AHL Hershey Bears

Bears Weekly #5: Hershey's Climb Continues as They Close in on .500

Published on November 6, 2018 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


(Hershey, PA) - The Hershey Bears won two of three games last week and have now collected points in seven of the past nine outings. After five straight losses to open the season, the Bears currently sit at 6-7-0-1, and will look to get over the .500 mark for the first time this season with a pair of games this upcoming weekend.

Last Friday, the Chocolate and White earned a third straight win, defeating Rochester, 4-2, at the Blue Cross Arena. The Bears bolted out to a 3-0 lead in the game's first period. Travis Boyd, down from the Capitals on conditioning, made an immediate impact, assisting on Mike Sgarbossa's power play goal 57 seconds into the game. Riley Barber, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, and Liam O'Brien also scored in the win. Netminder Ilya Samsonov made a career-best 34 saves.

The two teams rematched Saturday at Giant Center with Rochester claiming a 4-1 win. Derek Hulak had the lone goal for the Bears just 3:35 into the game, but the Amerks scored four straight goals to split the season series.

On Sunday, the Bears hosted the club's first ever Hockey Fights Cancer Night. The club wore lavender jerseys that were auctioned off after the game to benefit the American Cancer Society and Four Diamonds. Defender Colby Williams jersey went for a team-best $3,200. On the ice, the Bears defeated Hartford, 2-1, in a shootout. Juuso Ikonen had Hershey's lone goal in regulation, and Aaron Ness scored in the shootout. Parker Milner earned the win in goal.

UPCOMING GAMES AND PROMOTIONS:

Ticket information: http://www.hersheybears.com/tickets/single-game.php

Saturday, Nov. 10 vs. Springfield, 7 p.m.

Promotion: Hometown Heroes Night, United Brotherhood of Carpenters Local 431 American Flag Night (All fans)

Sunday, Nov. 11 at Syracuse, 5 p.m.

MILNER HIGH LIFE: In his first AHL start in over a year, Hershey netminder Parker Milner earned the game's first star in a 2-1 shootout victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack last Sunday. Milner made 32 saves in regulation, and went a perfect 7-for-7 in the shootout. Prior to the contest, Milner's last AHL start and victory came on Oct. 28, 2017 when he stopped 18 shots to beat the Providence Bruins. The netminder was the ECHL Goaltender of the Year last season with South Carolina and is 5-6-1 over the past three seasons with Hershey.

JUUSO JOINS IN: In Sunday's win over Hartford, forward Juuso Ikonen scored his first American Hockey League goal. The goal was originally credited to defender Connor Hobbs, but upon further review, it was determined Ikonen redirected the puck to score his first goal of the season. The native of Finland was signed to a two-year, two-way contract by the Washington Capitals in May. He had 26 points with Brynäs IF in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) last year.

MORE PERFECTION FOR PENALTY KILL: The Bears enjoyed another perfect week on the penalty kill, going 13-for-13 over the three games. The Chocolate and White have not allowed a power play goal in seven straight contests. The Bears have killed off 32 straight penalties.

MAKING THE NESS OF IT: Hershey defender Aaron Ness has played 460 career AHL games, but he collected a first in his career last Sunday. After being re-assigned to Hershey by Washington that afternoon, Ness scored the shootout winning goal for the Chocolate and White. It was the first time in Ness' professional career he has scored a shootout goal. He was 0-for-3 lifetime with all three attempts coming with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers during his rookie season in 2011-12.

WELCOME BACK WALKS: On Monday, the Washington Capitals re-assigned forward Nathan Walker to Hershey. The Aussie had one assist in three games with Washington. In his Hershey career, Walker has 101 points in 242 career games with the Chocolate and White.

BEARS BITES: Goaltender Vitek Vanecek is expected to miss this weekend with an upper body injury...Hershey prospect Grant Besse was named the ECHL Player of the Week after posting seven points in two games...Defender Connor Hobbs has three assists in the past four games for Hershey.

Check out the Hershey Bears Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from November 6, 2018


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