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AHL Hershey Bears

Bears Aim for Division Title in Final Regular Season Weekend

April 12, 2016 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


The Hershey Bears Hockey Club picked up four of a possible six points on their weekend, and pulled within two points of its second consecutive regular-season division title.

One game after clinching the franchise's 66th Calder Cup playoff berth, the Hershey offense jumped all over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Five different goal scorers pushed the Bears out to a 5-0 lead on Friday at GIANT Center, and the visitors were only able to cash in with a late third- period goal as the Bears cruised to a 5-1 victory. Working on a five- minute power play in the first period, the Bears struck twice on its second half with goals from Chandler Stephenson and Aaron Ness. Bridgeport then earned a chance to get on the board with a power play, but it would be Garrett Mitchell scoring on a highlight-reel move for a shorthanded marker and a 3-0 Hershey lead early in the second. Jakub Vrana and Liam O'Brien netted third-period goals before Mike Halmo finally solved Dan Ellis with 2:51 left in the game. Ellis finished with 25 saves for his 25th win of the season.

On Saturday, the Bears hosted the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with a chance to post a big swing in standings points. But it would be the visitors jumping out to a 2-0 lead on goals from Dominik Simon and Carter Rowney. 28 seconds later, O'Brien would net his second goal in as many nights to bring Hershey within one. Simon would score his second of the period for a 3-1 Penguins lead at the intermission. The Penguins' pressure earned them a penalty shot opportunity just 49 seconds into the middle frame, but Josh Archibald missed on his chance. Wilkes- Barre/Scranton would eventually add their fourth goal on a deflection by Jarrett Burton, which brought Justin Peters on in relief of Ellis. Peters stopped all six shots he faced in the remainder of the game, while Carter Camper and Chris Bourque scored to bring the Bears within one. But the Penguins hung on for the win, killing a four-minute power play off in the process.

The arch-rivals met again on Sunday in Wilkes-Barre Township, and the Bears came out on top in a 5-3 decision. Ryan Bourque's first Hershey goal put the visitors on the board, and Mitchell scored on a sharp-angle chance for a 2-0 second-period lead. Peters was tremendous in goal, but was beaten with only 7.1 seconds left in the second on a power-play goal from Kael Mouillierat. In the third, the teams combined for five goals, starting with the equalizer by Simon. Mitchell's second of the day was answered by a Rowney power play goal. But Stephenson's second of the weekend would win the game with 1:51 left in regulation. The elder Bourque sealed the win with an empty-netter, his 30th goal of 2015-16.

HERSHEY BEARS NEWS AND NOTES

BOURQUE PULLS AWAY: Forward Chris Bourque posted Hershey's third four-point game of the season on Sunday at W-B/Scranton and maintains the overall AHL scoring lead (30-49-79). He currently ranks tied for first in assists, tied for first in first-goals (seven), second in goals and third in power-play points (10-19-29). In Hershey, Bourque has recorded 472 points (161 goals, 311 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 18th in Hershey games played (462). He reached his first career 30-goal season with his tally on Sunday.

LIKE BROTHER, LIKE BROTHER: Ryan Bourque scored his first Hershey goal on Sunday, the first goal of the Bears' 5-3 win at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

BOYD JOINS THE 50 CLUB: Travis Boyd's two assists on Sunday pushed him over the 50-point mark (20-31-51), making him the league's seventh rookie to eclipse the 50-point plateau. Boyd ranks third on the Bears in scoring and is the only player to appear in all 73 games this season.

NEARING A CAREER YEAR: Captain Garrett Mitchell posted five points (3-2- 5) on the weekend, and shows 26 points (11-15-26) on the season. He has matched his single-season best for assists, and is four goals and four points shy of his career-best 2012-13 campaign (15-15-30). He has played 279 AHL games, all with Hershey, and has a total of 81 points (36-45-81).

STEPHENSON SHINES: Forward Chandler Stephenson recorded points in all three games last weekend, totaling four points (2-2-4). He netted the first goal on Friday against Bridgeport and the game-winner on Sunday at Wilkes- Barre/Scranton. Stephenson's next game will be the 100th of his AHL/Bears career.

PETERS IN THE PIPES: Goaltender Justin Peters turned aside 39 of 42 shots in one win and one no-decision on the weekend, and remains unbeaten in regulation in his past five appearances (4-0-1).

BEARS BULLETS: The Bears need two points to clinch their second consecutive division title...Hershey goaltenders have faced a league-high six penalty shots this season and have turned away four of them...The Bears still hold the third-best offense in the AHL (3.44 goals/game) while taking the third- fewest shots (28.04/game)...The Bears jumped into ninth in the AHL in home power-play success (20.2%)...The Bears have points in five of their last six road games with one left to play...Hershey has played a league-high 22 overtime games and 12 shootouts...Hershey is tied for the most out-of-division wins (18) with one North Division game remaining...The Bears have 18 players on the roster with 20 or more points, which is one shy of the franchise mark (19, 1983-84)...Hershey is on pace for the AHL attendance lead for the 10th straight season (avg. 9,745).

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