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AHL Hershey Bears

Details of Events Planned for Final Regular Season Game

March 27, 2002 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


HERSHEY – The Bears, in conjunction with Comcast, will be hosting a gala celebration on Sunday, April 7, 2002: "A Night To Remember – The Bears' Final Regular Season Game at HERSHEYPARK Arena".

The game, which will be televised live on abc-27 and CN8, will be preceded by a stirring ceremony. The Bears, who have rented two video screens for the evening, will run a 10-minute video commemorating HERSHEYPARK Arena. The video will recap the Arena's rich history, recapture some of the building's greatest moments and contain numerous reminiscences from past and current players, coaches and dignitaries. Throughout the game, the Bears will use these video boards to air additional player clips.

Also in the pre-game ceremony, the Bears will welcome back the former players whose HERSHEY numbers are retired and the Captains of their eight Calder Cup Championship teams. The honored guests are Frank Mathers (#3), Mike Nykoluk (#8 and Captain of 1968-69 Team), Tim Tookey (#9), Mitch Lamoureux (#16), Willie Marshall (#16), Paul Ronty (1946-47 Team – standing in for the late Captain, Frank Mario), Obie O'Brien (Captain of 1957-58 and 1958-59 Teams), Ralph Keller (Captain of 1973-74 Team), Bob Bilodeau (Captain of 1979-80 Team), Dave Fenyves (Captain of 1987-88 Team), Mike McHugh (Captain of 1996-97 Team). Ken Kullman, son of the late Arnie Kullman (#9), will represent his father.

The band "Resisters" will perform for fans arriving at the Arena, which first opened its doors on December 19, 1936. All fans at the game will receive a placard, in which they may place their historic ticket, and an accompanying lanyard. As they exit the Arena, every fan will get a champagne glass and a HERSHEY Chocolate Bar covered in a commemorative HERSHEYPARK Arena wrapper. All giveaway items will contain the special HERSHEYPARK Arena logo.

During the game, the Bears will don "Final Game" jerseys – the Arena Logo, which the Bears have worn as a patch on their 2001-2002 regular season uniforms, will appear as the center crest. As part of a one-time "Shirts Off Our Backs" post-game promotion, each player will present his commemorative Final Game jersey to a randomly-selected fan.

The Bears have produced a Limited-Edition Numbered Final Game Program. The Program, which contains eight more pages than the regular 2001-2002 Game Program, features several retrospective articles on HERSHEYPARK Arena, including an Obie O'Brien narrative and a poem written by Willie Marshall. The Program, displaying a specially designed cover, is now on sale on-line at hersheybears.com. Fans may also purchase the Final Game Program during the April 7 game.

The American Hockey League, which is in the midst of its annual Calder Cup Tour, has arranged to have the Calder Cup on hand for the Final Game.

The television coverage, which starts at 6:00 PM, will include the pre-game video and presentation of the honored guests. The overall in-arena festivities will begin at approximately 5:45 PM. Consequently, season ticket holders may enter the Arena at 4:00 PM (as opposed to the usual 4:30 PM time) while non-season ticket holders may come in at 4:30 PM (as opposed to the normal 5:00 PM entrance time).

Limited tickets are still on sale for the April 7 game. Fans may purchase tickets by phoning the HERSHEYPARK Arena Box Office at (717) 534-3911.

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