AHL Hershey Bears

Hershey Weekly

Published on November 30, 2015 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


The Hershey Bears Hockey Club played to three one-goal finishes last week, picking up three of a possible six points in the process and extending its home winning streak to four games.

The week began with a Wednesday tilt against the Providence Bruins, the first of six matchups between the new division rivals. Providence, which had lost eight of its previous nine games and 12 of its previous 15, took the Bears beyond 60 minutes of play with a good forecheck and strong defense. But Hershey would ultimately prevail as Paul Carey provided both tallies for the Chocolate and White in a 2-1 decision. Carey's first came on the Bears' first power play chance of the night, when he stopped a hard pass from Chandler Stephenson and faked Bruins goaltender Malcolm Subban down. He then lifted a backhand shot into the net for the 1-0 lead. But Providence earned their first power play immediately afterward and answered to tie the game. Despite three great saves from Justin Peters, the Bears could not clear the zone with one forward playing without a stick. Noel Acciari deposited the rebound of a Brandon DeFazio shot for the equalizer. The 1-1 deadlock held all the way through a defensive battle and overtime would be required. Carey headed to the net immediately after passing to Dustin Gazley, and got just enough of an Aaron Ness slapper to slip the puck through Subban's pads and just over the line at 3:43 of overtime. Peters stopped 27 of 28 in the win, and Ness earned assists on both goals.

On Friday in Allentown, a wild offensive battle followed the defensive game of Wednesday with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms claiming a 6-5 shootout decision. Mike Moore scored his first goal of the season and rookie Tyler Lewington followed with his first AHL tally to answer the opening goal by Tyrell Goulbourne, but Taylor Leier's power play goal tied the game 2-2 at the first intermission. Travis Boyd put the Bears in front by a 3-2 count, before Petr Straka scored twice - once on the power play - giving the hosts a 4-3 advantage after two. The Bears answered back twice as well, starting with Nathan Walker's goal with 7:52 remaining in regulation. Goulbourne again put the Bears' backs against the wall with his second of the night with 3:47 left to play, but the red-hot Carey redirected Riley Barber's long pass behind Connor Knapp just 20 seconds later to send the game to overtime for the second day in a row. Neither team could score in the three-on-three, and in the shootout, Tim Brent's tally in the first half of the fifth round would stand as the winner.

Hershey traveled back to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in an attempt to avenge their loss two weeks prior. The Penguins skated to a 3-0 lead but Erik Burgdoerfer would score late in the second and set up Barber's fourth of the season early in the third to pull Hershey within a goal. The Bears brought a furious comeback attempt, including a two-man power play advantage inside the final three minutes, but the Penguins hung on for a 3-2 win. Peters made 30 saves in an incredible effort.

HERSHEY BEARS NEWS AND NOTES

BOURQUE AMONG BEARS' BEST: Chris Bourque's point total with the Bears sits at 408 points (137 goals, 271 assists), tying him with Bears Hall of Famer Ralph Keller for 10th place in Hershey all-time scoring. He is now 16 points behind Frank Mario for ninth place. Bourque has posted the 408 points in 412 career games with the Bears, a total which ranks 24th in Hershey history - just one game behind Bears and AHL Hall of Famer Mitch Lamoureux.

CLUTCH CAREY: Forward Paul Carey scored both of Hershey's goals in Wednesday's overtime win against Providence. Carey was the last Bears player to post a multiple-goal game (November 4 at Bridgeport). He also buried the game-tying marker in Friday night's shootout setback against Lehigh Valley, giving him five goals over his last six contests. The overtime clincher was the third game-winner of the season for Carey, who is now tied for third in the AHL in game-winning goals. Carey ranks second on the team in scoring (9-4-13).

WALKING UP THE LEADERBOARD: Winger Nathan Walker was named the game's second star Friday night at Lehigh Valley after contributing his first multiple-point game of the season (1-1-2). With an assist on Saturday, Walker has five points (1-4-5) and a plus-four rating in his last six games, and is just four points away from his 11 (5-6-11) posted in his rookie year of 2013-14.

DOUBLING DOWN: Forwards Travis Boyd (1-1-2) and Sean Collins (0-2-2) were the other Bears' players to post multiple-point games Friday night at Lehigh Valley. Bears players have produced two-point games 26 times this season - which includes defenseman Erik Burgdoerfer's two-point effort on Saturday at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Carter Camper is the only player to have recorded a three-point night (0-3-3, Nov. 7 vs. STJ).

TYLER TALLIES: Defenseman Tyler Lewington picked up his first AHL goal just 12:24 into his first career game Friday night at Lehigh Valley. The goal came six days after his first in the pro ranks, the final goal of South Carolina's 3-0 win at Atlanta on Tuesday.

BEARS BULLETS: Hershey's annual Teddy Bear Toss game is coming up Sunday against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton...The Bears have allowed just three power play goals at home this season for a 92.7% penalty kill success rate, best in the AHL...Hershey has played to a one-goal finish in four of its last five games and is 1-1-1-1 in those games...Hershey is 5-0-0-0 in two-goal games...Hershey is 6-0-0-0 when allowing two goals and 10-0-0-0 when allowing two or fewer...The Bears are again pacing the AHL attendance chart, averaging 9,076 fans through 10 home games.

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American Hockey League Stories from November 30, 2015


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