The Hershey Bears take the ice tonight at GIANT Center for their final game of the 2023-24 regular season and their second meeting of the week with the Charlotte Checkers. Although the Bears have already secured the top spot in the American Hockey League standings and have clinched a first-round bye for the Calder Cup Playoffs, Hershey still has something to play for tonight, as the Chocolate and White look to make a run at the AHL's single-season points percentage record.
Hershey Bears (53-13-0-5) vs. Charlotte Checkers (38-25-7-0)
April 20, 2024 | 7 p.m. | Game 72 | GIANT Center
Referees: Jeremy Tufts (78), Adam Tobias (16)
Linespersons: John Rey (16), J.P. Waleski (14)
Tonight's Promotions:
Fan Appreciation Night - All fans in attendance will receive a scratch-off card upon entrance for a chance to win a variety of prizes.
Jersey Off Our Backs Night - All fans in attendance will have a chance to win a game-worn jersey right off the back of a Hershey Bears player.
Player Awards Night - The Player Awards ceremony will take place during pre-game to celebrate player accomplishments throughout the 2023-24 season.
Broadcast Information
Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, former Bears captain Garrett Mitchell, and FOX43 sports director Todd Sadowski 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, Capitals Radio, In-Arena on 88.9 FM
WATCH LIVE: AHLTV (FREEVIEW)
LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream, Caps Radio 24/7
Radio pre-game coverage starts at 6:30 p.m., Television coverage starts at 7 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT:
The Bears and Checkers squared off on Wednesday, with Joe Snively scoring at 2:08 and Matt Strome adding a penalty shot goal at 3:13 to put Hershey up 2-0. Charlotte then responded with goals from Wilmer Skoog at 12:33 and a power-play goal from Mitchell Vande Sompel at 16:42. Skoog scored again at 6:27 of the second to put the Checkers up 3-2. A potential Charlotte goal at 9:36 was overturned via a successful challenge by the Bears, and Alex Limoges tied it up at 5:04 of the third period, and Pierrick Dube scored a breakaway goal at 10:28 for the game-winner.
LEAGUE POINTS PERCENTAGE RECORD ON THE LINE:
Entering the final game of the regular season at 111 points through 71 contests (.782 points percentage), the Bears have already guaranteed they will finish the season with a new franchise mark for overall points percentage, besting the previous record of .769 set by the 2009-10 team, which earned a still-unsurpassed 60 wins under an 80-game schedule. Hershey requires only one more point from tonight's contest to shatter the 1992-93 Binghamton Rangers' league record for points percentage (.775, 57-13-10).
NESS TO HIT 800TH PRO GAME:
Bears defenseman and alternate captain Aaron Ness is slated to skate in the 800th regular-season game of his professional career tonight. The Roseau, Minn., native has spent much of his career over two separate stints with the Chocolate and White, receiving a sweater in 375 games for Hershey, which ranks eighth all-time among Bears blueliners, and the most among American-born defensemen for Hershey. Ness' professional career consists of 727 AHL games with Hershey, Bridgeport, Tucson, and Providence, and 72 NHL games with the New York Islanders, Washington Capitals, and Arizona Coyotes.
MASSIE CELEBRATING MILESTONE:
With his eighth assist of the season on Wednesday, Bears defender Jake Massie matched his AHL career-high for assists, and set a new personal-best with his 10th point of the season. Massie's next game will mark his 100th regular-season contest as a Bear after joining the club for the 2021-22 season and helping the Chocolate and White claim the 2023 Calder Cup.
NELSON CAN TIE FOR SEVENTH IN AHL HEAD COACHING VICTORIES WITH WIN:
Bears head coach Todd Nelson has made a significant climb up the AHL's leaderboard for head coaching wins this season, opening the season at 13th with 353 career victories, and enters tonight's game in eighth place with 406 wins after earning another 53 so far in his second campaign as Hershey's bench boss. A victory tonight would give him 407 wins, moving him into a tie for seventh place with former Providence and Lehigh Valley head coach Scott Gordon.
SHEPARD CAN CLAIM AHL GOALIE WIN PERCENTAGE RECORD:
Coming off the heels of being named to the AHL's First All-Star Team on Thursday, Hunter Shepard is expected to get the start for Hershey tonight, and should he be the goaltender of record in a Bears win or overtime/shootout loss, Shepard will surpass Corey Hirsch's league record for single-season win percentage for a goaltender of .852, set in 1992-93 with the Binghamton Rangers with a record of 35-4-5. At 27-3-3 entering tonight, a victory against Charlotte will give Shepard a .868 win percentage for the 2023-24 campaign, while an overtime/shootout loss will give him a narrow edge over Hirsch at .853. No matter the outcome, Shepard has already guaranteed he has surpassed the prior Bears' single-season record for goaltender win percentage of .793 set by Maxime Daigneault during the 2006-07 season.
CAN FRANK HIT 30 FOR SECOND STRAIGHT SEASON?:
Forward Ethen Frank has one more chance to reach the 30-goal plateau for the second consecutive season. Frank is currently tied for seventh in the AHL with 29, and should he light the lamp at least once more, he would become the first Bear to achieve the feat since Alexandre Giroux notched 60 in 2008-09 and buried 50 the following season. Frank's 30-goal performance as a rookie in the 2022-23 campaign earned him a spot on the AHL's All-Rookie Team and is the highest goal-scoring total from a Bears rookie since Craig Fisher established the mark with 43 in 1990-91. This season Frank also leads Hershey in several additional goal-scoring categories, while ranking among the league leaders as well: his 13 power-play goals are tied for fourth, his nine game-winning goals are tied for second, his six first goals are tied for 11th, and his five insurance goals are tied for second.
CHECKING ON THE CHECKERS:
Pierrick Dube (5g, 4a) owns the team scoring lead for Hershey against Charlotte with eight points, while Clay Stevenson has been between the pipes for all seven outings against the Checkers, sporting a 2.46 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage. The Checkers are paced by Mackie Samoskevich's eight points (4g, 4a) and have used four goaltenders against the Bears this season; Spencer Knight has seen action in four games, sporting a 1-3-0 record with a 3.05 goals-against average and an .862 save percentage against Hershey.
CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT:
The Bears already boast a 5-2-0-0 record against Charlotte this season for the most wins in a single season against the Checkers in franchise history. With a 2-1-0-0 record at GIANT Center against the Checkers, the Bears can also match the franchise record set in 2017-18 for the most wins against Charlotte on home ice with a win tonight.
BEARS BITES:
The 2023-24 campaign will mark the first regular season in franchise history in which the Bears never lost back-to-back games in regulation...Joe Snively has nine points (2g, 7a) in his last six games and is tied for 15th in league scoring with 58 points (13g, 45a), while his 45 assists are tied for fifth...Hershey is first in the AHL with a penalty kill that has gone 234-for-267 (87.6%), and six individual players have combined for 10 shorthanded goals this season, which tied with the 2021-22 team for the highest total by a Bears squad since the 2011-12 team buried 13 shorthanded goals...The Bears have the lowest average penalty minutes per game in the Eastern Conference, averaging 9.37 PIMs per game...Hershey is 38-10-0-3 against Atlantic Division opponents this season...Hershey has a league-leading 40 wins when scoring first...The Chocolate and White are averaging the fewest goals against per game (2.07) and shots against per game (25.90)...Hershey enters the final game of the regular season with a 12-2-0-1 record in its last 15 games.
ON THIS DATE:
April 20, 1958 - The Bears claimed their second Calder Cup title, winning Game 6 of the Calder Cup Finals by a 2-1 score in front of a crowd of 5,920 at the Springfield Civic Center against the Indians. Bobby Perreault won Game 6 in net for Hershey, making 25 saves, and the Bears overcame a 1-0 deficit with a tying goal from Dunc Fisher at 1:13 of the second period, and the Cup-clincher off the stick of Willie Marshall at 16:55 of the third period.
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