Bears Have Bruins On The Brink
Published on April 29, 2013 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
After qualifying for the 2013 Calder Cup playoffs in the final hour of the regular season, the HERSHEY BEARS Hockey Club opened their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the AHL-leading Providence Bruins over the weekend. The team took two wins away from a building in which visitors struggled all season long, and return home with a commanding lead of two games to none.
On Friday night in the series opener, the Bears struck three times on their first four power play chances en route to a 5-2 win. Joey Crabb opened the scoring, while Casey Wellman and Jon DiSalvatore beat goaltender Niklas Svedberg on both parts of a two-man advantage. Dmitry Orlov scored the lone even-strength goal for the Bears, one which brought Michael Hutchinson on in relief of Svedberg. Jamie Tardif and Christian Hanson brought the Bruins within two, and instead of drawing even closer with a late power play chance, Michael Latta stole the puck in the neutral zone and hit the Bruins' empty net with time winding down, a shorthanded goal which gave the Bears the series lead.
On Sunday afternoon, the Bears took three one-goal leads but the Bruins answered each time. Helped by a three-period total of 58 shots on Philipp Grubauer, the Bruins evened the score each time on goals by Graham Mink, Carter Camper and Chris Bourque. Mink's second goal of the game gave the hosts their first lead of the series with 6:42 left to play, but Crabb tied the game while the Bears had Grubauer pulled for a sixth attacker. DiSalvatore then buried a pass from Peter LeBlanc for a power-play goal 3:05 into overtime, sending the Bears off the bench in celebration.
The series returns to GIANT Center on Saturday, May 4. If necessary, Game Four will be played on Sunday, May 5 at 5:00 PM in Hershey.
BEARS NEWS AND NOTES
THAT'S AMORE: RW Jon DiSalvatore finished the regular season on a four-game point streak, and extended the streak to six games (4-4-8) by posting one goal in each of the Bears' first two postseason contests. DiSalvatore - who led the Bears with nine power play goals in 2012-13 - registered both of his lamp-lighters on the man advantage and finds himself tied for the AHL postseason lead in the category. Additionally, the goals were both game-winning tallies, a statistic in which DiSalvatore is also tied for the league lead. He scored the third goal in the team's 5-2 victory in Game One on Friday, and the overtime winner in Sunday's 5-4 decision.
LeLEADER: C Peter LeBlanc is off to quite a start in the postseason, as he enters the second week either leading or tied for the lead in four statistical categories. He leads the league in assists (five), and is tied for the lead in power-play assists (three), power-play points (three) and overall scoring (0-5-5).
PEPPERED BUT PATIENT: G Philipp Grubauer got into his groove right away in the postseason and earned his first two career AHL playoff victories. Grubauer stopped 31 of 33 shots in Friday's Game One, and an incredible 54 of 58 shots - all in regulation - in Sunday's Game Two. Not surprisingly, the goaltender leads the postseason in saves (85), ranks seventh in save percentage (.939) in is tied for the lead in wins (two).
JOEY ON THE SPOT: RW Joey Crabb scored his two postseason goals at key times. He opened the scoring in Friday's win, and scored the game-tying goal on Sunday with just 1:29 left to play in regulation. In 14 games played with Hershey, since he cleared waivers to join the team on March 23, Crabb has 14 points (8-6-14).
DMITRY LEADS D: D Dmitry Orlov enters the week tied for the scoring lead among AHL defensemen, recording (1-2-3) in the Bears' opening two games.
SPECIAL WINS: The Bears maintained a 50% power play success rate by scoring twice on four opportunities on Sunday. Overall, the Bears have scored a league-leading five power play goals on 10 chances. Only allowing one power play goal on seven chances against, the Bears have the third-best road penalty kill (6-for-7, 85.7%). The team also ranks tied for the league lead with one shorthanded marker, Michael Latta's tally to cap off the Bears' Game One victory.
American Hockey League Stories from April 29, 2013
- Penguins Weekly - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- 33 'Dogs Grads Set to Compete in Stanley Cup Playoffs - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Historic Central Library Goes Red, White and Blue in Support of Amerks - Rochester Americans
- Monarchs Weekly Report - Manchester Monarchs
- Wild Recalls Scandella, Assigns Veilleux - Houston Aeros
- Bears Have Bruins On The Brink - Hershey Bears
- Pirates Weekly - Portland Pirates
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.
