AHL Hershey Bears

Bears Work Extra Time

Published on January 2, 2012 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


The HERSHEY BEARS Hockey Club took five of a possible six points last week to re-claim sole possession of the East Division lead. HERSHEY scored three times in the first and third periods on Tuesday at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, sending the team to a 6-0 thrashing of the Penguins. Cody Eakin scored twice, Jacob Micflikier added a goal, and defensemen Tomas Kundratek, Julien Brouillette and Patrick McNeill started the outburst by all netting their fifth goals of the season. Braden Holtby posted his second shutout of the campaign, stopping all 28 shots. In the rematch on Wednesday, the Penguins prevailed in a nine-round shootout, erasing a 5-3 deficit that was helped out by four HERSHEY power-play goals. Geoff Walker scored the game-winner in the shootout for the Penguins against Dany Sabourin. Graham Mink tallied his league-leading 10th power play goal, while Eakin, Chris Bourque and Ryan Potulny all scored on the man advantage. The BEARS ended 2011 by defeating the Norfolk Admirals in a 3-2 shootout final. Holtby turned aside all five shootout attempts, while Chris Bourque and Christian Hanson scored shorthanded goals to pace the offense. HERSHEY will begin 2012 with the highly-anticipated Outdoor Classic, pitting the BEARS against the Adirondack Phantoms at Phiadelphia's Citizens Bank Park on Friday at 7:00 PM. The Phantoms will play at HERSHEY on Saturday, and the Rochester Americans finish out the three-game weekend with their visit on Sunday.

Quite Special

HERSHEY's special teams have been on a roll. On Saturday, Chris Bourque and Christian Hanson scored shorthanded in the same game for the second time this season, giving the BEARS an AHL-leading seven shorthanded goals. The BEARS' penalty kill is ranked third overall (146-for-170, 85.9%), while the power play remains at the top of the league at home (32-for-88, 36.4%) and overall (48-for-150, 32.0%).

Hot Red Light:

HERSHEY scored 13 goals last week to remain at the top of the AHL in goals per game average (125 goals/33 games = 3.79/game).

"A" is for Aucoin

AHL leading scorer Keith Aucoin has strung together 12 assists in his last eight games, the longest active assist and points streak in the AHL. He ranks 12th on the BEARS' all-time assist list (241). HERSHEY's single-season assist record is 89, posted by George `Red' Sullivan in 1953-54.

Bourque Nearing 50:

Chris Bourque is gunning for his fifth consecutive 50-point season in the AHL, as he sits in second place in the league scoring race with 48 points (18-30-48).

Tomas Turning to "O":

In 13 December games, D Tomas Kundratek lit the lamp six times to pull into a tie for fourth among AHL blueliners in goals scored. He is also one of four BEARS players with two game-winning goals.

Check out the Hershey Bears Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from January 2, 2012


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