AHL Hershey Bears

Hershey Weekly

Published on April 27, 2015 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


The Hershey Bears Hockey Club won both games that opened the 2015 Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against the Worcester Sharks. Facing the tough 2-3 format, Hershey now returns home with a chance to close out the series beginning Wednesday.

The Sharks opened their first playoff series since 2010 on home ice on Friday, and grabbed the game's first goal on a late-period power play. After failing on a short two-man advantage, Worcester jumped in front when Micheal Haley potted a rebound past Pheonix Copley, who made the initial save on a backhand shot from Barclay Goodrow. It was the third power play of the first period for Worcester. Connor Carrick would then score the Bears' first goal of the postseason late in the middle frame, one- timing a shot past Sharks backstop Aaron Dell. The goal was set up by rookies Chandler Stephenson and Liam O'Brien, who each earned their first career playoff points. The turning point in the game came with just 2:43 left in regulation. Sharks forward Jeremy Langlois would be assessed a five-minute major penalty for checking Steve Oleksy into the end boards from behind, and the Bears would strike three times on the lengthy power play to earn the victory. Nate Schmidt got the eventual game-winner when he ripped a shot from the slot through traffic and past Dell at 17:39. Stan Galiev then tucked a shot under Dell's left pad at 19:03 for a 3-1 lead, and Chris Brown put the game away with an empty- netter with 30 seconds left in regulation. The three goals came just 1:51 apart, giving Hershey the win. Copley stopped 41 of 42 shots, while Dell made 20 saves on 23 Hershey bids.

On Saturday in Game Two, Copley was the star again but this time Hershey's even-strength offense rose up to the task and sent the Bears to a 3-1 win. The first period was much more even than that from Game One, as the Sharks outshot the Bears 13-9. Both Copley and Dell made big saves in this period to keep the game scoreless. Just 1:03 into the second, Jim O'Brien got his first Hershey playoff goal, a snap shot through a screen that eluded Dell and gave the Bears the lead. Eriah Hayes countered to knot the score, slamming a cross-crease pass from Ryan Carpenter past Copley at 2:46. But the Bears took just 48 more seconds to reclaim the lead, when Chris Conner grabbed a faceoff win from Tim Kennedy, skated in and fired short-side past Dell. Cameron Schilling capped off the scoring with a goal that came on a delayed penalty. His shot from a sharp angle, fed by Liam O'Brien, beat a sprawled-out Dell. Copley denied all 11 third-period shots to bring the series home to Hershey with the Bears ahead two games to none.

HERSHEY BEARS NEWS AND NOTES

ON THE BRINK: Despite not qualifying for the postseason in 2014, Hershey is off to its second consecutive 2-0 lead in a best-of-five series that started on the road. Hershey went up 2-0 against Providence in the 2013 conference quarterfinals, and now come home leading 2-0 against Worcester. The Bears have won four of their last five playoff road games.

PHEONIX RISING: G Pheonix Copley inherited the crease to begin the postseason with Philipp Grubauer still on recall to Washington. In his first career game, the native of North Pole, Alaska made 41 saves - one week after making 42 against Binghamton to give the Bears the East Division title - and gave the Bears a 4-1 win on Friday. He won his second game one night later. Copley is tied for first among playoff goaltenders with two wins, ranks third with a 1.00 GAA, third in save percentage (.974) and second with 74 saves.

NOT JUST ONE O'BRIEN: LW Liam O'Brien posted an assist in both playoff games, and ranks tied for seventh in playoff scoring among rookies (0-2-2). C Jim O'Brien notched the Bears' first goal of Game Two on Saturday, helping the team skate to a 3-1 win.

SCHILLING SPEARS SHARKS: D Cameron Schilling scored three goals in the regular season, and two of them came against Worcester. He also added an assist for three points in the four-game season series. Schilling continues to shine in this playoff series, earning points on two insurance goals: an assist on Friday and the goal on Saturday. Schilling ranks tied for sixth in playoff scoring among defensemen (1-1-2) and is tied for second among defensemen in plus- minus (plus-four).

BURGDOERFER'S A PLUS: Cameron Schilling's defense partner Erik Burgdoerfer also had a strong weekend, recording a plus-three rating in Saturday's Game Two. Burgdoerfer ranks second among rookies in plus- minus (plus-three).

FIRSTS: Besides Pheonix Copley, players who made their Calder Cup playoff debuts over the weekend included: Erik Burgdoerfer, Connor Carrick (1-0-1), Stan Galiev (1-0-1), Liam O'Brien (0-2-2), Chandler Stephenson (0-1-1) and Jakub Vrana (0-1-1).

BEARS BULLETS: The Bears were outshot in both games at Worcester yet won both...Hershey was 20-13-3-2 in the regular season when outshot by their opponent and 10-8-2-1 on the road...Hershey's four goals scored in second periods lead all AHL playoff teams...Hershey is one of four teams to have not allowed a third-period goal...Hershey ranks second among playoff teams on the power play (42.9%) and second on the road...Both East Division playoff teams (Hershey, W-B/Scranton) are undefeated after two games...Hershey ranks second in goals against per game (1.00)...Hershey and Rockford are the only two teams perfect after two road games.

Check out the Hershey Bears Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



American Hockey League Stories from April 27, 2015


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