Game Preview: Bears at Monsters, 6 p.m.
April 1, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
(Cleveland, OH) - The Hershey Bears continue the 2022-23 season, presented by Penn State Health, as they visit the Cleveland Monsters for the first of two weekend games.
Hershey Bears (39-16-5-4) at Cleveland Monsters (29-27-5-2)
April 1, 2023 | 6 p.m. | Game 65 | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
Referees: Jim Curtin (#22), Jake Rekucki (#84)
Linespersons: Ryan Jackson (#84), Kirsten Welsh (#10)
Broadcast Information
Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, and FOX43's Todd Sadowski on the call
TELEVISION: Antenna TV, WPMT 43.2, Xfinity Ch. 247 and 1178, Verizon FiOS Ch. 463, Blue Ridge Ephrata Ch. 91, and Blue Ridge Newberry/Duncannon Ch. 88.
RADIO: WFVY-100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM, Capitals Radio Network
WATCH LIVE: AHLTV
LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream, Caps Radio
Radio pre-game coverage starts at 5:30 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT:
The Bears came out swinging in Wednesday morning's 3-1 victory at Toronto, as Hendrix Lapierre got Hershey on the board at 2:04 of the first when he slipped the puck through the legs of Joseph Woll. Sam Anas then knocked in a back-door tap-in at 5:08 to make it a 2-0 game. Logan Shaw scored at 17:42 of the middle frame to get the Marlies on the board, but Anas scored at 1:29 of the third. Hunter Shepard went 21-for-22 for Hershey. The Monsters are coming off a Wednesday night meeting with the Rochester Americans, which resulted in a 3-2 overtime win. Cleveland took 1-0 and 2-1 leads in the first and third periods thanks to goals from Josh Dunne and Mikael Pyyhtia, but after the Amerks' Jiri Kulich scored a power-play goal midway through the third to tie the game at 2-2, Cole Clayton scored 59 seconds into overtime to secure the win for the Monsters. Jet Greaves made 31 saves for the victory.
FUN TIMES IN CLEVELAND, AGAIN:
The Bears went 1-0-0-1 against the Monsters in two prior home meetings in December; Hershey won back-to-back 4-1 road contests at Cleveland last February. The Bears have a 2-2-0-0 record over the last five seasons at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
CLEVELAND CONNECTIONS:
Hershey defenseman Gabriel Carlsson is a former Cleveland Monster. The native of Orebro, Sweden played parts of five seasons with Cleveland, skating in 146 career games, compiling 32 points (6g, 26a). Additionally, Mike Sgarbossa opened his career with the Lake Erie Monsters and represented the club in the 2013 AHL All-Star Game. On the other side, Cleveland associate coach Mike Haviland served as Hershey's head coach during the 2013-14 season. Haviland was named the 24th head coach in franchise history on Jun. 18, 2013, and in his one season at the helm, he guided the Bears to a 39-27-5-5 record, as the club finished fourth in the East Division and outside the playoff picture. Haviland left Hershey in 2014 to take over as head coach at Colorado College where he worked until 2021. Cleveland recently signed former Bears defenseman Andrew Nielsen to a PTO.
A FULL 60:
This season Hershey has been one of the league's elite teams in the first period, with a league-leading goal differential of +34. As the game progresses into the second and third, the playing field becomes more level, with goal differentials of -7 and +3, respectively. Following Wednesday's win, the Bears improved to 24-2-0-2 when leading after the second period.
MARCHING INTO APRIL:
The Bears went 7-3-0-2 in the month of March, outscoring opponents 37-30. Joe Snively led the club with 11 points (2g, 9a) in 11 games, while Mike Vecchione and Sam Anas both tied for the club lead in goals with five. Eight of Hershey's games in March were a successful clean sheet on the penalty kill.
IN PURSUIT OF THE BYE:
With the Bears having clinched a playoff spot, Hershey now sets its sights on securing the highest-possible seeding and a first-round bye. The Bears, currently in second place in the Atlantic, have a 10-point edge on the Springfield Thunderbirds and Charlotte Checkers (87 to 77). With the Bears having a game in hand on Springfield and Charlotte, not including tie-breakers, Hershey only needs to earn five more points to lock up a first-round bye.
MCMICHAEL STREAK AT EIGHT:
Connor McMichael enters tonight riding a season-high eight-game point streak (3g, 5a). The streak began on March 11 at Providence, with Hershey going 4-2-0-2 with McMichael in the lineup over that time. This season, the Bears are 21-5-0-2 when McMichael gets on the scoresheet.
BEARS BITES:
The Bears are second in road penalty killing at 86.7%...Mike Vecchione needs two goals to reach 100 in his pro career...Sam Anas is four assists away from 200 in his pro career...Hershey is second in the league and first in the Eastern Conference with 2.55 goals-against per game...Jake Massie is two games away from 100 in his AHL career...Julian Napravnik has a four-game point streak (4g, 1a)...Cleveland's home penalty kill is 25th at 78.1%.
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