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AHL Hershey Bears

Game Preview: Phantoms at Bears, 1 p.m.

February 14, 2021 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


(Hershey, PA) - The Hershey Bears continue the 2020-21 season, presented by Penn State Health, this afternoon on home ice versus the rival Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Puck drop from the GIANT Center is slated for 1 p.m.

Lehigh Valley Phantoms (1-0-1-0) at Hershey Bears (1-0-1-0)

February 14, 2021 | 1 PM | Game #3 | GIANT Center

Referees: Brandon Blandina (#39), Mitch Dunning (#43)

Linesmen: Colin Gates (#3), Richard Jondo (#55)

Broadcast Information (Radio pre-game 12:30 p.m.)

RADIO: WFVY-100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM, SportsRadio 98.9-FM & WOYK 1350-AM

Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, and Bears Hall of Famer Dave Fehyves on the call

LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream

WATCH LIVE: AHLTV

LAST TIME OUT:

The Bears take the ice for the first time tonight since Thursday evening. The Chocolate and White claimed the club's first victory of the season in that contest, taking down Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, 3-2, at Mohegan Sun Arena. Mike Sgarbosssa and Garrett Pilon each had two points for the Bears, and Hershey went 2-for-7 on the power play. The Phantoms are coming off a 2-1 overtime loss on Wednesday evening versus Binghamton. David Kase had Lehigh Valley's lone goal. Tonight marks the second meeting of these two clubs this season. In Hershey's home opener last Saturday, Ryan Fitzgerald scored the winning goal 1:59 into overtime to give the Phantoms a 2-1 win.

LOVE IS IN THE AIR: This afternoon's contest is Hershey's first game on Valentine's Day since 2015. The last time the Bears played on February 14 came six years ago as Hershey cruised to a 5-2 win at GIANT Center over the Portland Pirates in front of 10,718. Both Dustin Gazley and Stanislav Galiev had two goals for Hershey in that contest, while current Hershey defender Cameron Schilling played in the victory for the Bears. Hershey has won three straight games on Valentine's Day (2015, 2014, 2010). Hershey's last loss on Feb. 14 came 12 years ago as the Bears were upended by Norfolk at GIANT Center in 2009, falling 5-4 despite outshooting the Admirals 50-29.

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE:

The Washington Capitals re-assigned goaltender Ilya Samsonov to the Bears on Saturday, and the Russian netminder will look to make his first AHL appearance since Game 4 of the 2019 Eastern Conference Semifinals versus Charlotte. Samsonov spent his first professional season in North America with the Bears, going 20-14-2 in 37 games in 2018-19, recording a 2.70 goals against-average, a .898 save percentage, and three shutouts. That year, he also helped Hershey to an opening round playoff series win versus Bridgeport, posting a .945 save percentage in three games versus the Sound Tigers. With the Capitals last season, Samsonov went 16-6-2 in 22 appearances, posting an 11-game win streak during the season, and notching a 2.55 goals against-average and a .913 save percentage. He has appeared in two games with the Capitals this year, but was on the NHL's COVID-19 protocol list recently and has not played since Jan. 17.

STRONG FIRST IMPRESSION:

Rookie forward Connor McMichael was the hero in Thursday's win, tallying his first professional goal on the power play in the 3rd period at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The goal stood up to be the game-winner, making McMichael the first Bear since Brett Leason to have their first professional goal be the winning marker. Leason's winning tally came on Dec. 1, 2019, when he scored in overtime to help the Bears down the Hartford Wolf Pack, 5-4, at GIANT Center. Teammate Joe Snively also accomplished this feat for the Bears, striking for the game-winning goal in his pro debut on Mar. 30, 2019 versus Providence.

BE LIKE MIKE:

After being re-assigned by the Washington Capitals, Hershey veteran center Mike Sgarbossa returned to his scoring ways with the Bears. The sharpshooter struck for a power play goal and an assist in Thursday's win. His return is a boost for the Bears versus rival Lehigh Valley, as Sgarbossa enjoyed success versus the Phantoms last season. He tallied seven points (2g, 5a) in seven games versus Lehigh Valley last year, which was only second to Christian Djoos' nine points for the most of any player in the season series. In his career with Hershey, Sgarbossa has scored 107 points (44g, 63a) in 115 games with the Chocolate and White.

ON THE OTHER SIDE:

The Phantoms have gone to overtime in the first two games of the season for only the second time in franchise history. In October 2013, the Adirondack Phantoms opened the season with a 4-3 overtime win at Hershey and then posted a 5-4 shootout loss at Hartford. Additionally, the Phantoms have points in each of their first two games of the season for the first time since the inaugural season of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms who started 2-0-0 in October 2014.

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American Hockey League Stories from February 14, 2021


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