Weekly Release: Bears Battle Penguins, Phantoms

October 23, 2023

The Hershey Bears hope to continue their strong play this week when they close out a four-game road trip with their first meeting of the season against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Wednesday, Oct. 25. Hershey then returns home to host the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Saturday, Oct. 28, and the Penguins on Sunday, Oct. 29.

TEAM LEADERS:
Goals: Ethen Frank, Mike Sgarbossa (3)
Assists: Alex Limoges (4)
Points: Ethen Frank, Mike Sgarbossa (6)
Power-Play Goals: Ethen Frank (3)
Shorthanded Goals: N/A
Plus/Minus: Jimmy Huntington (+3)
Wins: Hunter Shepard (2)
GAA: Mitch Gibson (1.90)
SV%: Mitch Gibson (.913)
Only includes qualified players

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS:

-        Friday, Oct. 20 - Hershey 3 at Providence 2
-        Saturday, Oct. 21 - Hershey 5 at Providence 4 (SO)
-        Sunday, Oct. 22 - Hershey 3 at Bridgeport 2 (OT)

LOCAL PRACTICE SCHEDULE FOR WEEK OF OCT. 23:

Monday, Oct. 23
Day off

Tuesday, Oct. 24
Practice at 10:30 a.m. at GIANT Center

Wednesday, Oct. 25
Morning skate at 10 a.m. at GIANT Center
Game at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

Thursday, Oct. 26
Practice at 10:30 a.m. at GIANT Center

Friday, Oct. 27
Practice at 10:30 a.m. at GIANT Center

All practices are open to the public. Practice dates and times are subject to change.

UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE:

-        Wednesday, Oct. 25 - Hershey at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 7:05 p.m.

-        Saturday, Oct. 28 - Hershey vs. Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 7 p.m. - BUY TICKETS

• PNC Bank Magnet Schedule Night - The first 8,000 fans in attendance will receive a 2023-24 Bears magnet schedule, courtesy of PNC Bank.

-        Sunday, Oct. 29 - Hershey vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 3 p.m. - BUY TICKETS

• Reese's Trick-or-Treat Night - All fans 12-and-under will receive a trick-or-treat bag upon entry and have the ability to trick-or-treat around the concourse during pre-game and intermissions.

Video Coverage: AHLTV; Radio Coverage: Bears Radio Network, Capitals Radio Network; Tickets: HersheyBears.com

All times Eastern

TEAM NEWS AND NOTES:

KEYSTONE STATE SLUGFEST:
From this week through Nov. 22, the Bears will find themselves in familiar company, as Hershey is slated to play almost exclusively against in-state rivals Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (five games; 2H, 3A) and Lehigh Valley (four games; 2H, 2A) over its next 12 contests as the Bears approach the quarter-pole mark of the 2023-24 campaign. The lone exception is Bridgeport (which Hershey defeated 3-2 in overtime on Sunday), as the Bears will host the Islanders twice and visit once more during that stretch.

BEARS-PENS:
Hershey and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will square off in the first of 12 meetings this season on Wednesday at Mohegan Sun Arena. Last season, Hershey and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton split the regular season series, with the Bears posting a 6-3-3-0 record. Among returning players on their respective teams, Mike Sgarbossa led the Bears in scoring against the Penguins with 11 points (6g, 5a) in 12 games, while the Penguins were paced by Valtteri Puustinen's 10 points (3g, 7a). Colin Swoyer has moved to the other side of the I-81 rivalry, as the Bears defender made his Hershey debut at Providence on Sunday after appearing in 36 games the previous year with the Penguins.

BEARS-PHANTOMS:
The Bears and Phantoms will meet for the first time this season on Saturday at GIANT Center. Last season, Hershey and Lehigh Valley met 14 times, with the Bears posting a dominant 11-2-0-1 record. Ethen Frank led the Bears against the Phantoms with 17 points (9g, 8a) in 13 contests, while Olle Lycksell had nine points (3g, 6a) in 12 games for Lehigh Valley; both are currently tied this season for the league lead with three power-play goals. Former Phantoms on Hershey's roster are Nic Aubé-Kubel, Logan Day, Matt Strome, and Mike Vecchione.

EARLY-SEASON ROAD WARRIORS:
Thanks to a successful three-in-three weekend, the Bears are off to a 3-0-0-0 start on the road this season, their best road start since the 2011-12 campaign, when the Bears went 4-0-0-0 away from GIANT Center to begin the season. Hershey's longest road win streak at the start of the season is eight games, set during the 2006-07 season that saw the Bears make a return to the Calder Cup Finals. Hershey's longest road point streak to begin a season is nine games (8-0-0-1), set during that same 2006-07 campaign.

SGARBOSSA HITS MULTIPLE MILESTONES:
Bears forward Mike Sgarbossa skated in his 600th professional game on Sunday at Bridgeport and capped the day by scoring the game-winner in overtime for his 200th career point as a Bear, which ranks 58th in franchise scoring history. Since joining the Chocolate and White in the 2018-19 season, Sgarbossa has compiled more goals (82), assists (118), and points than any other Bear in that span. His three career sudden-death overtime goals for Hershey are halfway to Dunc Fisher's career mark of six, the most on-record of any Bears player since the American Hockey League began using sudden-death overtime to settle ties during the 1950-51 season. Sgarbossa's next point will be the 400th of his AHL career.

NEXT UP FOR NELLY:
Bears head coach Todd Nelson passed Robbie Ftorek for sole possession of 12th on the AHL's all-time head coaching wins list with his victory at Providence last Friday, and can pass Terry Reardon (362) for sole possession of 11th on the all-time list with six more victories.

BEARS BITES:
Defenseman Aaron Ness is one point away from 300 AHL points, and is five points away from passing Patrick McNeill for eighth all-time in Bears scoring among blueliners...Defender Logan Day needs three points for his 100 in his pro/AHL tenure...Hershey enters the week with a power play ranked tied for eighth out of 32 clubs (5-for-20, 25.0%) and a penalty kill ranked eighth (20-for-22, 90.9%)...Following Mitch Gibson's victory at Bridgeport, the last time the Bears had three separate goaltenders record wins within the first five games of a season came during the 2020-21 campaign, when Pheonix Copley, Ilya Samsonov, and Zach Fucale helped the Bears to a 3-0-2-0 start...Hershey's three wins when leading after the first period are tied for the most in the league.