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AHL Hershey Bears

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

January 24, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


(Hershey, PA) - The Hershey Bears take on the Springfield Thunderbirds tonight for the third time in the 2023-24 season. Hershey is 2-0-0-0 so far in the head-to-head series, previously winning at home against the Thunderbirds on Dec. 17 (1-0 W) and on the road at MassMutual Center on Dec. 22 (4-3 SOW). The Bears enter tonight's game riding a five-game point streak (3-0-0-2).

Hershey Bears (31-7-0-2) vs. Springfield Thunderbirds (18-16-3-2)

January 24, 2024 | 7 p.m. | Game 41 | GIANT Center

Referees: Samuel Heidemann (60), Alex Lepkowski (74)

Linespersons: Bob Goodman (90), Ryan Knapp (73)

Broadcast Information

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

RADIO: WFVY-100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM, SportsRadio 98.9-FM & WOYK 1350-AM (joined in-progress), In-Arena on 88.9 FM

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 earned a 1-0 shutout win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday, thanks to Ethen Frank's 5-on-3 power-play goal in the second period and Clay Stevenson's 28 saves. The Thunderbirds are coming off a 2-1 road loss to the Penguins on Sunday; former Bear Jakub Vrana opened the scoring for Springfield, but Wilkes-Barre/Scranton got goals from Owen Headrick and Vinnie Hinostroza. Malcom Subban made 31 saves in the loss for the T-Birds.

POWERED UP:

Hershey's roster possesses the American Hockey League's leaders in both power-play goals (Ethen Frank - T-1st, 9) and power-play assists (Mike Sgarbossa - 17). The Bears enter the week with a power play that is ranked second on home ice (19-for-77, 24.7%), and fourth overall (31-for-132, 23.5%). Hershey is 19-2-0-1 when scoring with the man advantage this season.

NELSON MOVIN' ON UP:

Hershey's 1-0 win on Saturday over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton gave Bears head coach Todd Nelson his 384th career regular-season victory as an AHL head coach, moving him into a tie with former Rochester Americans (2000-08; 2015-16) and Hamilton Bulldogs (2010-11) head coach Randy Cunneyworth for ninth on the AHL's head coaching wins list. Nelson and Cunneyworth worked together as assistant coaches in the NHL as part of John Anderson's staff with the Atlanta Thrashers from 2008-10. Nelson can pass Cunneyworth for sole possession of ninth place with a win tonight.

DON'T WAKE SHEP DADDY:

Since Dec. 13, Bears goalie Shepard is unbeaten in regulation with a 6-0-1 record in seven appearances, along with a 1.66 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage. During this stretch, he also earned his first shutout of the season on Dec. 17 vs. Springfield, then followed that up with a personal season-high 34 saves on Dec. 22 against the Thunderbirds at MassMutual Center. The reigning Jack A. Butterfield Trophy winner as Calder Cup Playoffs MVP leads all Atlantic Division goaltenders with 15 wins.

QUIET THUNDER:

The Thunderbirds are without two of their top-three leading scorers, as Adam Gaudette (24g, 12a) and former Bear Nathan Walker (13g, 16a) were recalled to the parent St. Louis Blues on Jan. 17 and Jan. 1, respectively. The duo's combined 37 goals account for over 31 percent of Springfield's total offense this season. Springfield has dropped its last four games in regulation, and is 2-7-1-1 over its last 11 games since Dec. 29. Hershey has won eight straight contests against the Thunderbirds dating back to the 2021-22 season, and has a point streak that extends back even further, as the Bears have posted a record of 10-0-2-0 against Springfield dating back to Jan. 24, 2020.Hershey is also 15-2-1-0 on home ice vs. Springfield since the Thunderbirds came into existence in 2016-17.

DUBÉ TIME:

With Gaudette up in the NHL, and Ontario's Samuel Fagemo (20g) with the Los Angeles Kings, that leaves Pierrick Dubé tied with Chicago's Rocco Grimaldi for the active goal-scoring lead in the AHL. After a torrid December in which the second-year forward put up nine goals in 13 games, Dubé has cooled off slightly in January, notching three goals in seven contests. Dubé most recently found the net in Hershey's 4-2 win at Hartford last Friday and has scored in both of his previous games this season against Springfield.

BEARS BITES:

Alex Limoges has missed the last four games with an upper-body injury; Hershey has lost a combined 53 man-games due to injury or illness this season...Jimmy Huntington needs three points for 100 in his AHL career...The Bears are 14-0-0-0 at home this season when scoring first...Hershey is 13-0-0-0 at home when not allowing a goal in the first period...Hershey is 15-1-0-0 this season in games decided by one goal...Pierrick Dubé is one of three Bears skaters to have dressed in every game so far this season; Hershey is 20-0-0-0 when he records at least a point...The Bears are averaging the fewest penalty minutes per game in the AHL at 9.30...The Chocolate and White lead the league with the fewest goals against per game (2.10) and the fewest shots against per game (26.03).

ON THIS DATE:

Jan. 24, 1968 - The Bears took the ice at Hersheypark Arena against the Western Hockey League's San Diego Gulls, as part of the AHL's interlocking schedule with the WHL that season. Hershey came away with a 4-2 win against the Gulls, whose lineup that night included forward Willie O'Ree (playing in his first of seven seasons with San Diego), who had previously broken the NHL's color barrier a decade prior with the Boston Bruins on Jan. 18, 1958, and picked up an assist on San Diego's first goal in the third period. O'Ree would go on to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 2018 and receive a United States Congressional Gold Medal in 2022 for his contributions to hockey, inclusion, and recreational opportunity.

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