AHL Hershey Bears

Hershey Weekly

Published on October 20, 2014 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


The Hershey Bears Hockey Club continued their winning ways, allowing a total of one goal in two weekend victories - the second of which came in thrilling fashion.

The franchise-record start of five consecutive road games continued on Saturday in Springfield. Casey Wellman broke out in a big way, scoring two goals on his 27th birthday to pace the Bears' offense in a 4-1 victory over the Falcons. Kris Newbury factored into both of Wellman's goals, allowing him to remain on top of the AHL scoring leaderboard. Tim Kennedy posted two helpers, as did rookie Caleb Herbert, who was playing in his first game of the season after missing the first weekend due to injury. Philipp Grubauer turned aside 20 of 21 shots sent his way to pick up his first win of the young campaign.

With a quick turnaround but also following a very short bus ride, the Bears took on the Hartford Wolf Pack on Sunday afternoon. The Pack claimed a 2-1 victory over the Portland Pirates one night earlier in Hartford's home opener, a game in which the hosts finished with a 32-20 advantage in shots on goal. The Bears would turn the tables on Sunday, however, allowing the Pack just 14 shots through regulation. All 30 of the Bears' shots were denied by a stellar performance from goaltender Jason Missiaen. After going scoreless through 60 minutes, the Bears saw their first taste of the AHL's new overtime format. With no scoring during the four-on-four portion, the teams skated three-on-three until Hartford was assessed a tripping penalty late. With time winding down, Missiaen fought off a barrage of Hershey chances but could not stop Wellman's last opportunity at the side of his crease. With 1.5 seconds left on the clock, the puck left Wellman's stick and bounced over the line for a 1-0 Hershey victory. The Bears finished with a 37-15 shot advantage. Rookie goaltender Pheonix Copley stopped all 15 for his first AHL shutout.

Hershey finishes its road swing on Friday at Lehigh Valley, before playing its 77th home opener on Saturday vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

HERSHEY BEARS NEWS AND NOTES

STILL THE ONE: C Kris Newbury saw his string of three consecutive multiple- point games snapped when he was held scoreless in Sunday's win at Hartford. Despite that fact, Newbury is tied for the AHL scoring lead with seven points (3- 4-7) and is tied for second place in power-play assists (three). He is also tied with teammate Tim Kennedy for fourth overall in assists (four).

MANY POSITIVES: Three Hershey defensemen are tied for second place among AHL blueliners in plus-minus (+4): Tomas Kundratek, Jon Landry and Cameron Schilling.

SENDING WELL WISHES: RW Casey Wellman had himself quite a weekend. On Saturday in Springfield, on his 27th birthday, Wellman scored two goals - including the game-winner - and was named number one star in Hershey's 4-1 win. Wellman was also the hero on Sunday at Hartford, scoring a power play goal with 1.5 seconds left in overtime in a 1-0 Bears decision. Wellman has recorded the winner in two of the Bears' last three overtime victories.

RISE OF THE PHEONIX: G Pheonix Copley made his second career start on Sunday at Hartford, and turned aside all 15 Wolf Pack shots to pick up his first career shutout. He is 2-0-0 with a goals-against average of 0.95 and save percentage of .957 in his two starts. He joined a small list of Hershey goaltenders when he recorded his first victory in his first AHL start last Monday at Norfolk. The last Hershey goaltenders to record their first wins in their AHL debuts were: Jared DeMichiel, 2/11/11; Braden Holtby, 10/3/09; Davis Parley, 1/24/07; Jeff Pietrasiak, 12/30/06; and Daren Machesney, 12/29/06.

KENNEDY HELPS OUT: Veteran C Tim Kennedy recorded three assists over the weekend, including one on Sunday's overtime game-winning goal. His four assists are tied with teammate Kris Newbury for fourth overall in the AHL.

BEARS BULLETS:

- The Bears are tied for the AHL lead with six first-period goals scored.

- The Bears lead the AHL with 56 first-period shots on goal.

- Hershey is ranked sixth in goals per game average (3.50) and seventh in goals against per game average (2.00).

- Hershey is ranked third in shots per game (35.25) and fourth in shots against per game (22.50).

Check out the Hershey Bears Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from October 20, 2014


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