Sports stats



AHL Hershey Bears

Bears get much needed win at Albany, 4-2, to stay in playoff hunt

April 7, 2004 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


Thanks to goals from Shane Willis, Agris Saviels, Gavin Morgan and Mikhail Kuleshov's game winning goal, the HERSHEY BEARS keep realistic playoff hopes alive with a much needed 4-2 victory at Pepsi Arena in Albany against the River Rats. Peter Budaj would get his second consecutive win, giving him 17 wins on the season.

Shane Willis would give the BEARS and early 1-0 lead with his 27th goal of the season at the 5:07 mark of the first period. Travis Brigley and Jeff Finger get the helpers on the goal. It didn't take the Rats long to tie things up. Steve Kariya would tie the score just 1:48 later. HERSHEY and Albany would take the 1-1 deadlock into the locker room after one period.

During the intermission, HERSHEY would regroup and come out with a bang. After a few shots on Rat's goalie, Ari Ahonen, the BEARS would strike at the 6:42 mark on a goal by Agris Saviels. It was just the second professional goal for Saviels, in his second pro season. Jeff Finger would grab his second assist, along with a helper from Cody McCormick. Just 36 seconds later, the BEARS would strike again. This time, Mikhail Kuleshov would beat Ahonen. Kuleshov, scoring his fourth goal of the season, was assisted on by Gavin Morgan. Morgan wouldn't stay quiet, scoring a goal of his own at 14:18 to end the BEARS' scoring in the second period. As did Morgan on his goal, Willis and McCormick would each get their second points of the night with the assists. With 49 seconds remaining in the period, Albany would cut the lead in half on a tough luck goal for the BEARS. The Rat's slapshot deflected off of Pascal Trepanier's skate and found the back net behind Budaj.

The BEARS and Rats skated through the third period without a goal. Peter Budaj would finish the game with 21 saves on 23 shots to get his second victory in as many starts. The BEARS pull within one point of 5th place Norfolk and three points behind 4th place Binghamton, leaving the final two playoff spots up for grabs.

The final two regular season games at GIANT Center take place this weekend as the Norfolk Admirals come to town Saturday in what could have great playoff implications for both teams. The game can be seen live on ABC 27 with Greg Mace and John Walton and will also be simulcast on Smooth Jazz 92.7 FM. The puck drops at 7:00 pm. Sunday the BEARS host the Philadelphia Phantoms for the final regular season game at GIANT Center. Come out early as player awards will be given out prior to the start of the game. Face off is set for 5:00 pm. Hear all of the action live on Smooth Jazz 92.7 FM as John Walton finishes out the regular season high above rinkside.

Check out the Hershey Bears Statistics

• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...

American Hockey League Stories from April 7, 2004


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