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AHL Hershey Bears

Game Preview: Bears at Senators, 7 p.m.

April 5, 2019 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


(Belleville, ON) - The Hershey Bears close out their short, two-game season series tonight against the Belleville Senators, American Hockey League affiliate of the Ottawa Senators. Tonight marks the second game of a current three games in three nights stretch for the Bears in Canada.

Hershey Bears (39-24-3-4) at Belleville Senators (35-28-3-5)

April 5, 2019 | 7 PM | Game 71 | CAA Arena

Referees: Alex Normandin (65), Brett Roeland (59)

Linesmen: Matt Ceko (73), Kevin Hastings (61)

Broadcast Information (Pre-game 6:30 p.m.)

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

LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream

WATCH LIVE: AHLTV

ATLANTIC DIVISION STANDINGS

LAST TIME OUT:

The Bears enter tonight's game having won three straight contests and are fresh off a 3-0 victory yesterday in Toronto. The Bears blanked their opponent for the fifth time this season, as Ilya Samsonov earned his third shutout with 17 saves. Hershey scored three times in the first period in the victory. Jayson Megna opened the scoring just 1:18 into the game, splitting the defenders and scoring glove side for his 18th goal of the season. The Bears then added two goals in a span of 14 seconds to extend the lead. At 15:19, Mike Sgarbossa scored his 29th goal of the season on the power play to extend Hershey's lead to 2-0. At 15:33, Brian Pinho added to the lead on a goal assisted by Joe Snively and Beck Malesntyn. The Bears penalty kill finished the day 4-for-4 and went 1-for-3 on the power play. The Senators are in the midst of a playoff chase and suffered a tough 1-0 loss on Wednesday evening to the Syracuse Crunch. Goaltender Atte Tolvanen stopped all 34 of Belleville's shots for the Crunch, and Andy Andreoff had the lone goal for Syracuse in the win.

BATTLING THE B-SENS:

Like the Bears, the Belleville Senators have enjoyed an impressive turnaround since the two clubs last met on Feb. 3. At the time, Hershey was in 7th place in the Atlantic Division and Belleville was in 8th place in the North. The Senators now sit just two points out of a playoff spot in 5th place despite a large amount of injuries, call-ups, and trades. The B-Sens, coached by former Hershey coaches Troy Mann and Ryan Murphy, are 21-9-1-3 on home ice this season, and are led by rookie sensation and AHL All-Star Classic MVP Drake Batherson who has 58 points (22 goals, 36 assists) this year. The last meeting between the two clubs saw Hershey come away with a 3-2 shootout victory.

ONTARIO BOYS:

The Chocolate and White continue a three-game trip through Canada tonight by finishing up the Ontario portion of the trip in Belleville. Hershey's roster features three players who hail from the province of Ontario: Mike Sgarbossa (Campbellville), Devante Smith-Pelly (Scarborough), and Ryan Sproul (Mississauga). Additionally, assistant coach Mike Eastwood (Ottawa) hails from Ontario, as does vice president of hockey operations Bryan Helmer (Sault Ste. Marie).

30 FOR 30:

Hershey's Mike Sgarbossa added his 29th goal of the season yesterday, putting the Bears on the cusp of being just the second team in the AHL this season to have two 30+ goal scorers. Hershey's Riley Barber has already hit the mark, leading the club with 31 goals. Sgarbossa's next tally will match the Syracuse Crunch who have two 30+ goal scorers in Alex Barre-Boulet (32) and Carter Vehaeghe (30). Prior to this season, the last AHL teams to accomplish this feat were the 2013-14 Binghamton Senators (Mike Hoffman and Matt Puempel) and the 2013-14 Texas Stars (Travis Morin and Colton Sceviour).

PINHO PIPES IN:

Hershey forward Brian Pinho scored Hershey's third goal of the game yesterday, scoring his first goal for the Chocolate and White since January. Prior to yesterday, the rookie last tallied for the Bears on Jan. 13 in Hershey's victory over Lehigh Valley. His marker snapped a goalless drought of 30 games, and gave him 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in 67 games this season with the Chocolate and White. The former Providence College star was a 6th round selection of the Washington Capitals in the 2013 NHL Draft.

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