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AHL Hershey Bears

Hershey Weekly

December 22, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


The Hershey Bears Hockey Club picked up one of a possible four points over their two-game weekend, keeping the club in second place in the East Division and in seventh place in the Eastern Conference.

The weekend began with the club's third visit to Allentown on Friday to take on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Seeking to avenge a loss from exactly one month earlier, the Bears came out with a big jump in their step and went on to outshoot the Phantoms 16-1 in the opening period. With Lehigh Valley goaltender Rob Zepp recalled for NHL duty earlier in the day, backup Anthony Stolarz took to the crease and was the sole reason for keeping the Phantoms in the game. Rookie forward Andre Burakovsky was a part of the onslaught, and went on to finish with a team-high four shots on net. The Phantoms - on their third shot of the game - broke the scoreless battle while killing the Bears' second power play of the night.

Brett Hextall intercepted a pass at the left hash mark and spotted Jason Akeson with a long pass. Akeson went in alone from the blue line and slipped a shot past Philipp Grubauer. The goal turned out to be the only one that the hosts would need. Grubauer was pulled in favor of a sixth attacker, but Akeson would chase down a loose puck near the goal line and hurry a last shot into the empty net with less than two seconds on the clock to seal the win. Stolarz ended with 32 saves, while Grubauer stopped 16 of 17.

On Saturday, following the fanfare of the introduction of five new members of the Hershey Bears Hockey Club Hall of Fame, the Bears and Springfield Falcons faced off for the second and final time in the regular season. Springfield struck first, capitalizing on the first power play of the night. Austin Madaisky took a feed from T.J. Tynan, walked the blue line and fired a slapper past Grubauer at 7:40 of the opening period. The Bears battled back in the second, getting the equalizer from rookie Chandler Stephenson. The 1-1 tie held up until late in overtime. After a scoreless four-on-four battle, the teams switched to an entertaining three- on-three competition. Nearing the final half-minute of overtime, Tynan snuck deep into neutral ice and Jaime Sifers found him for a breakaway. Tynan's backhander slipped between the right post and Grubauer's outstretched left pad with 29.2 seconds left to play, sending the Falcons to a 2-1 victory. The Bears ran into another solid goaltender, as rookie Anton Forsberg got the win with 34 saves on 35 shots faced.

HERSHEY BEARS NEWS AND NOTES

ENSHRINED FOREVER: The Bears introduced five new members into the Hershey Bears Hockey Club Hall of Fame on Saturday: Nick Damore (player), Dunc Fisher (player), Jeannot 'Gil' Gilbert (player), Brent Hancock (general) and Arthur Whiteman (builder). Hall of Fame NHL broadcaster Mike 'Doc' Emrick served as emcee of the pre-game ceremony.

GREAT TO SEE YOU: Rookie forward Andre Burakovsky, Washington's first- round selection from the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, was reassigned on to Hershey on Friday. He made his AHL debut at Lehigh Valley on Friday night, finishing with four shots on goal - tying for the team high - and added three more shots in Saturday's game against Springfield.

PHILIPP'S FINE:. Despite being held out of the win column, G Philipp Grubauer put up some fine numbers on the weekend. He allowed just three goals in his two starts, making 42 saves on 45 shots for a save percentage of .933 and a goals-against average of 1.43. He has moved into a tie for eighth in the AHL in goals-against average (2.17), ranks fourth in minutes played (1274:18) and is tied for second with three shutouts.

STILL ON TOP: Veteran C Tim Kennedy, despite being held off of the score sheet over the weekend, maintains a tie for the AHL lead in power-play assists (13) and power-play points (1-13-14). His 24 total assists rank tied for second in the league, and his overall point total (2-24-26) ranks tied for 11th. Kennedy saw a nine-game assist streak (14 assists) snapped on Friday, which holds as the longest in the AHL this season. His nine-game point streak (1-14-15) fell one shy of the league's longest of the campaign.

POWERFUL GALIEV: RW Stanislav Galiev saw a six-game home goal- scoring streak snapped on Saturday. The streak is tied for the longest in the AHL this season. Galiev ranks second in the league in power-play goals (seven).

CARRICK-TER: D Connor Carrick has taken over the Bears' scoring lead among defensemen, with 16 points (4-12-16) in 28 games. Among AHL defensemen, Carrick ranks tied for second in power-play assists (eight), is tied for fourth in power-play points (2-8-10) and tied for 12th in points.

BEARS BULLETS: Hershey leads the AHL with 20 first-goals...Hershey leads the AHL in penalty killing (88.1%) and ranks seventh on the power play (18.9%)...Hershey has allowed a league-low 18 second-period goals...Hershey ranks third in the league in goals-against per game (2.28)...The Bears lead the AHL in attendance, with an average of 9,225 fans over 14 games.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 22, 2014


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