Sports stats



AHL Hershey Bears

Bears close out '06 in style

December 31, 2006 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


HERSHEY finished up 2006 as the best team in the American Hockey League, downing the Providence Bruins 5-2 at GIANT Center. The win propelled the BEARS five points ahead of second place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the East Division standings.

Providence opened the scoring late in the first period when Ben Walter tipped a Mark Stuart shot past BEARS goaltender Daren Machesney. The goal at 16:10 gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead. Alexandre Giroux tied the game before intermission with his team leading 26th goal of the season. Giroux, with help from Jonas Johansson and Joey Tenute, rang one off two posts to beat former BEARS goaler Phil Sauve to knot the game at 1-1. HERSHEY managed just four shots in the first period, compared to Providence's 11.

The Bruins would take a 2-1 lead early in the second period when T.J. Trevelyan scored his 10th goal of the season at 1:42. The BEARS would not allow a goal the rest of the night, and score four more to claim the victory. Eric Fehr scored his 17th goal of the season at 6:40 to tie the game before Tenute scored the eventual game-winner at 11:32. Fehr added his second of the period at 18:52 to give the BEARS a 4-2 lead heading to the third period. Pete Vandermeer scored his second goal of the season into an empty net to put the game on ice. The win gave HERSHEY 25 wins at the first of the new year, and a total of 57 points is the top mark in the American Hockey League.

Notes: Washington reassigned goaltender Machesney, along with defensemen Jamie Hunt and Timo Helbling prior to puck drop. One year ago, the BEARS won on New Year's Eve to claim the team's 22nd win of the season with a victory over Philadelphia. The BEARS enter 2007 with the most points of any team in the American Hockey League. The game-winning goal by Tenute was his fourth such goal in as many games. Chicago has the second most points in the AHL behind the BEARS at 53 heading into January.

Check out the Hershey Bears Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from December 31, 2006


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