AHL Hershey Bears

Game Preview: Bears vs. Checkers, 7 p.m.

Published on January 7, 2023 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


(Hershey, PA) - The Hershey Bears continue the 2022-23 season, presented by Penn State Health, as they turn the page to the New Year with their first contest of 2023. The Bears continue their season-high seven-game homestand tonight with an Atlantic Division clash with the Charlotte Checkers.

Hershey Bears (22-7-2-1) vs. Charlotte Checkers (17-12-2-1)

January 7, 2023 | 7 p.m. | Game 33 | GIANT Center

Referees: Rob Hennessey (87), Mason Riley (79)

Linespersons: Tommy George (61), Sean D'Loughy (95)

Tonight's Promotion:

Toyota Trucker Hat Night - The first 5,000 fans in attendance will receive a Bears trucker hat, courtesy of Toyota.

Broadcast Information

Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, AHL Hall of Famer Mitch Lamoureux, and Jim Jones on the call

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

WATCH LIVE: AHLTV

LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream

Radio pre-game coverage starts at 6:30 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT:

The Bears closed out 2022 with a New Year's Eve clash with their second meeting with the Providence Bruins after picking up a 1-0 win on Dec. 28. Ethen Frank jammed home a Mike Sgarbossa rebound just 27 seconds into the contest to put Hershey up 1-0. Luke Toporowski scored for Providence at 11:31 to tie the game at 1-1. The Bruins took a 2-1 lead at 11:04 of the second period when Jakub Lauko's shot from along the left of the goal line banked in off the mask of Hunter Shepard, and Marc McLaughlin extended the lead to two goals at 13:09. Frank tallied his second of the evening at 15:22 with the Bears on the power play, then Kevin O'Neil tied the game at 3-3 when he scored a goal with the man advantage at 5:39 of the third period for his first career AHL tally. Sgarbossa finished the night with three assists to match his career-high, but Providence netted the eventual game-winner at 7:05 from Chris Wagner to give the Bruins a 4-3 final. Hunter Shepard made 17 saves as he suffered his first regulation loss of the season after an 8-0-0 run from Nov. 6 - Dec. 28, and the Bears went 2-for-9 with the man advantage. Charlotte was in action last night at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and after falling behind 2-0 in the first period, the Checkers rallied for a 4-2 win, as Grigori Denisenko led the way with two goals and an assist, and Mack Guzda made 20 saves for his eighth victory of the season. The Checkers were 0-for-7 with the man advantage while they successfully killed off four penalties. The game was halted with 1:12 left in the contest following an injury to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's Filip Hallander.

CHECKING IN ON THE CHECKERS:

The Bears last met the Checkers just over a month ago, when Charlotte made a one-game visit to GIANT Center on Dec. 6, in which Hershey rode a three-goal second period en route to a 4-2 victory. At the time, Charlotte was seeded fourth in the Atlantic Division, and that loss to the Bears was the start of a five-game losing streak. The Checkers have since rebounded with five wins in their last six games and enter today's game 10 points back of the Bears. Hershey is 1-1-1-0 against the Checkers this season, and after hosting Charlotte on Saturday will have two more games in the Queen City in February before hosting the Checkers for a pair of games in early April. Riley Nash leads Charlotte's active roster in scoring against the Bears with four points (2g, 2a) in three games.

HEALTHY BEARS:

Tonight's game could mark the return to the lineup of several players who have missed significant time due to injury and/or illness. Forward Garrett Pilon has missed the last 18 games since sustaining a lower-body injury on Nov. 19 vs. Hartford. The fifth-year pro had recorded eight points (2g, 6a) in 13 games for Hershey prior to the injury, and the Bears had posted an 8-3-2-0 record with Pilon in the lineup. Another possibility to make his return tonight is defenseman Bobby Nardella, who suffered an upper-body injury on Dec. 10 vs. Cleveland and has missed the last eight games. The fourth-year pro leads the Bears blue line in scoring with 13 points (3g, 10a) in 23 games, and Hershey has posted a record of 9-1-1-0 when Nardella finds his way onto the score sheet.

MIKE AND MO':

Forwards Mike Vecchione and Mason Morelli have an equal share of the team scoring lead against Charlotte this season. Vecchione (1g, 3a) and Morelli (0g, 4a) have each logged four points this season in head-to-head competition with the Checkers. Vecchione has enjoyed some torrid offensive production as of late - since the Bears last played the Checkers on Dec. 6, Vecchione has logged 14 points (6g, 8a) over his last 10 games. Morelli, meanwhile, is going through a slight decrease in production with one goal over his previous seven contests.

BEARS BITES:

Hershey ranks first with a 13-3-1-1 record on home ice...The Bears are tied for second in the AHL with 38 goals in the first period...Ethen Frank's 13 goals is tied for second among all rookie players...Zach Fucale's next appearance will be the 250th of his professional career...Forward Shane Gersich's next point will mark his 100th point in a Bears sweater...Forward Mike Sgarbossa is three games away from his 500th AHL contest...Henrik Borgstrom is one game away from his 100th AHL game...Forward Mike Vecchione is four points away from 200 in his professional and AHL career...Bears head coach Todd Nelson is three wins away from his 500th pro head coaching victory.

Check out the Hershey Bears Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from January 7, 2023


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