Sports stats

AHL Hershey Bears

Game Preview: Bears Return to Giant Center to Host Comets

March 3, 2018 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


(Hershey, PA)- The Hershey Bears return to the Giant Center this evening to host the Utica Comets. Tonight is Utica's lone meeting with the Bears in Chocolate Town. Hershey has dropped two straight contests coming into tonight's game, while the Comets have lost four games in a row. Tonight is Penn State Health T-Shirt Night for all fans.

Utica Comets (29-18-6-4) at Hershey Bears (23-27-4-4)

Saturday, March 3, 2018, 7 p.m.

Giant Center

RADIO: WQIC-100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM

LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream

WATCH LIVE: AHLLive.com

LAST TIME OUT: The Bears are looking to get back on track tonight after falling 7-6 yesterday at Lehigh Valley vs. the rival Phantoms. 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. The Comets were also in action last night, falling 1-0 on home ice to the Belleville Senators. Gabriel Gagne scored the lone goal of the contest for the Senators 3:32 into the second period. Richard Bachman stopped 27 shots for the Comets, but he was outdueled by Danny Taylor, who scored a 32-save shutout for the Senators.

LAST YEAR VS. UTICA: The Bears and Comets haven't played in over a year entering tonight's game. The clubs played twice last season, with each team winning on the road. Hershey rolled to a 4-2 win at Utica on Nov. 16, thanks to two goals from Nathan Walker and a pair of assists from Domenic Monardo in his first game with the Bears. The two teams met again in Hershey on Jan. 7, and the Comets earned a 3-2 victory in overtime. Hershey got goals from Paul Carey and Chandler Stephenson, but Alexandre Grenier tied the game in the third period, and Curtis Valk won the game 21 seconds into overtime. Thatcher Demko earned the win with 36 saves on 38 shots.

KEEP ON WALKING: Nathan Walker had a goal and an assist last night to extend his point streak to six games. This is the longest mark of any Bear this season, and the Aussie has posted nine points (four goals, five assists) in the stretch. He has the longest active point streak in the AHL as he is tied with Nic Petan of Manitoba and Sam Carrick of San Diego. Walker also has assists in four straight games, the longest mark of any Bear this season. Only Carrick (six games) has a longer active assist streak. Walker has 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in 25 games this season, only five points away from the 23 points he collected in 58 games in 2016-17. He is three points from 100 in his AHL career.

#19 HITS 20: Last night, Hershey's Riley Barber scored his 20th goal of the season to become the first player to reach this milestone for the Chocolate and White this season. Last year, Hershey had three 20 goals scorers (Carey-24, Thomas-24, Galiev-21), but Barber didn't make the mark, posting 13 goals in 39 games as he missed a significant amount of time due to injuries. This is the second time in Barber's career he has hit the 20-goal mark. He posted 26 goals in his rookie season in 2015-16, a year in which he collected 55 points. The sniper has 119 points (59 goals, 60 assists) in 170 career games with Hershey.

NOT AN ORDINARY COMEBACK: Last night was the first time Hershey lost in regulation when they led after the first, and second periods. The Bears are 14-1-1-2 when leading after the first period, and 17-1-0-2 when leading after 40 minutes of action.

SCOUTING THE COMETS: Utica is one of the best road teams in the American Hockey League. The Comets are 17-5-3-1 on the road this season, giving them the third best mark away from home. The Comets are 9-0-1-0 over the past 10 games on the road. Utica's special teams have been exceptional this season, as they rank 4th both on the power play (19.6%) and the penalty kill (85.7%). Utica's power play is an impressive 22% on the road this season. The Comets are coached by Trent Cull, a former AHL defender with St. John's, Springfield, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Houston, and Syracuse. Utica has been ravaged by injuries this season, but forward Reid Boucher has led the way, scoring 24 goals, a mark good for second in the AHL. Netminder Thatcher Demko, an AHL All-Star this year, is third in the AHL with 1005 saves, and second with four shootout wins.

BEARS-COMETS FAST FACTS: Hershey forward Tyler Graovac (three goals, two assists) has points in five of his past six games. Last night was Graovac's first multi-point game since Dec. 20 when he had two assists versus Charlotte...The next game will be the 100th in the professional career of Hershey goaltender Vitek Vanecek...Utica's Andrew Cherniwchan and Frankie Simonelli participated in Hershey's training camp this year and started the season with South Carolina (ECHL) before joining Utica on PTO's...Comets' forward Brendan Woods is the son of former Hershey head coach Bob Woods...Utica forward Joseph LaBate played for former Hershey Bears head coach Mike Eaves at the University of Wisconsin...Comets' forward Tony Cameranesi is the older brother of Dani Cameranesi, a member of the gold medal winning United States women's hockey team.

Check out the Hershey Bears Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from March 3, 2018


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Hershey Bears Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central