Game Preview: Bears Conclude Season Series with Phantoms
March 4, 2018 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
(Hershey, PA)-The Hershey Bears conclude the season series with the rival Lehigh Valley Phantoms this evening. Both teams combined for 13 goals in their previous meeting on Friday in a 7-6 loss at the PPL Center.
Lehigh Valley Phantoms (37-15-3-4) at Hershey Bears (24-27-4-4)
Sunday, March 4, 2018, 5 p.m.
Giant Center
RADIO: WQIC-100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM
LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream, Caps Radio 24/7
WATCH LIVE: AHLLive.com
LAST TIME OUT: The Bears returned to the win column on Saturday night, blanking the Utica Comets, 3-0, at Giant Center. Pheonix Copley was perfect in goal for the Bears, stopping 24 shots to earn the clean sheet. After a scoreless first period, Aaron Ness opened the scoring for the Bears in the second period. The defender tallied his third goal of the season at 7:36 of the middle stanza, beating Utica goaltender Thatcher Demko with a shot from the slot. Chris Bourque also added a goal in the second period, finishing a give-and-go with Dustin Gazley at 14:52. Zach Sill posted the lone marker of the third period at 14:07, and Hershey earned its fourth shutout of the season. The Bears were 0-for-7 on the power play, while Utica was 0-for-6. The Phantoms also earned a shutout win last night, topping Binghamton, 4-0, at the PPL Center. Phil Varone, Chris Conner, Corban Knight, and Mikhail Vorobyev scored for the Phantoms, while Dustin Tokarski earned a 29-save shutout. The Phantoms were 2-for-4 on the power play.
LAST TIME VS. LEHIGH VALLEY: The Bears and Phantoms meet again tonight after they battled Friday in Allentown. The Phantoms earned a comeback victory, beating Hershey, 7-6. The Bears bolted out of the gates and led 5-1 after the opening period, but the Phantoms scored seven of the next eight goals to go a perfect 6-0-0-0 versus the Bears at the PPL Center this year. In the loss, Hershey got a goal and an assist from Lucas Johansen, Dustin Gazley, Nathan Walker, Jeremy Langlois, Riley Barber, and Tyler Graovac. Nic Aube-Kubel had two goals for the Phantoms, including the game-winning marker at 13:01 of the third period. Hershey was 0-for-4 on the power play while the Phantoms were 2-for-7.
COUNT ON COPS: It's been an up and down season for netminder Pheonix Copley, but of late, Hershey's goaltender has been superb. Over his last six games, Copley is 4-2-0-0 with a sparkling 1.67 goals against average and a .937 save percentage. He also has two shutouts in that span. He has lowered his goals against average, which was well above 3.00 for the majority of the season, to 2.87, and raised his save percentage to .896. He is 12-14-5 on the season in 33 appearances. If Copley gets the start in goal tonight, it'll mark the first time he has played on three consecutive days this season.
GRAOVAC'S ATTACK: Hershey forward Tyler Graovac posted an assist last night, moving his point streak to three games (two goals, two assists). Graovac has points in six of his past seven games, collecting three goals and four assists in the stretch. The Brampton, Ontario native has contributed 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) in 38 games with the Chocolate and White this season since being re-assigned by the Washington Capitals.
WRAPPING THE SEASON SERIES: Tonight is the 12th and final game of the season series between the Phantoms and Bears. Hershey is just 2-7-1-1 versus the Phantoms this season, and Lehigh Valley has won five straight games in the season series. Hershey's last win over its rival came on Dec. 9 when the Bears doubled up the Phantoms, 4-2, at Giant Center. Chris Bourque leads the way for the Bears with 11 points (three goals, eight assists) versus the Phantoms, while Nic Aube-Kubel has 12 points (seven goals, five assists) versus the Bears this season. Greg Carey, Danick Martel, and Phil Varone all have 11 points versus Hershey this season.
BEARS-PHANTOMS FAST FACTS: Tonight is the 400th professional game for Hershey forward Dustin Gazley. He has skated in 263 AHL games, and 136 ECHL games in his career...Lehigh Valley's Phil Varone leads the AHL with 57 points (18 goals, 39 assists)...Hershey's Chris Bourque, Dustin Gazley, and Jeremy Langlois all have points in two straight games...After going 2-for-8 on the power play versus Rockford last Saturday, Hershey has gone 0-for-13 on the man advantage over the past three games.
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