*Practice schedule subject to change. Follow @TheHersheyBears on Twitter for updates.
DJOOS OF THE WEEK: Hershey defenseman Christian Djoos was named the CCM/AHL Player of the Week after posting seven points (one goal, six assists) in three Hershey wins last weekend. Djoos tallied an assist in Friday’s win, then posted back-to-back three point contests for the Bears in Saturday and Sunday’s victories. Four of Djoos’ seven points came on the power play. The defender has 28 points (four goals, 24 assists) in 38 games this season.
MORE FROM MAILLET: Forward Philippe Maillet also enjoyed a strong weekend for the Bears, tallying consecutive three-point games on Saturday and Sunday. In addition to an assist, Maillet scored two goals Saturday versus Springfield, giving him his first multi-goal game as a Bear. He collected a three-assist game for the following afternoon for his third three-assist game in the last 11 contests. Since Jan. 1, Maillet ranks third in the AHL in points, scoring 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) in 18 games. Only Iowa’s Sam Anas and Gerald Mayhew (26 points each) have tallied more points than Maillet.
COPPER STOPPER: Goaltender Pheonix Copley ranks 7th in the AHL with a 2.30 goals against average, and the netminder has won six straight appearances. In five of those games, he’s allowed two or less goals. Since Dec. 1, Copley has gone 12-1-0 with a 1.89 goals against average, .929 save percentage, and one shutout. Copley is just one win shy of his Hershey best total of 17 wins in a season, established in his rookie year in 2014-15. His career-high in wins is 26, set in 2016-17 with Chicago (15) and Hershey (11).
EXTRA SPECIAL TEAMS: Hershey’s penalty kill went a perfect 11-for-11 last weekend.
The Bears are now ranked 1st in the AHL at 88.3%. The last time Hershey finished a season with the league’s best penalty kill was 2014-15 when Hershey was an impressive 87.5%.
The Bears power play also had a big last three games, scoring in each contest, going 5-for-12, good for 41.7%.
BEARS BITES: Matt Moulson scored his 300th AHL point in Sunday’s win at Lehigh Valley…Garrett Pilon has points in three straight games, scoring two goals and two assists…Bobby Nardella has assists in three straight games, posting four helpers in the stretch…Joe Snively returned from an upper-body injury that sidelined him for a month this past weekend. He had two assists in three games…Hershey has moved into 1st Place for the first time since Dec. 2016. That year, the Bears held first place for one day after a win on Dec. 9 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton…Hershey is 11-1-1-0 on Sundays this season.
