AHL Hershey Bears

Bears Weekly #26: Ten Games Remain After Bears Conquer History

Published on April 6, 2022 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


(Hershey, PA) - The Hershey Bears continue the 2021-22 season, presented by Penn State Health, with three key Atlantic Division matchups this week. The Bears will hit the highway on Friday, April 8 for a 7:05 p.m. showdown against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. A three-in-three weekend will continue and be completed on Saturday and Sunday at GIANT Center with back-to-back tilts against the division-leading Springfield Thunderbirds. Saturday night is Fairview Golf Course Bears Logo Chip Night for the first 4,000 fans and Sunday features the Berks Ham Shoot during postgame. After this coming weekend, only three home games remain in the regular season.

TEAM INFO:

Record: 31-26-5-4

Standings Position: 4th in Atlantic

TEAM LEADERS:

Goals: Garrett Pilon (16)

Assists: Mike Vecchione (26)

Points: Mike Vecchione (39)

Power Play Goals: Garrett Pilon (6)

Shorthanded Goals: Shane Gersich, Brian Pinho (2)

Plus/Minus: Lucas Johansen (+24)

Wins: Pheonix Copley (16)

GAA: Pheonix Copley (2.38)

SV%: Pheonix Copley (.913)

Only includes players on the active roster

RECENT RESULTS:

Friday, Apr. 1: Hershey 3 at Charlotte 5

After storming to a 3-0 lead on the road, the Charlotte Checkers scored five unanswered goals to down the Hershey Bears by a 5-3 margin. Kody Clark connected with his first tally since Feb. 4, striking for his seventh goal of the season early in the first period. Mason Morelli and Cody Franson both added to Hershey's lead before the Checkers began chipping away. Charlotte cut Hershey's lead to just a goal before the second period ended. Alexander True scored at 8:13, and Checkers captain Zac Dalpe struck on a screen shot at 18:15 to make it 3-2 Hershey heading into the third period. Charlotte tied the score at 3-3 courtesy of defender Cale Fleury's seventh goal of the season at 6:13. Scott Wilson completed the comeback on the power play with 4:46 remaining, followed by Dalpe's second goal of the night into an empty net at 19:52.

Saturday, Apr. 2: Hershey 1 at Charlotte 3

Hershey's winless streak on the road extended to seven with a 3-1 loss to Charlotte on Saturday night. On their third power play of the opening frame, the Checkers opened the scoring at 19:20 of the first period. With Hershey caught in a line change, Charlotte raced in 2-on-1, and Scott Wilson took the shot himself, connecting from the right wing for his 23rd goal of the season. Brett Leason tied the score at 1-1 early in the second period for the forward's third goal of the campaign. Tied 1-1 into the third period, Zac Dalpe again punished the Chocolate and White with a decisive power play marker at 2:46. Cole Schwindt scored into an empty net at 18:22 to complete the 3-1 scoring line.

Tuesday, Apr. 5: Hershey 4 at Bridgeport 3 (OT)

The Hershey Bears recorded the franchise's 3,000th victory on Tuesday afternoon, defeating the Bridgeport Islanders 4-3 in overtime at the Total Mortgage Arena. Hershey opened the scoring in the first period with net-front traffic established near Bridgeport goaltender Cory Schneider. A shot from Kody Clark whistled past Schneider with Drake Rymsha receiving the deflection in front for his first goal of the season. The Islanders answered with a deuce in the middle frame to hold a lead going into the third period. Kyle MacLean finished a tic-tac-toe passing play off the rush at 10:28 for the equalizer. At the 16:13 mark, Jeff Kubiak tallied his eighth goal of the season for Bridgeport. The Bears played inspiring come-from-behind hockey in the third period to grab a 3-2 lead on the road. Eddie Wittchow potted his first goal of the campaign after executing a 3-on-2 rush to perfection. At the 4:28 mark, Wittchow snapped a perfect shot from the left-wing for his first marker since the 2020-21 regular season finale. Brett Leason generated his fourth goal of the season at 9:57 to give Hershey their second lead of the day. Aliaksei Protas and Alex Alexeyev earned the helpers as Leason wired home a perfect shot from the right-wing. But before regulation expired, Chris Terry scored his 25th goal of the season at 15:15 to knot the contest at 3-3. In sudden-death overtime, Kody Clark made his mark once again with a historic goal that will go down in the Hershey Bears and American Hockey League history books. Setup by Beck Malenstyn and Lucas Johansen, Clark beat Schneider with a perfect backhander between the leg pads at 2:13.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE:

-Friday, Apr. 8 at Lehigh Valley, 7:05 p.m.

-Saturday, Apr. 9 vs Springfield, 7 p.m.

Fairview Golf Course Bears Logo Chip Night (First 4,000)

Ole Smoky Take Over

-Sunday, Apr. 10 vs Springfield, 5 p.m.

Berks Ham Shoot Night

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

TEAM NEWS AND NOTES:

APRIL ABERRATION IS HERE:

Ten regular season games remain for the Hershey Bears, who eye a spot in the 23-team Calder Cup Playoff pool. The 2022 edition of the Calder Cup Playoffs features the debut of a new playoff format which features more teams competing for the hardware than ever before. In the Atlantic Division, the top six teams will qualify for a postseason berth. First and second place will earn a bye into the Division Semifinals. The next four teams will compete in a best-of-three series to advance to the Division Semifinals. The divisional rounds will be a best-of-five series followed by a traditional best-of-seven for the Conference Finals and Calder Cup Final.

FINALLY, 3000 IS CONQUERED:

The Hershey Bears recorded the franchise's 3,000th victory on Tuesday afternoon, defeating the Bridgeport Islanders 4-3 in overtime at the Total Mortgage Arena. Hershey is the first team in American Hockey League history to record 3,000 victories, and only the fifth professional hockey franchise to accomplish the feat, joining the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens (3,492), Boston Bruins (3,285), Toronto Maple Leafs (3,045), and Detroit Red Wings (3,015). Entering this weekend, Hershey's all-time record is 3,000-2,429-519-106-87 (W-L-T-OTL-SOL) in 6,141 total games played dating back to 1938.

THE BIRD IS THE WORD:

This weekend, the Chocolate and White will welcome the Atlantic Division-leading Springfield Thunderbirds to GIANT Center for a two-game set. Springfield holds a 37-20-5-2 record with 81 points and a .633 points percentage. All four meetings this season between the Bears and T-Birds have been decided by two goals or less. Hershey holds the current edge in their season series with Springfield, sporting a 2-0-2-0 head-to-head record. Both victories came in regulation on Nov. 7, 2021 (5-3) and Dec. 17, 2021 (2-0). Thunderbirds forward Sam Anas paces the club with 55 points (19g, 36a) in 63 games. Additionally, Anas has recorded four points (2g, 2a) in four games against the Bears.

REAL DEAL NEAL:

Springfield's roster also showcases veteran power forward James Neal, who tallied a hat-trick against the Bears on Mar. 4. Neal enters this week with four multi-point games in his last six outings, including a two-goal game versus Lehigh Valley on Mar. 19. Neal spent 14 seasons in the NHL from 2008-2022 and compiled 869 NHL games between Dallas, Pittsburgh, Nashville, Vegas, Calgary, Edmonton and St. Louis. This weekend would mark Neal's first-ever career game in Hershey, PA.

KEEPING IT LOCAL:

Overnight travel for the Chocolate and White has reached its completion for the remainder of the regular season. Hershey's five remaining road games feature a trio of day trips to Lehigh Valley on Apr. 8, Apr. 13 and Apr. 22, in addition to games in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Apr. 15 and Apr. 19. The Bears are 0-4-0-0 at the PPL Center in Allentown this season and 3-1-0-0 in Wilkes-Barre Township.

BEARS BITES:

Lucas Johansen's plus-24 is fourth-best in the American Hockey League and third-best among defensemen...The Bears are 0-for-their-last-12 on the power play...Eddie Wittchow scored his first goal of the season on Tuesday in his 43rd game of the campaign. Wittchow's last goal came against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on May 16, 2021...Kody Clark's game-winning goal on Tuesday marked his team-leading fourth GWG among active players. Five of his 19 career goals have been game-winners, but Tuesday marked his first career sudden-death overtime goal.

Check out the Hershey Bears Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from April 6, 2022


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