Game Preview: Bears vs. Penguins, 7 p.m.

November 29, 2022

The Hershey Bears continue the 2022-23 season, presented by Penn State Health, as they return home to face the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins after enjoying a perfect 3-0-0-0 road trip last week. Hershey enters the second quarter of the 2022-23 campaign currently seeded second in the Atlantic Division, and second overall in the entire American Hockey League. The Bears will also host the Penguins on Sunday.

Hershey Bears (12-4-2-0) vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (10-5-1-1)
November 29, 2022 | 7 p.m. | Game 19 | GIANT Center
Referees: Casey Terreri (75), Conor O’Donnell (41)
Linespersons: Ryan Knapp (73), J.P. Waleski (14 )
AHL STANDINGS

Tonight’s Promotion:
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

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Tonight's game is brought to you by Arooga’s

Broadcast Information 
Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, Hershey Bears Hall of Famer Dave Fenyves, and Jim Jones on the call
RADIO: WFVY-100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM, SportsRadio 98.9-FM & WOYK 1350-AM
WATCH LIVE: AHLTV
LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream
Radio pre-game coverage starts at 6:30 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT: 
Hershey closed out its three-game road trip on Saturday with the second of two meetings in Hartford. The contest 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, giving Hershey a 1-0 win. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, meanwhile, rallied in the final minutes of their contest at Springfield on Saturday, when Valtteri Puustinen tied the score at 2-2 with 3:05 left in regulation. Overtime yielded no change in the score, sending the game to a shootout, in which Dmitrii Samorukov scored for the Thunderbirds, but was answered by Alexander Nylander. In the third round, Sam Poulin scored the shooting-winning tally for the Penguins, lifting them to a 3-2 victory. Filip Lindberg recorded 32 saves in the contest.

BEARS VS. PENGUINS AT-A-GLANCE:
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.

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 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.

PUTTING DOWN PUUSTINEN:
A key to locking up two points tonight against the Penguins will be the containment of forward Valtteri Puustinen. The Wilkes-Barre-Scranton winger enters tonight’s game riding a three-game goal-scoring streak (3g) and a five-game point streak (3g, 3a). The other half of his six goals on the season came during a similar three-game goal-scoring streak in late October – the Bears have been able to limit Puustinen to three assists through four contests so far.

BEARS BITES:
Vincent Iorio’s plus-minus of +9 leads the Bears and ranks first among all rookie blueliners in the Eastern Conference… Hunter Shepard has won his last five straight starts and is unbeaten in regulation at 5-0-2…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.