Sports stats



AHL Hershey Bears

Hershey Bears Weekly: Home Success Moves Bears to Top of North Division

March 8, 2021 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


(Hershey, PA) - The Hershey Bears claimed a pair of victories on home ice last week, moving the club's record to 7-2-2-0 through the first 11 games of the season. The Bears currently lead the North Division with 16 points, and the Chocolate and White have won four straight games at GIANT Center. Hershey plays a pair of games this weekend, visiting Binghamton (in Newark, New Jersey) on Friday night, and hosting Lehigh Valley on Sunday afternoon.

The Bears first of three games last week was a 4-3 loss at Lehigh Valley this past Wednesday. The Bears scored three goals in the second period, including shorthanded markers from Martin Fehervary and Axel Jonsson-Fjallby. Hershey held a 3-2 lead going into the third period, but the Phantoms scored twice, getting goals from Cal O'Reilly and Derrick Pouliot to earn the 4-3 comeback victory. The loss snapped Hershey's eight-game point streak at the PPL Center.

Hershey got revenge against the Phantoms on Saturday afternoon at GIANT Center, scoring a 4-1 win. Axel Jonsson-Fjallby scored twice, and Hershey tallied three goals in the second period in a span of just 2:01. Zach Fucale earned the win between the pipes for Hershey with 17 saves, falling just 1:11 short of earning his second consecutive shutout. The victory was Hershey's first in four games versus the Phantoms this season.

The Bears finished the week with a 4-3 overtime victory over Binghamton at GIANT Center last Sunday. Hershey's Kody Clark scored the opening marker late in the first period, and Brett Leason gave the Bears a 2-0 advantage 6:40 into the middle frame. The Devils fought back, getting goals from Danick Martel and Ben Street to tie the game. Garrett Pilon gave Hershey the lead at 12:14 of the third period, but Marian Studenic tied the game on the power play with 33 seconds to play. In overtime, Martin Fehervary scored 3:20 into the extra session to give Hershey the win, and hand Binghamton an 8th straight loss.

UPCOMING GAMES:

-Friday, Mar. 12 at Binghamton, 7 p.m.

-Sunday, Mar. 14 vs. Lehigh Valley, 3 p.m.

HERSHEY BEARS NEWS AND NOTES:

FUCALE ON FIRE: Goaltender Zach Fucale stopped 17 shots in Saturday's victory to improve to 3-0-0 on the season. He has now stopped 73-of-75 shots in his first three contests with the Bears and has not allowed a goal at even strength. Fucale's 0.67 goals-against average and .973 save percentage both lead the American Hockey League.

BRETT THE THREAT: Hershey forward Brett Leason enters this week with points in his past three contests, posting one goal and three assists in the stretch. Leason has points in four of his past five games, and all four of his goals this year have come versus Binghamton. With four goals and seven points in 11 games, Leason has already surpassed his goal total last season (3) and is halfway to his point total (14) that he compiled in 50 games during his rookie campaign.

KESS THE BEST: Hershey forward Kale Kessy has points in each of his past two contests, scoring his first two points as a Bear after going pointless in 24 games last season. Kessy scored his first goal with Hershey last Saturday, marking his first AHL tally in nearly three years. He added an assist on Sunday, giving him points in two straight games for the first time since Mar. 25 and Mar. 28, 2018 as a member of the Cleveland Monsters.

STRONG DEFENSE: The Chocolate and White rank 4th in the AHL in goals against, allowing just 2.36 goals per game. Hershey also ranks 2nd in shots against, permitting opponents an average of just 24.55 shots per game.

NIELSEN THE NEW GUY: Last Friday, the Bears signed defender Andrew Nielsen to a professional tryout. The 24-year-old has played in 226 career AHL games with Toronto and Stockton, registering 79 points (20g, 59a), 347 penalty minutes, and a +13 rating. The native of Red Deer, Alberta had a breakout rookie season with Toronto in 2016-17, scoring 39 points (14g, 25a) in 74 games, leading Marlies defenders in all offensive categories. He was part of Toronto's 2018 Calder Cup championship team, skating in eight playoff games.

BEARS BITES: The Bears are unbeaten in regulation on home ice (4-0-2-0) this season...Forward Garrett Pilon leads the team with 11 points and has assists in five straight home games, tallying six helpers since Feb. 14 at GIANT Center...Riley Sutter's three assists last week helped him equal the total number of helpers he had in 25 games in his rookie season...Hershey is one of three teams to score a pair of shorthanded goals in a single game this year.

Check out the Hershey Bears Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from March 8, 2021


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.

OurSports Central