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Moulson, Vanecek All-Star Challenge

Weekly Release #17: Bears Standout at All-Star Classic

January 28, 2020

The Hershey Bears were well represented at the 2020 AHL All-Star Classic in Ontario, California as Vitek Vanecek took home MVP honors, and Matt Moulson served as the captain for the championship winning Atlantic Division squad. As the rest of the Hershey players enjoyed a brief break, the club returns to action on Friday at Bridgeport, and hosts Lehigh Valley on Saturday at Giant Center. Hershey remains tied for the top spot in the Atlantic Division, securing a record of 27-14-2-3, good for 59 points, tied for the second best in the entire AHL. 

Last Wednesday, Hershey dropped a 5-2 decision at Springfield. Hershey fell behind 4-0 before making the game interesting in the third period with goals from Alex Alexeyev and Phillippe Maillet.

On Friday, the Bears got revenge in Springfield, beating the Thunderbirds by an identical score at the MassMutual Center. In his 1000th professional game, Matt Moulson scored twice, Garrett Pilon struck on the power play, Brian Pinho scored shorthanded, and Shane Gersich tallied at even strength. Netminder Pheonix Copley tuned aside 25 shots in the victory.

Last Saturday, the Bears earned a come-from-behind 3-2 shootout win at Providence. The Bears scored first on a Liam O’Brien goal, but trailed 2-1 until the final minute. With 21.5 seconds left, Philippe Maillet tied the game. The game progressed to a shootout where Maillet and Christian Djoos scored, and Pheonix Copley stopped both Providence shooters to give Hershey its third shootout win this season. 

UPCOMING GAMES: 
Tickets to all home games are on sale now at the Giant Center Box Office, or online via Ticketmaster
-Friday, Jan. 31 at Bridgeport, 7 p.m.

-Saturday, Feb. 1 vs Lehigh Valley, 7 p.m.
Chocolate-Covered February featuring a Chocolate Giveaway, courtesy of the Hershey Company (All fans), Chocolate-Covered February Specialty Jersey, Faith and Family Night

WEEKLY PRACTICE SCHEDULE: 
Wednesday, Jan. 29: ALL-STAR BREAK
Thursday, Jan. 30: 9:30 a.m., Giant Center
Friday, Jan. 24: 11:15 a.m., Morning Skate, Webster Bank Arena
Saturday, Feb. 1: 10.a.m, Morning Skate, Giant Center
*Practice schedule subject to change. Follow @TheHersheyBears on Twitter for updates.

M-V-ITEK-P: Hershey goaltender Vitek Vanecek earned MVP honors during the 2020 AHL All-Star Challenge. He allowed just two goals over parts of four games in the 3-on-3 tournament, finishing with the best stats among any goaltender with a 1.06 goals against average and .900 save percentage. The evening prior, the netminder shared the CCM Top Goaltender award with Milwaukee’s Connor Ingram and Charlotte’s Alex Nedeljkovic at the All-Star Skills Competition. This was Vanecek’s second straight All-Star Classic appearance. The year prior he also had the best statistics among all goaltenders in the All-Star Challenge in Springfield.

ATLANTIC CHAMPS: The MVP caliber play from Vitek Vanecek, and a strong performance from Matt Moulson, helped the Atlantic Division take the championship at the 2020 AHL All-Star Challenge. Moulson, the Eastern Conference playing captain, had a goal and an assist in four games while Vanecek stopped 18-of-20 shots. The Atlantic Division took the title with a 3-1 victory over the Central Division in the championship game.

A NIGHT WORTH 1,000 WORDS: Hershey alternate captain Matt Moulson played in his 1,000th professional game last Friday in Springfield. The winger made it a night to remember, striking for a pair of goals, including a power play marker in the second period, and an empty net goal to seal the win. Moulson has appeared in 650 NHL games and 351 AHL games in his illustrious pro career.

STRONG STRETCH: Since Dec. 1, the Bears have gone 19-5-0-0 in 24 games, outscoring opponents 76-52. That record is good for a .791 points percentage. In that span, Hershey has gone 12-2-0-0 at Giant Center and 7-3-0-0 on the road. Over the 24 games, Philippe Maillet leads the way with 21 points, while Matt Moulson, Brian Pinho, and Garret Pilon each have 10 goals in that span. In goal, Pheonix Copley is 9-1-0 with a 2.15 goals against average and .921 save percentage, while Vitek Vanecek is 9-4-0 with a 2.26 goals against average and .919 save percentage.

BEARS BITES: Forward Philippe Maillet has points in three straight games, tallying two goals and three assists in that span…Brian Pinho has points in six of his last eight games…Hershey has scored 51 goals in the second period this year, compared to 33 in the first period and 40 in the third period…Hershey is allowing the third least goals in the AHL at 2.61 per game…Forward Matt Moulson is two points from 300 in his AHL career. 



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