Game Preview: Penguins at Bears, 5 p.m.

November 12, 2017

Lehigh Valley Phantoms (9-2-0-1) at Hershey Bears (6-6-0-2) 
November 12, 2017, 5 p.m
Giant Center

REFEREES: Brandon Blandina (#20), David Banfield (#77)
LINESMEN: Bob Goodman (#90), Luke Murray (#92)

Broadcast Information (Pre-game 4:30 PM)
RADIO: WQIC-100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM, Hershey Bears App, 88.9 FM in arena--Zack Fisch, the Voice of the Bears, and Freddy Cassivi on the call,
LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream
WATCH LIVE: AHLLive.com

PENGUINS AT BEARS: The Hershey Bears go for a fourth straight win this evening when they host their I-81 rivals the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The Bears winning streak started with a 3-2 shootout victory last Sunday in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, handing the Penguins their lone loss over the last nine games. A win tonight would put Hershey over .500 for the first time this season. Tonight is David A. Smith Printing Team Photo Night for the first 5,000 fans and Team Autograph Night after the game. It's also Dietz & Watson Dollar Dog Night.

LAST TIME OUT: Last night, Hershey earned its biggest win of the season, routing Lehigh Valley 6-1 at Giant Center. The Bears scored early and often to win their third straight game. Garrett Mitchell, Mathias Bau, and Tyler Lewington scored in the opening period, and Wayne Simpson added his team-leading fifth goal in the second period. Riley Barber and Bau scored in the third period, and Pheonix Copley stopped 24 shots to earn the win in goal. Hershey was 2-for-3 on the power play. The Penguins also earned a win last night, extending their point streak to nine games with a 4-3 overtime win versus Providence. Ryan Haggerty enjoyed an exceptional night, notching three points, including the game-winning goal just 20 seconds into overtime. Casey DeSmith stopped 33 shots to earn the win in goal for the Baby Penguins.                                                            
LAST TIME VS. PENGUINS: The Bears and Penguins met just one week ago with the Bears scoring a 3-2 shootout win on the road. The Bears fell behind only 1:18 into the game, but Wayne Simpson evened the score in the opening period. Travis Boyd gave Hershey the lead at 10:34 of the second period, but Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Zach Aston-Reese tied the score on a wrap-around late in the game. After overtime yielded no goals, the contest progressed to a shootout. Simpson scored the lone goal of the shootout as Hershey earned its first shootout win since Apr. 17, 2016.

THREES COMPANY: Four different Hershey Bears enter tonight’s game on three-game point streaks. Forward Wayne Simpson has goals in three straight games and currently is tied for the team lead with five goals. After a recall to Washington, Liam O’Brien returned to Hershey’s lineup, and tallied an assist last night, giving him two goals and an assist over his past three games. Both Chris Bourque and Travis Boyd each registered three assists last night to extend their point streaks to three games. Bourque currently leads the AHL with 21 points while Boyd ranks sixth in the league with 17 points. Bourque (16) and Boyd (14) also lead the league in assists on the season.  

PHEONIX VS. PENGUINS: Hershey goaltender Pheonix Copley has won three straight games between the pipes for the Bears, and the netminder has enjoyed great success versus the rival Penguins. The goaltender is 5-0-0-0 in his career versus the Penguins in six contests. Copley has allowed two or less goals in all six appearances versus the Penguins. The North Pole, Alaska native has a 2.41 goals against average and a 3-0-0-1 record in four contests so far this season.

TAKE A BAU: Hershey forward Mathias Bau has enjoyed a breakout week. The 6-foot-7 forward tallied his first AHL goal on Wednesday, notching the game-winning marker in a 3-1 victory at Springfield. He followed up the performance with his first AHL multi-goal game last night. The forward struck for a pair of power play goals, including the eventual game-winning strike late in the first period. Bau is currently tied for the AHL lead in shooting percentage at 33.3% and his two game-winning goals leads the Bears and ranks second in the AHL.  Last season with Frederikshavn in Denmark, Bau posted 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists) in just 41 games to lead the White Hawks.

BEARS-PENGUINS FAST FACTS: Hershey’s Tyler Lewington scored his first goal of the season last night…Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Daniel Sprong is tied for the league lead among rookies with eight goals on the season…The Penguins are 8-1-0-1 over the past 10 games while the Bears are 6-3-0-1…Hershey’s Chris Bourque has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in his past five games…The Bears have scored at least one power play goal in five of the past six games, however Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s penalty kill is 16 for the past 17…Hershey has outshot their opponents for three straight games…The Bears are 5-0-0-1 when leading through 40 minutes this season.