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AHL Hershey Bears

Bears Weekly: Playoff Berth Closer as Bears Head to Canada

April 2, 2019 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


(Hershey, PA) - The Hershey Bears head north of the border this week for three games in a span of three days. With just two weeks remaining in the AHL's regular season, Hershey sits in 3rd place in the Atlantic Division with a 38-24-3-4 record. The Bears' Magic Number to secure a spot in the 2019 Calder Cup Playoffs is eight. Hershey visits Toronto on Thursday morning, battle Belleville Friday evening, then visit Laval on Saturday afternoon.

Last week, Hershey took the ice for two games versus division rivals. Coming off a pair of losses at Cleveland, the Bears rebounded with two victories to make the club's road to a playoff berth in reach. Last Saturday, Hershey hosted Providence, beating the Bruins 2-1 at Giant Center. The Bears trailed 1-0 after surrendering a Lee Stempniak goal just 2:15 into the game, and the P-Bruins lead lasted through two periods. Only 17 seconds into the third period, Devante Smith-Pelly scored his sixth goal of the season for Hershey, and Joe Snively added the winner on the power play in the comeback win. Ilya Samsonov stopped 28 shots, and Hershey went a perfect 7-for-7 on the penalty kill.

On Sunday, in a potential playoff preview, the Bears visited Bridgeport and earned another 2-1 victory, scoring the win in a shootout. Steve Whitney had Hershey's lone goal through regulation, and Smith-Pelly and Riley Barber scored in the shootout to lead the Bears to a third victory over Bridgeport this season.

UPCOMING GAMES/PROMOS:

-Thursday, Apr. 4 at Toronto, 11 a.m.

-Friday, Apr. 5 at Belleville, 7 p.m.

-Saturday, Apr. 6 at Laval, 3 p.m.

WEEKLY PRACTICE SCHEDULE:

Tuesday, Apr. 2: Travel Day

Wednesday, Apr. 3: 2 p.m., Coca-Cola Coliseum

Thursday, Apr. 4: 11:15 a.m., Coca-Cola Coliseum

Friday, Apr. 5: 11:15 a.m., CAA Arena

*Practice schedule subject to change. Follow @TheHersheyBears on Twitter for updates.

THE ROAD TO THE PLAYOFFS: The Bears are moving closer to a playoff berth after a strong weekend. Hershey's Magic Number to clinch a playoff berth is now just eight as the Bears have seven games remaining. The Chocolate and White have played one less game than 5th place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and lead the Penguins by five points in the Atlantic Division standings. Hershey's remaining games see them visit Canada for a three in three this week, before returning home to host Lehigh Valley Tuesday. The Bears then close the season with another three in three, visiting Hartford Friday, before hosting Utica Saturday, then ending the regular season versus the Wolf Pack Sunday on home ice. Hershey is 12-4-2-1 versus its remaining opponents this season.

DYNAMITE DEBUT: Hershey forward Joe Snively made quite the impression in his first game with Hershey last Saturday. The forward scored the game-winning goal in his debut, helping Hershey to a 2-1 victory. Snively became the first Bear to score in his professional debut since fellow teammate Riley Barber did so in 2015. Snively signed a tryout with Hershey after agreeing to terms with Washington on a two-year entry level contract that starts next season. The 23-year-old led Yale in scoring in each of his four seasons with the club.

SHOOTOUT KINGS: The Bears earned a shootout win in Bridgeport on Sunday, giving Hershey an AHL-best eight shootout wins this season. The Bears are 8-4 in shootouts, and Hershey goaltender Vitek Vanecek is tied for the league-lead with four shootout wins. Hershey goaltenders have stopped 41-of-48 shots in the shootout this season, while Riley Barber's five goals in the shootout are the most in the AHL.

SNIPE SHOW: Hershey's game Thursday in Toronto features two of the AHL's most lethal scorers. Toronto's Chris Mueller is the AHL's top sniper, registering 32 goals for the Marlies in 55 games. He struck for the game-winner versus Hershey in the club's previous meeting in March. Hershey's Riley Barber is just one goal off the league-lead, posting a career-high 31 tallies. Barber will be looking to break a five-game goalless drought in Thursday's contest.

BEARS BITES: Defender Connor Hobbs is four games from 100 in his AHL career...Riley Barber leads the league with seven insurance goals, while Nathan Walker is tied for a league-best with seven first goals...Saturday's game marks Hershey's second all-time visit to Laval. In last year's meeting, Travis Boyd scored four times as the Bears swept the three in three in Canada...Hershey is a remarkable 20-3-3-4 in one goal games this season.

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