Teddy Bear Toss Preview: Penguins at Bears, 5 p.m.

December 3, 2017

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (13-5-0-1) at Hershey Bears (10-10-0-3)
Sunday, December 3, 2017, 5 p.m.
Giant Center

REFEREES: Cameron Voss (41), David Banfield (77)
LINESMEN: Ricard Jondo (55), Scott Pomento (25)

Broadcast Information (Pre-game 4:30 PM)
RADIO: WQIC-100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM, 88.9 FM in arena at Giant Center, Hershey Bears App--Zack Fisch, the Voice of the Bears and Mitch Lamoureux on the call
LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream, Caps Radio 24/7
WATCH LIVE: AHLLive.com

AHL STANDINGS
AHL MEDIA KIT FOR TONIGHT'S GAME

PENGUINS AT BEARS: The Hershey Bears finish a three-game weekend tonight versus their I-81 rivals, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The Bears are coming off a 3-0 victory at Giant Center last night, while the Penguins dropped a 5-2 decision to Rochester on home ice. The Penguins, the top team in the Atlantic Division, have lost three of the past four games. Tonight is the WGAL and CommunityAid Teddy Bear Toss.

LAST TIME OUT: Last night, Hershey earned a 3-0 victory over the Milwaukee Admirals at the Giant Center. Vitek Vanecek earned the shutout with 21 saves, and the Bears got goals from Aaron Ness, Mathias Bau, and Jonas Siegenthaler. Hershey outshot the Admirals 28-21, and both teams went 0-for-2 on the power play. The contest was Hershey’s first versus Milwaukee at the Giant Center since Game 5 of the 2006 Calder Cup Finals. Meanwhile, the Penguins dropped a 5-2 decision to Rochester on home ice last night. After Teddy Blueger scored the opening goal for the Penguins, Rochester scored four straight goals en route to the win. Blueger had two goals, but Wilkes-Barre went 0-for-1 on the power play while Rochester was 1-for-7.

LAST TIME VS.PENGUINS: Hershey’s last matchup with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was on Nov. 12 at the Giant Center, and the rival Penguins came out with a 5-1 win. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton scored twice in the opening period, and tallied three straight goals to end the game following a strike from Hershey’s Dustin Gazley mid-way through the second period. Hershey fired 32 shots, and allowed just 13 shots, the second lowest total allowed in franchise history, in the loss. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was 1-for-1 on the power play while Hershey was 1-for-5.

TEDDY BEAR TOSS HISTORY: Tonight is Hershey’s annual Teddy Bear Toss. After collecting a record 20,662 bears last season versus Syracuse, Hershey again hosts Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the event, as they did in 2014 and 2015. Among active players on Hershey’s roster both Garrett Mitchell (2016) and Chris Bourque (2009) have tallied the Teddy Bear Toss goal. The last three Teddy Bear Toss goals have come in the first period, and three of the past five goals have come from defenders. Over the last five years, Hershey fans have donated 81,459 bears to charity.

Year Date Opponent Score Goal Scorer Total Bears

2016 Dec. 4 SYR W, 4-2 Garrett Mitchell 20,662

2015 Dec. 6 WBS W, 4-1 Erik Burgdoefer 18,115

2014 Dec. 7 WBS L, 3-2 Steve Oleksy 17,295

2013 Dec. 1 PRO SOL, 3-2 Matt Watkins 12,890

2012 Dec. 1 NOR L, 5-1 Tomas Kundratek 12,497

AARON NETS WINNER: Hershey defender Aaron Ness scored the opening goal of Hershey’s 3-0 win last night versus Milwaukee. In his first game back in Hershey since being loaned by Washington, Ness tallied the seventh game-winning goal of his career. The marker was Ness’ first game-winning goal since he scored with 1:29 to play on Dec. 4, 2016 during Hershey’s 2016 Teddy Bear Toss versus Syracuse. Ness has played in 395 career AHL games, scoring 168 points (35 goals, 133 assists).

BRICK WALL VITEK: Hershey goaltender Vitek Vanecek earned his first shutout of the season, stopping 21 shots, in Hershey’s 3-0 victory over Milwaukee last night. The shutout was Hershey’s first of the season, and the first at the Giant Center since Vanecek blanked the Providence Bruins 4-0 in the 2016-17 regular season finale on Apr. 15, 2017. For Vanecek, the shutout was the sixth of his AHL career, and the 10th in his professional career. The goaltender is 2-1-0 with a 1.69 goals against average and a .918 save percentage this season. His lone loss came against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Nov. 12 at the Giant Center.

BEARS-PENGUINS FAST FACTS: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goaltender Anthony Peters, signed to a PTO this week, is the younger brother of former Hershey goaltender Justin Peters…Wayne Simpson’s next point will be his 100th career AHL point…Hershey’s Travis Boyd is just three assists from registering his 100th career AHL assist… Hershey forward Mathias Bau ranks second on the club with seven goals, and all seven of his goals have come in the last 11 games…Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s roster features former Bear Christian Thomas. The forward was tied for the team lead with Hershey last year with 24 goals.