Weekly Release #30: Atlantic Division Finals vs. Charlotte On Tap

May 1, 2019

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE HERSHEY BEARS WEEKLY RELEASE #30

The Hershey Bears have advanced to the Atlantic Division Finals and are one of just eight teams remaining in the 2019 Calder Cup Playoffs presented by CJ’s Tire and Automotive. In the second round, Hershey will meet with the Charlotte Checkers, the AHL’s winner of the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy as the regular season champion. The series will open with games in Charlotte at the Bojangles’ Coliseum this Friday, May 3 and Saturday, May 4 before shifting back to Hershey. 

The Bears advanced to the second round thanks to a series win versus the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the Atlantic Division Semifinals. The five-game series went the distance as Hershey claimed an overtime victory in the decisive game to continue the team’s chase for a 12th Calder Cup. Four of the five games in the series were decided by just one goal, while three of the contests required overtime.

Bridgeport forced the series to return to Connecticut with a 3-2 overtime victory in Game 4 last Thursday at the Giant Center. Hershey’s Ryan Sproul opened the scoring at 5:47 of the first period, and Hershey held a 2-1 lead through 40 minutes thanks to a Jayson Megna shorthanded goal. However, Oliver Wahlstrom scored to tie the game at 1:56 of the third period, and Matt Lorito won the game for the Sound Tigers at 1:13 of overtime. 

In Game 5, the two teams battled to a 2-2 tie through two periods with Hershey getting goals from Steve Whitney and Riley Barber in the middle stanza. After a scoreless third period, Hershey’s Brian Pinho won the series for the Bears at 10:27 of overtime, cutting between the defenders and beating netminder Christopher Gibson with a low shot for his first career Calder Cup Playoffs goal. 

UPCOMING ATLANTIC DIVISION FINALS GAMES:
Ticket information: http://www.hersheybears.com/tickets/single-game.php  
Watch all road Bears playoff games at The Bears' Den at Hershey Lodge! 

Game 1-Friday, May. 3 at Charlotte, Bojangles' Coliseum, 7 p.m.
Game 2-Saturday, May. 4 at Charlotte, Bojangles' Coliseum, 6 p.m.
Game 3-Tuesday, May 7 vs Charlotte, Giant Center, 7 p.m.
Game 4-Wednesday, May 8 vs Charlotte, Giant Center, 7 p.m.
*Game 5-Friday, May 10 vs Charlotte, Giant Center, 7 p.m.
*Game 6-Sunday, May 12 at Charlotte, Bojangles' Coliseum, 5 p.m.
* Game 7-Tuesday, May 14 at Charlotte, Bojangles' Coliseum, 7 p.m. 
*If Necessary. All times are Eastern.  


WEEKLY PRACTICE SCHEDULE: 
Thursday, May 2: TRAVEL DAY
Friday, May 3: 11:15 a.m., Morning Skate, Bojangles' Coliseum
Saturday, May 4: 11:15 a.m., Morning Skate, Bojangles' Coliseum
*Practice schedule subject to change. Follow @TheHersheyBears on Twitter for updates.

SEASON SERIES VS. CHECKERS: Charlotte was the AHL’s top team this season with 110 points. However, the Bears enjoyed success vs. the Checkers, going 3-0-0-1 in the four regular season meetings. The Bears have won the past three meetings with the Checkers, with Vitek Vanecek blanking Charlotte on Oct. 20 at the Bojangles’ Coliseum, and the Bears claiming a pair of one goal victories in the midst of the team’s point streak in February. Hershey’s power play went 5-for-24 (20.8%) vs. the Checkers in the four games, and forward Shane Gersich led the team in scoring with four points (one goal, three assists).

PLAYOFF HISTORY VS CHARLOTTE: The Bears and Checkers have met in the Calder Cup Playoffs just once previously. The two teams squared off in the opening round in 2011, with Charlotte ending Hershey’s bid for a three-peat with a six-game series win. Current Hershey assistant coach Patrick Wellar played in that series for the Bears, registering one assist in six games. Charlotte held Hershey’s power play to just 1-for-26 in the series. 

SCOUTING THE CHECKERS: Charlotte was dominant in the regular season, scoring 3.36 goals per game (5th), allowing just 2.49 goals against (2nd) and finishing 26-7-5-0 on home ice. Checkers coach Mike Vellucci, the winner of the Louis A.R. Pieri Award as coach of the year, led the team to a 51-17-7-1 record. Between the regular season and playoffs, Charlotte is 41-0-0-0 when leading after two periods. Charlotte forward Andrew Poturalski leads the AHL in playoff scoring with nine points (five goals, four assists) after a 70-point regular season. However, with Carolina still playing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Checkers have lost captain Patrick Brown, rookie defender Jake Bean, and star goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic to recalls to the Hurricanes. Nedeljkovic was the winner of the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL’s top goaltender with a 34-9-5 record with a 2.26 goals against average, a .916 save percentage, and four shutouts. 

BEARS BITES: Vitek Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov stopped 180 of 189 Bridgeport shots in the opening round, combining for a 1.56 goals against average and a .952 save percentage…Hershey has scored first in four of the five games in the playoffs thus far...Hershey head coach Spencer Carbery worked with Charlotte assistant coach Ryan Warsofsky for three seasons with the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays. Warsofsky was Carbery's assistant coach with South Carolina from 2013-2016, and succeeded Carbery as head coach. Warsofsky coached Hershey's Kris Bindulis, Andrew Cherniwchan, Hampus Gustafsson, Joey Leach, Tyler Lewington, Parker Milner, Vitek Vanecek, Nathan Walker, and Steve Whitney with South Carolina...Hershey's goaltending coach Alex Westlund played with the ECHL's Charlotte Checkers in 2004-05 and 2006-07.