AHL Hershey Bears

Bears Weekly #19: New England Road Trip Ahead

February 17, 2022 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


(Hershey, PA) - The Hershey Bears continue the 2021-22 season, presented by Penn State Health, with a road trip to Providence and Bridgeport for three games in three days. Hershey heads to Providence for a date with the Bruins on Friday night, visits Bridgeport on Saturday evening, and turns around and heads back to Providence for an afternoon contest on Sunday.

TEAM INFO:

Record: 24-15-3-3

Standings Position: 3rd in Atlantic

TEAM LEADERS:

Goals: Axel Jonsson-Fjallby (14)

Assists: Mike Vecchione (21)

Points: Axel Jonsson-Fjallby (32)

Power Play Goals: Garrett Pilon, Mike Vecchione (5)

Shorthanded Goals: Shane Gersich (2)

Plus/Minus: Lucas Johansen (+18)

Wins: Zach Fucale (7)

GAA: Hunter Shepard (2.08)

SV%: Hunter Shepard (.909)

Only includes players on the active roster

RECENT RESULTS:

Friday, October 11: Lehigh Valley 6, Hershey 3

The Hershey Bears dropped a 6-3 decision last Friday night to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at the PPL Center. The Phantoms scored three goals in the opening period, and overall, struck six times on just 14 shots. Brian Pinho had a goal and an assist for Hershey, and Mike Vecchione added three assists in the losing effort. Matt Strome had a goal and two assists for Lehigh Valley, and Hershey fell to 0-3-0-0 at the PPL Center this season.

Saturday, October 12: Hershey 5, Belleville 4

The Bears returned to the win column last Saturday night, beating the Belleville Senators in a back-and-forth affair at GIANT Center. In a game dominated by special teams, Hershey went 3-for-5 on the power play while Belleville was 2-for-5. Aliaksei Protas, Marcus Vela, and Cody Franson each had a goal and an assist for Hershey, with Franson tallying the game-winning marker on the power play at 10:41 of the third period. Hunter Shepard stopped 26 shots to earn his fourth straight win in goal for Hershey.

Sunday, October 13: Lehigh Valley 3, Hershey 2

The Bears were unable to come up with a win at Lehigh Valley to end the weekend, falling 3-2 at the PPL Center. Marcus Vela opened the scoring for Hershey at 13:27 of the first frame but Lehigh Valley's Hayden Hodgson tied the game at 3:49 of the middle frame to push a 1-1 deadlock into the third period. Morgan Frost broke the tie at 15:44, deflecting a shot out of mid-air past Hershey's Zach Fucale to make it 2-1 Lehigh Valley. Cal O'Reilly scored an empty net goal at 19:33, and that tally proved to be the winner with Mason Morelli striking with just two seconds left for Hershey. Hershey outshot the Phantoms 35-21.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE:

- Friday, Feb. 18 at Providence 7:05 p.m.

- Saturday, Feb. 19 at Bridgeport, 7 p.m.

- Sunday, Feb. 20 at Providence, 3:05 p.m.

Video Coverage: AHLTV, Radio Coverage: Bears Radio Network

TEAM NEWS AND NOTES:

BIG MO:

Hershey forward Mason Morelli enters this week with a five-game point streak for the Chocolate and White. He's scored in three straight games for Hershey, accomplishing this feat for the first time as a Bear, and for just the second time in his AHL career. In his five-game streak, Morelli has registered five points (3g, 2a). The second-year Bear now has 19 points (7g, 12a) in 37 games for the club this season. In his tenure with Hershey, Morelli was without a goal for his first 24 games as a Bear, but has scored seven markers in the 28 games since.

MARCUS MAKES MARK:

Forward Marcus Vela enjoyed a strong weekend for the Chocolate and White. After not playing in Friday's game at Lehigh Valley, Vela checked into the lineup last Saturday night versus Belleville and made an immediate impact. He struck for a goal and an assist for the Bears, earning Second Star honors in the victory. He followed up that performance by posting another two-point effort on Sunday at Lehigh Valley, striking for a goal and an assist once again. Vela now has three multi-point games for the Bears this season and has notched seven points (4g, 3a) in just 13 games for Hershey this season.

PROTAS RETURNS:

Hershey received a boost last week from NHL parent club Washington with the re-assignment of center Aliaksei Protas. The 6'6" forward rejoined the Bears after skating in 33 games for the Capitals this season, tallying nine points (3g, 6a) for the big club. Protas returned to the lineup on Friday at Lehigh Valley, playing in his first AHL game since Nov. 7 versus Springfield. In his second game back with Hershey last Saturday, he potted a goal and an assist, scoring his first career AHL power play marker. Protas has seven points (2g, 5a) in 11 games with Hershey this season, matching his point total in his 16-game stint with the club at the end of last season.

JOLT FROM JOHANSEN, FIREPOWER FROM FRANSON:

Hershey has continued to receive big offensive contributions from blue liners Lucas Johansen and Cody Franson. Johansen enters this week with assists in two straight games, notching three helpers in that span. He has points in six of his last seven games, collecting eight points (2g, 6a) over that stretch. His +18 rating leads the team, and he's tied for second in the AHL in that category among players on active rosters. Franson just had a five-game point streak snapped on Sunday at Lehigh Valley, but prior to that, he had posted a goal and five assists from Feb. 2-Feb. 12. Franson's four power play goals are tied for first in the AHL among defenders, while his 15 power play points are third among AHL blue liners.

BEARS BITES:

With assists in two straight games entering this week's action, forward Shane Gersich has 24 points on the season through just 43 games. That mark ties his career-high in points, established over 66 games in his rookie season in 2018-19. Gersich's next game will be the 200th of his pro career...With a recent string of success, Hershey's power play is up to 7th in the AHL at 22.0% (35-for-159)...The Bears have scored a league-leading seven shorthanded goals on home ice this season...On Friday, Hershey returns to Providence for the first time since Mar. 8, 2020. That afternoon, Hershey rallied from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game in the closing seconds, but fell 3-2 in a shootout. That wound up being Hershey's final game of the 2019-20 season as the season was suspended on Mar. 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and then was later subsequently cancelled.

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