Four-Point Weekend In The Books
Published on March 18, 2013 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
The HERSHEY BEARS Hockey Club picked up all four points in their recent set of weekend games. On Saturday night, Bridgeport Sound Tigers goaltender Kenny Reiter and Bears goaltender Philipp Grubauer locked up in a great battle, keeping their opponents off of the score sheet through the first 60 minutes of play. In overtime, Jeff Taffe fed a cross-crease pass to Garrett Mitchell, who finished the contest 2:49 into the extra session with his 12th goal of the season. Grubauer picked up his second shutout of the season with 27 saves on the night.
Sporting their St. Patrick's Day specialty jerseys on Sunday, the Bears recovered from a slow start to take care of the Adirondack Phantoms by a 5-2 score. The Phantoms stormed out to a 12-1 edge in shots on goal, but following a Hershey timeout, it was the Bears who took the lead into the locker room when Peter LeBlanc backhanded a shot from in close beyond the reach of Adirondack goaltender Brian Boucher. Taffe assisted on the goal, and then went on to score twice and set up yet another tally for his third four-point night of the season. Ryan Potulny also scored for the Bears, potting a four-on-four goal, while Casey Wellman struck on the power play. Taffe (2-2-4), Wellman (1-1-2), Jon DiSalvatore (0-2-2) and Dmitry Orlov (0-2-2) all had multiple-point games in the Bears' 30th win of the season. Grubauer turned aside 36 shots to improve to 4-1-0 in March.
The Bears will now play 11 of their final 14 games on the road, beginning with a stretch of three games in three nights this weekend. The Bears visit the Connecticut Whale on Friday, the Manchester Monarchs on Saturday and the Worcester Sharks on Sunday.
BEARS NEWS AND NOTES
TAFFE'S THREE FOR FOUR: C Jeff Taffe registered his third four-point game of the season in Sunday's win over Adirondack. He enters the week tied for the AHL lead in assists (40) and tied for second in the overall scoring race (18-40-58).
DAS GOALTENDER: G Philipp Grubauer strung together 104:26 of shutout goaltending this weekend before allowing Marcel Noebels' goal in the third period on Sunday. Grubauer finished the weekend with 63 saves on 65 shots (.969 save percentage) in picking up his ninth and tenth wins of the season. He improved his March numbers to 4-1-0, with a goals-against average of 1.49 and save percentage of .949.
A POSITIVE ADDITION: D Chay Genoway, acquired in a March 14 trade, played his first two games with the Bears this weekend and although he didn't find the score sheet, finished with a cumulative plus-three rating. He currently leads the Bears in plus-minus with a plus-14.
KANE NEARING ANOTHER MIILESTONE: Captain Boyd Kane is poised to become the second Hershey player this season to reach 500 career AHL points. Jon DiSalvatore accomplished the feat on November 12. Kane earned an assist in Sunday's win over Adirondack, pushing his career total to 498 (212-286-498). The total comes in 924 career AHL games played, a number that ranks 13th in league history. Kane also ranks 31st in all-time games played in a Hershey sweater (351).
HE'S PLAYING WELL: C Casey Wellman added one goal and one assist in Sunday's win over Adirondack, giving the Brentwood, CA native 17 points (6-11-17) in 19 games since joining the Bears on January 31.
KINGS OF TIGHT GAMES: The Bears' 1-0 overtime victory on Saturday over Bridgeport was the first victory of the season for Hershey when scoring only one goal. It also completed the team's 35th one-goal game of the season, a number which ranks second only to the Chicago Wolves. The Bears have picked up points in 23 of the 35 games (15-12-3-5).
THE RACE FOR 10-K: Bears fans packed GIANT Center on the recent three-game homestand to the tune of 32,048 fans. The Bears are now averaging 9,972 fans per game, tops in the AHL. With three home games remaining, the Bears are aiming to become the first team since the 1998-99 Philadelphia Phantoms to average 10,000 fans per game or better.
American Hockey League Stories from March 18, 2013
- Griffins Begin Season's Longest Road Stretch this Weekend - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Aeros Recall Baldwin from Orlando - Houston Aeros
- Florida Panthers Recall Eric Selleck, Reassign Jon Rheault - San Antonio Rampage
- Barons Sign Defenseman Kendall McFaull to AHL Contract - Oklahoma City Barons
- Admirals Continue March to Playoffs - Norfolk Admirals
- Bruins Recall Ryan Spooner From Providence On Emergency Basis - Providence Bruins
- Penguins' St. Patrick's Day Celebration on March 23rd - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Hamilton Bulldogs Weekly - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Bulldogs Sign Brady Vail to A.T.O. - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Wolves Weekly Notes - Chicago Wolves
- Crunch Weekly - Syracuse Crunch
- Amerks to Hold Select-A-Seat Event on Sunday, March 24 - Rochester Americans
- Monarchs Weekly Report - Manchester Monarchs
- Bears Send Two to Reading Royals - Hershey Bears
- Capitals Recall Orlov from Hershey - Hershey Bears
- Schroeder Heads to the Pacific Northwest - Chicago Wolves
- Penguins Weekly - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- San Antonio Rampage Weekly Update - San Antonio Rampage
- O'Dell Named AHL Player of the Week - St. John's IceCaps
- St. John's Forward Eric O'Dell Named CCM/AHL Player of the Week - AHL
- Falcons Weekly Notes - Springfield Falcons
- Admirals to Participate in Prevent Child Abuse Hampton Roads' 31st Annual Celebrity Night - Norfolk Admirals
- Hogs Triumphant Twice During Week 23 - Rockford IceHogs
- The Rock Report - St. John's IceCaps
- Whale Weekly - Connecticut Whale
- Four-Point Weekend In The Books - Hershey Bears
- Blues Assign Adam Cracknell to Peoria - Peoria Rivermen
- Pirates Weekly - Portland Pirates
- Nyquist Rejoins Griffins - Grand Rapids Griffins
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
