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AHL Hershey Bears

Bears Battle Keystone State Rivals this Weekend

December 13, 2022 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


(Hershey, PA) - The Hershey Bears continue the 2022-23 season, presented by Penn State Health, as they look to maintain their hold on first place in the entire American Hockey League when they visit the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in a pair of back-to-back road games at Mohegan Sun Arena, before returning home to GIANT Center to host the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Sunday.

TEAM INFO:

Record: 17-5-2-1

Standings Position: 1st in Atlantic

TEAM LEADERS:

Goals: Mike Vecchione (10)

Assists: Mason Morelli (15)

Points: Mike Vecchione (21)

Power-Play Goals: Mike Vecchione (3)

Shorthanded Goals: Riley Sutter (1)

Plus/Minus: Gabriel Carlsson, Ethen Frank, Mason Morelli (+11)

Wins: Zach Fucale (10)

GAA: Zach Fucale (2.58)

SV%: Zach Fucale (.897)

Only includes qualified players on active roster

RECENT RESULTS:

Tuesday, Dec. 6: Hershey 4 vs. Charlotte 2

Hershey opened the scoring at 5:32 of the second period, and Sam Anas extended the lead to 2-0 at 11:39 with a bank shot that ricocheted off a defender and behind Alex Lyon. Bobby Nardella then made it 3-0 18 seconds later at 12:15. Connor Bunnaman scored 18 seconds into the third period on a shorthanded rush, and Riley Nash found the net at 7:00 to trim Hershey's lead to one goal. Mike Vecchione capped the scoring for the Bears with an empty-net goal at 19:30. Zach Fucale finished the game with 34 saves for the Bears to pick up his ninth win of the season.

Friday, Dec. 9: Hershey 4 at Bridgeport 2

The Islanders scored 1:34 into the contest off a goal from Ruslan Iskhakov shoveled the puck through the pads of Zach Fucale, but the Bears responded at 17:40 with a goal from Mike Vecchione, and Hershey finished the first period with 21 shots on goal, a new season-high. The Bears took a 2-1 lead in the second frame when Mike Sgarbossa beat Cory Schneider with a backhand shot at 4:16, and Vecchione collected his second of the evening at 16:54 when he and Ethen Frank teamed up on an odd-man rush. The Islanders trimmed the lead to 3-2 just 22 seconds into the third with a goal from Cole Bardeau, but Frank completed a career-high four-point night (1g, 3a) with an empty-net goal at 19:13. Vecchione also enjoyed a four-point night (2g, 2a), while Fucale made 20 saves for his 10th victory of the season.

Saturday, Dec. 10: Hershey 3 vs. Cleveland 2

Hershey allowed the first goal of the game 6:11 into the first period when Trey Fix-Wolansky scored a power-play goal for Cleveland, but Mike Sgarbossa drew the Chocolate and White level at 8:59 when he redirected a shot by Mason Morelli with his skate into the net past Daniil Tarasov. Josh Dunne put the Monsters ahead 2-1 at 17:17, but Aaron Ness bagged his first of the season with a one-timer from Jake Massie at 19:35. After a goal-less second period, Sam Anas scored at 8:47 when his shot beat Tarasov upstairs, but the play was not initially ruled a goal until a video review at 11:25 when play was finally halted. Clay Stevenson, making his AHL debut, earned the win for the Bears, making 25 saves.

Sunday, Dec. 11: Hershey 5 vs. Cleveland 6 (SO)

The Bears built a 3-0 lead in the first period thanks to goals from Kale Kessy (2:25), Mike Vecchione (3:22) and Ethen Frank (14:47) and Connor McMichael (15:14) before Josh Dunne netted a goal for Cleveland at 16:57 to bring the score to 4-1 at the end of the opening frame. McMichael tallied a second goal with the man advantage at 4:37 to restore the four-goal edge, but the Monsters answered with a four-goal run of their own as David Jiricek (6:23), Brett Gallant (10:37), Brendan Gaunce (12:55) and Dunne (17:48) all netted goals in the second period to even the game at 5-5. Following a goal-less third period and overtime, the Monsters prevailed in the shootout when Dunne scored in the top of the fifth round and Pavel Cajan stopped Mike Vecchione.

LOCAL PRACTICE SCHEDULE FOR WEEK OF DEC. 12:

Monday, Dec. 12

Day Off

Tuesday, Dec. 13

10:30 a.m. at Hersheypark Arena

Wednesday, Dec. 14

9 a.m. at Hersheypark Arena

Thursday, Dec. 15

10:30 a.m. at Hersheypark Arena

Friday, Dec. 16

10 a.m. morning skate at Hersheypark Arena/Travel day to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

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

UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE:

- Friday, Dec. 16 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 7:05 p.m.

- Saturday, Dec. 17 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 6:05 p.m.

- Sunday, Dec. 18 vs. Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 5 p.m. - CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS

The Bearswill honor and recognize long-time Bears staff member Dan "Beaker" Stuck prior to the game. Fans are encouraged to be in their seats by 4:50 p.m. for the pregame ceremony.

Fans can take advantage of a limited-time ticket offer for Sunday, Dec. 18 vs. Lehigh Valley of two tickets for the price of one in the 100 Level Defend Zone and 200 Level, excluding Row A. The offer ends Friday evening.

Video Coverage: AHLTV; Radio Coverage: Bears Radio Network

TEAM NEWS AND NOTES:

25-KARAT MAGIC:

Thanks to a 7-for-8 points performance last week, the Bears find themselves at the top of the American Hockey League standings after 25 games. In fact, the Chocolate and White have reached the 25-game mark with one of the more impressive stretches of play in recent memory. Hershey's record of 17-5-2-1 is the best 25-game start for the club since the 1957-58 and 1946-47 clubs, both of which went 18-5-2 to start the year in what would ultimately be championship seasons for the Bears.

VECCHIONE RIDING STRONG WEEK:

Mike Vecchione enjoyed a breakout performance last week, matching his career-high with a four-point (2g, 2a) effort on Friday night at Bridgeport. That effort helped propel him to a seven-point (4g, 3a) performance in four games for the week, to lead all AHL skaters. The former Phantoms forward last enjoyed a four-point outing as a member of the San Antonio Rampage on Nov. 19, 2019 in a game at Chicago. Should Vecchione play in every game this week, he will suit up in his 300th professional game on Sunday.

PAPA SGARBS:

Mike Sgarbossa enters the week tied for a season-high individual player points streak, as he has collected points in his last six consecutive games. Thanks to three multi-point outings over that stretch, the veteran center has accumulated 10 points (4g, 6a) in his last six contests. After going without a goal in his first four games (and missing time while awaiting the birth of his second child), Sgarbossa has produced at nearly a point-per-game pace since Oct. 30, with 15 points (7g, 8a) over a 16-game stretch.

MARCH OF THE PENGUINS:

The Bears face the Penguins this weekend in a rare pair of back-to-back road games at Mohegan Sun Arena, which will be the first of its kind for Hershey in the regular season against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton since Dec. 9-10 of the 2016-17 campaign. Zach Sanford had the game-winner in the first match, a 5-2 victory, before the Bears fell the following evening 6-2. The Penguins enter the week as the second-hottest team in the Eastern Conference over its last 10 games after Hershey, thanks to a record of 6-2-0-2. In head-to-head competition this season, each team has earned an identical seven points against the other, with Hershey owning a 3-2-1-0 record against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Rookie forward Hendrix Lapierre leads the way against the Penguins with four points (1g, 3a) in six games, while the Baby Pens are paced by Filip Hallander (5g, 2a) and Valtteri Puustinen (2g, 5a).

THE PHANTOM MENACE:

Hershey concludes this week's schedule with a Sunday afternoon home clash with its other Keystone State opponent, looking to extend its run this season to 4-0 with its I-78 rival. The Flyers affiliate recently signed former NHL mainstay Artem Anisimov to a full-fledged AHL contract last week. Mike Sgarbossa (3g, 2a) and Bobby Nardella (1g, 4a) share the scoring lead against Lehigh Valley for the Bears, while the Phantoms are led against Hershey by Olle Lycksell's two points (1g, 1a). Zach Fucale has gotten all three starts against Lehigh Valley, going 3-0-0 with a 1.34 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage.

BEARS BITES:

Mason Morelli leads the Bears with five multi-point games; Hershey has posted a 5-0-0-0 record when Morelli has a multi-point outing...The Bears are 11-0-0-1 when defenseman Jake Massie dresses...Hershey is 12-1-0-0 when not allowing a goal in the first period...The club is 11-1-2-0 when not allowing a power-play goal...Forward Sam Anas is five assists and two points away from his 200th career pro helper and 300th career pro point, respectively... Forward Shane Gersich is one point away from his 100th pro point, and two points away from reaching his 100th with the Bears.

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