Bears Hit the Road against Penguins, Checkers
February 14, 2023 - 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 head out on the road for the next three games with a Wednesday meeting at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and a pair of games on Saturday and Sunday at Charlotte.
TEAM INFO:
Record: 30-12-4-1
Standings Position: 2nd in Atlantic
TEAM LEADERS:
Goals: Ethen Frank (21)
Assists: Mike Sgarbossa (25)
Points: Mike Sgarbossa (41)
Power-Play Goals: Ethen Frank (7)
Shorthanded Goals: Beck Malenstyn, Henrik Rybinski, Riley Sutter (1)
Plus/Minus: Gabriel Carlsson (19)
Wins: Zach Fucale (14)
GAA: Hunter Shepard (2.10)
SV%: Hunter Shepard (.920)
Only includes qualified players on active roster
RECENT RESULTS:
Friday, Feb. 10: Hershey 0 at Utica 3
Zach Fucale stopped a penalty shot in the first period, but Jack Dugan scored at 6:35 of the second period to break a 0-0 tie, and Nolan Foote and Andreas Johnsson scored in the third period, while Akira Schmid stopped 19 shots to shutout the Bears.
Saturday, Feb. 11: Hershey 2 vs. Hartford 1
Mike Sgarbossa scored his 16th of the season at 12:13 of the first period to put Hershey up 1-0, and Henrik Rybinski made it 2-0 with a shorthanded breakaway goal at 15:08 with his third of the season. Will Cuylle scored for Hartford at 10:46 of the second period. Hershey contained the Wolf Pack to only six shots in the third period, and Hunter Shepard made a season-high 33 saves for his 13th win of the season.
LOCAL PRACTICE SCHEDULE FOR WEEK OF FEB. 13:
Monday, Feb. 13
10:30 a.m. practice at GIANT Center
Tuesday, Feb. 14
10:30 a.m. practice at GIANT Center
Wednesday, Feb. 15
10:15 morning skate at GIANT Center / Travel to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Thursday, Feb. 16
Depart for Charlotte
All practices are open to the public. Practice dates and times are subject to change.
UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE:
- Wednesday, Feb. 15 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 7:05 p.m.
- Saturday, Feb. 18 at Charlotte Checkers, 4 p.m.
- Sunday, Feb. 19 at Charlotte Checkers, 4 p.m.
Video Coverage: AHLTV; Radio Coverage: Bears Radio Network
TEAM NEWS AND NOTES:
ON TO 40:
Saturday's win vs. Hartford gave the Bears their 30th victory of the 2022-23 season, matching the 2010-11 Bears for the second-fastest 30-win campaign in club history, by reaching the mark in its 47th contest. The all-time record for fastest 30-win season is a tie between the 2008-09 and 2009-10 Calder Cup teams, which both achieved the feat in their 41st game of the season. The Bears can now set their sights on reaching the 40-win benchmark; both the 2008-09 and 2009-10 teams managed that feat in 51 games; the second-fastest team to achieve 40 wins was the 1987-88 club, which reached the mark in 62 contests.
VECCHIONE COMMITS TO TWO-YEAR DEAL:
Hershey announced earlier today that forward Mike Vecchione has been signed to a two-year AHL contract that will keep him with the Chocolate and White through the 2024-25 season. The sixth-year pro is currently in his second campaign with Hershey, and his 30 goals, 50 assists, and 80 points are the most accumulated by any Bears player during his tenure with the club. The Saugus, Mass. native represented the Bears at the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic earlier this month, and leads the team this season with five game-winning goals.
KEYSTONE STATE MEETING:
The Bears will make the trip up I-81 for their final visit of the regular season to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday, in what will serve as the 11th total game of the 12-game head-to-head series. Hershey owns a record of 3-2-0-0 at Mohegan Sun Arena during the 2022-23 campaign, and has earned all three of its victories by 2-1 scores, one each in regulation (Nov. 5), overtime (Dec. 17), and via shootout (Dec. 27). Mike Sgarbossa has eight points (6g, 2a) through 10 total games to lead the Bears against the Penguins this season, while Jonathan Gruden (6g, 2a), Valtteri Puustinen (2g, 6a), and Mitch Reinke (1g, 7a) lead Wilkes-Barre/Scranton against Hershey.
'SHEP' SHOWING OUT:
With a win against Hartford at home on Saturday, goaltender Hunter Shepard established a new career-best for wins with a single club in a single season, earning his 13th victory with a season-high 33 saves. The 28-year-old netminder is currently leading all qualified goalies with a 2.10 goals-against average, and his .920 save percentage ranks sixth. His single-season pro record for total wins is 17, which he achieved during the 2021-22 season when he posted 12 wins with South Carolina of the ECHL and five victories for Hershey.
YOU DON'T KNOW, BO':
The Bears will also make their final visit of the regular season to Bojangles Coliseum this weekend, with a pair of games against the Charlotte Checkers on deck. Hershey is seeking its first win at Charlotte since Oct. 23, 2021, a 2-1 overtime victory over the Checkers in which Lucas Johansen scored the winning goal. Since that game, Hershey has gone 0-3-1-0 at Charlotte. Hershey and Charlotte each have identical records of 16-1-0-0 when leading after the second period. Mike Vecchione (1g, 3a) and Mason Morelli (0g, 4a) are tied for the team scoring lead against Charlotte this season, while Riley Nash has paced the Checkers against the Bears with five points (3g, 2a). Charlotte limited Hershey to a season-low 17 shots on goal on Oct. 21.
SHARP-SHOOTING SNIVELY RECALLED:
Earlier this morning the Washington Capitals announced the recall of forward Joe Snively from the Bears. The forward has five goals on the strength of 25 shots on goal, for an even shooting percentage of .200, leading the Bears and ranking 20th among all league skaters with a minimum of 22 shots on goal. Hershey has gone 3-0-1-0 this season when Snively has found the back of the net.
BEARS BITES:
Forward Ethen Frank is tied for the rookie goal-scoring lead with 21 goals and is tied with Iowa Wild rookie Sammy Walker for the lead among all players with six insurance goals...The Bears lead the AHL with lowest goals-against per game (2.49) and shots against per game (25.89)...Defender Aaron Ness is three points away from his 300th pro point...Hershey is tied with Calgary for the most first goals this season, and sports a 22-5-3-1 record when getting on the board first...The Bears own a road penalty kill that ranks fourth in the AHL at 84.1%.
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