Game Preview: Hershey at St. John's, 2:30 p.m.

March 25, 2017

TODAY'S GAME NOTES
Hershey Bears (37-19-8-3, 85 points, 4th in Atlantic) vs St. John's IceCaps (32-25-8-2, 74 points, 3rd in North)
Sunday, March 26, 2017- 2:30 pm ET
Mile One Centre

Broadcast Information (Pre-game 2:00 PM ET)
LISTEN ON: WQIC-100.1 FM, WOYK-AM 1350, the Bears app via Fox Sports 1460 Harrisburg, Caps Radio 24/7
WATCH: AHLLive.com

ICECAPS AT BEARS: The Hershey Bears visit the St. John’s IceCaps for the final time this afternoon. The contest is a rematch of yesterday’s game, a 4-3 win for the IceCaps. The Bears have gone 8-2-0-0 over the past 10 games and currently hold a playoff position in the Atlantic Division by four points over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers who fell 4-3 at Hartford last night. The IceCaps are 5-0-1-1 over the past seven games and moved into third place in the North Division with the win yesterday. 

2016-17 REGULAR-SEASON SERIES VS ST. JOHN’S (2-1-0-0): 
February 4    ST. JOHN’S    Giant Center    W, 5-2
February 5    ST. JOHN’S     Giant Center    W, 3-2
March 25    At St. John’s    Mile One Centre    L, 4-3
March 26    At St. John’s    Mile One Centre    

CURRENT AHL STANDINGS

RECENT RESULTS:
Saturday, March 25: St. John’s 4, Hershey 3
Keegan Lowe’s goal with under 16 seconds to play ended the Hershey Bears six-game winning streak, and gave the St. John’s IceCaps a 4-3 victory on Saturday afternoon at the Mile One Centre. The IceCaps scored three unanswered goals to overcome a 3-1 deficit en route to the win. 

A back-and-forth game saw the score tied 3-3 going in the third period. The Bears had the better of the opportunities in the game’s final frame, but St. John’s netminder Charlie Lindgren stole the show. Lindgren made three highlight-reel saves to keep Hershey off the scoreboard. He made a pair of impressive glove saves, then minutes later, stretched out to deny a shot by Mattias Backman that looked like a sure goal. 

Lowe rewarded his netminder with his fifth goal of the season in the closing seconds. The IceCaps worked the puck in the offensive zone and gained an advantage when Hershey defender Hubert Labrie lost his stick. Lowe got the puck at the left point and wired a shot over Hershey goaltender Pheonix Copley to give St. John’s the lead at 19:44. 

St. John’s started the scoring on Saturday. Former Bear Julien Brouillette opened the scoring just 4:20 into the game. The defender accepted a Nikita Sherbak pass along the right wing and snapped a shot under the pad of Copley to make it 1-0. 

The Bears responded with three goals before the end of the period to jump out front. Defender Tyler Lewington scored his first goal since Feb. 4, scoring on a slap shot at 7:50. Jakub Vrana stole the puck in the corner, and centered to Lewington in the high slot. The defender’s slap shot beat Lindgren over the glove to make it 1-1.

Less than a minute later, Travis Boyd gave Hershey the lead. The forward raced down the left wing and beat Lindgren under the left arm for his 14th goal of the season. Christian Djoos and Backman assisted on the goal at 8:44. 

With just four minutes remaining in the opening period, Chris Bourque extended Hershey’s lead to 3-1. Chander Stephenson’s dump-in hit the far boards and popped to Bourque. The veteran snapped a shot past Lindgren for his 18th goal of the season. 

St. John’s started its comeback in the second period with goals from Jeremy Gregoire at 3:49 and Yannick Veilluex at 8:25 to tie the score 3-3, and setup the dramatic finish. 

Both teams failed to score on the power play on Saturday afternoon. The IceCaps outshot the Bears, 31-29, on the afternoon.

BEARS vs. ICECAPS - SPECIAL TEAMS: (As of March 26:)
HERSHEY
Power Play    63-for-291 (21.7%) – 5th in AHL
Penalty Kill    234-for-294 (82.0%) – 16th in AHL

St. John’s
Power Play    46-for-257 (17.9%) –12th in AHL
Penalty Kill    223-for-280 (79.6%) – 26th in AHL

BEARS vs. ICECAPS– TEAM LEADERS (Stats Exclude Players on NHL Recall):
HERSHEY
Goals    Christian Thomas (24)
Assists    Travis Boyd (43)
Points    Chris Bourque, Travis Boyd (57)
PIMs    Tyler Lewington (142)
Plus/Minus    Stanislav Galiev (+20)
Power-Play Goals    Christian Thomas (12)
Shorthanded Goals    N/A
Game-Winning Goals    Liam O’Brien (4)
Wins    Pheonix Copley (21)
Goals-Against Average    Pheonix Copley (2.25)
Save Percentage    Pheonix Copley (.924)

St. John’s
Goals    Chris Terry (24)
Assists    Chris Terry (31)
Points    Chris Terry (55)
PIMs    Bobby Farnham (127)
Plus/Minus    Keegan Lowe (+13)
Power-Play Goals    Chris Terry (14)
Shorthanded Goals    Jacob de la Rose (2)
Game-Winning Goals    Charles Hudon (6)
Wins    Charlie Lindgren (22)
Goals-Against Average    Charlie Lindgren (2.63)
Save Percentage    Charlie Lindgren (.912%)


BEARS RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
Mar. 24    DEL    LW    Paul Carey    Recalled from loan by Washington (NHL)
Mar. 20    ADD    D    Jonas Siegenhaler    Reassigned by Washington (NHL) from Zurich (Swiss-A)
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)

ICECAPS RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
Mar. 8    DEL    RW    Guillaume Asselin    Signed to SPC, Loaned to Brampton
Mar. 7    DEL    RW    Alexandre Ranger    Released from PTO
Feb. 22    ADD    D    Keegan Lowe    Loaned from Montreal (NHL)
Feb. 21    ADD    D    Josiah Didier    Recalled from loan to Brampton (ECHL)
Feb. 19    DEL    D    Josiah Didier    Loaned to Brampton (ECHL)
Feb. 17    DEL    C    Michael McCarron    Recalled from loan by Montreal (NHL)
Feb. 12    ADD    LW    Daniel Carr    Returned on loan from Montreal (NHL)

BEARS NEWS AND NOTES:

BOYD PACES BEARS: Forward Travis Boyd scored his 14th goal of the season in yesterday’s loss. Boyd has points in four of his past five games, notching eight points (two goals, six assists) in that span. Boyd, an AHL All-Star this season, is currently tied with Chris Bourque for third in scoring in the AHL with 57 points (14 goals, 43 assists). Boyd has already surpassed his total of 53 points posted during his rookie campaign in 2015-16. 

LEWY LIGHTS THE LAMP: Defenseman Tyler Lewington scored his third goal of the season in yesterday’s 4-3 loss to St. John’s. The goal was Lewington’s first since Feb. 4 when he notched a multi-point game versus St. John’s in Hershey’s 5-2 win at Giant Center. With his tally yesterday, Lewington tied his career high in goals. The native of Sherwood Park, AB has 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) in 63 games this season. 

BACK TO ST. JOHN’S: Hershey’s Christian Thomas is a former member of the IceCaps. Thomas spent 18 games with the IceCaps last season, scoring 14 points (seven goals, seven assists). Thomas currently leads Hershey with 24 goals this season and is enjoying the best season of his professional career with 47 points, including 12 power play goals.  

BEARS-ICECAPS FAST FACTS: Tonight is Hershey’s last meeting with the St. John’s IceCaps. Next year the IceCaps will move to Quebec and become the Laval Rocket…Madison Bowey’s next game will be his 100th with Hershey…defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler has joined the team after skating in six games with the club next season…Pheonix Copley looks to make his fourth consecutive start this afternoon for the Bears.