Bears Weekly: Streaking Bears Prepare for Thunderbirds
Published on December 18, 2019 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
(Hershey, PA) - The Hershey Bears are the hottest team in the AHL, entering this week having won six straight contests. The Bears remain unbeaten in the month of December, and the club has moved up to 3rd in the Atlantic Division with a 14-9-2-3 record. The club hosts Springfield for a pair of games this weekend ahead of the Christmas break.
In action last week, Hershey earned a 5-2 victory over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Dec. 14. The Bears got goals from five different players, and the Chocolate and White bolted out to a 3-1 first period lead thanks to goals from Brian Pinho, Mike Sgarbossa, and Philippe Maillet. Matt Moulson and Liam O'Brien added goals in the second period, and netminder Vitek Vanecek earned the win in goal with 24 saves. Hershey went 6-for-6 on the penalty kill.
Hershey also claimed a victory last Sunday, topping Lehigh Valley, 3-1, at Giant Center. Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, Garrett Pilon, and Bobby Nardella scored, and Vanecek was superb in goal again, coming up with 29 saves. The win was Hershey's fifth versus Lehigh Valley, and for the Phantoms, it marked a 10th straight road loss away from the PPL Center.
UPCOMING GAMES:
Tickets to all home games are on sale now at the Giant Center Box Office, or online via Ticketmaster.
-Saturday, Dec. 21 vs. Springfield, 7 p.m.
-Sunday, Dec. 22 vs. Springfield, 1 p.m.
Dietz & Watson Holiday Ham Shoot
WEEKLY PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Wednesday, Dec. 18: 10:30 a.m., Giant Center
Thursday, Dec. 19: 10:30 a.m., Giant Center
Friday, Dec. 20: 10:30 a.m., Giant Center
Saturday, Dec. 21: 10 a.m., Morning Skate, Hersheypark Arena
*Practice schedule subject to change. Follow @TheHersheyBears on Twitter for updates.
#HersheyBearsCares
The Bears are committed to giving back to the local community. On Tuesday, four players visited the Penn State Children's Hospital.
Player Appearances
Upcoming appearances for select players include Dave & Buster's at the Capital City Mall on Wednesday, Dec. 18 from 6-8 p.m. and Houlihan's on Thursday, Dec. 19 from 6-7 p.m. Visit Hershey Bears social media for more information.
STREAKING BEARS: The Bears are in the midst of the club's longest winning streak of the season with six straight victories. Both Mike Sgarbossa and Christian Djoos have a team-best seven points in the streak, while Vitek Vanecek is a perfect 4-0-0. The club's power play has scored in four straight games, and over the last six contests, the penalty kill is 31-for-34 (91.2%).
BOBBY ON BOARD: Defender Bobby Nardella scored his first professional goal in Sunday's win over Lehigh Valley. The rookie out of Notre Dame has points in three straight games, tallying one goal and two assists in that span. Despite missing time due to injuries, Nardella has been productive this season, posting six points (one goal, five assists) in just seven games. Half of his points have come on the power play, which is 4-for-10 (40%) since Nardella returned from injury on Dec. 7.
PINHO'S PACE: Second-year forward Brian Pinho collected three points on the weekend, including notching a goal and an assist Saturday in a contest he earned first star honors. He tallied an assist on Sunday, giving him 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in 28 games this season. That stat line is the exact same mark that Pinho finished with last season in 73 games played. The former Providence College standout played in his 100th AHL game last Saturday.
VITEK ROLLING: Netminder Vitek Vanecek started in goal on back-to-back evenings for the second consecutive weekend, and once again, the native of the Czech Republic turned in a pair of victories. Vanecek has surrendered two or less goals in five straight games, and in seven of his last eight appearances. He's won four consecutive starts, recording a 1.00 goals against average, a .965 save percentage, and one shutout in that stretch.
BREAKING THE ICE: The Bears have scored first in seven of the past eight games. Hershey is 9-4-0-1 when they score the game's opening marker this season.
BEARS BITES: After notching two assists last Sunday, defender Christian Djoos is one point away from 100 in his AHL career...Mike Sgarbossa's 25 points rank 10th in the AHL while goaltender Vitek Vanecek's 2.30 goals against average is 9th in the league...Ten of Hershey's 12 power play goals this season have come at the Giant Center....Hershey hosts Springfield this weekend. The Thunderbirds handed Hershey its most lopsided loss this season, earning an 8-1 win over the Bears on Nov. 1 at the MassMutual Center.
American Hockey League Stories from December 18, 2019
- Lagace Earns Shutout, P-Bruins Beat Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 6-0 - Providence Bruins
- Amerks Come up Short in Binghamton - Rochester Americans
- Penguins Lose to Bruins, Will Rematch on Friday - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Bellows scores for fourth straight game; Ladd collects two goals in win - Bridgeport Islanders
- Comets Slip Past Sens - Belleville Senators
- Checkers Wail on Hartford for 7-1 Blowout Win - Charlotte Checkers
- Devils Take Down Amerks, 2-1 - Binghamton Devils
- Checkers Give Wolf Pack a Long Night to Forget - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Sound Tigers Steal 3-2 Victory over Crunch - Syracuse Crunch
- Boucher Breaks Record as Comets Topple Senators - Utica Comets
- Coyotes Assign Hill to Tucson - Tucson Roadrunners
- Anaheim Ducks Recall Lundestrom and Jones - San Diego Gulls
- Ryan Dmowski Returned to Maine - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Join the IceHogs this Weekend for Winter Hat Giveaway & Star Wars Night - Rockford IceHogs
- Jets Recall Appleton and Harkins from Manitoba - Manitoba Moose
- Moulson, Ford Named as 2020 AHL All-Star Captains - Ontario Reign
- Matt Moulson Named Playing Captain for 2020 AHL All-Star Classic - Hershey Bears
- Matt Moulson, Matthew Ford Named Playing Captains for 2020 AHL All-Star Classic - AHL
- Ford Named Playing Captain for 2020 AHL All-Star Classic - Grand Rapids Griffins
- American Hockey League Announces Suspension - AHL
- Coyotes Recall Gross; Assign Russo to Tucson - Tucson Roadrunners
- Get Your Collectible Jedi Hammy Figure for Star Wars Night - Rockford IceHogs
- Seider and Veleno Head to World Junior Championship - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Minnesota Wild Reassigns Forward Gerry Mayhew to Iowa - Iowa Wild
- Heat Look to Tame Wild Wednesday at Stockton Arena - Stockton Heat
- Blue Jackets Assign Forward Kole Sherwood to Monsters - Cleveland Monsters
- Lajoie Reassigned to Belleville - Belleville Senators
- Byron, Gagne Join Reign - Ontario Reign
- Rochester Americans Game Preview: Wednesday, December 18, 2019 at Binghamton Devils - Rochester Americans
- Bears Weekly: Streaking Bears Prepare for Thunderbirds - Hershey Bears
- Game Day Build-Up: Senators vs. Comets, December 18 - Belleville Senators
- Sound Tigers Clash with Crunch Tonight - Bridgeport Islanders
- Shootout Loss Earns Gulls a Point - San Diego Gulls
- Eagles Edge Moose, 5-3 - Manitoba Moose
- Gulls Recall Goaltender Eriksson Ek - San Diego Gulls
- Wild Second Period Sends Eagles to 5-3 Win over Moose - Colorado Eagles
- Rocket Register First Shootout Loss of the Season, Lose 3-2 to IceHogs - Laval Rocket
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