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

March 23, 2024

The Hershey Bears finish the regular-season series with the Cleveland Monsters tonight at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

Hershey Bears (45-11-0-5) at Cleveland Monsters (35-20-3-3)
March 23, 2024 | 7 p.m. | Game 62 | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
Referees: Bobby Jo Love (51), Brody Sutter (71) 
Linespersons: Luke Pye (42), Chris Conway (87)

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, 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.; Television coverage begins at 7 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT:
The Bears jumped out to a 3-1 lead through 20 minutes and never looked back in a 6-3 win last night over the Cleveland Monsters at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. With the win, Hershey officially secured a first-round bye for the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs. Hershey got goals from six different players, with Matt Strome, Pierrick Dube, Ethen Frank, Jimmy Huntington, Henrik Rybinski, and Bogdan Trineyev finding the back of the net. Hershey tied a season-high 39 shots in the victory, and with the win, Hershey has surpassed its win total from the 2022-23 regular season. 

STREAKS GALORE:
A scoring outburst that saw the Bears get points from 14 different players last night helped many members of the club extend streaks. Forward Riley Sutter potted an assist last night to give him a four-game point streak (4g, 2a) while Matt Strome struck for a goal to also extend his point streak to four games (1g, 3a). With an assist last night, both Vincent Iorio and Garrett Roe have helpers in three straight games, while forward Ethen Frank has goals in two straight outings.

COME ON DOWN TO CLEVELAND TOWN:
Hershey extended its point streak versus Cleveland to 12 games (10-0-0-2) with last night's victory. Hershey has now won five straight games at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, with the club's last loss versus the Monsters in regulation coming on Mar. 24, 2019 in a 4-1 defeat on Cleveland ice. Hershey forward Ethen Frank paces the Bears this season with eight points (3g, 5a) in three games versus the Monsters while Pierrick Dube has five points (4g, 1a) in the head-to-head matchups. Cleveland, who is without its top four scorers on recall to the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets, enter tonight's game having dropped two straight contests while the Bears have a five-game point streak (4-0-0-1). 

PK POWER:
The Bears continue to be the AHL's top team on the penalty kill this season at an impressive 88.7%. Hershey went 5-for-6 on the penalty kill last night, and the goal against was the first time the opponent had scored on the power play since Feb. 24 versus Rochester. Since that game, Hershey has gone 27-for-28 on the kill, good for a conversion rate of 96.4%. Hershey also tallied the club's eighth shorthanded goal last night as Bogdan Trineyev posted his third shorty of the season. 

BEARS BITES:
Hershey forward Alex Limoges is slated to play his 200th AHL and professional game tonight...Last night marked forward Pierrick Dube's 100th AHL game and the forward struck for his team-leading 26th goal in the win...With an assist last night, Hershey defender Aaron Ness scored his 169th career point (29g, 140a) for the Chocolate and White, passing Mike Gaul for sole possession of seventh in franchise scoring among defensemen... Hershey enters tonight with a Magic Number of nine points to clinch the Atlantic Division title...Over the past five games Hershey has outscored its opponents 20-10...Hershey's power play is 5-for-11 (45.5%) in the season series versus Cleveland. 

ON THIS DATE:
March 23, 1997 - Steffon Walby scored a pair of goals and J.F. Labbe made 30 saves to lead the Bears to a 4-2 win over the Kentucky Thoroughblades at Hersheypark Arena. The victory gave Hershey its 2,000th regular season win in franchise history.