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AHL Hershey Bears

Bears Weekly: Bears Look to Get on a Roll in March

March 6, 2018 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


(Hershey, PA)-The Hershey Bears will look to finish the final five weeks of the American Hockey League season strong. The club is currently 24-27-4-5, and 12 points out of the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. Eleven of the club's final 16 games are divisional contests, but none will come this weekend, as the Bears visit Syracuse, Binghamton, and host Grand Rapids.

The Bears are coming off a 1-1-0-1 week. Last Friday, Hershey fell 7-6 at Lehigh Valley. The Bears bolted out of the gates and led 5-1 after the opening period, but the Phantoms scored seven of the next eight goals to go a perfect 6-0-0-0 versus the Bears at the PPL Center this year. In the loss, Hershey got a goal and an assist from Lucas Johansen, Dustin Gazley, Nathan Walker, Jeremy Langlois, Riley Barber, and Tyler Graovac.

Last Saturday, the Bears returned to the win column, blanking the Utica Comets, 3-0, at Giant Center. Pheonix Copley was perfect in goal for the Bears, stopping 24 shots to earn the clean sheet. After a scoreless first period, Aaron Ness opened the scoring for the Bears in the second period. Chris Bourque also added a goal in the second period, finishing a give-and-go with Dustin Gazley at 14:52. Zach Sill posted the lone marker of the third period at 14:07, and Hershey earned its fourth shutout of the season. The Bears were 0-for-7 on the power play, while Utica was 0-for-6.

On Sunday, Hershey closed a three in three with a 3-2 shootout loss to the Phantoms at the Giant Center. Joe Whitney scored his 12th goal of the season in the opening period for the Chocolate and White, and Wayne Simpson struck on the power play for Hershey in the middle stanza. Pheonix Copley was solid in goal with 33 saves, but Mikhail Vorobyev had the tying goal in regulation, and the shootout winning tally for Lehigh Valley. Hershey finished 2-7-1-2 versus the Phantoms in 12 regular season meetings this year.

UPCOMING GAMES/PROMOTIONS:

-Friday, Mar. 9 at Syracuse, 7 p.m.

-Saturday, Mar. 10 at Binghamton, 7:05 p.m.

-Sunday, Mar. 11 vs. Grand Rapids, 5 p.m.

HERSHEY BEARS NEWS AND NOTES

MCGAULEY MAKES HIS MARK: Last Wednesday, Hershey recalled forward Tim McGauley from South Carolina of the ECHL. The center made his American Hockey League debut on Friday at Lehigh Valley, and on Sunday, earned his first AHL point, assisting on Wayne Simpson's power play goal vs. the Phantoms. Prior to his recall, McGauley collected 36 points (13 goals, 23 assists) and a plus/minus of +9 in 48 games with South Carolina.

400 FOR GAZLEY: In Sunday's shootout loss to Lehigh Valley, forward Dustin Gazley skated in his 400th professional game, notching an assist. The winger has appeared in 264 AHL games and 136 ECHL games since turning professional in 2011. He has points in three straight games (one goal, three assists) for Hershey, and has collected 26 points (eight goals, 18 assists) in 57 games this season with the Bears.

CALL THE COPS: Pheonix Copley recorded 24 stops to earn his second shutout of the season in a 3-0 win over Utica last Saturday. In an up and down season, the North Pole, Alaska native has found his stride over the last month, posting a sensational 1.70 goals against average and a .938 save percentage with two shutouts in his last seven appearances. His record in that span is 4-2-1, and the netminder has improved to 12-14-6 on the season, lowering his season goals against average to 2.83.

CHASING MITCH: Hershey's Chris Bourque returned to the club this past weekend after missing three weeks while skating for Team USA at the Winter Olympics. He scored his 13th goal of the season in Saturday's win over Utica, giving him 192 career regular season goals with the Chocolate and White. He is just two goals away from tying AHL Hall of Fame member Mitch Lamoureux for 8th all-time in franchise history in goals scored.

FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME: On Sunday, Hershey will host the Grand Rapids Griffins for the first time since Feb. 26, 2006. In that game, current Bears forward Chris Bourque had two assists, while Bears VP of Hockey Operations Bryan Helmer had an assist as a member of the Griffins in a 4-3 Grand Rapids win.

BEARS BITES: Hershey visits Binghamton for the first time Saturday. They were 3-0-0-0 in Binghamton last year...Vitek Vanecek's next appearance will be the 100th of his professional career.

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American Hockey League Stories from March 6, 2018


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