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Hershey Bears

Bears Head Into Offseason Victorious

April 22, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


The Hershey Bears Hockey Club picked up two of a possible six points during the final week of the AHL's regular season, but the points were not enough to move the club into the postseason.

The most crucial games of the week came against the team with which the Bears were tied in points - the Norfolk Admirals - and the Bears were trying to hold the eighth seed, owning the first tiebreaker. On Wednesday at Scope, the lead changed hands twice in the first period, and Norfolk would fight off a late Hershey rally to claim the game by a 5-3 count. Rookie Josh Manson got Norfolk on the board first, and Chandler Stephenson netted his first pro goal to tie the game. Michael Latta would put the Bears in front, but late-period goals from Emerson Etem and Matt Bailey gave Norfolk a 3-2 lead. Max Friberg's second-period power play strike ended up as the winner, as Nicolas Deschamps would draw the Bears within one with an early third-period marker. The Bears could get no closer though, as William Karlsson found the empty net with nine seconds left in the game.

In Friday's rematch, Etem would give Norfolk the lead on the Admirals' first shot of the game. Tyson Strachan scored late in the period to knot the score, but former Bears forward Dave Steckel chipped a loose puck past Philipp Grubauer with 59.8 seconds left in the second period - the eventual game-winner. Norfolk smothered Hershey in the third period, and again got an empty-net tally from Friberg to send Norfolk into the Calder Cup Playoffs. Brad Thiessen picked up both wins in the Norfolk net.

10,964 fans then packed GIANT Center on Saturday in the season finale, and the Bears saluted them with a 2-1 victory over the Adirondack Phantoms. Joel Rechlicz brought the crowd to its feet when he deposited his first goal of the season. Jeff Taffe added his 21st of the campaign in the second period, the eventual game-winner. Former Bears forward Derek Whitmore scored late for Adirondack, and David Leggio made 25 saves for the win.

HERSHEY BEARS NEWS AND NOTES

FIRST GOALS ON FIRST SHOTS: Two Capitals prospects made their debuts in April. Forward Caleb Herbert (#142, 5th round, 2010) scored the tying goal in Lewiston against the Portland Pirates on April 2, which came on his first shot on goal. The tally was preceded by his first AHL assist on Jeff Taffe's first- period marker. Herbert ended up as the game's first star in the Bears' victory. C Chandler Stephenson (#77, 3rd round, 2012) also didn't take long to impress, scoring on his first career shot on goal on Wednesday at Norfolk.

GREAT DANE: Bears captain Dane Byers finished the month of April with six points (3-3-6) and a plus-four rating, one of the team's hardest workers down the stretch. The native of Nipawin, SK matched his second-longest point streak of the season in April as well, a five-game streak from April 5-13 that culminated when he netted the only goal of the game in a 1-0 overtime win over Binghamton. He led the team with 211 penalty minutes, finished tied for fifth on the team in scoring (15-22-37) among players on the roster since the season began, and was named the team's most valuable player.

SELF-IMPROVEMENT: C Ryan Stoa posted some career numbers during his second season in Hershey. In 67 games, Stoa set a new single-season AHL best with 24 assists, and matched his highest point total (16-24-40) last set in his rookie year of 2009-10. He finished as the league leader in shootout goals (nine) and was named the Bears' most improved player of 2013-14.

BROUILLETTE'S BIG YEAR: D Julien Brouillette fell one point shy of his AHL-best 21 points reached in his first year with the Bears, in 2011-12, but it was for a very good reason. The native of St. Esprit, Quebec made his NHL debut with the Washington Capitals on February 6 and spent the better portion of four weeks in the NHL. He recorded his first NHL goal on February 8 - the game-winner - at New Jersey and finished with two points (1-1-2) in 10 games in the Nation's Capital. With the Bears, Brouillette finished with 20 points (10- 10-20), recording a new single-season AHL career high in goals scored. He finished as the leader among AHL defensemen in shooting percentage (20.4%) and tied for fourth among blueliners with seven power-play goals.

NEW ADDITION: C Kris Newbury, acquired on loan from Philadelphia on March 12, stepped right in offensively to contribute 13 points (4-9-13) in 17 games with Hershey. Added to his totals with the Adirondack Phantoms, Newbury finished as the Bears' leading scorer with 49 points (18-31-49). He matched a Bears' season high for points in a game, with four (2-2-4) and a season-high plus-four rating on April 6 at Bridgeport.

STEADY GRUBAUER: For the second consecutive year, G Philipp Grubauer did not complete a full season in Chocolatetown. During last year's NHL lockout, Grubauer began the year with the ECHL's Reading Royals, came to Hershey for 28 games and eventually earned his first NHL recall to Washington. This year, Grubauer - the Bears' rookie of the year - played another 28 games with the Bears, and is now 28-22-4 over two seasons. He also spent a long stint with the Capitals, picking up his first career NHL victory against the New York Rangers on December 8. Grubauer was 6-5-5 in 17 appearances with Washington.

BEARS BULLETS:

- Seven Hershey players made their NHL debuts with the Washington Capitals in 2013-14: Julien Brouillette, Connor Carrick, Nicolas Deschamps, Michael Latta, Peter LeBlanc, Nate Schmidt and Patrick Wey.

- Hershey finished atop the AHL attendance chart for the eighth consecutive season, averaging 9,664 fans per game.

- Hershey tied for second among Eastern Conference teams with 24 wins on home ice (24-10-1-3).

- The Bears finished tied with the Texas Stars for the season's longest home-ice win streak (12 games, December 28 - February 15).

- The Bears finished with a four-game win streak at GIANT Center.

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