Game Preview: Bears at Thunderbirds, 7:05 p.m.
March 19, 2025 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
(Springfield, MA) - The Hershey Bears continue their 10-game road trip with their final visit of the campaign to MassMutual Center, where they will face the Springfield Thunderbirds.
Hershey Bears (37-15-5-1) at Springfield Thunderbirds (30-23-2-4)
March 19, 2025 | 7:05 p.m. | MassMutual Center
Referees: Casey Terreri (75), Jonathan Daniels (25)
Linespersons: Nick Briganti (58), Colby Daniels (7)
Broadcast Information
Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, and Bears media specialist Jesse Liebman on the call
RADIO: WFVY 100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM, Capitals Radio
WATCH LIVE: AHLTV on FloHockey
LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream, Caps Radio 24/7
Radio pre-game coverage starts at 6:35 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT:
The Bears faced the Chicago Wolves on Sunday and walked away with a 5-2 victory, as Spencer Smallman and Pierrick Dubé each recorded a goal and two assists to pace Hershey. The club initially fell behind 1-0 in the first period before Nicky Leivermann knotted the score at 16:47 of the first period. Dubé, Grant Cruikshank, and Smallman then found the net in the second period, and Matt Strome put the game away with an empty-net tally in the third. Springfield dropped its third straight on Sunday in a 4-1 home loss to Providence, as Fraser Minten sparked the Bruins to victory with a natural hat trick plus an assist in his Providence debut, while Dalibor Dvorský scored the lone goal for the T-Birds in the second period.
PLAYOFF PICTURE:
Hershey became the first team in the AHL to secure a berth in the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs with its win on Sunday; the club's Magic Number to lock up the Atlantic Division title for the second consecutive season is 23 points. Springfield, meanwhile, currently sits in sixth place in the Atlantic Division with a nine-point edge on Hartford for what could become the final available playoff spot in the division, and has a Magic Number of 14 points needed to secure a postseason appearance.
PROSPEROUS PRISKIE:
The current road trip has been especially kind to Bears defenseman - and former Thunderbird - Chase Priskie. The blueliner has recorded at least a point in each of Hershey's five games since the March 7 contest at Cleveland, and with nine points (1g, 8a) over that stretch, Priskie has factored into 42.9% of Hershey's 21 goals scored during the trip. Priskie's nine points are also the most of any skater in the AHL since March 7. Hershey is 20-4-1-1 this season when Priskie gets on the scoresheet.
TALKIN' T-BIRDS:
Tonight's game marks the final contest of the regular-season series with the Thunderbirds, with the Bears winning the previous three encounters by a combined score of 12-6. Hershey has gone 5-1-2-0 at Springfield since the 2021-22 season. Ivan Miroshnichenko leads Hershey in scoring against Springfield with four points (0g, 4a), while Aleksanteri Kaskimäki's three points (1g, 2a) paces the active roster for the Thunderbirds against the Bears. Springfield is tied with Coachella Valley for sixth in the league on the power play at 21.1% (39-for-185).
BEARS BITES:
Hendrix Lapierre is two points away from his 100th pro point... Ethan Bear is seventh in defensive scoring with 40 points and is second among all skaters in plus/minus at +30...Mike Vecchione needs one more assist to earn his 100th as a Bear...The Bears have the third-fewest penalty minutes per game and the fewest in the Eastern Conference (10.69)...Hershey is tied with Texas for the league lead with eight road wins when trailing after the first period...Hershey is tied with Manitoba, San Diego, and Texas for the league lead with 10 wins when tied after the second period...The Bears are second in the league with 22 wins in games decided by one goal. Hershey's franchise record for wins decided by one goal is 24, set last season (24-2-0-5).
ON THIS DATE:
March 19, 2003 - The Bears played the club's first game in the Beehive State, as Eric Bertrand scored the game-tying goal on the power play with 5:15 remaining in regulation, Philippe Sauvé made 32 saves, and Hershey skated to a 3-3 draw with the Utah Grizzlies in front of 5,952 at the E Center in West Valley City, Utah. The Grizzlies were playing in just their second season of AHL competition after being absorbed into the league the previous season from the defunct International Hockey League. Hershey went 2-1-1-0 against Utah during the 2002-03 season, and would not face the Grizzlies again until after the franchise was relocated to Cleveland, Ohio before the 2007-08 season as the Lake Erie Monsters.
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