Game Preview: Penguins at Bears, 7 P.M.

January 25, 2022

The Hershey Bears continue the 2021-22 season, presented by Penn State Health, this evening against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at GIANT Center. The puck drops at 7 P.M. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is the American Hockey League affiliate of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins. This is the ninth meeting of the season between the I-81 rivals, with Hershey holding a 7-1-0-0 record in the head-to-head series.
 
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (14-16-1-3) at Hershey Bears (19-12-3-2) 
January 23, 2022 | 7 P.M. | Game #37 | GIANT Center
Referees: Justin Kea (#44), Jeremy Tufts (#78)
Linespersons: Colin Gates (#3), Michael Magee (#41)

AHL STANDINGS

Broadcast Information 
Voice of the Bears Zack Fisch, Hall of Famer Mitch Lamourex, and Jim Jones on the call
RADIO: WFVY-100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM, SportsRadio 98.9-FM & WOYK 1350-AM (joined in progress), Caps Radio 24/7, In-arena at 88.9 FM
WATCH LIVE: AHLTV
LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream, Caps Radio 24/7
Radio pre-game coverage starts at 6:30 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT:
The Hershey Bears are coming off a hard-fought 3-2 loss to the Hartford Wolf Pack last Sunday at GIANT Center. Joe Snively and Mike Vecchione scored for Hershey, and the Bears outshot the Wolf Pack 26-19, but Justin Richards provided the game-winner for the visitors at 17:14 of the third period. The loss snapped Hershey's home point streak at eight games (6-0-1-1). The Penguins won last night on home ice, defeating Cleveland 5-1. Five different Penguins scored and netminder Alex D'Orio earned the win in goal with 31 saves. 

GIVE ME THE MIKE: 
Forward Mike Vecchione scored his sixth goal of the season in Sunday's loss to Hartford, giving him 22 points (6g, 16a) in 22 games this season with the Bears. Ten of his points have come on the power play (1g, 9a), and he has registered two game-winning goals this season. Vecchione has been an offensive force in the head-to-head meetings with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Despite skating in only six of the eight meetings, he piled on a team-best 10 points (3g, 7a) against the Baby Pens. 

SURGING PENS: 
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton enters tonight's game having won three straight games. The Pens rattled off a pair of wins versus Toronto, beating them 5-1 last Friday, and 3-2 in overtime on Sunday thanks to an Alexander Nylander game-winning goal. Last night's 5-1 win over Cleveland extended Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's winning streak, thanks to the deciding goal by Felix Robert. Including the Baby Pens win over Hershey on Jan. 16, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has won five of their past six games, led by six points (5g, 1a) from Nylander in that stretch. 

HAPPY TUESDAY:
Tonight marks Hershey's first home game on a Tuesday since Feb. 25, 2019. That night, Joe Snively scored his first American Hockey League hat trick as the Bears thumped the Charlotte Checkers, 6-1. Overall this season, the Bears are 1-1-0-0 in Tuesday games, including a 4-1 win over the Penguins on Dec. 14. Hershey plays a total of seven Tuesday games this season, including additional Tuesday home games on Feb. 22 and Mar. 8. 

SNIVELY STILL STREAKING:
Joe Snively has continued his impressive point streak on home ice. Thanks to his power play goal last Sunday, he's now up to 13 straight games with a point at GIANT Center. Snively scored 19 points (8g, 11a) in the streak which dates back to Nov. 14. He leads Hershey with 36 points (13g, 23a) in 34 games, ranking tied for fourth in the AHL in scoring. He also is a +19 on the season, second-best in the league.