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AHL Hershey Bears

Game Preview: Bears at Penguins, 7:05 p.m.

December 16, 2022 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


(Wilkes-Barre Township, PA) - The Hershey Bears continue the 2022-23 season, presented by Penn State Health, as they open a three-in-three weekend with a pair of back-to-back road games against their I-81 rivals, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, starting tonight at Mohegan Sun Arena. Hershey has won its last five straight road contests, dating back to Nov. 23 at Springfield (2-1 W).

Hershey Bears (17-5-2-1) at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (12-6-1-2)

December 16, 2022 | 7:05 p.m. | Game 26 | Mohegan Sun Arena

Referees: Beau Halkidis (48), Riley Brace (90)

Linespersons: Jud Ritter (34), John Rey (16)

Broadcast Information

Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch on the call

RADIO: WFVY-100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM,SportsRadio 98.9-FM & WOYK 1350-AM (joined in progress), Capitals Radio Network

WATCH LIVE: AHLTV

LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream, Caps Radio

Radio pre-game coverage starts at 6:35 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT:

The Bears hosted Cleveland on Sunday and built a 3-0 lead in the first period thanks to goals from Kale Kessy (2:25), Mike Vecchione (3:22), Ethen Frank (14:47) and Connor McMichael (15:14) before Josh Dunne netted a goal for Cleveland at 16:57 to bring the score to 4-1 at the end of the opening frame. McMichael tallied a second goal with the man advantage at 4:37 to restore the four-goal edge, but the Monsters answered with a four-goal run of their own as David Jiricek (6:23), Brett Gallant (10:37), Brendan Gaunce (12:55) and Dunne (17:48) all netted goals in the second period to even the game at 5-5. Following a goal-less third period and overtime, the Monsters prevailed in the shootout when Dunne scored in the top of the fifth round and Pavel Cajan stopped Mike Vecchione. The Penguins have been idle since last Friday, when they topped the Monsters by an 8-1 score - Nathan Legare scored at 19:55 of the first period, which was only a precursor of things to come in the second, as Drew O'Connor netted two goals, and Corey Andonovski, Drake Caggiula and Alexander Nylander also found the net for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the middle frame. Jonathan Gruden and Valtteri Puustinen capped the scoring with goals in the third frame, as O'Connor finished the night with five points (2g, 3a) and Filip Lindberg made 36 saves.

PAPA SGARBS:

Mike Sgarbossa enters the week tied for a season-high individual player points streak, as he has collected points in his last six consecutive games. Thanks to three multi-point outings over that stretch, the veteran center has accumulated 10 points (4g, 6a) in his last six contests. After going without a goal in his first four games (and missing time while awaiting the birth of his second child), Sgarbossa has produced at nearly a point-per-game pace since Oct. 30, with 15 points (7g, 8a) over a 16-game stretch.

BEARS HOPE TO MARCH PAST PENGUINS:

The Bears face the Penguins this weekend in a rare pair of back-to-back road games at Mohegan Sun Arena, which will be the first of its kind for Hershey in the regular season against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton since Dec. 9-10 of the 2016-17 campaign. Zach Sanford had the game-winner in the first match, a 5-2 victory, before the Bears fell the following evening 6-2. The Penguins enter the week as the second-hottest team in the Eastern Conference over its last 10 games after Hershey, thanks to a record of 6-2-0-2. In head-to-head competition this season, each team has earned an identical seven points against the other, with Hershey owning a 3-2-1-0 record against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Rookie forward Hendrix Lapierre leads the way against the Penguins with four points (1g, 3a) in six games, while the Baby Pens are paced by Filip Hallander (5g, 2a) and Valtteri Puustinen (2g, 5a).

DECEMBER DOMINANCE:

The top AHL scorers for the month of December are each a Penguin and a Bear. Hershey forward Mike Vecchione led all players last week with seven points in four games, and is second overall in scoring for the month of December with eight points (4g, 4a) in five contests. Meanwhile, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton forward Drew O'Connor has been red-hot despite a smaller sample size of three games, as the Penguins forward is tops in the AHL for the month with nine points (3g, 6a). O'Connor's strong play earned him a recall by the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins on Dec. 13, along with teammate Mark Friedman.

BEARS BITES:

Mason Morelli leads the Bears with five multi-point games; Hershey has posted a 5-0-0-0 record when Morelli has a multi-point outing...The Bears are 11-0-0-1 when defenseman Jake Massie dresses...Hershey is 12-1-0-0 when not allowing a goal in the first period...The club is 11-1-2-0 when not allowing a power-play goal...Forward Sam Anas is five assists and two points away from his 200th career pro helper and 300th career pro point, respectively... Forward Shane Gersich is one point away from his 100th pro point, and two points away from reaching his 100th with the Bears.

Check out the Hershey Bears Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from December 16, 2022


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