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AHL Hershey Bears

Hershey Rings in New Year with Pair of Weekend Games

January 3, 2023 - 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 open the New Year in the midst of a season-high seven-game homestand at GIANT Center. The Chocolate and White will host the Charlotte Checkers on Saturday and welcome the Syracuse Crunch to town on Sunday in their lone visit of the regular season to Chocolatetown.

TEAM INFO:

Record: 22-7-2-1

Standings Position: 1st in Atlantic

TEAM LEADERS:

Goals: Ethen Frank (13)

Assists: Mike Sgarbossa, Mike Vecchione (16)

Points: Mike Vecchione (28)

Power-Play Goals: Ethen Frank (5)

Shorthanded Goals: Riley Sutter (1)

Plus/Minus: Ethen Frank, Mike Vecchione (+17)

Wins: Zach Fucale (11)

GAA: Hunter Shepard (1.88)

SV%: Hunter Shepard (.928)

Only includes qualified players on active roster

RECENT RESULTS:

Tuesday, Dec. 27: Hershey 2 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 1 (SO)

Ethen Frank scored on the power play at 6:06 of the second period for Hershey's lone goal in regulation, and the Penguins answered at 18:19 with a power-play strike from Alex Nylander. With the score tied at 1-1 at the end of regulation and overtime, the Bears would make their fourth appearance in the shootout this season, and Connor McMichael scored in the first round of the penalty shot contest for the eventual game-deciding goal, as Zach Fucale slammed the door on Drake Caggiula in the third round, and finished with 24 saves on the night for his 11th victory of the season.

Wednesday, Dec. 28: Hershey 1 vs. Providence 0

The Bears kicked off their homestand with a matchup featuring the top two teams in the Eastern Conference as the Bruins made their first visit of the season to Hershey. Mike Vecchione scored the only goal of the contest at 12:59 of the first period for his 12th of the season. Hunter Shepard turned aside all 22 shots he faced for his first shutout of the season, as the Bears picked up the victory in front of a sellout crowd of 10,515.

Saturday, Dec. 31: Hershey 3 vs. Providence 4

Hershey scored in the opening minute when Ethen Frank jammed home a loose puck for his 12th of the season at the 27-second mark for the club's fastest opening goal of the season. Luke Toporowski scored at 11:31 to tie the game at 1-1. Despite outshooting Providence 19-4 in the second period, the Bruins took a 2-1 lead at 11:04 when Jakub Lauko threw the puck on net and it caromed off the helmet of Hunter Shepard. Marc McLaughlin then scored at 13:09 to make it 3-1. Frank scored his second of the evening at 15:22 with the Bears on the power play, then Kevin O'Neil scored with the man advantage at 5:39 of the third period for his first career AHL goal to tie the game at 3-3. Providence eventually netted the game-winner at 7:05 from Chris Wagner, and the Bears saw their five-game win streak snapped, while Shepard's winning streak came to an end at eight games.

LOCAL PRACTICE SCHEDULE FOR WEEK OF JAN. 2:

Monday, Jan. 2

10 a.m. Skate Group 1 at GIANT Center

11:10 a.m. Skate Group 2 at GIANT Center

Tuesday, Jan. 3

10:30 a.m. morning skate at GIANT Center

Wednesday, Jan. 4

Day Off

Thursday, Jan. 5

10:30 a.m. practice at GIANT Center

Friday, Jan. 6

10:30 a.m. practice at GIANT Center

Saturday, Jan. 7

10:30 a.m. morning skate at GIANT Center

All practices are open to the public. Practice dates and times are subject to change.

UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE:

- Saturday, Jan. 7 vs. Charlotte Checkers, 7 p.m. - CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS

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

- Sunday, Jan. 8 vs. Syracuse Crunch, 5 p.m. - CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS

Hersheypark Pass Night - All fans in attendance will receive a 2023 Hersheypark ticket, valid for one-day admission through June 30, 2023.

Video Coverage: AHLTV; Radio Coverage: Bears Radio Network

TEAM NEWS AND NOTES:

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

The American Hockey League formally announced on Monday the coaches for the 2023 AHL All-Star Classic that will take place next month in Laval, Quebec. Bears head coach Todd Nelson will represent the Atlantic Division by virtue of Hershey owning the best record by the league's pre-determined deadline of Jan. 1, earning Nelson his third nod behind the bench as an All-Star Classic coach after previously earning the honor in 2012 and 2017. Joining Nelson as All-Star Classic coaches will be Greg Moore of the Toronto Marlies (North Division), Neil Graham of the Texas Stars (Central Division), and Mitch Love of the Calgary Wranglers (Pacific Division).

BRUISED AND BATTERED, BUT STILL BEATING:

Saturday's game on New Year's Eve against Providence was a thrilling game highlighted by Ethen Frank's second career two-goal performance and Kevin O'Neil's first career AHL goal. The game was also notable in that it also marked for the Bears a season-high seven players unavailable due to injury or illness. So far this season, Hershey has cumulative 78 man-games lost due to injury or illness, yet still remains atop the league standings by a considerable margin.

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 a four-game win streak and enter the week 12 points back of the Bears, with a pair of games this week on Wednesday and Friday at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton before facing 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 final pair of games in April.

'CUSE-IN FOR A BRUISIN':

Sunday's match against Syracuse will be the lone visit of the season to GIANT Center for the Crunch. The club enters the week seeded fourth in the North Division, only 10 points back of the first-place Toronto Marlies, and leads the Eastern Conference with an average of 17.21 penalty minutes per game. The Crunch also possess a potent offensive punch in Darren Raddysh (9g, 26a) and Alex Barre-Boulet (8g, 25a), who are each in the Top 10 in scoring in the American Hockey League. Raddysh's 35 points leads all Eastern Conference blue liners in scoring. Syracuse is also a team that only seems to find its stride in the latter stages of games - the club leads the AHL with 42 goals scored in the third period. The Crunch host Belleville and Rochester on Friday and Saturday before journeying to Hershey for Sunday's contest. Bears netminder Zach Fucale previously played one game for Syracuse during the 2019-20 season, while Crunch assistant coach Eric Veilleux previously skated for the Chocolate and White from 1996-98 and finished second on the team in playoff scoring in 1996-97 en route to the franchise's eighth Calder Cup that spring. Hershey was 1-2-1-0 against Syracuse during the 2021-22 campaign; over the last five seasons, the Bears have posted a cumulative record of 4-4-1-0 against the Crunch, and 2-2-1-0 on GIANT Center ice.

ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END:

Saturday's loss to Providence marked the first regulation defeat of the season for goaltender Hunter Shepard, bookending an impressive run from Nov. 6-Dec.28 in which the netminder tied for the second-most wins with an 8-0-0 performance, a .942 save percentage that ranked fourth among all goaltenders, and a 1.48 goals-against average that ranked the best among qualified netminders. Between that stretch, Shepard also garnered November's AHL Goaltender of the Month honors and even spent some time in the NHL with the Washington Capitals, serving as a backup to Charlie Lindgren.

BEARS BITES:

Hershey ranks first with a 13-3-1-1 record on home ice...The Bears are tied for the league-lead with 21 first goals, and own a 15-3-2-1 record when scoring first...Ethen Frank's 13 goals is 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 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...

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