Game Preview: Bears at Penguins, 3:05 p.m.

November 5, 2017

Hershey Bears (3-6-0-2) at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (7-2-0-0) 
November 5, 2017, 3:05 p.m
Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza

REFEREES: Terry Koharski (10), Tim Mayer (19)
LINESMEN: James Tobias (61), J.P. Waleski (14)

Broadcast Information (Pre-game 2:35 PM)
RADIO: WQIC-100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM,  Hershey Bears App--Zack Fisch, the Voice of the Bears, on the call
LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream, Caps Radio 24/7
WATCH LIVE: AHLLive.com

LAST TIME OUT: Last night Hershey fell 4-1 to Toronto at the Giant Center. The Marlies got three points from forwards Ben Smith and Mason Marchment in the victory, including two goals from Smith. Hershey’s lone goal came in the opening period as captain Garrett Mitchell struck for his second goal of the season. Adam Carlson stopped 31 shots for the Bears in the losing effort, while Toronto goaltender Garret Sparks stopped 21 shots on the evening. Hershey went 0-for-6 on the power play and failed to convert on the man-advantage on home ice for the first time this season. The Penguins did not play last night, but earned a sixth straight win in their last contest, topping Lehigh Valley on the road, 6-5, on Friday. Ryan Haggerty had a pair of goals, and Christian Thomas scored the game-winning shootout goal.

LAST TIME VS PENGUINS: The Bears and Penguins met last Friday for the first of 12 contests between the two I-81 rivals. In the contest, the Bears erased a 2-0 deficit, but ultimately fell 3-2 to the Penguins despite a late push. Jean-Sebastien Dea scored the opening goal of the contest at 13:05 of the first period, and Teddy Blueger scored at 16:14 of the second period to make it 2-0. Hershey’s Jeremy Langlois scored shorthanded late in the second period, and Riley Barber tied the game in the third period. However, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Dominik Simon notched the game-winning goal on the power play with 9:08 left. Hershey went 0-for-7 on the power play.

800 FOR BOURQUE: Tonight marks Hershey forward Chris Bourque’s 800th professional game. The forward has played 669 career AHL games, 51 NHL games, 60 games in the Swiss-A league, and 19 games in the KHL. In 799 career professional games, Bourque has tallied 712 points (248 goals, 464 assists). His next point will be his 550th with Hershey. Bourque is a three-time Calder Cup Champion, a five-time AHL All-Star, and was the AHL’s league MVP in 2015-16.

PHEONIX VS. PENGUINS: Hershey goaltender Pheonix Copley is expected to make his second start of the season in goal today. Copley was sensational versus the Penguins last year, going 2-0-0 with a 1.00 goals against average and a .967 save percentage. Copley guided Hershey to a pair of 2-1 victories over the Penguins to end the season. He went 11-5-0 with Hershey last year with a 2.15 goals against average.

LANGLOIS HEATS UP: Hershey forward Jeremy Langlois has points in two straight games for the Chocolate and White. Langlojs has scored his three points this season (one goal, two assists) in his last five games. The forward notched 14 points with Rockford last season, and didn’t score his third point of the season until Dec. 9 in his 22nd game of the year. Langlois best AHL season game in 2015-16 with San Jose when he scored 34 points (12 goals, 22 assists).

CT THE OLYMPIAN?: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s roster features former Bears forward, Christian Thomas. The winger signed a one-year, AHL deal with the Baby Penguins on Sept. 13 after spending the 2016-17 season with the Bears. However, Thomas is not expected in the lineup today, as he is among the players who will be skating for Canada in the Karjala Cup, an annual tournament being held in Sweden, Switzerland and Finland starting on November 8. Many players are playing in the tournament attempting to showcase their skills for the 2018 Winter Olympics. This season Thomas has seven points (three goals, four assists) in nine games for the Penguins, and because he is on an AHL deal, would be eligible to skate in Pyeongchang.

BEARS-PENGUINS FAST FACTS: Defender Kris Bindulis was re-assigned to the Bears after injuries to several defenders last night. Bindulis was re-assigned to the Stingrays earlier this week and made his ECHL debut on Friday at Greenville…Zach Sill, a former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguin, notched his first point of the season last night, tallying an assist on Garrett Mitchell’s first period goal…Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s six-game win streak is the longest active streak in the AHL…The Penguins 116 penalty minutes are the least in the Eastern Conference.