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

November 25, 2023

The Hershey Bears come out of the Thanksgiving holiday and reach the quarter-pole mark of the 2023-24 season tonight as they get set to take on the Iowa Wild for the first time in club history. The two teams will meet again at GIANT Center on Sunday afternoon; the Bears will also travel to Des Moines, Iowa in April for a pair of games against the Wild at Wells Fargo Arena.

Hershey Bears (13-4-0-0) vs. Iowa Wild (6-7-1-1)
November 25, 2023 | 7 p.m. | Game 18 | GIANT Center
Referees: Andrew Bell (6), Peter Schlittenhardt (12)
Linespersons: John Rey (16), Colin Gates (3)

Tonight's Promotions: 

• College Night - Show your school spirit and enjoy a night off campus! College students can enjoy discounted ticket prices when they purchase through our College Night offer using a valid college email address. VIEW OFFER to learn more and purchase tickets.

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Broadcast Information 
Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, AHL Hall-of-Famer Mitch Lamoureux, and in-arena host Jim Jones on the call
RADIO: WFVY-100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM, SportsRadio 98.9-FM & WOYK 1350-AM, In-Arena on 88.9 FM, 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 picked up a win on Wednesday versus Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, topping the Penguins by a 2-1 score. Dylan McIlrath opened the scoring with his first of the year on a shot from the blue line that fluttered past Joel Blomqvist at 2:46 of the first period. Rem Pitlick tied the game at 10:37 for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, but Riley Sutter collected his second point of the night by scoring the game-winning goal at 2:52 of the second period. Hunter Shepard made 22 saves to earn his seventh win of the season. The Wild are coming off a 3-1 loss at Milwaukee on Wednesday, as the Admirals blitzed Iowa with three goals in a span of 7:58 in the second period to take a 3-0 lead; Jujhar Khaira scored Iowa's lone goal at 19:30 of the middle frame. The Wild were unable to close the gap as Milwaukee netminder Yaroslav Askarov turned aside all 10 shots Iowa put on net in the third period.

INTO THE WILD:
The Bears will host a pair of games against the Iowa Wild - affiliate to the NHL's Minnesota Wild - this weekend as part of a four-game season series, marking the first time the Bears have played the Wild. The franchise previously existed in the AHL as the Houston Aeros from 2001 before being relocated to Des Moines in 2013, and prior to that from 1994-01 as a member of the now-defunct International Hockey League. Hershey last played a Minnesota affiliate on Jan. 9, 2009, when the Bears hosted Houston in a 5-1 victory at GIANT Center. In that game, current Bears vice president of hockey operations Bryan Helmer assisted on the game-winning goal, a shorthanded tally by Alexandre Giroux midway through the first period. Current Bears assistant coach Patrick Wellar dropped the gloves with Aeros player (now Washington Capitals assistant coach) Mitch Love. Iowa is in its first season under head coach Brett McLean, who had spent the last three seasons as an assistant with Minnesota, and three seasons prior to that as an assistant with Iowa under Tim Army.

COACHING CONNECTIONS: 
Iowa assistant Ben Simon was previously an assistant coach in Grand Rapids under Bears head coach Todd Nelson and captured the Calder Cup together with the Griffins in 2017. Wild goalie coach Richard Bachman previously played for Nelson as a goaltender with the Oklahoma City Barons and Edmonton Oilers between 2013-15.

SOUPED-UP SUTTER: 
Bears forward Riley Sutter enters tonight's game on a tear - the fifth-year pro has five points (2g, 3a) in his last three games, along with a plus/minus of +4, five shots on goal, and one game-winner. Sutter is continuing to build on his performance from the 2022-23 campaign, in which he played in a career-high 69 contests during the regular season and also set personal bests in goals (5), points (12), and shots on goal (79).

BEARS BITES:
Matt Strome has a three-game assist streak (3a)...Defenseman Aaron Ness is three points away from passing Patrick McNeill (152 points) for eighth all-time in Bears scoring among blueliners...Jimmy Huntington's next point will be the 100th of his professional career...Hunter Shepard won has won three consecutive games since returning from the NHL in mid-November; his three wins since Nov. 15 are tied for the most in the AHL...The Bears are 9-1-0-0 when scoring first, and 9-1-0-0 when leading after the first period...Former Bears forward Kale Kessy did make the trip with Iowa to Pennsylvania this week, but will not appear in either game this weekend against Hershey, as Iowa's penalty minute leader received a three-game suspension that runs through Sunday's contest...Hershey signed defenseman Dmitry Osipov to an AHL contract through the remainder of the season on Wednesday, after he began the season on a professional tryout.

ON THIS DATE:
Nov. 25, 1987 - Mike Murray became the only Bears player in club history to record four goals in one period, finding the net at 1:20, 3:26, 7:55, and 17:10 of the second period, matching an American Hockey League record, in Hershey's 8-2 win over the Binghamton Whalers at Hersheypark Arena.