February 24, 2017
TONIGHT’S GAME NOTESHershey Bears (26-16-8-3, 63 points, 5th in Atlantic) at Hartford Wolf Pack (19-28-3-2, 43 points, 7th in Atlantic)
February 24, 2017- 7:15 p.m.
XL Center
Broadcast Information (Pre-game 6:45 PM)LISTEN ON: WQIC-100.1 FM, WOYK-AM 1350, the Bears app via
Fox Sports 1460 HarrisburgWATCH: AHLLive.comBEARS AT WOLF PACK: The
Hershey Bears visit Atlantic Division rival the Hartford Wolf Pack, this evening. The Bears have won two straight games versus the Wolf Pack after dropping the first two games of the season series. Hershey enters tonight’s game looking to get back on track, having lost three of the past four games. However, Hershey is 6-3-1-1 over the past 10 games while Hartford enters tonight’s contest on a two-game losing streak. After tonight’s game, Hershey returns to the
Giant Center for the first time since Feb. 11 when they defeated Hartford, 4-2, on home ice. Hershey hosts Toronto tomorrow before heading to Bridgeport on Sunday.
2016-17 REGULAR-SEASON SERIES VS HARTFORD: (2-1-0-1) October 26 At Hartford XL Center OTL, 3-2
December 17 HARTFORD
Giant Center L, 5-4
January 25 At Hartford XL Center W, 5-4
February 11 HARTFORD
Giant Center W, 4-2
February 24 At Hartford XL Center
March 17 HARTFORD
Giant Center March 18 HARTFORD
Giant Center March 21 At Hartford XL Center
RECENT RESULTS:
Sunday, February 19: Bridgeport 5, Hershey 1Chris Bourque scored, but the Bridgeport Sound Tigers defeated the
Hershey Bears hockey team 5-1 on Sunday afternoon at the Webster Bank Arena. Bridgeport extended its winning streak to seven games.
Bridgeport’s Travis St. Denis opened the scoring at 5:44 of the opening period, scoring on an odd-man rush. His wrist shot from the left wing rolled through the arm of Hershey netminder Vitek Vanecek to make it 1-0.
Bridgeport scored again at 16:26 of the second period to extend the lead. Bracken Kearns notched his team leading 18th goal of the season, redirecting a Ryan Pulock shot through the five-hole of Vanecek to make it 2-0 Bridgeport.
The Bears came out determined in the third period and scored on the power play only 3:42 into the frame. Defender Christian Djoos fed Bourque on the right point. The veteran walked in and snapped a shot past the blocker of Bridgeport goaltender Jaroslav Halak to make it 2-1. The goal was Bourque’s 15th on the season.
Carter Verhaeghe scored for the fifth straight game to add to the Sound Tigers lead, striking on the power play at 10:40 to regain Bridgeport’ two goal lead. Pulock’s slap shot from the point hit Hershey’s Vanecek in the head, and with the goaltender stunned, Verhaeghe popped the rebound into the goal.
Kyle Burroughs would make it 4-1 exactly two minutes later, beating Vanecek with a slap shot from the blue line. Down by three, Hershey coach Troy Mann pulled Vanecek for an extra attacker with four minutes remaining. Josh Ho-Sang added to Bridgeport’s lead as he was awarded a goal after being pulled down on a breakaway with the net empty. Ho-Sang’s ninth goal of the season came at 16:20 and made it 5-1.
Bridgeport outshot Hershey 29-25. The two teams meet again this Sunday at the Webster Bank Arena at 3 p.m.
BEARS vs. WOLF PACK - SPECIAL TEAMS: (As of February 24:)HERSHEYPower Play 49-for-228 (21.5%) – 6th in AHL
Penalty Kill 195-for-241 (80.9%) – 20th in AHL
HartfordPower Play 36-for-187 (19.3%) –11th in AHL
Penalty Kill 170-for-216 (78.7) – 27th in AHL
BEARS vs. HARTFORD – TEAM LEADERS (Stats Exclude Players on NHL Recall):HERSHEYGoals Christian Thomas (17)
Assists Travis Boyd (32)
Points Chris Bourque (45)
PIMs Tyler Lewington (112)
Plus/Minus Tyler Lewington (+14)
Power-Play Goals Christian Thomas (10)
Shorthanded Goals Brad Malone (1)
Game-Winning Goals Paul Carey (5)
Wins Vitek Vanecek (13)
Goals-Against Average Vitek Vanecek (2.77)
Save Percentage Parker Milner (.913%)
HartfordGoals Nicklas Jensen (22)
Assists Mat Bodie (22)
Points Nicklas Jensen (37)
PIMs Tanner Glass (84)
Plus/Minus Chris Summers (+8)
Power-Play Goals Nicklas Jensen (6)
Shorthanded Goals Marek Hrivik (2)
Game-Winning Goals Seven Tied (2)
Wins Magnus Hellberg (10)
Goals-Against Average Magnus Hellberg (2.95)
Save Percentage Magnus Hellberg (.901)
BEARS RECENT TRANSACTIONS:Feb. 23 DEL D Aaron Ness Recalled from loan by Washington (NHL)
Feb. 23 DEL RW Riley Barber Recalled from loan by Washington (NHL)
Feb. 23 ADD C Travis Boyd Returned on loan from Washington (NHL)
Feb. 21 DEL C Travis Boyd Recalled from loan by Washington (NHL)
Feb. 20 ADD G Joe Cannata Reassigned by Washington (NHL) from South Carolina (ECHL)
Feb. 17 DEL LW Jakub Vrana Recalled from loan by Washington (NHL)
Feb. 17 DEL C Zach Sanford Recalled from loan by Washington (NHL)
Feb. 16 ADD C Kelly Zajac Recalled from loan to South Carolina (ECHL)
WOLF PACK RECENT TRANSACTIONS:Feb. 15 DEL D Spiro Goulakos Returned on loan to Greenville (ECHL)
Feb. 15 DEL C Allan McPherson Released from PTO
Feb. 11 DEL RW Tommy Thompason Released from PRO
Feb. 4 ADD RW Tommy Thompson Signed to PTO
Feb. 2 ADD G Magnus Hellberg Returned on loan from NY Rangers (NHL)
Feb. 2 DEL G Magnus Hellberg Recalled from loan by NY Rangers (NHL)
Jan. 28 ADD D Spiro Goulakos Recalled from loan to Greenville (ECHL)
BEARS NEWS AND NOTES:LAST TIME VERSUS HARTFORD: The Bears hosted the Wolf Pack at the
Giant Center on Feb. 11, and Hershey earned a 4-2 victory in front of a sold-out crowd of 10,561. The Bears jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the opening period thanks to goals from Travis Boyd and Christian Djoos. Forward Paul Carey scored his team leading fifth game-winning goal, and Riley Barber notched an empty net tally in his return from injury. Parker Milner was the winning goaltender, stopping 23 shots.
BOYD APPROACHES 100: It’s been a busy week for Hershey’s Travis Boyd. The forward earned his first NHL recall on Monday, but did not appear in Washington’s win at Philadelphia on Wednesday. He returned to Hershey on Thursday, which is good news for the Bears. The forward, who has five points versus Hartford this season, is just two points away from reaching 100 in his AHL and Hershey career. He has 98 career points (33 goals, 65 assists) in 131 games with Hershey. He ranks second on the club with 43 points this season.
PLAYOFF PUSH: Hershey enters tonight’s game on the outside looking in of the Atlantic Division playoff picture. The Bears (53 games played) trail Bridgeport (51 games played) by five points, and Providence (53 games played) by six points. Hershey’s .645 win percentage that won the Atlantic Division last year would not qualify for the playoffs in 2016-17 if the season ended today.
BEARS-WOLF PACK FAST FACTS: Hershey’s Paul Carey has six points (four goals, two assists) versus Hartford this season…Hershey has not outshot an opponent since Jan. 18 versus Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, a span of 14 games…Hershey forwards Chris Bourque, Ryan Bourque, and Christian Thomas are all forward members of the Wolf Pack…Hartford forward Steven Fogarty was born in Chambersburg, PA.