Weekly Release #24: Home-and-Home With Hartford On Tap

March 20, 2018

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE HERSHEY BEARS WEEKLY RELEASE #24 

The Hershey Bears are down to just 10 games left in the club’s 80th Anniversary Season. The Chocolate and White will skate in a home-and-home with Hartford this weekend, visiting the Wolf Pack on Saturday afternoon, before returning to Giant Center for a Sunday evening contest. Hershey’s record is 27-30-4-5, and the club played its last three in three last week, winning a pair of games.

Last Friday, the Bears grabbed a 3-2 victory over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at Giant Center. Hershey got goals from Hampus Gustafsson, Liam O’Brien, and Anthony Peluso as the Bears won when trailing after the second period for just the third time this year.

Hershey claimed a second straight win on home ice last Saturday, defeating Springfield, 4-2. The Bears scored three goals in the second period, including two markers from Nathan Walker. Vitek Vanecek stopped 22 shots to earn the win in goal.

On Sunday, the Bears got two goals from defender Jonas Siegenthaler, but couldn’t overcome Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on the road in a 6-4 loss. The victory was Wilkes-Barre Scranton’s sixth straight win vs. Hershey this season. 

UPCOMING GAMES/PROMOTIONS: 
-Saturday, Mar. 24 at Hartford, 3 p.m.
-Sunday, Mar. 25 vs. Hartford, 5 p.m.
Fairview Golf Course Golf Ball Night (First 3,000 fans)

WEEKLY PRACTICE SCHEDULE: 
Wednesday, Mar. 21: 10:30 a.m., Giant Center
Thursday, Mar. 22: DAY OFF
Friday, Mar. 23: 9:00 a.m.. Hersheypark Arena
*Practice schedule subject to change. Follow @TheHersheyBears on Twitter for updates.

99 FOR NATHAN: Forward Nathan Walker scored twice last Saturday, notching his second multi-goal game of the year. The forward enters this week at 99 points in his AHL career, posting 43 goals and 56 assists in 235 career games with the Chocolate and White. The Aussie has struck for 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in 33 contests this season. Walker has also played nine NHL games this year, including seven with Washington and two with Edmonton.

GUS BREAKS OUT: Hershey’s Hampus Gustafsson scored the first goal of his AHL career on Friday, striking in the second period for the Chocolate and White. He also added an assist to post his first career AHL multi-point game. Gustafsson, 24, has skated in 19 games with the Bears this season, tallying a goal and three assists. With South Carolina (ECHL) this season, Gustafsson had 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 29 games. The native of Ljungby, Sweden signed a two-year, entry-level deal with the Washington Capitals on Mar. 7, 2017.

WAYNE’S WORLD: Wayne Simpson enjoyed a big game for the Chocolate and White on Sunday in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The winger posted three assists, tying his individual high for both assists and points in a single AHL game. This was the second time this season Simpson collected three assists in a game, as he also accomplished this feat on Dec. 8 at Lehigh Valley. Simpson has put up 37 points in his first season with the Bears, including 13 goals and 24 assists. In the past month, he has posted 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 12 games.

WINS VS. WOLF PACK: The Bears are 3-1-0-0 this season vs. Hartford. The Chocolate and White have won both games on the road at the XL Center this season, and have gone 6-2-1-2 in Hartford over the past five seasons. Overall, Hershey is 12-6-1-3 vs. Hartford in the last five years. The Bears enter the week three points behind Hartford in the Atlantic Division standings.  

BEARS BITES: Chris Bourque was handed a three-game suspension for a boarding incident in last Saturday’s game vs. Springfield…Tyler Lewington will also finish serving a two-game suspension handed down last week…After being re-assigned by the Capitals, defender Madison Bowey had three assists in three games last weekend for the Bears…Former Bear Travis Boyd scored his first NHL point, assisting on an Alex Ovechkin goal on Sunday vs. Philadelphia.

VOTE SUNBURY! LIGHT LIKE THE PROS CONTEST: Sunbury Ice Skating Rink has a chance to win a new lighting system in the Light Like the Pros contest! Vote today at LightLikeThePros.com. Vote once per day until March 21.

BID ON EXCLUSIVE OUTDOOR CLASSIC GEAR: The Bears have partnered with MeiGrayAuctions.com to auction off exclusive items from the 2018 Capital BlueCross Outdoor Classic. The auction runs through March 28.