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AHL Hershey Bears

Bears Return from Break

December 26, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


(Hershey, PA) - The first-place Hershey Bears (24-6-0-0) return from the holiday break this week looking to build on a five-game win streak by hosting the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Wednesday at GIANT Center. Hershey then hits the road, taking on the Rochester Americans and Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

TEAM LEADERS:

Goals: Pierrick Dubé (16)

Assists: Mike Sgarbossa (24)

Points: Mike Sgarbossa (29)

Power-Play Goals: Ethen Frank (7)

Shorthanded Goals: Hendrix Lapierre, Bogdan Trineyev (1)

Plus/Minus: Ivan Miroshnichenko (+13)

Wins: Hunter Shepard (13)

GAA: Clay Stevenson (1.79)

SV%: Clay Stevenson (.931)

Only includes qualified players

LAST WEEK'S RESULTS:

- Friday, Dec. 22 - Hershey 4 at Providence 3 (SO)

- Saturday, Dec. 23 - Hershey 4 vs. Providence 3

LOCAL PRACTICE SCHEDULE FOR WEEK OF DEC. 25:

Monday, Dec. 25

DAY OFF

Tuesday, Dec. 26

DAY OFF

Wednesday, Dec. 27

Morning skate at 10:15 a.m. at GIANT Center

Thursday, Dec. 28

Travel to Rochester

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

UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE:

Wednesday, Dec. 27 - Hershey vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 7 p.m. - BUY TICKETS

Mascot Mania - Hershey characters, local sponsors, and sports team mascots will be on-site to interact with fans

Friday, Dec. 29 - Hershey at Rochester Americans, 7:05 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 30 - Hershey at Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 7:05 p.m.

Video Coverage: AHLTV; Radio Coverage: Bears Radio Network, Capitals Radio Network; Tickets: HersheyBears.com

All times Eastern

TEAM NEWS AND NOTES:

MAC ATTACK:

Dylan McIlrath enjoyed his first two-goal game as a Bear last Saturday in Hershey's 4-3 win over Providence, and only the second multi-goal game of his pro career. The veteran defenseman last scored two goals in the same game on April 12, 2018 at San Antonio, when McIlrath was a member of the Grand Rapids Griffins and played under current Bears head coach Todd Nelson. McIlrath's shooting percentage of 18.8% (3-for-16) is tops among league defensemen with a minimum of 13 shots on goal.

I-81 RIVALRY RESTARTED:

Hershey hosts Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday, its first clash with the Penguins in nearly a month. When the Bears last faced the Penguins on Nov. 29, Hershey came away with a 7-5 road victory. The Bears lead the regular-season series through six games with a 4-2-0-0 record and have won both home games at GIANT Center, most recently a 2-1 win on Nov. 22. Both teams are undefeated in games when leading after the second period this season, with Hershey going 18-0-0-0, while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has gone 9-0-0-0. Joe Snively leads the Bears in scoring against the Penguins with nine points (6g, 3a), while Sam Houde's five points (4g, 1a) paces Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

SUPER DUBER:

With goals in three consecutive games and six in his last seven, Pierrick Dubé entered the week with 16 goals in total, good for a three-way tie for first in the American Hockey League with Springfield's Adam Gaudette and Rochester's Jiri Kulich. Dubé is also tied for first in the AHL with three insurance goals, two shootout goals, and is second in the league with five game-winning goals, trailing only Tucson's Josh Doan (6).

CLASSIC MATCHUP:

The Bears will make their first visit to the Flower City this week since Game 6 of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals, a 1-0 victory that sent Hershey on its way to the Calder Cup Finals. Hershey is seeking its first regular-season road win at Rochester since Nov. 2, 2018 (4-2 W), and has gone 0-2-0-1 in the three following games between the clubs at BlueCross Arena.

SGARBOSSA ADDS TO TOTALS:

A score correction over the holiday weekend retroactively credited forward Mike Sgarbossa with an assist on Hershey's second goal of its 4-3 win against Providence on Saturday. The helper gives Sgarbossa 24 on the season, moving him into a tie with Texas' Mavrik Bourque for the most in the American Hockey League. Sgarbossa's 29 points (5g, 24a) now sits third in the AHL in points behind Bourque's 37 and fellow Texas Star Logan Stankoven's 35.

MENACING THE PHANTOMS:

When the Bears face the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Saturday it will mark the beginning of a five-game stretch for Hershey in which the Chocolate and White will face their I-78 opponent three times, and a 13-game stretch in which Hershey faces the Phantoms five times. The Bears are 3-1-0-0 to begin the regular-season series. Pierrick Dubé (4g, 0a) and Ivan Miroshnichenko (1g, 3a) lead the Bears against the Phantoms with four points, while Garrett Wilson has four points (1g, 3a) to lead the way for Lehigh Valley in head-to-head play.

NELSON EARNS ALL-STAR BID:

With Hershey's win at Springfield last Friday, Bears head coach Todd Nelson earned the right to coach the Atlantic Division team at the 2024 AHL All-Star Classic, to be held Feb. 4-5 in San Jose at Tech CU Arena. For Nelson it represents his second trip to the All-Star Classic in his tenure with the Bears, and his fourth overall All-Star trip as a head coach, the most in league history.

BEARS BITES:

Hershey leads the AHL with 18 regulation wins, and 22 regulation + overtime wins...Matt Strome collected two assists in his 200th pro game on Saturday against Providence...The Bears are the only AHL club to have won at least five games in overtime and have not lost a single game beyond regulation...Clay Stevenson leads all qualified goals with a 1.79 goals-against average and four shutouts...Hershey is 18-1-0-0 when scoring first...Jimmy Huntington is two games away from 200 in his AHL career...The Bears entered the week with a power play ranked fifth (23-for-101, 22.8%) and a penalty kill ranked second (92-for-106, 86.8%).

THEY SAID IT:

"We're going to get tested in the second half. Every team is gearing up for the latter half of the season, going into playoffs. At some point we're going to hit a patch of adversity, so that's going to be the real test for this group, because it's been going really well for us so far. When we do hit that patch, it's how we handle it, and that's going to be character-defining for our group." - Bears captain Dylan McIlrath

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