Operations Bryan Helmer announced on Monday. The forward is in his fourth season with the Bears and registered 31 points last season.

KEEPING THEM IN CZECH:  Despite his 0-1-1 record, Hershey goaltender Vitek Vanecek has impressed. The 20-year-old native of the Czech Republic has a 2.01 goals against average and a .938 save percentage through two starts. He turned aside 33 shots in Sunday’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Penguins. The 2nd round pick of Washington went 18-7-6 in 32 games with South Carolina of the ECHL last season, finishing with the second best goals-against average in the ECHL at 2.03.

BEARS-WOLF PACK BULLETS:  Hershey forward Riley Barber scored his first goal of the season in Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Barber finished second on the team with 26 goals last year as a rookie. He collected three points (one goal, two assists) versus Hartford last season…Travis Boyd, Chandler Stephenson, Madison Bowey, Jakub Vrana, and Nathan Walker are all returners who scored versus Hartford last season…Wolf Pack goalie Magnus Hellberg was 1-0-1 versus the Bears last season with a 1.95 goals against average…the XL Center, known then as the Hartford Civic Center, was home to the NHL’s Hartford Whalers until 1997 when they moved to North Carolina to become the Carolina Hurricanes.




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