AHL Hershey Bears

Hershey Bearing down on division foes

Published on January 10, 2005 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


SPRINGFIELD, Mass. ... The surging Hershey Bears have won six games in a row to find themselves back in the thick of the playoff race in the American Hockey League's East Division.

The Bears, who finished November in last place in the seven-team East, are now just five points behind Norfolk and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and six points back of second-place Binghamton as the 2004-05 regular season approaches its midway point. Hershey has regained its scoring touch during its current winning streak; the Bears hadn't scored more than four goals in a game all season, but have done so four times in their last six.

The six-game skein began with a 5-0 win over Norfolk on Dec. 26, in which Peter Budaj made 50 saves for his second shutout of the season. A third-year pro who represented Slovakia at the World Cup of Hockey tournament in 2004, Budaj has won his last eight starts to improve to 13-9-0 on the season.

Forward Eric Perrin is coming off a well-documented 2003-04 season that included a trip to the AHL All-Star Classic, a berth on the AHL's First All-Star Team, his first taste of NHL hockey and finally a Stanley Cup championship. He is currently the Bears' leading scorer with 31 points, including five goals and six assists during his current six-games scoring streak.

After helping Milwaukee win the Calder Cup last spring, Mathieu Darche is tops on Hershey's roster with 15 goals this year. Marek Svatos, who missed most of the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons due to injury, has picked up 21 points, tied for third on the club with defenseman Brett Clark. Clark has been sidelined since Dec. 17 with a shoulder injury, but still ranks second on the Bears with 19 assists.

Former AHL All-Star blueliner Nick Naumenko has helped pick up the slack in Clark's absence, with seven points and a plus-7 rating in six games since joining the team. Andre Savage, a one-time All-Star and Calder Cup winner, has nine points on the six-game run, matching his output from the first 29 games of the season.

The Bears, who finished one point out of the final playoff spot in the East in 2004, have missed the AHL postseason in back-to-back seasons only twice in their 67-year history: 1955-56 and 1984-85. They look to continue their climb up the East Division ladder with two big games against Norfolk this week, beginning Wednesday night at Scope.

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BABY (B'S) GRAND ... The Providence Bruins will reach a milestone on Friday night when they host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at the Dunkin' Donuts Center, becoming the 14th team in American Hockey League history to play 1,000 regular season games. The Bruins began play in Rhode Island's capital city in 1992, and have qualified for the AHL postseason in 10 of their first 12 seasons, winning three division titles.

In 1999, under head coach and former AHL All-Star defenseman Peter Laviolette, the Bruins won 56 games in the regular season and went on to capture the Calder Cup. Other notable alumni to represent the Bruins in Providence include Nick Boynton, John Grahame, Antti Laaksonen, Glen Murray, Andrew Raycroft, Randy Robitaille, Jozef Stumpel, Landon Wilson, Sergei Zholtok and head coaches Mike O'Connell, Bobby Francis and Mike Sullivan.


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OFF THE ICE ... Bill Barber and Frank Bialowas became the first inductees into the Philadelphia Phantoms Hall of Fame prior to Sunday's game... San Antonio raised more than $12,000 from their New Year's jersey auction, with proceeds going towards purchasing Rampage tickets for underprivileged area youths... During their three home games this week, the Chicago Wolves will be collecting pre-paid long-distance phone cards to donate to the USO for soldiers stationed overseas... In partnership with the Lowell Fire Department, the Lock Monsters raised more than $3,000 for the American Red Cross' local disaster relief services with a "boot drop" at Sunday's game.

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ETC. ... In front of a franchise-record crowd of 7,156 fans at the Tsongas Arena on Sunday afternoon, Lowell outshot Providence, 67-40, and prevailed in a shootout, 8-7... Portland's 2-1 win over Springfield on Sunday included zero penalties called by referee Jeff Smith... Falcons defenseman Marc Busenburg was held without a point in his first 21 games of the season; he has eight points in seven games since then... Following successive three-point nights over the weekend, AHL scoring leader Jason Spezza has 17 points (7g, 10a) in Binghamton's last seven games... Rochester rookie Daniel Paille scored three goals, including one on a shorthanded penalty shot, during the Amerks' 4-1 win over Cleveland on Friday night... Rochester has already won 12 road games this season, matching its total from all of 2003-04... Mike Morrison made his AHL season debut for Edmonton last week and stopped 65 of 66 shots in a pair of shootout losses... Hartford's 3-2 overtime win at Manchester on Sunday pulled the Wolf Pack to within one point of the Monarchs in the overall AHL standings; it was also the 13th consecutive winning decision for goaltender Jason LaBarbera... Cincinnati defenseman Kurtis Foster has scored a goal in four straight games... Utah has been outscored 26-4 through six games of an eight-road road trip... Norfolk was 5-for-66 on the power play in 13 home games this season before going 5-for-13 in two wins over Bridgeport last week... Grand Rapids snapped a nine-game winless slide with a 4-0 victory in Cleveland on Sunday, as Drew MacIntyre made 26 saves for his first pro shutout... San Antonio's 2-1 overtime win over Chicago on Sunday ended a streak of 10 consecutive losses to the Wolves... Rob Skrlac became Albany's all-time career leader in penalty minutes (1,146) when he picked up 29 PIM in the first period of Sunday's game at Philadelphia... St. John's kicked off a 12-game, 22-day road trip with a 3-2 win in Hamilton on Saturday... This Wednesday's game between Cleveland and Syracuse, to be played at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, will be televised live on Fox Sports Net Ohio.

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American Hockey League Stories from January 10, 2005


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