May 29, 2023
The
Hershey Bears continue the 2023 playoffs, presented by Penn State Health, as they visit Blue Cross Arena for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Rochester Americans.
The Bears picked up a 4-2 win in Game 3 on Saturday, and are looking to take a 3-1 series lead.
#2 Hershey Bears (8-2) at #3 Rochester Americans (7-4)
May 29, 2023 | 6:05 p.m. | Eastern Conference Finals – Game 4 | Hershey leads series, 2-1| Blue Cross Arena
Referees: Beau Halkidis (#48), Carter Sandlak (#47)
Linespersons: Joseph Mahon (#89), Shawn Oliver (#56)
AHL PLAYOFF BRACKET
Broadcast Information
Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, FOX43 Sports Director Todd Sadowski on the call
TV: FOX43 (Joined in progress following conclusion of NASCAR programming), Antenna TV (WPMT 43.2, Xfinity Ch. 247 and 1178, Verizon FiOS Ch. 463, Blue Ridge Ephrata Ch. 91, and Blue Ridge Newberry/Duncannon Ch. 88),
NBC Sports Washington
RADIO: WFVY-100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM, Capitals Radio Network, SportsRadio 98.9-FM & WOYK 1350-AM
WATCH LIVE: AHLTV
LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream, Caps Radio
Radio pre-game coverage starts at 5:35 p.m.
Watch Party Information
Bears fans can view the game together as Hershey will host a Game 4 Watch Party at The Bears' Den, located inside
Hershey Lodge. Festivities are set to start at 5 p.m., with puck drop to follow in Rochester at 6 p.m. During intermissions, Jim Jones will host games with a chance to win
Hershey Bears prize packs and gift cards to The Bears’ Den. Plus, the evening will feature a $3 TRULY Wild Berry can special.
LAST TIME OUT:
The Bears took a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals thanks to a 4-2 win last Saturday in Rochester. After sustaining an early barrage, Hershey took a 1-0 lead at 11:50 of the first period when Logan Day one-timed a shot from the blue line past Malcom Subban for his second of the postseason, from Aliaksei Protas and Sam Anas. Anas and Day connected again in the second period, as Anas found twine from the right circle for a power-play goal from Day and Hendrix Lapierre at 5:36. Rochester got on the board at 7:57 when Zach Metsa’s shot from the blue line beat a screened Hunter Shepard to halve Hershey’s lead to 2-1.
The Bears answered at 10:27 when Connor McMichael drove the front of the net and put home a centering feed from Lucas Johansen through the pads of Subban for his fourth of the playoffs. Sean Malone trimmed the lead to 3-2 when the Rochester center scored at 7:36 of the third, but the Bears closed out the game with an empty-net goal by Protas from Riley Sutter and Beck Malenstyn at 19:17. Shots finished 33-25 in favor of the Americans. Shepard made 31 saves for the Bears in the win; Subban went 21-for-24 in the loss for the Americans. Hershey was 1-for-2 on the power play while Rochester went 0-for-2.
SHEP'S STANDARD:
After being pulled in Game 1, Hershey netminder Hunter Shepard has bounced back with a pair of sensational goaltending performances to guide the Bears to a series lead. Shepard has stopped 55-of-57 shots over his past two outings, good for a .965 save percentage. His shutout in Game 2 was the first playoff clean sheet of his professional career, both in the ECHL and AHL. In 10 playoff games, he owns a 1.90 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage, the best mark among all active goaltenders in the postseason.
ROARING ON THE ROAD:
Hershey heads into tonight's contest with a perfect 4-0 record on the road in the playoffs, outscoring opponents 17-6. Hershey bested Charlotte twice to open the Atlantic Division Semifinals, before winning its lone road game at Hartford to eliminate the Wolf Pack in Round 3. They added to that total with Saturday's 4-2 win in Rochester. Dating back to March 15, Hershey owns an 11-2-0-1 record away from
GIANT Center.
ON SPECIAL TEAMS:
The Bears have scored a power-play goal in two straight games versus Rochester and now own a 7-0 record when they connect on the man advantage in the playoffs. Hershey has received power-play goals from seven different players, with all seven skaters posting a goal each. None of Hershey's goals on the man advantage in the playoffs have come from the top three regular season power-play goal producers (Frank-9, Vecchione-6, Lapierre-5). On the penalty kill, Hershey has held Rochester to 0-for-5 over three games, and dating back to Game 3 versus Hartford, Hershey is 9-for-9 over the past four games while a man down.
SCORING MORE 4-ON-4:
Connor McMichael's goal for Hershey in Game 3 came while the teams skated 4-on-4. That marked the second time this series Hershey has scored a goal while each team is a skater short, as Aaron Ness also connected at 4-on-4 in Game 1. During the entire 72-game regular season, Hershey scored just a single goal while skating 4-on-4.
BEARS BITES:
Tonight is Hershey's first game on Memorial Day since May 25, 2009. Thanks to two assists from Bryan Helmer, Hershey earned a 5-2 win at Providence to advance to the Calder Cup Finals...The last time Hershey earned a Game 4 win to claim a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series came during the 2009 Calder Cup Finals when Keith Aucoin scored the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory...Saturday's win was Hershey's first playoff win at Blue Cross Arena since April 20, 1994...Forward Joe Snively has assists in four of his past five games...Goaltender Zach Fucale celebrated his 28th birthday yesterday.
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