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AHL Hershey Bears

Recapping the Regular Season as Bears Prepare for Playoffs

April 18, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


(Hershey, PA) - The Hershey Bears continue the 2022-23 season, presented by Penn State Health, as they will spend the week practicing as the club awaits the results of the first round of the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs. The Bears earned a first-round bye for the opening round of the postseason thanks to a 97-point season that secured them second place in the Atlantic Division under head coach Todd Nelson.

The Hershey Bears 2023 playoffs are sponsored by Penn State Health, and playoff ticket information and an Atlantic Division Semifinals series schedule will be shared as soon as it is available. Fans are asked to continue to check HersheyBears.com and the club's social media channels for the latest update.

FINAL 2022-23 TEAM INFO:

Record: 44-19-5-4

Standings Position: 2nd in Atlantic Division, 2nd in Eastern Conference, 4th in AHL

TEAM LEADERS:

Goals: Ethen Frank (30)

Assists: Mike Sgarbossa (37)

Points: Mike Sgarbossa (58)

Power-Play Goals: Ethen Frank (9)

Shorthanded Goals: Beck Malenstyn, Henrik Rybinski, Riley Sutter (1)

Plus/Minus: Gabriel Carlsson (22)

Wins: Zach Fucale (21)

GAA: Hunter Shepard (2.18)

SV%: Hunter Shepard (.916)

Only includes qualified players on active roster

RECENT RESULTS:

Tuesday, April 11: Hershey 3 vs. Charlotte 4

Hershey went 2-for-2 with the man advantage, but the Checkers went 3-for-4 with the power play thanks to a major penalty to Hendrix Lapierre midway through the third period that allowed Charlotte to break a 2-2 tie and pull ahead 4-2. Garrett Pilon pulled Hershey back to within a goal at 16:46 to collect his second point of the night, but the Bears were unable to find the tying score.

Friday, April 14: Hershey 1 at Bridgeport 5

The Bears concluded their regular season road schedule with a visit to Connecticut, and Mason Morelli scored the lone goal of the night for Hershey with a power-play strike at 4:33 of the second frame. Arnaud Durandeau buried a loose rebound at 11:23 to put Bridgeport back in front 2-1, and capped the scoring for the Islanders with an empty-net goal at 18:25 of the third period to make it 5-1.

Saturday, April 15: Hershey 6 vs. Lehigh Valley 4

Hershey returned home for Fan Appreciation Night against the Phantoms. Bobby Nardella put Hershey up 1-0 at 8:17, but the Phantoms answered at 8:42 with a goal from Bobby Brink. Ethen Frank deflected a setup from Mike Vecchione past Samuel Ersson at 4:08 of the second period, but Lehigh Valley quickly answered at 4:44 to even the game at 2-2. Frank put Hershey ahead 3-2 at 7:38, but Louie Belpedio answered at 12:29. Nardella was credited with his second of the evening at 5:59 of the third period after a video review confirmed his shot had entered the net, and Frank completed his first pro hat trick at 15:59 on a 2-on-1. Lehigh Valley trimmed Hershey's lead back to a goal at 17:30, but Shane Gersich added an empty-net goal at 18:17 to secure the win.

LOCAL PRACTICE SCHEDULE FOR WEEK OF APRIL 17:

Monday, April 17

Day Off

Tuesday, April 18

Practice, 10:30 a.m. at Hersheypark Arena

Wednesday, April 19

Practice, 10:30 a.m. at GIANT Center

Thursday, April 20

Practice, 10:30 a.m. at GIANT Center

Friday, April 21

Practice, 10:30 a.m. at GIANT Center

Saturday, April 22

Day off

Sunday, April 23

Day off

All practices are open to the public. Practice dates and times are subject to change.

UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE:

TEAM NEWS AND NOTES:

THE SEASON THAT WAS:

The Bears completed their 85th regular season campaign in the American Hockey League with a record of 44-19-5-4, good for 97 points, its best season since a 97-point effort in 2016-17. Hershey's 44 wins was the most by the club since the 2014-15 campaign, when the club went 46-22-5-3 in a 76-game schedule en route to winning the East Division title. Hershey began the season with a remarkable 8-0-1-0 stretch on home ice, the longest point streak to start the season since GIANT Center opened. The team also enjoyed a nine-game point streak (7-0-2-0) from March 15 through April 2 that propelled the Bears towards clinching its first-round bye.

NOW WE WAIT:

By virtue of Hershey securing a first-round bye as the second-place seed in the Atlantic Division, the Bears will play the highest-seeded Atlantic Division club that advances out of the best-of-three opening round. That means Hershey will face one of the following teams in the Atlantic Division Semifinals (2022-23 head-to-head records in parentheses):

- #3 Charlotte Checkers (3-3-1-1)

- #4 Springfield Thunderbirds (4-0-0-0)

- #5 Hartford Wolf Pack (4-2-0-0)

MARVELOUS MILESTONES:

Several Bears players/staff members reached notable career milestones with Hershey over the course of the 2022-23 season, including but not limited to:

Zach Fucale - 50th career AHL win - Oct. 16 vs. Lehigh Valley

Lucas Johansen - 200th pro game - Oct. 22 at Charlotte

Aaron Ness - 600th AHL game - Nov. 12 vs. Bridgeport

Jake Massie - 100th pro game - Nov. 12 vs. Bridgeport

Riley Sutter - 100th pro game - Nov. 12 vs. Bridgeport

Sam Anas - 100th pro/AHL goals - Nov. 19 vs. Hartford

Henrik Borgstrom - 100th pro point - Nov. 20 vs. Hartford

Bobby Nardella - 100th pro point - Dec. 10 vs. Cleveland

Mike Vecchione - 300th pro game - Dec. 18 vs. Lehigh Valley

Shane Gersich - 100th pro point - Dec. 21 at Lehigh Valley

Mike Sgarbossa - 500th career AHL game - Jan. 11 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

Dylan McIlrath - 600th pro game - Jan. 14 vs. Springfield

Todd Nelson - 500th pro head coaching win - Jan. 14 vs. Springfield

Aaron Ness - 700th pro game - Jan. 21 at Belleville

Joe Snively - 100th pro point - Jan. 25 at Lehigh Valley

Mike Vecchione - 200th pro point - Jan. 25 at Lehigh Valley

Mike Sgarbossa - 100th pro point - March 1 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

Aaron Ness - 300th pro point - March 12 at Providence

Sam Anas - 300th pro point - March 17 at Lehigh Valley

Mason Morelli - 200th pro game - March 24 at Rochester

Gabriel Carlsson - 200th AHL game - April 5 at Providence

AWARDS SEASON:

Prior to Hershey's regular season finale on April 15, the Bears announced their winners of their 2022-23 team awards in a pregame ceremony. The winners were as follows:

IOA / American Specialty AHL Man of the Year Award (Hershey Representative) - Mason Morelli

Dan Sernoffsky Memorial Award (Most Improved Player) - Riley Sutter

John Travers/Steve Summers Award (Highest Plus/Minus) - Gabriel Carlsson

Kenny Smith Memorial Player of the Game Award - Mike Sgarbossa

Arlene Tighe Award (Unsung Hero) - Mason Morelli

Milton Garland Memorial Award (Best Defenseman) - Dylan McIlrath

Jack Gingrich Award (Rookie of the Year) - Ethen Frank

PNC Team Most Valuable Player Award - Hunter Shepard

NHL DEVELOPMENT CONTINUES:

This season one Bears player advanced to the NHL after skating with Hershey. Defender Vincent Iorio became the 63rd Bears player to make his NHL debut with the Washington Capitals since the two teams entered into an affiliation agreement prior to the 2005-06 season, when he suited up for the Caps on March 4 at San Jose, recording one assist in an 8-3 win over the Sharks. Iorio finished his rookie season with 22 points (2g, 20a) in 63 games with Hershey and one assist in three contests with the Capitals. In addition to Iorio, eight other Bears players saw game action for both Hershey and Washington this season, including: Henrik Borgstrom, Gabriel Carlsson, Lucas Johansen, Beck Malenstyn, Dylan McIlrath, Connor McMichael, Aliaksei Protas, and Joe Snively.

DISCIPLINED DEFENSE:

Hershey was rock-solid defensively this season, allowing the fewest shots against per game (26.19) and the second-fewest goals against per game (2.56). Hershey's goal differential of +33 led the Eastern Conference and was third-best in the AHL. The Bears owned the league's best road penalty-killing unit, surrendering a league-low 14 goals on 118 total shorthanded chances, for a rate of 88.1%. Hershey managed to effectively stay out of the sin bin with the third-lowest average of penalty minutes per game, at 10.76.

SWEET SEASON FOR SGARBOSSA:

The Bears were paced offensively this season by veteran forward Mike Sgarbossa, who turned in a 58-point season for Hershey, the second-highest point total in his 11-year AHL career. The 30-year-old's 37 assists, plus/minus of +19, and five game-winning goals all represented career-highs, and Hershey posted a record of 28-3-3-4 when he got onto the scoresheet, and a 15-1-2-0 record when he found the net.

LIGHTING THE LAMP:

The Chocolate and White had three 20+ goal scorers for the first time since the 2018-19 season, thanks to Ethen Frank (30), Mike Vecchione (23), and Mike Sgarbossa (21) leading the way. Hershey scored the first goal of the game 48 times this season, posting a 34-7-3-4 record when doing so. If the Bears had built a lead through the first two periods of the game, it was often a good night - Hershey was 27-2-0-2 leading after the second period. The Bears were often reliable in close games, with a 20-5-5-4 record in games decided by one goal. Hershey's power play also helped drive success for the club; the Bears were 26-7-3-2 when the team converted with the man advantage. Over the final five games of the regular season, Hershey's power play operated at a 6-for-14 (42.9%) clip.

MORELLI IS BEARS IRON MAN:

Mason Morelli finished the regular season as the only Bears player to suit up for all 72 games, while establishing or matching career highs in goals (12), assists (29), and points (41). Including last season's playoffs and the final 40 games of the 2021-22 regular season, Morelli leads Hershey with an active games played streak of 115 consecutive matches.

FRANKLY SPEAKING:

It was a rookie season to remember for Ethen Frank, as last season's top goal-scorer in college hockey stepped right into the pro game and didn't miss a beat. The undrafted free agent put up 30 goals to lead all rookies and record Hershey's first 30-goal season since Riley Barber and Mike Sgarbossa managed the feat in 2018-19; Frank's 30 goals were also the most by a Bears rookie since Craig Fisher put up 43 in 1990-91. Along the way, Frank was selected to participate in the 2022 AHL All-Star Classic in Laval, where he became known as the "Fastest Man in Hockey" thanks to a record-setting 12.915-second lap. In March, the forward was rewarded with an NHL contract with the Washington Capitals for the 2023-24 campaign, and Frank was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team last week.

DYNAMIC DUO:

The Bears finished the season as the lone AHL club that had both of their primary goaltenders reach the 20-win mark, as Zach Fucale (21) and Hunter Shepard (20) became the first Bears goaltending duo since Vitek Vanecek (21) and Ilya Samsonov (20) both hit the 20-win plateau during the 2018-19 campaign. This season, Shepard's 2.18 goals-against average finished second among AHL netminders and his .916 save percentage finished seventh.

CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE:

As the Bears begin their pursuit of their 12th Calder Cup title, Hershey's players and staff will call upon their previous championship experience to help lead them to a championship. Captain Dylan McIlrath captured the 2017 Calder Cup with Grand Rapids, where he was coached by current Bears bench boss Todd Nelson. Nelson himself has the rare distinction of winning the Calder Cup as a player (1994, Portland), assistant coach (2008, Chicago), and head coach (2017, Grand Rapids), in addition to claiming the now-defunct United Hockey League's Colonial Cup with the Muskegon Fury once as a player/assistant coach and twice as a head coach. Assistant coach Patrick Wellar suited up for Hershey's 2010 Calder Cup squad, and captured three ECHL Kelly Cup titles. First-year assistant coach Nick Bootland previously guided the Kalamazoo Wings to a Colonial Cup in 2006 as a player, and served as Kalamazoo's head coach when they reached the Kelly Cup Finals in 2011. Defender Aaron Ness is the lone player on the roster to reach the Calder Cup Finals with Hershey, doing so in 2016.

In addition to McIlrath's Calder Cup, the Bears roster includes the following notable professional, major junior and college championship experience:

#5 Lucas Johansen - won 2017 WHL title with Medicine Hat

#10 Shane Gersich - won 2016 NCAA title with University of North Dakota; appeared in two games with Washington during their 2018 Stanley Cup run

#13 Beck Malenstyn - won 2018 WHL title with Swift Current

#19 Mike Vecchione - won 2014 NCAA title with Union College

#22 Bogdan Trineyev - won 2021 MHL title with MHK Dynamo Moscow

#25 Henrik Borgstrom - won 2017 NCAA title with University of Denver

#26 Logan Day - won 2015 NCAA title with Providence College

#30 Hunter Shepard - won 2018 and 2019 NCAA titles with University of Minnesota - Duluth

#35 Zach Fucale - won 2013 QMJHL title and Memorial Cup with Halifax

#40 Aliaksei Protas - won 2019 WHL title with Prince Albert

#45 Matthew Strome - won 2018 OHL title with Hamilton

BEARS BITES:

Aaron Ness is the Bears' active leader for playoff games with Hershey, with 36; he notably led the entire Calder Cup Playoffs with 12 assists during Hershey's run to the championship round against Cleveland in 2016...Ethen Frank tied for first with six insurance goals ...Gabriel Carlsson tied for 13th in the AHL in plus/minus (and tied for eighth among all defensemen) with a +22...Hendrix Lapierre tied for third in the AHL with eight first goals...

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