AHL Hershey Bears

Bears Post First Perfect Weekend to Tighten Division Standings

January 27, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


The Hershey Bears Hockey Club nabbed all six points on the weekend for the first time this season, moving the team within two points of third place and within four points of second place in the East Division. The team opened with a 4-1 win on the road against the Syracuse Crunch on Friday night. Casey Wellman and Matt Watkins scored two goals each in the win, and defenseman David Kolomatis added two assists. Former Bears forward Jon DiSalvatore netted the lone Syracuse tally. Philipp Grubauer returned from NHL recall and turned away 29 of 30 shots faced in earning the win.

The two teams played a rematch at GIANT Center on Saturday, and after the Crunch wiped out Julien Brouillette's opening tally with goals from Cedric Paquette and Tanner Richard, the Bears posted another thrilling rally to come back and claim the win. Both the tying and winning goals were buried by Michael Latta. The Bears matched their season best for fewest shots allowed (19), and David Leggio stopped 17 of them to pick up his 13th win of the campaign. The two teams combined for 128 penalty minutes, the second-highest total of the season between the Bears and an opponent.

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were the final opponent of the weekend, and also went down to defeat in a 2-0 decision. Dustin Gazley and Jeff Taffe each tallied one goal and one assist, while Grubauer picked up his second shutout of the season with a 27-save performance. The win was the eighth straight for the team on home ice. With head coach Mike Haviland absent due to a medical ailment, Ryan Mougenel moved from assistant to head coach for the game and earned the victory.

HERSHEY BEARS NEWS AND NOTES

MANY HAPPY RETURNS: Two players have made significant contributions since their return from NHL recall. Goaltender Philipp Grubauer returned to the Bears on Friday, and made two appearances on the weekend. He went 2-0-0 with a goals-against average of 0.50 and save percentage of .982. He earned his second shutout of the season in his 11th appearance on Sunday vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The clean sheet was the fourth of his AHL career.

C Michael Latta returned from Washington on January 11, and has posted points in seven of the eight games in which he has appeared. He recorded two goals and a plus-1 rating on Saturday, earning first-star honors against Syracuse, and was plus-1 with an assist on the insurance goal in Sunday's win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Latta shows (3-6-9) and a plus-7 rating in the eight games.

STAR GAZING: RW Dustin Gazley scored his fifth goal of the season on Sunday against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the eventual game-winner in the Bears' 2-0 victory. The Novi, MI native shows (5-2-7) in 12 games since being summoned from the ECHL's Reading Royals. The Bears have a record of 5-0-0-0 with Gazley scoring.

BROUILLETTE BOMBS AWAY: D Julien Brouillette scored the Bears' first goal in Saturday's win over Syracuse. Brouillette has six goals on 23 shots, putting him on top of AHL defensemen in shooting percentage (26.1%).

STRACHAN'S A PLUS: Veteran D Tyson Strachan posted another strong weekend on the Hershey blue line. He chipped in one assist and a plus-2 rating in Friday's win at Syracuse, and the same numbers in Saturday's rematch. Strachan leads the Bears with a plus/minus rating of plus-14.

BEARS BULLETS:

- The Bears have racked up eight consecutive wins at GIANT Center, and remain perfect on home ice (7-0-0-0) in 2014. The eight-game home winning streak is the longest active in the AHL, and second- longest home winning streak of the entire AHL season. It also is the Bears' second-longest home winning streak since their AHL record- setting 24-game stretch during 2009-10.

- The Bears' 15 victories at home ties for the most among Eastern Conference teams.

- Despite scoring only two goals on Sunday, the Bears moved into fourth in the AHL in goals per game average (3.19).

- The Bears are 17-0-0-1 when scoring four or more goals.

- The Bears are 2-7-1-1 when scoring two goals. Both wins came vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the clubs' last two meetings in Hershey.

- The Bears won all three games on the weekend despite being held to an average of 22.6 shots per game.

Check out the Hershey Bears Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from January 27, 2014


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