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AHL Hershey Bears

Atlantic Division Finals Game 1 Preview: Bears vs. Wolf Pack, 7 p.m.

May 11, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


(Hershey, PA) - The Hershey Bears continue the 2023 playoffs, presented by Penn State Health, as they open the Atlantic Division Finals at GIANT Center tonight with Game 1 against the Hartford Wolf Pack.

#2 Hershey Bears (3-1) vs. #5 Hartford Wolf Pack (5-1)

May 11, 2023 | 7 p.m. | Atlantic Division Finals - Game 1 | GIANT Center

Referees: Beau Halkidis (#48), Jack Young (#24)

Linespersons: Joseph Mahon (#89), J.P. Waleski (#14)

Tonight's Promotions:

- The first 4,000 fans in attendance will receive a Fan Clapper, courtesy of GIANT, Pepsi, and Toyota.

BUY TICKETS NOW

Season Ticket Holders who have purchased a Playoff Package: please use Round 3, Home Game 1 ticket(s) for tonight.

Broadcast Information

Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, AHL Hall of Famer Mitch Lamoureux, and Jim Jones on the call

RADIO: WFVY-100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM, Capitals Radio Network, SportsRadio 98.9-FM & WOYK 1350-AM, In-Arena on 88.9 FM

WATCH LIVE: AHLTV

LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream, Caps Radio

Radio pre-game coverage starts at 6:30 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT:

The Bears last took the ice for Game 4 of the Atlantic Division Semifinals against Charlotte. The Chocolate and White fell behind 2-0 by the end of the first period, but Hershey tied the game with two second-period tallies, as Mason Morelli (10:15) and Beck Malenstyn (19:44) found the net. In the third, Aliaksei Protas netted a pair of goals less than two minutes apart, as he struck for a power-play tally at 8:59 and scored at even strength at 10:57 to chase Charlotte netminder Mack Guzda from the net. The Checkers pulled Jean-Francois Berube, allowing an empty-net goal credited to Riley Sutter at 17:49, and Dylan McIlrath added another empty-net goal for Hershey at 19:00. Hunter Shepard made 26 saves for his third win of the playoffs, while the Bears went 1-for-5 on the man advantage, and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. The Wolf Pack are also coming off a Game 4 victory against the Providence Bruins in the previous round, as Turner Elson scored at 3:40 of the first period for the eventual game-winner, and Dylan Garand stopped all 32 Providence shots he faced. Jake Leschyshyn scored twice, and Ryan Carpenter also had goals to help Hartford advance.

CONSISTENT NUMBERS:

Just as was the case in the regular season, the Bears have been reliable at stifling opposing shots on goal. Hershey led the AHL in the 2022-23 campaign with a league-low average of 26.19 shots against per game; this spring, the Bears have improved on those totals, allowing only 23.00 shots against per game through four postseason contests against Charlotte during the Atlantic Division Semifinals. The Bears also finished the regular season second in the league with 2.56 goals against per game, and have reduced that figure in the playoffs, allowing 1.75 goals against per game.

SCORING DEPTH ELEVATED:

Despite only playing four games in the playoffs, while some teams have played twice that number, the Bears have showcased their scoring prowess in the postseason. Hershey ranks third out of 23 playoff teams with an average of 4.25 goals scored per game. Perhaps even more impressive is the fact that the Bears have not been forced to rely on their top line of Mike Vecchione, Mike Sgarbossa, and Ethen Frank as they did during the regular season - the Bears boast 12 unique goal-scorers; among the teams that have advanced to the current round, that figure is only surpassed by Hartford, which possesses 13 unique goal-scorers, and benefitted from two additional playoff games in the first round.

HERSHEY MEETS HARTFORD:

The Bears get set to take on a Wolf Pack squad that finished the regular season schedule on a tear, winning eight of its final nine games, before blowing out Springfield in the qualifying round by out-scoring the Thunderbirds 13-2. The Wolf Pack then upset No. 1-seeded Providence, including a series-clinching 4-0 blanking in Game 4. During the 2022-23 regular season, Hershey went 4-2-0-0 against Hartford in six games; Henrik Borgstrom led the Bears in scoring against the Wolf Pack with five points (3g, 2a) in six contests, while Tim Gettinger paced Hartford in scoring with four points (2g, 2a) in five games. Goaltender Hunter Shepard was 3-0-0 for Hershey with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .964 save percentage, while Hartford's current playoff starter Dylan Garand went 0-1-1 with a 1.84 GAA and a .938 save percentage in three outings. The Bears previously met the Wolf Pack in the 2015 Eastern Conference Semifinals, in which former Bears forward Chris Bourque scored 11 points in six games against Hershey, as Hartford topped the Bears 4-2. Current Bears captain Dylan McIlrath was a member of the Wolf Pack then, helping Hartford advance to the Eastern Conference Finals before bowing out to eventual champion Manchester.

SWEET TIME FOR SAMMY:

Sam Anas led Hershey in scoring during its series with Charlotte by recording at least a point in every game, finishing with six points (2g, 4a) in four contests, tying him for eighth in AHL playoff scoring. The former AHL scoring champion in the 2019-20 campaign missed much of the regular season in his first go-round with Hershey due to a late-December injury, but since his return to game action on March 17, nobody has found the net for the Bears more than Anas' eight tallies over 16 combined regular season and playoff games. Anas also assisted on two of Hershey's game-winning goals in its series with the Checkers.

BEARS BITES:

Mason Morelli is tied for seventh in the league with a shooting percentage of 66.7%...Hunter Shepard is tied for third with three wins...Both of Dylan McIlrath's career playoff goals have come with the Bears...Hershey is the least-penalized team of the remaining eight clubs, averaging 6.50 penalty minutes per game...Hartford is 5-0 when scoring first in the playoffs...Both Aaron Ness and Ethen Frank did not dress in the series-clinching 6-2 win over Charlotte in Game 4 of the Atlantic Division Semifinals. The Bears were 0-1-2-0 in the regular season with Ness out of the lineup due to injury, while Hershey still managed a 9-5-1-0 record with Frank sidelined during the campaign.

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American Hockey League Stories from May 11, 2023


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