AHL Hershey Bears

Bears Take Off For Newfoundland

Published on March 8, 2016 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


The Hershey Bears Hockey Club picked up four of a possible six points in their only three-in-three March weekend to retain the top spot in the Atlantic Division.

On Friday, the Bears visited the new-look Binghamton Senators, who dressed six new players since the last time the teams met. It turned out to be a much more defensive battle, yet the Bears still turned in a solid performance in claiming a 3-1 victory. Riley Barber continued his torrid pace on offense by striking for the game's first goal, Carter Camper set up that goal plus the game-winner from Sean Collins, and Chris Bourque sealed the victory with a tally into the empty net. Phil Varone, one of Binghamton's new acquisitions, scored the lone Binghamton goal on a power play. Dan Ellis stopped 22 other shots to record his 21st win of the season.

Ellis didn't face nearly as much pressure on Saturday as the Wilkes- Barre/Scranton Penguins came to GIANT Center and were smothered all game. After a scoreless first period, the Bears exploded for three goals in both the second and third frames and cruised to a 6-2 victory. The Penguins were held to 14 shots on goal, a new season low for the Bears. Offensively, Nathan Walker scored twice, Camper recorded a goal and two assists, and Dustin Gazley (1-1-2), Garrett Mitchell (0-2-2) and Aaron Ness (0-2-2) all had multiple-point games. The two newest Penguins players, Dustin Jeffrey and Matthias Plachta, scored the visitors' goals. Tristan Jarry was burned for six goals on 23 shots.

But Wilkes-Barre/Scranton would get redemption in Sunday's rematch at Mohegan Sun Arena. The teams combined for seven first-period goals in a see-saw affair that saw the Bears trail 1-0, take a 2-1 lead and then trail 4-2. Barber's power play goal brought the Bears within one at the first intermission, while Ness buried his second goal of the game to tie the score. But Penguins forward Carter Rowney started and finished a career night by scoring three times - the first goal of the game, the first period go- ahead goal on a power play, and a shorthanded breakaway - to complete a hat trick and give the Penguins a 5-4 lead that they never relinquished. Justin Peters settled in to stop all 15 shots he faced in the third, and the Bears made it an exciting finish by earning a six-on-four power play with 30 seconds remaining in regulation. A last-second shot deflected down off of the crossbar behind goaltender Brian Foster but the puck did not cross the goal line, and the Penguins hung on for the win. Tyler Lewington scored the other Hershey goal. Peters finished with 28 saves on 33 shots, while Foster made 18 saves on 22 Hershey chances. Each team scored twice on the power play.

HERSHEY BEARS NEWS AND NOTES

RILEY'S ROLLING: One week after earning CCM/AHL Player of the Week honors, winger Riley Barber again contributed in all three games for the Bears, scoring two goals and chipping in one assist. Barber ranks second among AHL rookies in points (21-25-46) and in goals, and second on the Bears in scoring. He has points in 16 of his last 18 games.

BOURQUE HEATS UP: Forward Chris Bourque extended his point streak to five games with a goal and two assists on the weekend and maintains the overall AHL scoring lead (25-39-64). He is tied for third in goals, tied for third in power-play assists (18) and second in power-play points (26). In Hershey, Bourque has recorded 457 points (156 goals, 301 assists), ranking seventh in all-time points and assists and 13th in all-time goals. Clicking at over a point- per-game in his career, Bourque ranks 21st in Hershey games played (449).

BOURQUE TIMES TWO: Forward Ryan Bourque picked up his first point with the Bears, tallying an assist on Sunday at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

GREAT-NESS: Defenseman Aaron Ness posted his best offensive weekend of the season, tallying two assists on Saturday and two goals on Sunday, both against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

CAMPING OUT: Forward Carter Camper returned from a week-long illness bout and racked up six points (1-5-6) on the weekend to pace all scorers. Camper's 24 assists rank tied for third on the Bears.

DAN-DY: Goaltender Dan Ellis won both of his starts on the weekend and has now won his past six straight games. In calendar year 2016, Ellis is a remarkable 14-2-1 with two shutouts. He has allowed two or fewer goals in his six-game run and in nine of his last 10 starts to move into eighth in goals- against average (2.36).

MAGIC NUMBER: The magic number for the Bears to clinch a playoff berth is down to 20 points entering week 23.

BEARS NEWS AND NOTES: In scoring 13 goals on the weekend, Hershey is third in the AHL in goals per game average (3.48)...The Bears rank fifth in shots against per game (28.10)...With six games left against arch-rival Wilkes- Barre/Scranton, Hershey is averaging 3.57 goals per game in the series...Hershey's 20 home wins rank tied for third-most in the AHL...Hershey's 46 home points are tied for the AHL lead...The Bears' 118 goals scored at home rank second in the AHL...The Bears' 209 total goals rank third overall...The Bears' 80 second-period goals lead the AHL...Hershey wraps up its series with St. John's this weekend, and is 15-6-1-1 against teams from the North Division...The Bears surpassed 300,000 fans at GIANT Center on Saturday and have a total of 308,825 (average 9,651) to again pace the AHL in attendance.

Check out the Hershey Bears Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from March 8, 2016


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