Game Preview: Bears vs Wolf Pack, 7 p.m.

March 17, 2017

TONIGHT’S GAME NOTES
Hartford Wolf Pack (21-35-3-2, 47 points, 7th in Atlantic) at Hershey Bears (33-18-8-3, 77 points, 5th in Atlantic)
Friday, March 17, 2017- 7:00 p.m.
Giant Center

Broadcast Information (Pre-game 6:30 PM)
LISTEN ON: WQIC-100.1 FM, WOYK-AM 1350, the Bears app via Fox Sports 1460 Harrisburg, Caps Radio 24/7
WATCH: AHLLive.com


WOLF PACK AT BEARS: The Hershey Bears take the ice this evening for a St. Patrick’s Day contest versus the Hartford Wolf Pack. This is the first of two straight games versus the Wolf Pack as Hershey enters tonight’s game looking for an eighth straight victory on home ice. Hershey enters this weekend with its sights set on climbing into the top four in the Atlantic Division standings. The Bears are tied with both Bridgeport and Providence at 77 points entering tonight’s game. The Bears have won five of the past six games while the Wolf Pack have lost five straight games. 

2016-17 REGULAR-SEASON SERIES VS HARTFORD: (3-1-1-0) 
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    W, 6-1
March 17    HARTFORD    Giant Center    
March 18    HARTFORD    Giant Center    
March 21    At Hartford    XL Center    

RECENT RESULTS:
Sunday, March 12: Hershey 4, Providence 2 
Stanislav Galiev scored twice, and Pheonix Copley turned aside 28 shots as the Hershey Bears hockey team won a seventh straight game on home ice, beating the Providence Bruins 4-2 on Sunday at the Giant Center. The victory pulled Hershey into a three-way tie in the Atlantic Division at 77 points with Providence and Bridgeport, however the Bruins and Sound Tigers have played one fewer game than Hershey. 

After falling behind 1-0 on an Alex Grant goal only 1:46 to the game, Galiev responded with his 20th goal of the season. The forward rushed down the left wing and snapped a shot through netminder Malcom Subban to make it 1-1. Colby Williams assisted on the goal. 

After Jake DeBrusk gave Providence a 2-1 lead at the 9:33 mark of the first period, Galiev had an answer again, striking on the power play at 16:24. Christian Thomas slapped a pass towards the net that Galiev redirected past Subban’s pad to make it 2-2. Galiev’s two-goal performance gave him his fifth multi-goal game of the season. 

The game-winning goal came from Hershey captain Garrett Mitchell at the 14:19 mark of the second period. The Bears rushed in on an odd-man rush, and Chandler Stephenson found teammate Chris Bourque in the slot. He fired a shot to the net that Subban stopped, but the netminder appeared to lose track of the puck. Mitchell capitalized on the rebound and struck for his eighth goal of the season to give Hershey the 3-2 lead.

Copley would deny the Bruins of a tying goal in the third period, adding nine saves in the final frame. Nathan Walker would complete the victory for Hershey, collecting his 10th goal of the season by scoring into an empty net with 47 seconds to play. 

The end of the game saw bad blood boil over as a scrum erupted in front of the Providence net. Providence netminder Malcom Subban jumped into the scrum, and challenged Hershey’s Copley to a fight. Copley skated out to center ice and dropped his gloves, but Subban was restrained by the officials and ushered to the locker room before a fight developed.
 
The Bears were outshot 30-15 in the contest and went 1-for-5 on the power play. Providence was 0-for-3.

BEARS vs. WOLF PACK - SPECIAL TEAMS: (As of March 17:)
HERSHEY    
Power Play    59-for-269 (21.9%) – 6th in AHL    
Penalty Kill    223-for-272 (82.0%) – 17th in AHL    
Hartford
Power Play    38-for-214 (17.8%) –16th in AHL
Penalty Kill    194-for-249 (77.9) – 28th in AHL

BEARS vs. HARTFORD – TEAM LEADERS (Stats Exclude Players on NHL Recall):
HERSHEY
Goals    Christian Thomas (23)
Assists    Travis Boyd (37)
Points    Chris Bourque (52)
PIMs    Tyler Lewington (127)
Plus/Minus    Stanislav Galiev (+16)
Power-Play Goals    Christian Thomas (11)
Shorthanded Goals    N/A
Game-Winning Goals    Paul Carey (5)
Wins    Pheonix Copley (18)
Goals-Against Average    Pheonix Copley (2.25)
Save Percentage    Pheonix Copley (.924)
Hartford
Goals    Nicklas Jensen (25)
Assists    Taylor Beck (39)
Points    Taylor Beck (54)
PIMs    Chris Brown (65)
Plus/Minus    Taylor Beck (+13)
Power-Play Goals    Nicklas Jensen (7)
Shorthanded Goals    Marek Hrivik (2)
Game-Winning Goals    Seven Tied (2)
Wins    Mackenzie Skapski (1)
Goals-Against Average    Jeff Malcom (4.06)
Save Percentage    Jeff Malcom (.892)


BEARS RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
Mar. 17    ADD    LW    Jakub Vrana    Returned on loan by Washington (NHL)
Mar. 14    DEL    C    Kelly Zajac    Returned on loan to South Carolina (ECHL)
Mar. 14    DEL    D    Cody Corbett    Reassigned by Washington (NHL) to South Carolina (ECHL)
Mar. 14    ADD    D    Kris Bindulis    Signed to ATO 
Mar. 9    ADD    LW    Mason Mitchell    Signed to ATO
Mar. 9    ADD    C    Hampus Gustafsson    Signed to ATO
Mar. 8    ADD    D    Mattias Backman    Reassigned by Dallas (NHL) from Texas (AHL)
Mar. 8    DEL    D    Darren Dietz    Reassigned by Washington (NHL) to Texas (AHL)

WOLF PACK RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
Mar. 16    DEL    D    Spiro Goulakos    Returned on loan to Greenville (ECHL)
Mar. 16    DEL    G    Magnus Hellberg    Recalled from loan by NY Rangers (NHL)
Mar. 13    ADD    G    Magnus Hellberg    Returned on loan from NY Rangers (NHL)
Mar. 10    DEL    G    Magnus Hellberg    Recalled from loan by NY Rangers (NHL)
Mar. 10    ADD    G    Jeff Malcom    Recalled from loan to Greenville (ECHL)
Mar 8    DEL    G    Brandon Halverson    Reassigned by NY Rangers (NHL) to Greenville (ECHL)
Mar. 8    ADD    RW    Michael Joly    Recalled from loan to Greenville (ECHL)

BEARS NEWS AND NOTES:

LAST TIME VERSUS HARTFORD: The Bears visited the Wolf Pack on Feb. 24 and exploded offensively in the second period, scoring five goals on 20 shots, en route to a 6-1 victory at the XL Center. The five goals in a single period tied a season-high for Hershey, and the 20 shots in a single period set a new season-high for the club. Hershey outshot Hartford 32-23. 

LUCK OF THE IRISH: The Bears have won four straight games on St. Patrick’s Day dating back to a 5-2 win over Philadelphia on Mar. 17, 2007. Tonight is Hershey’s first game on St. Patrick’s Day since Mar. 17, 2013. That evening Hershey topped the Adirondack Phantoms 5-2 at Giant Center. Forwards Jeff Taffe posted four points (two goals, two assists), current Capitals defenseman Dmitri Orlov had two assists, and current Capitals goalie Philipp Grubauer stopped 36 shots. Hershey’s last loss on St. Patrick’s Day came on Mar. 17, 2006 when the Bears fell in Binghamton, 3-2, in a shootout. 

HOTTEST SCORER IN THE AHL: Since the start of 2017, no player in the AHL has more goals than Hershey forward Stanislav Galiev. Since the calendar turned, Galiev has collected a league-best 17 tallies in just 27 games. The forward has enjoyed five multi-goal games since January 1, including scoring a hat trick on Feb. 3 at Binghamton. Galiev enters this week on a five-game point streak, scoring eight points (four goals, four assists) in that stretch. 

CAPTAIN CHASES 100: Captain Garrett Mitchell’s game-winning goal in Sunday’s 4-2 victory over Providence was the 99th point of his Hershey and AHL career. The forward’s next point will help him hit the century mark. Mitchell has collected 44 goals and 55 assists in 341 career games with Hershey.

BEARS-WOLF PACK FAST FACTS: Both Christian Djoos (one goal, six assists) and Travis Boyd (three goals, four assists) both have seven points versus Hartford this season…Djoos has the third best shooting percentage (14.5%) among all AHL defenders…Hershey’s seven game home win streak is just one shy of this season’s AHL season-high home win streak set by Chicago…Hartford has lost five straight road games, being outscored 26-9.