AHL Hershey Bears

Hershey Weekly

Published on January 12, 2015 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


The Hershey Bears Hockey Club picked up four of a possible six points over their three-game weekend, pulling the team within one point of the division lead and keeping it locked in sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

On the Bears' first visit since March 29, 2013 to New York's Capital District, Hershey jumped out of the gate and cruised to a 4-0 win over the Albany Devils on Friday. Washington Capitals goaltender Justin Peters was reassigned for conditioning and made his Bears debut in the game. He stopped all 24 shots he faced in helping the Bears to victory. Chris Brown scored twice for Hershey, while Chris Conner earned two assists. Stan Galiev and Philippe Cornet also netted goals in the win.

On Saturday the Bears returned home, and played a strong game against a Norfolk Admirals team that came off of a shutout one night earlier and had a much shorter bus ride to Chocolatetown. Dave Steckel scored the first and only goal of the game for Norfolk, beating Brandon Anderson on a rebound chance. Anderson, making his first career AHL start, stopped everything else he faced and finished with 30 saves in a 3-1 victory. Nate Schmidt, also reassigned by the Capitals, scored two power play goals and added an assist on Casey Wellman's insurance marker. Jason LaBarbera shut down the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday but was beaten by the Bears three times on 30 shots against.

The Admirals found a way to get revenge in the Sunday rematch, as Emerson Etem scored twice and Chris Wagner added the eventual winner in a 4-2 decision. Wellman would rip his 11th of the year past Igor Bobkov to get the scoring started. Etem would later notch his two goals on the power play, and then set up Wagner's goal early in the third period to put Norfolk ahead 3-1. Kris Newbury netted his team-leading 12th of the season to pull the Bears close, but Steckel sealed the win with a shorthanded empty-netter with less than a half-minute left on the clock.

HERSHEY BEARS NEWS AND NOTES

DANDY ANDY: G Brandon Anderson became the second Bears goaltender this season to win his AHL debut - and the second goaltender to defeat the Norfolk Admirals in his debut - with his 30-save, third-star performance on Friday night. Pheonix Copley also won his first career start on October 13 at Norfolk Scope, a 29-save effort. Anderson is also the third Bears netminder to register a win against Norfolk in the season series (Copley - 10/13/14, Grubauer - 12/30/14).

THE GREAT NATE: D Nate Schmidt was the second Washington Capitals player to be reassigned to Hershey this weekend, and the second to make an immediate impact in the lineup. Schmidt struck for two power play goals and added an assist, earning the game's first star on Saturday. Schmidt also scored in his first game of the season with Hershey last year, on opening night against the Adirondack Phantoms. He has already tied his AHL career best for goals in a season, and has a total of 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in 48 games with the Bears.

HE'S PLAYING WELL: RW Casey Wellman picked up second-star honors on Saturday, assisting on both of Nate Schmidt's power play goals and scoring the insurance marker. Wellman added a goal on Sunday and has five points (three goals, two assists) in the season series against Norfolk.

BACK TO HIS ROOTS: G Justin Peters was assigned on a conditioning loan by Washington earlier in the day on Friday and wasted no time in making his mark, stopping all 24 shots for his 99th career AHL win and 14th career AHL shutout. The win came in the building in which he earned his first career AHL victory as a member of the defunct Albany River Rats - a 3-2 win over Hamilton on October 14, 2006. 62 of Peters' wins came during his time in Albany. Peters is a 2010 and 2013 AHL All-Star and most recently appeared in the AHL as a member of the 2013-2014 Charlotte Checkers.

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU?: RW Chris Brown was the star on offense Friday night, scoring two goals and earning second-star honors in the Bears' win at Albany. It was the second time this season that Brown posted a two-goal game. His 10 goals rank two behind Kris Newbury for the team lead.

BEARS BULLETS: Hershey leads the AHL with 25 first-goals...Hershey leads the AHL in penalty killing (88.3%)...Hershey now ranks second in the league in goals-against per game (2.19) and fourth in shots against per game (27.11)... Bears lead the AHL in attendance with an average of 9,314 fans.

Check out the Hershey Bears Statistics

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American Hockey League Stories from January 12, 2015


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