TONIGHT’S GAME NOTES
Hartford Wolf Pack (21-36-3-2, 47 points, 7th in Atlantic) at Hershey Bears (34-18-8-3, 77 points, 4th in Atlantic)
Saturday, March 18, 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
WATCH: AHLLive.com
WOLF PACK AT BEARS: The Hershey Bears battle the Hartford Wolf Pack this evening for the second straight night. The Bears came away with a 4-3 overtime win last night thanks to a four-point evening from defender Christian Djoos. Hershey has won eight straight games at the Giant Center, a mark tied for the most consecutive home wins by any team in the AHL this season. Hershey is 8-2-0-0 over the past 10 games. The Bears climbed into a playoff position with the win last night and Bridgeport’s loss to Providence. Hartford has lost six straight games entering tonight’s contest.
2016-17 REGULAR-SEASON SERIES VS HARTFORD: (4-1-1-0)
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 OTW, 4-3
March 18 HARTFORD Giant Center
March 21 At Hartford XL Center
RECENT RESULTS:
Friday, March 17: Hershey 4, Hartford 3-FINAL/OT
Christian Djoos scored 59 seconds into overtime to complete a four-point evening and earn the Hershey Bears hockey team a 4-3 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack on Friday evening at the Giant Center. The victory improved Hershey’s win streak on home ice to eight games, and gave the Bears their second overtime win of the season.
Hershey entered Friday’s game with a 1-8 record in overtime, and a 0-5 mark on home ice. That all changed within the first minute of the extra session on Friday. With a goal and two assists under his belt, Djoos elated the crowd of 9,047 with his second goal of the game to earn Hershey the win. Stanislav Galiev drifted into the slot and fed Djoos on the right wing. The defender took a one-timer that beat Wolf Pack netminder Jeff Malcolm over the left shoulder.
Djoos’ exceptional night started midway through the second period. Only 44 seconds after Matt Carey gave Hartford a 1-0 lead, Djoos set up the tying goal. The defender fed Hershey’s Paul Carey on the left wing, and the Boston native scored his 19th goal of the season to make it 1-1 at 10:50. Djoos then gave Hershey the lead in the closing seconds of the second period. Paul Carey dug the puck out of a scrum on the nearside corner boards and found Djoos wide open at the top of the crease. The defender chipped a shot past the glove of Malcolm at 19:57 for his 11th goal of the year.
Both teams traded goals in the third period. Dan Catenacci tied the game for Hartford at 4:52, but Hershey captain Garrett Mitchell responded, scoring at 6:21 to make it 3-2. The forward redirected Tom Gilbert's shot from the right point past the blocker of Malcolm for his ninth goal of the year. The goal gave Mitchell his 100th career AHL point, all of which have come with the Bears. Djoos picked up the secondary assist on the go-ahead marker.
Overtime was setup by a tying goal from Hartford's Niklas Jensen with under four minutes to play. Wolf Pack forward Marek Hrivik broke his stick on a slap shot, and the puck knuckled, deflecting off Hershey goalie Pheonix Copley's stick. The rebound bounced right to Jensen who notched his 26th goal of the season to force overtime.
BEARS vs. WOLF PACK - SPECIAL TEAMS: (As of March 18:)
HERSHEY
Power Play 59-for-273 (21.6%) – 6th in AHL
Penalty Kill 225-for-275 (81.8%) – 16th in AHL
Hartford
Power Play 39-for-217 (18.0%) –16th in AHL
Penalty Kill 198-for-253 (78.3) – 28th in AHL
BEARS vs. HARTFORD – TEAM LEADERS (Stats Exclude Players on NHL Recall):
HERSHEY
Goals Christian Thomas (23)
Assists Travis Boyd (40)
Points Chris Bourque, Travis Boyd (52)
PIMs Tyler Lewington (127)
Plus/Minus Stanislav Galiev (+18)
Power-Play Goals Christian Thomas (11)
Shorthanded Goals N/A
Game-Winning Goals Paul Carey (5)
Wins Pheonix Copley (19)
Goals-Against Average Pheonix Copley (2.28)
Save Percentage Pheonix Copley (.923)
Hartford
Goals Nicklas Jensen (26)
Assists Taylor Beck (41)
Points Taylor Beck (56)
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 (4.01)
Save Percentage Jeff Malcom (.880)
BEARS RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
Mar. 17 ADD LW Jakub Vrana Returned on loan from 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:
DJOOOOS: Defender Christian Djoos enjoyed the best game of his professional career last night. The defender notched a career-best four points (two goals, two assists) including the game-winning tally in overtime. Last night was also the first multi-goal game of Djoos’ professional career. Only one other Hershey player has posted four points in a single game this season. Former Bear Zach Sanford also had two goals and two assists on Dec. 11 versus Rochester. Djoos is tied for third among AHL defenders with 48 points (12 goals, 36 assists). He has seven points (two goals, five assists) over his past three games.
MARCH MADNESS: Hershey netminders have been sensational in the month of March. Pheonix Copley is 4-1-0 in March with a 2.10 goals against average and a .933 save percentage. Meanwhile, Vitek Vanecek has quietly played well for Hershey. In March, Vanecek is 2-0-0 with a 1.35 goals against average and a .947 save percentage. Over the last past month, Vanecek’s 1.47 goals against average is fourth in the AHL. If Vanecek starts in goal tonight, it will only be his fifth game at Giant Center in 20 appearances in the calendar year 2017.
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 28 games. The forward has enjoyed five multi-goal games since January 1, including scoring a hat trick on Feb. 3 at Binghamton. Galiev enters tonight on a six-game point streak, scoring nine points (four goals, five assists) in that stretch.
BEARS-WOLF PACK FAST FACTS: Forward Riley Barber skated in his 100th AHL/Hershey game last night…The Bears overtime win last night broke a six-game losing streak in overtime…A quick start versus Hartford will be key as the Wolf Pack are 5-24-1-0 when trailing after the first period…Hartford is allowing a league-high 3.64 goals per game.