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AHL Hershey Bears

Game Preview: Bears at Penguins, 7:05 PM

January 3, 2020 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


(Wilkes-Barre Township, PA) - Tonight, the Hershey Bears open a new decade with a 7:05 PM visit to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. It's the sixth of 12 meetings between both teams in 2019-20, after the Pens previously ended Hershey's nine-game winning streak last Saturday at Giant Center.

Hershey Bears (18-10-2-3) vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (17-12-3-2)

January 3, 2020 | 7:05 PM | Game #34 | Mohegan Sun Arena

Referees: Chris Waterstradt (88), Robert Hennessey (87)

Linesmen: Tom DellaFranco (71), Bill Lyons (27)

ATLANTIC DIVISION STANDINGS

Broadcast Information (Pre-game 6:35 p.m.)

RADIO: WQIC-100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM, WOYK-1350 AM, Voice of the Bears Zack Fisch and Matt Trust on the call.

LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream

WATCH LIVE: AHLTV, Facebook Watch

LAST TIME OUT:

The Bears take the ice for the first time in 2019 after an impressive month of December that saw them win 10 of 11 contests. The Bears last game was a 3-0 victory at Lehigh Valley this past Sunday. Parker Milner recorded his first AHL shutout, and the Bears dominated the Phantoms, out shooting Lehigh Valley, 38-19 in the win. All three of Hershey's goals came in the second period as Joe Snively, Garrett Pilon, and Brian Pinho struck for the Chocolate and White. The Penguins last outing was a 5-4 shootout loss to Springfield on New Year's Eve. Same Miletic had a goal and an assist in the loss, while Casey DeSmith stopped 27 shots in net.

BEST OF 2019: As the Bears turn the page on 2019, it was a memorable year for the Chocolate and White. From Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2019, the Bears finished with the best points percentage in the AHL at .700, posting a 47-17-6-5 record. Mike Sgarbossa's 72 points ranked 4th in the AHL in the calendar year 2019, while goaltender Vitek Vanecek's 26 wins were tied for 3rd overall in the league.

MAGIC MIKE:

Forward Mike Sgarbossa is currently on a four-game point streak, collecting one goal and six assists in that span. This marks the 4th time this season Sgarbossa has had a point streak of four games or longer. The Ontario native ranks 3rd in the AHL in scoring, collecting 32 points (11 goals, 21 assists) in 31 games this season. He has posted eight multi-point games this season for the Bears, and is just four points from 300 in his AHL career. He's torched the Baby Penguins for five points (one goal, four assists) in five games this season.

EXTRA SPECIAL TEAMS:

A nearly perfect month in December for the Bears was propelled by Hershey's special teams. In the 10-1-0-0 month, the power play went 7-for-33 (21.2%), while the penalty kill went 47-for-52 (90.4%). This season, the club is 5-for-20 (25%) on the power play versus Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, with four of Matt Moulson's six goals on the man-advantage coming versus Hershey's I-81 rival. The Bears are also 16-for-18 (88.9%) on the penalty kill versus the Baby Pens this year.

FAST FACTS:

The Bears are 2-2-0-1 versus the Penguins this year. Four of the five contests have been decided by just one goal....Hershey forward Garrett Pilon has a three-game point streak, striking for three goals and two assists in that span...Dating back to his time in Lehigh Valley, and including a playoff appearance with Charlotte, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goaltender Dustin Tokarski has won four straight games versus Hershey, allowing two or less goals in each game....Hershey's Pheonix Copley is 2-0-1 with a 0.96 goals against average and .963 save percentage this season versus Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. However, Copley is winless in his last five appearances at the Mohegan Sun Arena, with his last win at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coming in a 3-2 shootout victory on Nov. 5, 2017...Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's Anthony Angello leads the way with three goals versus Hershey this season. Overall, he has scored eight of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's last 17 goals.

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