Bears Weekly Release: Bears Battle Penguins, Phantoms in Keystone Clashes

November 28, 2022

The Hershey Bears continue the 2022-23 season, presented by Penn State Health, with a busy week of games against both of their Keystone State rivals. Hershey hosts the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Tuesday, before traveling to Allentown to face the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Wednesday. The Chocolate and White then return home for another clash with the Penguins on Sunday afternoon.

TEAM INFO:
Record: 12-4-2-0
Standings Position: 2nd in Atlantic
Click here for full AHL standings

TEAM LEADERS:
Goals: Henrik Borgstrom, Ethen Frank, Mike Vecchione (5)
Assists: Mason Morelli (10)
Points: Mason Morelli (13)
Power-Play Goals: Mike Vecchione (3)
Shorthanded Goals: Riley Sutter (1)
Plus/Minus: Vincent Iorio (+9)
Wins: Zach Fucale (7)
GAA: Hunter Shepard (1.69)
SV%: Hunter Shepard (.940)
Only includes players on active roster

RECENT RESULTS:

Wednesday, Nov. 23: Hershey 2 at Springfield 1
Hershey and Springfield battled through a scoreless first period, and it appeared that the second frame would yield similar results until Martin Frk scored for the Thunderbirds at 17:04, and the Bears equalized with Connor McMichael netting his first of the season 22 seconds later at 17:06. In the third, Hunter Shepard made a diving glove save on Greg Printz at 5:26 to keep the score tied 1-1, and minutes later, Mason Morelli stole the puck for a breakaway and beat Joel Hofer at 8:18 for his third of the season and the eventual game-winner. Shepard finished the night with 26 saves, and his save on Printz eventually made ESPN’s SportsCenter Top 10 as the No. 2 play of the night.

Friday, Nov. 25: Hershey 2 at Hartford 1
Shepard started consecutive games for the first time this season, as Mike Vecchione scored just 34 seconds into the contest for his fifth of the season. Henrik Borgstrom then one-timed a power-play goal from the right circle past Louis Domingue at 18:04 for his fifth of the season to make it 2-0 Bears. Tim Gettinger scored for Hartford at 4:07 of the third period, but Shepard finished the night with 30 saves to secure the win.

Saturday, Nov. 26: Hershey 1 at Hartford 0 (SO)
The final game of the week for Hershey featured a goaltending duel between Zach Fucale and Dylan Garand, as the Bears outshot the Wolf Pack 38-16 in regulation and overtime, but both goaltenders turned aside everything they faced to both earn their first shutouts of the season. The Bears played in their first game of the season to be decided by the shootout, and Mike Sgarbossa scored the winning tally in the third round when he beat Garand with a shot to the blocker side.

LOCAL PRACTICE SCHEDULE FOR WEEK OF NOV. 28:

Monday, Nov. 28
10:30 a.m. at Hersheypark Arena

Tuesday, Nov. 29
10 a.m. morning skate at GIANT Center

Wednesday, Nov. 30
10 a.m. morning skate at GIANT Center

Thursday, Dec. 1
Day off

Friday, Dec. 2
10:30 a.m. at Hersheypark Arena

Saturday, Dec. 3
10:30 a.m. at Hersheypark Arena
All practices are open to the public. Practice dates and times are subject to change.

UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE:
- Tuesday, Nov. 29 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 7 p.m.
TRULY Takeover Tuesday featuring $16 TRULY and empanada specials at Section 110, along with samplings, giveaways and a chance to win TRULY-branded hockey gear
- Wednesday, Nov. 30 at Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 7:05 p.m.
- Sunday, Dec. 4 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 3 p.m.
David A Smith Printing Team Photo Night (first 6,000 fans in attendance will receive copy of team photo) and Team Autograph Night
Video Coverage: AHLTV; Radio Coverage: Bears Radio Network

TEAM NEWS AND NOTES:

BEARS-PENGUINS:
The I-81 Rivalry continues this week as the Bears take on the Baby Pens for the fifth and sixth games out of 12 total contests this season. Both teams have earned two victories so far, with Hershey also claiming an overtime point against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Ethen Frank (2g, 0a), Mike Sgabossa (1g, 1a) and Hendrix Lapierre (0g, 2a) lead the Bears in scoring against the Penguins, while Filip Hallander (4g, 1a) leads his club against the Chocolate and White. This week’s matchup between the Bears and Penguins potentially features the two top-ranked goalies in goals-against average and save percentage. Hershey’s Hunter Shepard and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Dustin Tokarski are tied for the league’s best save percentage (.940), while Shepard’s 1.69 GAA slightly edges out Tokarski’s 1.70 GAA. Tokarski is also tied with Zach Fucale and Toronto’s Keith Petruzzelli for fourth in wins with seven. Both teams will enter Tuesday’s game riding three-game win streaks.

BEARS AT PHANTOMS:
With only two games played against each other out of 14 total head-to-head matches this season, the final 12 games against the Phantoms will constitute over 22 percent of Hershey’s remaining 54 games on the schedule. The Bears have won both encounters against Lehigh Valley this season, with a 2-1 win on Oct. 16 and a 4-1 victory on Oct. 30. Mike Vecchione, the former Phantom, leads the Bears in scoring against Lehigh Valley with four points (2g, 2a). Zach Fucale was the winner in both decisions for Hershey, sporting a 1.00 GAA and a .947 save percentage against the Phantoms. Jackson Cates, who scored the lone goal for the Phantoms on Oct. 30, was brought up to the parent club Philadelphia Flyers on Nov. 22. Hershey has gone 3-for-10 with the man advantage against Lehigh Valley this season. In addition to Vecchione, the Bears also boast former Phantoms Logan Day and Matt Strome on their roster.

ON TO THE SECOND QUARTER:
The Bears ended the first quarter of the 72-game season with a record of 12-4-2-0, giving the Chocolate and White their best start through the season’s first 18 games in over a decade. The last Bears team to have this strong a start out of the gate was the 2009-10 Calder Cup-winning squad, which went 13-5-0-0 in its first 18 matches under an 80-game schedule. With an 8-2-0-0 record in their last 10 games, the Bears are one of the hottest teams in the Eastern Conference entering the week.

DYNAMIC DUO IN NET:
The tandem of Zach Fucale and Hunter Shepard have been lights out for the Bears this season. The pair are one of two goaltending duos (along with Colorado’s Jonas Johansson and Justus Annunen) that each have recorded at least five victories this season. Both Fucale and Shepard have each earned one win against the Penguins this season. Shepard got the lion’s share of time in the net last week, going 2-0-0 with a .966 save percentage on the strength of 56 saves in games against the Thunderbirds and Wolf Pack.

COMMITMENT TO DEFENSE:
The Bears enter the week tied for second overall in the 32-team AHL, despite the fact that the team does not have a player among the league’s top 80 scorers. Much of this can be attributed to the play of the aforementioned goaltending battery of Zach Fucale and Hunter Shepard, but the team’s overall defensive structure must also be commended. Hershey’s penalty kill is ranked second overall and tops in the Eastern Conference at 87.1%, and the team leads the AHL with a league-low 25.44 shots against. The team is also a combined 10-3-2-0 in games decided by two or fewer goals.

BEARS BITES:
Vincent Iorio’s plus-minus of +9 leads the Bears and ranks first among all rookie blueliners in the Eastern Conference…Sam Anas is six assists and six points away from his 200th career helper and 300th career point, respectively…Mike Vecchione is one assist away from his 100th career assist…Shane Gersich is two points away from his 100th pro point, and three points away from reaching his 100th with the Bears.