Sports stats



AHL Hershey Bears

Bears Return from All-Star Break to Face Utica, Hartford

February 8, 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 return from the All-Star break to play a set of games this week, visiting Utica on Friday, and hosting Hartford on Saturday at GIANT Center.

TEAM INFO:

Record: 29-11-4-1

Standings Position: 1st in Atlantic

TEAM LEADERS:

Goals: Ethen Frank (21)

Assists: Mike Sgarbossa (25)

Points: Mike Sgarbossa (40)

Power-Play Goals: Ethen Frank (7)

Shorthanded Goals: Beck Malenstyn, Riley Sutter (1)

Plus/Minus: Gabriel Carlsson (19)

Wins: Zach Fucale (14)

GAA: Hunter Shepard (2.16)

SV%: Hunter Shepard (.916)

Only includes qualified players on active roster

RECENT RESULTS:

Wednesday, Feb. 1: Hershey 2 at Lehigh Valley 5

The Bears dropped the club's first game versus Lehigh Valley this season due to a second period spurt that saw the Phantoms score four times. Connor McMichael opened the scoring at 8:22 of the first period, but Lehigh Valley's Louie Belpedio tied the game at 6:23 of the second period. Just over a minute later, Bobby Brink pulled the Phantoms ahead, and Kevin Connauton struck at 10:44 and Tyson Foerster tallied at 12:16 to give Lehigh Valley a 4-1 lead through 40 minutes en route to the win.

Friday, Feb. 3: Hershey 4 at Bridgeport 1

Hershey snapped a two-game skid with a 4-1 road win at Bridgeport last Friday. Riley Sutter scored only 25 seconds into the second period, and Connor McMichael doubled Hershey's lead at 6:52 of the middle frame. Ethen Frank also struck in the second period on the power play, and Beck Malenstyn added an insurance marker 9:14 of the third period. Hunter Shepard earned the win in net with 20 saves.

Saturday, Feb. 4: Lehigh Valley 5 at Hershey 1

Alaiksei Protas scored the opening goal for Hershey in the first period, but Lehigh Valley scored five goals unanswered to upend the Bears in the club's final game before the All-Star break. Bobby Brink posted a goal and two assists for Lehigh Valley, as the Phantoms scored two goals in the second period and three more in the third period to hand the Bears a second straight loss in the head-to-head season series.

LOCAL PRACTICE SCHEDULE FOR WEEK OF FEB. 6:

Monday, Feb. 6 to Wednesday, Feb. 8

No practice, AHL All-Star Break

Thursday, Feb. 9

9:30 practice, Hersheypark Arena

Travel to Utica

All practices are open to the public. Practice dates and times are subject to change.

UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE:

- Friday, Feb. 10 at Utica Comets, 7 p.m..

- Saturday, Feb. 11 vs. Hartford Wolf Pack, 7 p.m.-CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS

PSECU Knit Cap Night - The first 4,000 fans in attendance receive a knit cap, courtesy of PSECU

TV Coverage (Saturday only): Antenna TV; Video Coverage: AHLTV; Radio Coverage: Bears Radio Network

TEAM NEWS AND NOTES:

STARS SHINE BRIGHT IN LAVAL:

Three members of the Hershey Bears participated in the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic on Feb. 5-6 in Laval, Quebec. Forwards Ethen Frank and Mike Vecchione, and Hershey head coach Todd Nelson were selected for the event. For Frank and Vecchione, it was their first AHL All-Star Classic nod, while it marked Nelson's third time behind the bench. In Sunday's 2023 Rona AHL All-Star Skills Competition, Frank and Vecchione helped lead the Eastern Conference to a 16-10 win, with Frank winning the CCM Fastest Skater event. He set an AHL record, completing his lap in 12.915 seconds, becoming the first player to break the 13-second barrier in event history. In Monday's AHL All-Star Challenge, Frank tallied a goal and Vecchione added two assists as the Atlantic Division, guided by Nelson, reached the championship game of the 3-on-3 tournament.

STRONG STARTERS:

The Bears are the AHL's top team when it comes to opening a contest with the first goal of the game. The Bears have scored the icebreaker a league-best 30 times this season, posting a 21-5-3-1 record when they take a 1-0 lead. In the first period, only Tucson (55) has more goals scored than the Bears (52), while Hershey has allowed a league-low 26 tallies in the initial stanza. Additionally, the Bears have outshot opponents 439-350 in the first period, with the no team in the AHL permitting fewer shots in the first 20 minutes than the Bears. The Bears are 14-5-1-1 when they lead after the first period.

AWESOME ALIAKSEI :

Forward Aliaksei Protas was loaned to the Bears by the Washington Capitals on Feb. 1, and since then, the Belarusian forward has two goals in his past three games. The next outing for the 6'6" forward will mark his 200th professional game, with 66 of those contests coming with the Chocolate and White. In eight games with Hershey this season, Protas has scored five points (2g, 3a), while he has added 10 points (3g, 7a) in 42 games with the Capitals this season.

FANTASTIC FRESHMAN:

Forward Ethen Frank leads the Bears in goals (21) and power play goals (7), and ranks second on the team in points (40). The rookie from Papillion, Nebraska is tied for the league-lead in goals by rookies, and ranks second to Iowa's Sammy Walker (40 points) in rookie scoring. Frank is having the best season by a Hershey rookie since 2015-16, when Riley Barber scored 55 points (26g, 29a) and Travis Boyd collected 53 points (21g, 32a).

UTICA BOUND:

The Bears make the club's lone visit to Utica this season on Friday, battling with the Comets for the second and final time this season. Hershey claimed the initial meeting on Opening Night at GIANT Center, outlasting Utica in a 3-1 win. Henrik Borgstrom, Mike Vecchione, and Riley Sutter had goals in that contest for Hershey, and netminder Zach Fucale made 19 saves to earn the victory in net. Forward Brian Pinho had a goal in the game for Utica, and the former Bear has posted 23 points (8g, 15a) in 37 games this season for the Comets. Utica enters Friday's game second in North Division, but they have dropped four straight contents (0-3-0-1). Hershey has won its past two outings versus the Comets at the Adirondack Bank Center, including a 4-0 win on Feb. 25, 2022 as Zach Fucale made 34 saves to earn the shutout.

RUNNING WITH THE PACK:

Saturday's home game versus Hartford is the final meeting between the Bears and the Wolf Pack this season. Hershey owns a 3-2-0-0 record in head-to-head play versus Hartford, but the two teams have not met since a Nov. 26, a 1-0 Hershey win in a shootout at XL Center. Henrik Borgstrom leads Hershey with five points (3g, 2a) in five head-to-head games, while defender Dylan McIlrath has three assists versus his old club. Hartford is paced by Tim Gettinger (2g, 2a) who has four points in four games versus Hershey. Hartford enters this week with two straight victories, including an 8-2 blowout of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last Saturday.

BEARS BITES:

Hershey is 12-0-0-1 when Mike Vecchione scores a goal this season...Forward Mike Sgarbossa is set to play his 200th game as a Bear on Saturday...Defender Aaron Ness is three points from 300 in his professional career...The Bears are allowing a league-low 2.51 goals per game and 25.56 shots per game.

Check out the Hershey Bears Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from February 8, 2023


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.

OurSports Central