Game Preview: Bears at Penguins, 5 p.m.

April 25, 2021

The Hershey Bears continue the 2020-21 season, presented by Penn State Health, this evening on the road versus the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The puck drops at 5 p.m. at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. Hershey is unbeaten in the month of April, holds a six-game winning streak entering today's game, and sits at the top of the North Division. 

Hershey Bears (17-5-2-0) at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (7-11-3-2)
April 25, 2021 | 5 PM | Game #25 | Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza
Referees: Tim Mayer (#19), Conor O'Donnell (#41)
Linesmen: J.P. Waleski (#14),  Tyler Loftus (#11)

DOWNLOAD: AHL MEDIA KIT (Rosters, stats, and standings)

Broadcast Information 
RADIO: WFVY-100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM, Caps Radio 24/7, SportsRadio 98.9-FM & WOYK 1350-AM
WATCH LIVE: AHLTV
LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream, Caps Radio 24/7 
Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch on the call

LAST TIME OUT:
These two teams met yesterday afternoon at GIANT Center with the Bears securing a 3-1 win on home ice. Goaltenders Zach Fucale for Hershey and Alex D'Orio for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton were strong in net, holding the game to a scoreless draw through the first two periods. The game opened up in the final stanza as the teams traded goals, with Hershey's Axel Jonsson-Fjallby tallying at 3:53, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's Drew O'Connor evening the score at 8:27 on the power play. With the game going down to the wire, Hershey defender Alex Alexeyev scored the game-winning goal from the right point with only 3:30 to play, and Brian Pinho added an empty net goal to cap off the win. Fucale made 31 saves to earn the win and lower his goals-against average to a league-best 1.66. 

MARTY PARTY:
Hershey blue liner Martin Fehervary has enjoyed a fantastic second professional season in North America. The 21-year-old has points in three straight games (1g, 3a) and picked up the primary helper on Alex Alexeyev's game-winning goal yesterday. Fehervary is tied for the team lead among defenders with 15 points (3g, 12a). He's collected those numbers in just 20 games, already surpassing his point total of 14 (4g, 10a) posted in 56 games during his rookie campaign in 2019-20. The 2018 second-round selection of Washington has two helpers in five games this season versus the Baby Pens. 

PENALTY SHOT PERFECTION:
Hershey netminder Zach Fucale made a late-game penalty shot save yesterday on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's Jonathan Gruden to help Hershey snag the victory. This was the third penalty shot Hershey netminders have faced this year, and Bears goalies are a perfect 3-for-3. In addition to Fucale's save, Ilya Samsonov denied Binghamton's Jesper Boqvist on Feb. 26 in Newark and Pheonix Copley turned out Egor Zamula of Lehigh Valley on Mar. 24 in Allentown. Overall in the AHL this season, shooters are just 2-for-13 on penalty shots. The last time a Bears netminder allowed a penalty shot goal was on Nov. 11, 2016 when Albany's Joe Blandisi scored on Vitek Vanecek. Since then, Bears goaltenders are 11-for-11 on penalty shots with stops coming from Vanecek (5), Copley (2), Samsonov (2), Fucale (1), and Joe Cannata (1). 

SEASON SERIES AT A GLANCE:
With yesterday's win, the Bears are 6-1-0-0 versus Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season. The Chocolate and White have won four straight versus the Baby Pens, and in that stretch, Hershey has allowed just three goals. A total of 21 different Bears have registered a point in the season series, and goaltenders Zach Fucale and Phoenix Copley are each 3-0-0 versus the Penguins with identical 1.00 goals-against averages. The Bears have notched the game's opening goal in six of the seven games versus Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Connor McMichael (4g, 1a) and Matt Moulson (3g, 2a) each have five points for the Chocolate and White versus the Baby Pens, while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's Nick Schilkey is their leading scorer versus Hershey with five points (1g, 4a).