Sports stats



AHL Hershey Bears

66 Out Of 78 Isn't Bad

April 6, 2016 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


The Hershey Bears Hockey Club picked up three of a possible six points on their weekend road trip, which was enough to hold onto first place in the Atlantic and clinch a spot in the 2016 Calder Cup playoffs.

The team began their week with a Friday visit to the Connecticut capital to finish the season series against the Hartford Wolf Pack. Down 2-0 late in the second, the Bears got back within one when Riley Barber chipped home his 24th goal of the season. But the Wolf Pack would tack on a five-

on-three power play goal for the insurance marker, while Nicklas Jensen and Tyler Brown added third-period goals, helping the hosts claim a 5-1 victory. Chris Bourque added to his league-leading point total of 73 with an assist on Barber's goal.

On Saturday, the Bears traveled to Rhode Island for a key two-game set against the Providence Bruins. After the first two Providence shots on goal deflected in for an early 2-0 lead, Justin Peters would allow just one more goal on his next 36 shots faced to allow the Bears to climb right back into the game. Jakub Vrana took over offensively, scoring late in the second and early in the third to tie the game 3-3. Peters stopped all 10 third-period shots and all four in a thrilling overtime, adding to a penalty shot save against Riley Barber, earning the Bears a big standings point. In the ensuing shootout, Christian Djoos and Chandler Stephenson scored for Hershey while Peters turned away four of five shooters, giving the Bears a 4-3 victory.

The two teams played an afternoon rematch on Sunday, and the game got off to an eerily similar start. A little over two minutes into the game, Providence recorded its first shot on goal - a Max Talbot wrist shot that eluded Dan Ellis for a 1-0 Bruins lead. Providence backstop Jeremy Smith kept his team ahead by that same score through two periods, before Djoos wound up and ripped a slap shot over his shoulder to tie the game early in the third. Once again, the Bears forced overtime, but the Bruins took care of business just 37 seconds into the three-on-three. Chris Casto scored to give Providence a 2-1 win and a split in the six- game season series. With the point gained by the Bears, the Chocolate and White officially secured a berth in the postseason. Hershey took three of a possible four points at Dunkin' Donuts Center.

It is the 66th time in the Bears' 78-year history that the club will play for the Calder Cup.

HERSHEY BEARS NEWS AND NOTES

BOURQUE HOLDS THE LEAD: Forward Chris Bourque maintains the overall AHL scoring lead (28-45-73). He currently ranks tied for first in assists, tied for first in first-goals (seven), second in goals, tied for fifth in power-play assists (19) and second in power-play points (28). In Hershey, Bourque has recorded 466 points (159 goals, 307 assists), ranking sixth in all-time assists, seventh in points and 12th in all-time goals. Clicking at over a point-per-game in his career, Bourque ranks 19th in Hershey games played (459). He is one goal away from his single-season best (29, 2014-15 - Hartford) and has matched his second-best single-season point total (73, 2008-09 - Hershey).

30-IN-30: Rookie Jakub Vrana earned the game's second star on Saturday with two goals and one assist. He is the ninth 30-point producer on the Hershey roster and has done it in 30 games (14-16-30).

WALKING PAST 40: Nathan Walker (17-24-41) became the Bears' fourth 40- point producer of the season, following his two power-play points (1-1-2) tallied on Saturday at Providence. He has recorded the game's first goal four times, tied for second-most on the roster, and ranks second on the Bears in plus- minus (+20).

BOYD BURIES 20: Rookie Travis Boyd became the Bears' third 20-goal scorer this season. He ranks tied for sixth in AHL rookie scoring (20-29-49), and is the only Bears player to have appeared in every game this season.

FLYIN' RILEY: Rookie Riley Barber notched his 24th goal of the campaign on

Friday at Hartford, a total which ranks second among - and first among all active - AHL rookies. He is one of five rookies to record 50 or more points, and ranks tied for third in scoring among first-year pros (24-28-52).

PETERS HOLDS THE FORT: Goaltender Justin Peters made 35 saves on Saturday at Providence, which included a penalty shot stop, and added four of five in the Bears' shootout win to remain unbeaten in regulation in his last four starts (3-0-1).

BEARS NEWS AND NOTES: Hershey has played the most overtime games (22) and most shootouts (12) in the AHL...The 22 overtime games played is one shy of the Bears' single-season franchise record set in 2005-06...Bears goaltenders have faced five penalty shots this season and stopped three...Hershey is tied for the most out-of-division wins (18) and has one more game to play against a non-Atlantic Division opponent...On Saturday at Providence, Hershey won its eighth game when trailing after one period and seventh game when trailing after two periods, both tied for the AHL lead...The Bears still hold the third-best offense in the AHL (3.40 goals/game) despite taking the third-fewest shots (28.23/game)...The Bears pace the AHL in attendance, averaging 9,711 fans...Four of the Bears' final six regular-season games are on home ice.

Check out the Hershey Bears Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from April 6, 2016


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central