April 14, 2017
TONIGHT'S GAME NOTESHershey Bears (41-22-8-3, 93 points, 4th in Atlantic) at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (50-19-3-2, 105 points, 1st in Atlantic)
Friday, April 14, 7:05 pm
Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza
REFEREES: Peter MacDougall (45), David Banfield (77)
LINESMEN: Francois Dussureault (60), Jud Ritter (34)
Broadcast Information (Pre-game 6:35 PM)LISTEN ON: WQIC-100.1 FM, WOYK-AM 1350, Fortress 1230 WKBO, the Bears app
via WHP 580,
Caps Radio 24/7WATCH: AHLLive.comBEARS AT PENGUINS: The
Hershey Bears hit the road for the final time this season as they battle the rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a possible playoff preview. Hershey has won three straight, while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is 7-1-0-2 over the past 10 games. The Bears enter the final weekend of the regular season ahead of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers by just one point for the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. Hershey's magic number is four.
2016-17 REGULAR-SEASON SERIES VS PENGUINS (3-4-4-0) October 23 W-B/SCRANTON GIANT CENTER OTL, 2-1
November 19 W-B/SCRANTON GIANT CENTER OTL, 4-3
November 23 W-B/SCRANTON GIANT CENTER W, 4-0
December 9 At W-B/Scranton Mohegan Sun Arena W, 5-2
December 10 At W-B/Scranton Mohegan Sun Arena L, 6-2
January 6 At W-B/Scranton Mohegan Sun Arena L, 5-1
January 8 W-B/SCRANTON GIANT CENTER OTL, 6-5
January 18 W-B/SCRANTON GIANT CENTER L, 5-3
January 21 At W-B/Scranton Mohegan Sun Arena L, 5-1
February 10 At W-B/Scranton Mohegan Sun Arena OTL, 4-3
March 4 W-B/SCRANTON GIANT CENTER W, 2-1
April 14 At W-B/Scranton Mohegan Sun Arena
ATLANTIC DIVISION STANDINGS
AHL PLAYOFF PRIMERPLAYOFF CLINCHING SCENARIOSHershey clinches a playoff berth on Friday with:
(a) a win at W-B/Scranton AND a Bridgeport loss (reg/OT/SO) at Springfield, OR
(b) an OTL/SOL at W-B/Scranton AND a Bridgeport regulation loss at Springfield
LAST GAME RESULT
Saturday, April 8: Hershey 2 at Toronto 1Chandler Stephenson scored his first goal in 25 games with just 8.5 seconds left in regulation time to earn the
Hershey Bears hockey team a 2-1 victory over the Toronto Marlies last Saturday night at the Ricoh Coliseum. The victory was Hershey’s third straight and moved the Bears to 93 points in the chase for a playoff spot in the Atlantic Division.
Early in the second period, Hershey opened the scoring. Tom Gilbert scored his third goal of the season at 4:49 to make it 1-0. Stephenson stole the puck behind the net and fed Riley Barber in the slot. The initial shot from Barber was stopped by Marlies’ goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo, but the puck fell out of his glove and popped up into the air. Gilbert batted the puck out of mid-air into the net to give Hershey the lead. Barber’s assist extended his point streak to four games.
Hershey held the lead until the 15:39 mark of the third period when Toronto scored on a scramble in front. Sergey Kalinin was credited with the goal that tied the game at one. The Marlies rushed the puck down the right wing, and a backhand shot rolled towards the goal. There was a collision at the net, and Hershey argued that netminder Pheonix Copley was interfered with, but the puck crossed the line, and after a review, the goal stood.
With just seconds remaining, the Bears moved into the offensive zone and Barber found the puck sitting loose behind the net. He saw Stephenson open the slot, and slid a pass to the forward. Stephenson’s shot bounced past Kaskisuo to give Hershey a 2-1 lead at 19:51. The goal was Stephenson’s first since Feb. 10, and his 10th of the season.
BEARS vs. PENGUINS - SPECIAL TEAMS: (As of April 13:)
HERSHEYPower Play 65-for-314 (20.7%) – 7th in AHL, 4 SHGA
Penalty Kill 262-for-318 (82.4%) – 14th in AHL, 3 SHGF
Wilkes-Barre/ScrantonPower Play 52-for-302 (17.2%) –16th in AHL, 4 SHGA
Penalty Kill 269-for-308 (87.3%) – 1st in AHL, 8 SHGF
BEARS vs. PENGUINS – TEAM LEADERS: (EXCLUDES PLAYERS RECALLED TO NHL)HERSHEYGoals Christian Thomas (24)
Assists Travis Boyd (47)
Points Travis Boyd (63)
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, Travis Boyd (4)
Wins Pheonix Copley (25)
Goals-Against Average Pheonix Copley (2.28)
Save Percentage Pheonix Copley (.923)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Goals Tom Kostopoulos (24)
Assists Kevin Porter (35)
Points Tom Kostopoulos (54)
PIMs Patrick McGrath (87)
Plus/Minus David Warsofsky (+31)
Power-Play Goals Kostopoulos, Warsofsky (9)
Shorthanded Goals Sundqvist, Porter (2)
Game-Winning Goals Dominik Simon (6)
Wins Casey DeSmith (21)
Goals-Against Average Casey DeSmith (2.01)
Save Percentage Casey DeSmith (.927%)
BEARS RECENT TRANSACTIONS:Apr. 11 ADD G Adam Morrison Signed to PTO
Apr. 5 ADD C Garrett Pilon Signed to ATO
Apr. 5 DEL LW Mason Mitchell Released from ATO
Apr. 4 ADD LW Beck Malenstyn Signed to ATO
PENGUINS RECENT TRANSACTIONS:Apr. 11 ADD D Niclas Almari Signed to ATO
Apr. 11 ADD D Connor Hall Signed to ATO
Apr. 11 DEL D Kevin Schulze Signed to PTO
Apr. 11 ADD D Ryan Segalla Recalled from loan to Wheeling (ECHL)
BEARS NEWS AND NOTES:PLAYOFF PUSH: The Bears enter the final weekend of the regular season in the fourth and final playoff position, leading the Bridgeport Sound Tigers by one point. Hershey could finish anywhere from third to fifth place, as the Sound Tigers, Providence Bruins, and Bears are battling for the final two playoff spots. Both Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Lehigh Valley have already secured a playoff spot. The Bears play at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton tonight, and are home versus Providence tomorrow. The Sound Tigers visit Springfield this evening and are in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton tomorrow. The Bruins are at Lehigh Valley on Friday before visiting Hershey on Saturday.
LAST TIME VERSUS PENGUINS: The Bears and Penguins last met on March 4 in Hershey. Goaltender Phoenix Copley stopped 36 shots in his first game back at the
Giant Center since being reacquired by Washington to lead the
Hershey Bears to a 2-1 victory over the Penguins. The win snapped Hershey’s six-game losing streak versus Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Stanislav Galiev notched a goal and an assist for Hershey while Colby Williams also scored.
PENGUIN TAMER: North Pole, Alaska native Pheonix Copley knows how to tame the Penguins. The Hershey goaltender is 3-0-0 versus Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in his career, with a 1.18 goals against average and a .959 save percentage. Copley’s 36 saves the last time the two teams met earned him the game’s first star. The Michigan Tech product has started 10 straight games for Hershey, going 6-4-0-0 with a 2.30 goals against average and .926 save percentage.
RELIABLE RILEY: Hershey forward Riley Barber is hitting his stride at the right time for the Bears. The Pittsburgh native has points in four straight games, notching six points (two goals, four assists) in that span. He has scored the game-tying goal in two of his past three games. Due to injuries, Barber has played just two of the 11 games versus the Penguins this season, scoring one goal. He had seven points (four goals, three assists) in 11 games versus Wilkes-Barre/Scranton during his rookie campaign last year.
BEARS-PENGUINS FAST FACTS: If the season were to end today, Hershey would play Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the opening round of the Calder Cup Playoffs. Hershey beat the Penguins in seven games in the Atlantic Division Finals last year…In 36 regular season games over the past five seasons, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton captain Tom Kostopoulos has 36 points (14 goals, 22 assists) versus the Bears…Hershey’s Chris Bourque has been held without a goal in 11 games versus the Penguins this year…Hershey’s power play is 2/31 over the past 9 games, good for just 6.5%. However, Hershey’s penalty kill is 29/33 in that same stretch, good for an impressive 87.9%...The Bears are 34-0-3-0 when leading after 40 minutes while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is 39-0-1-0.