Bears Host Rare Home Three-In-Three
November 8, 2022 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
(Hershey, PA) - The Hershey Bears continue the 2022-23 season, presented by Penn State Health, with a three-game homestand at GIANT Center this weekend. The Bears host the Bridgeport Islanders on Friday and Saturday, before welcoming the Laval Rocket to town on Sunday.
TEAM INFO:
Record: 5-2-2-0
TEAM LEADERS:
Goals: Ethen Frank (4)
Assists: Mike Vecchione (6)
Points: Mike Vecchione (9)
Power-Play Goals: Ethen Frank, Mike Vecchione (2)
Shorthanded Goals: Riley Sutter (1)
Plus/Minus: Hendrix Lapierre, Mason Morelli (+4)
Wins: Zach Fucale (4)
GAA: Zach Fucale (2.03)
SV%: Hunter Shepard (.917)
Only includes players on active roster
RECENT RESULTS:
Saturday, Nov. 5: Hershey 2 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 1
Hershey and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton played through a scoreless first period, before Mike Sgarbossa got the Chocolate and White on the board at 13:23 of the second when he redirected a Mike Vecchione pass behind Dustin Tokarski. Ethen Frank then one-timed a feed from Sam Anas past Tokarski for a power-play goal at 18:30. The Penguins scored with 55 seconds remaining in regulation to spoil Zach Fucale's shutout bid, who finished the night with 30 saves to secure Hershey's first road victory of the season.
Sunday, Nov. 6: Hershey 4 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3
Shane Gersich opened the scoring for the Bears with his first tally of the season at 12:54 of the first period, and Mason Morelli netted his first of the campaign at 14:59. Ethen Frank extended the lead at 6:28 of the second period on a delayed penalty and Henrik Rybinski extended Hershey's lead to 4-0 at 8:07 when he swept a rebound off the pads of Filip Lindberg into the net for his first pro goal. In the third period, the Bears held off a furious rally, as Jonathan Gruden scored just 13 seconds into the frame, before Filip Hallander scored goals at 11:41 and 18:38 to pull the Penguins to within a goal, but the Bears secured the win behind Hunter Shepard's 30 total saves on the evening.
PRACTICE SCHEDULE FOR WEEK OF OCT. 31:
Monday, Nov. 7
Day off
Tuesday, Nov. 8
10:30 a.m. at GIANT Center
Wednesday, Nov. 9
10:30 a.m. at GIANT Center
Thursday, Nov. 10
10:30 a.m. at GIANT Center
Friday, Nov. 11
10 a.m. Morning Skate at GIANT Center
All practices are open to the public. Practice dates and times are subject to change.
UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE:
- Friday, Nov. 11 vs. Bridgeport Islanders, 7 p.m.
$4 Chick-fil-A Sandwiches available at Chick-fil-A Tent
- Saturday, Nov. 12 vs. Bridgeport Islanders, 7 p.m.
Hometown Heroes Night
- Sunday, Nov. 13 vs. Laval Rocket, 5 p.m.
Hersheypark Pass Night
Video Coverage: AHLTV; Radio Coverage: Bears Radio Network
TEAM NEWS AND NOTES:
TO BE FRANK...:
Forward Ethen Frank leads the Bears with four goals this season. The first-year pro has found the back of the net in his last four games played. The Western Michigan University alumnus led the NCAA last season with 26 goals. The Bears have posted a 2-1-1-0 record when Frank has found the back of the net.
HOME SWEET HOME, PART 1:
This weekend's trio of games offers Hershey an opportunity to extend its strong play on GIANT Center ice this season. With a record of 4-0-1-0 to start the season at home, the Bears are poised to match the season-opening home point streak from last season of six games (3-0-2-1).
HOME SWEET HOME, PART 2:
The upcoming set of three consecutive home games in three consecutive nights is a rare feat on the Bears calendar. To wit: The last time a Hershey squad faced a three-in-three homestand was during the Calder Cup-winning season of 2009-10. The Bears hosted the Worcester Sharks on March 26 (7-2 W), then welcomed the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to town on March 27 (4-2 W) and concluded the weekend with a meeting with the Binghamton Senators on March 28 (3-2 W). Current Bears vice president of hockey operations Bryan Helmer had an assist in each game for Hershey, while current assistant coach Patrick Wellar suited up for the first two games that weekend and dropped the gloves with Worcester's Andrew Desjardins and with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's Wade Brookbank.
FIRST TO THE BISCUIT:
The Bears enter the week with the league lead for first goals with eight. When the Chocolate and White have been the first to find twine, the club has posted a record of 5-1-2-0. Only Bridgeport, which has scored seven first goals this season, has earned more points than Hershey when scoring first, with a record of 7-0-0-0 for 14 points. Hershey also leads all Eastern Conference teams with a +6 goal differential in the first period, and owns a 4-1-0-0 record when leading after the opening 20 minutes of a game.
NARDELLA EMERGING AS PP QB:
It has been only four weeks into the season, and already Bobby Nardella is at 40% of his total output on the power play from the 2021-22 season. In the previous campaign, the Notre Dame alumnus put up 10 points (2g, 8a) on the man advantage. So far this season, Nardella leads the Bears blue line with four power-play assists; in fact, he is the only Bears defender with a point recorded while on the power play.
BEARS BITES:
Hershey went 5-0-0-1 against Bridgeport last season and in the last five seasons the Bears have gone 15-7-0-2 against the Islanders/Sound Tigers franchise...Bridgeport's Paul LaDue spent the 2020-21 season as a member of the Bears roster, while Hershey's Aaron Ness began his pro career from 2010-15 with the Bridgeport organization and previously captained the squad...The Islanders' Ruslan Iskhakov enters the week tied for first in the AHL scoring race with 14 points (4g, 10a)...The Bears went 0-2-0-0 against the Rocket in 2021-22, but own a 4-3-0-0 record over the past five seasons...Laval's Madison Bowey played part of three seasons from 2015-18 with Hershey and was a member of the club's Eastern Conference championship squad in 2016, while Bears netminder Zach Fucale suited up for the Rocket in their inaugural campaign in 2017-18...Sam Anas needs three goals for his 100th professional goal...Mike Vecchione needs two assists for his 100th professional assist.
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