AHL Hershey Bears

Bears kick off camp Wednesday, Preseason games begin Saturday

Published on September 27, 2004 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


Last Week: The BEARS began to descend on central Pennsylvania from all points in the globe in preparation for HERSHEY'S 67th American Hockey League training camp. The second camp under head coach Paul Fixter begins this Wednesday at GIANT Center with the week highlighted by two exhibition games this weekend. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will host the BEARS at Wachovia Arena on Saturday night before HERSHEY plays host to Binghamton at GIANT Center Sunday night. The Senators announced recently that six-time Vezina Trophy winning goaltender Dominik Hasek will attend Binghamton's training camp beginning today. Hasek will spend two weeks with the B-Sens according to an Ottawa Senators news release. Binghamton will play the club's first exhibition game of the preseason at Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena Saturday night before playing in HERSHEY on Sunday afternoon.

Notables: Eric Perrin returns to HERSHEY ice Wednesday for the first time since his call-up to the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning on March 27. Perrin returns to the BEARS lineup after signing an American Hockey League contract today. HERSHEY'S leading scorer in 2003-04, Perrin played in 12 Stanley Cup playoff games helping the Lightning to its first-ever Stanley Cup championship. Perrin also was the first Tampa Bay player to host Lord Stanley at his home this past summer. Brett Clark ranks as HERSHEY'S most tenured player as training camp opens Wednesday. Clark signed an AHL contract to return for his third full season in Chocolatetown. He was originally acquired in a trade on January 24, 2002 in a trade with the Chicago Wolves. He has played in 176 regular season games in a BEARS uniform since that time. Left wing Mathieu Darche, acquired by the BEARS during the summer, makes his HERSHEY debut in camp this Wednesday. Darche led the Calder Cup Champion Milwaukee Admirals in scoring during the regular season in 2003-04. Previous to his time in Wisconsin, Darche played in the AHL with the Syracuse Crunch. Goaltenders Peter Budaj and Tom Lawson are both holdovers from last season's team. Budaj led the team in wins last season while Lawson led the club in saves percentage. The BEARS open the regular season on the road for the third consecutive season on Friday, October 15 at Norfolk. HERSHEY has not opened an AHL season at home since October 6, 2001 when the Worcester IceCats provided the opposition. The BEARS opened last season at Syracuse, and the 2002-03 season at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Wednesday's opening of training camp marks the return of Cail MacLean to HERSHEY. MacLean scored the first-ever goal in GIANT Center history on October 19, 2002 in a 4-1 victory over Rochester. He donned the sweater of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers during the 2003-04 season.

Upcoming promotions: PNC Bank Magnetic Schedule night will be Saturday October 16 when the BEARS play the Norfolk Admirals for this season's home opener. A free magnetic schedule will be given away free to the first 8,000 fans in attendance thanks to PNC Bank. The BEARS are also pleased to welcome back SpongeBob Squarepants to GIANT Center as part of Opening Night festivities on October 16. The popular Nickelodeon character will be on hand from 6-9 p.m. meeting with fans of all ages thanks to our friends at Comcast. The BEARS will host the Philadelphia Phantoms on Saturday, October 23 at GIANT Center for Comcast Cable Night. The first 3,000 fans in attendance will receive a free BEARS schedule mouse pad thanks to Comcast. HERSHEY FOODS Trick-or-Treat night will be held on Sunday, October 31 this season when the BEARS host the Norfolk Admirals at GIANT Center. All kids in attendance 12 and under will receive Halloween candy as they enter the game. The BEARS will also wear special Halloween jerseys that night will be auctioned off after the game for charity. Saturday November 6 will be Capital Blue Cross night when the BEARS host the Providence Bruins at 7:00 p.m. A free HERSHEY BEARS/Capital Blue Cross Ice Scraper will be given away free to the first 3,000 adults through the turnstiles. The first of two HERSHEYPARK Pass nights will be held on Sunday, November 7 when the Providence Bruins wrap up their two-game series at GIANT Center. All fans in attendance will receive a complimentary pass to HERSHEYPARK for the 2005 Park season, good through July 4, 2005.

Down on the Farm: A number of players in this year's training camp played for last year's ECHL Northern Division Champion Reading Royals. Defenseman Dean Arsene split time between HERSHEY and Reading during 2003-04, as did forward David Masse, defensemen Mikko Viitanen, Tomas Slovak and Jeff Finger. Training camp invitees Reagan Rome and Ian Turner also played for Reading last season. The BEARS will play the third and final exhibition game of the preseason in Reading on Saturday, October 9 before opening the regular season at Norfolk on October 15.

Practice Schedule (Subject to Change):

Monday, September 27: No practice scheduled

Tuesday, September 28: Team Meeting 8:30 p.m. at GIANT Center (closed to media)

Wednesday September 29: Opening of Training camp at GIANT Center 10:00 a.m.

Thursday, September 30: Training Camp at GIANT Center 10:00 a.m.

Friday, October 1: Training Camp at GIANT Center 10:00 a.m.

Saturday, October 2: Road exhibition game at Wilkes-Barre 7:05 p.m.

Sunday, October 3: Home exhibition game vs. Binghamton 5:00 p.m.

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American Hockey League Stories from September 27, 2004


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