Game Preview: Bears at Checkers, 7 p.m.

March 8, 2024

The Hershey Bears continue their four-game road trip tonight by playing their first of two back-to-back games against the Charlotte Checkers. Hershey has earned points in its last four consecutive road games (2-0-0-2).

Hershey Bears (41-10-0-4) at Charlotte Checkers (27-21-6-0)
March 8, 2024 | 7 p.m. | Game 56 | Bojangles' Coliseum
Referees: Jordan Samuel-Thomas (42), Hillary Brennan (61)
Linespersons: Justin Johnson (57), Kirsten Welsh (10)

Broadcast Information 
Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, and Bears media specialist Jesse Liebman on the call
TELEVISION: Antenna TV (WPMT FOX 43.2, Xfinity Ch. 247 and 1178, Verizon FiOS Ch. 463, Blue Ridge Ephrata Ch. 91, and Blue Ridge Newberry/Duncannon Ch. 88)
RADIO: WFVY-100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM, SportsRadio 98.9-FM & WOYK 1350-AM (joined in-progress), Capitals Radio 
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 Bears have been idle since visiting the Lehigh Valley Phantoms last Sunday. Clay Stevenson and Cal Petersen were perfect through 65 minutes of action, with each netminder receiving credit for a shutout. In the shootout Wade Allison broke a 1-1 draw in the second round, and Petersen stopped Joe Snively and Alex Limoges to secure the win for the Phantoms. Charlotte is coming off a 4-2 win at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last Saturday, in which the Checkers overcame a 2-0 deficit at the start of the second period. Zac Dalpe got Charlotte on the board midway through the middle frame, and then assisted on the tying score by Uvis Balinskis at 7:07 of the third period. With the game tied 2-2 late in regulation, Michael Benning put Charlotte in front at 17:02, and Mackie Samoskevich sealed the victory for the Checkers with an empty-net goal at 19:39.

PILING UP THE POINTS:
Last Sunday's standings point earned against Lehigh Valley and a Springfield Thunderbirds loss to Providence managed to inch the Chocolate and White ever closer to a playoff-clinching scenario. As it stands, Hershey enters the weekend with a Magic Number of six points, which is reduced when the Bears earn standings points or when the team with the highest possible points total outside the playoff picture fails to earn points. The Bears need to earn nine points out of their remaining nine road games to ensure they surpass the franchise mark for best road points percentage (.675, 2006-07), 25 points out of their remaining 17 games to best the franchise mark for overall points percentage (.769, 2009-10), and 26 points out of their remaining 17 games to best the 1992-93 Binghamton Rangers' league record for points percentage (.775).

FEAT OF CLAY:
Despite the shootout loss at Lehigh Valley on Sunday, goaltender Clay Stevenson celebrated his 25th birthday by stopping all 17 shots he faced in regulation and overtime against the Phantoms, and receiving credit for his seventh shutout of the season as a result, adding to his franchise single-season record totals for most shutouts by a Bears rookie netminder. The achievement also ties Stevenson with Alfie Moore (1938-39) and Nick Damore (1944-45) for most shutouts by a Bears goaltender in a single season. Stevenson currently leads the AHL with a 1.82 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage; if he can maintain those figures for the remainder of the season, it would surpass Moore's club record for lowest goals-against average in a single season (1.98, 1938-39) and match Tom Lawson's (2003-04) and Braden Holtby's (2012-13) single-season club marks for save percentage.

CHECKING IN WITH THE CHECKERS:
Hershey is 3-1-0-0 overall against Charlotte this season, and 2-0-0-0 this season at Bojangles' Coliseum after sweeping the Checkers in North Carolina in a pair of games in early December. Pierrick Dube is tied with Jimmy Huntington for the team scoring lead against Charlotte, with five points apiece. Dube leads Hershey with four goals against the Checkers, while Huntington is pacing the Bears with five assists. Clay Stevenson has started every game against Charlotte this season, going 3-1-0 with a 2.03 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage. Charlotte currently has a five-point cushion on fifth place in the Atlantic. Defenseman Lucas Carlsson leads the AHL with 207 shots on goal and is tied for second in scoring among defensemen with 39 points. Carlsson also has an active home point streak with eight points over six consecutive games. Goaltender Spencer Knight is fourth in the league in minutes played with 2,044. Mackie Samoskevich is tied for eighth in rookie scoring with 36 points.

BEARS BITES:
Forward Evgeny Kuznetsov has practiced with the Bears but has yet to be cleared to play under the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance program. If he is cleared today, Kuznetsov could potentially make his Bears debut tonight...Bears defender Chase Priskie, who previously played for Charlotte in 2019-20 and 2021-22, is tied for 16th in league scoring among defensemen with 29 points (6g, 23a)...Hershey leads the AHL with a 14-0-0-1 road record when leading after two periods...Goaltender Hunter Shepard was recalled by Washington on Thursday and backed up Charlie Lindgren in the Capitals' win against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Mitch Gibson has been summoned from ECHL South Carolina and has joined the Bears in Charlotte...The Bears are averaging the fewest penalty minutes among Eastern Conference teams with 9.78 PIMs per game...Hershey is tied for the league lead with 33 first goals and is 30-2-0-1 when scoring first...The Bears lead the league with fewest goals against per game (2.07) and shots against per game (26.05).

ON THIS DATE:
March 8, 2022 - Zach Fucale made 26 saves en route to a 4-0 Bears win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, giving him his second consecutive shutout after blanking the Utica Comets on Feb. 25, also a 4-0 victory. Fucale would go on to pick up the shutout in his next start, a 2-0 win over Lehigh Valley on March 13, joining Nick Damore as the second goalie in franchise history to earn three consecutive shutouts, and becoming the first Bears goaltender to post three consecutive shutout victories. Overall, Fucale's shutout streak lasted an eye-popping 210:13.