Six Games To Go In Race For Postseason
Published on April 8, 2013 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
The HERSHEY BEARS Hockey Club picked up two points in a three-game set against East Division opponents last weekend. In a dominating performance on Friday, the Bears handed the Syracuse Crunch a 4-1 loss behind a two-goal effort from Tomas Kundratek and 22 saves from Philipp Grubauer. Boyd Kane and Peter LeBlanc also tallied for the visitors as all three players were named in the stars of the game. In the rematch at GIANT Center on Saturday, Syracuse turned the tables and played a stifling defensive game, holding on for a 2-1 victory. Jean-Philippe Cote put Syracuse in front with a slap shot past Dany Sabourin halfway through the first. Joey Crabb tied the game inside the final minute of the second period, but Ondrej Palat's go-ahead goal early in the third was enough for the victory. Riku Helenius stopped 19 shots for the win, while Sabourin also made 19 saves in a strong effort. On Sunday at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Chad Kolarik scored twice against Grubauer to help the Penguins wipe out Dmitry Orlov's opening goal and cruise to a 4-1 lead early in the third period. Goals from Ryan Potulny and LeBlanc brought the Bears back within one, but goaltender Brad Thiessen made 14 other saves in the final period to give his team the 4-3 win.
The Bears record stands at 33-28-3-6 (75 points) heading into the second-to-last weekend of the regular season. Hershey is tied with the Norfolk Admirals in points, but have the eighth and final playoff position, holding more wins in regulation.
A crucial stretch of road games continues as Hershey visits Atlantic Division-leading Providence on Friday, and then Manchester and Portland on Saturday and Sunday.
BEARS NEWS AND NOTES
TAFFE ON TOP: C Jeff Taffe chipped in two more assists over the weekend and is now tied at the top of the AHL scoring race with 64 points (18-46-64). His 46 assists are also tied for the league lead.
POTULNY CLIMBING: C Ryan Potulny was one of the Bears' top two scorers on the weekend, picking up a goal and two assists for a total of 38 points (18-20-38) in 60 games. Potulny's tally on Sunday at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton pulled him into a tie with Jeff Taffe for the team lead in goals.
KUNDRATEK'S BACK: D Tomas Kundratek returned from NHL recall for the first time since January 20 to post his second two-goal game of the season in Friday night's win at Syracuse. Kundratek has also pulled into second place among AHL defensemen in goal-scoring (15) and shooting percentage (15/82=18.3%).
PETER'S PATTERN: C Peter LeBlanc has been finding a goal-scoring touch of late, scoring twice over the weekend for his sixth and seventh goals with the Bears. Dating back to March 10 vs. Binghamton, LeBlanc has scored a goal in every other game (3/10, 3/17 vs. ADK, 3/23 at MCH, 3/29 at ALB, 4/5 at SYR, 4/7 at WBS).
CAPTAIN KANE CLIMBING: Captain Boyd Kane joined RW Jon DiSalvatore as the second Hershey player this season and became the 85th player in the history of the league to reach 500 career AHL points with his goal on March 23 at Manchester. The goal was also the 100th of Kane's tenure in Hershey. With 932 career AHL games played, Kane passed former Bears winger Les Duff for 12th place all-time. With Sunday's game at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Kane tied former Bears captain and Calder Cup champion Dave Fenyves for 29th place in all-time games played in Hershey (359).
THE 10K RACE: Twice this season, a new record regular-season attendance figure was established at GIANT Center. After 10,936 watched the Bears defeat the Norfolk Admirals on December 19, another sellout crowd of 10,943 attended on Saturday as Hershey hosted the Syracuse Crunch. The Bears have welcomed 370,780 to their home games this season and will become the fifth team in AHL history to boast an average attendance of more than 10,000 fans. The team's current average is 10,021 with a sellout crowd already in place for April 21 vs. Manchester.
American Hockey League Stories from April 8, 2013
- Florida Panthers Return Scott Timmins to San Antonio - San Antonio Rampage
- Chaput Recalled By Blue Jackets - Springfield Falcons
- Sharks Turning to Youth to Close out Season - Worcester Sharks Weekly - Worcester Sharks
- San Jose Loans Matsumoto to Chicago - Chicago Wolves
- Wolves Weekly Notes - Chicago Wolves
- Crunch Weekly - Syracuse Crunch
- Kings Activate Dustin Penner - Manchester Monarchs
- San Antonio Rampage Weekly Update - San Antonio Rampage
- Penguins Weekly - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Hamilton Bulldogs Weekly - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Lightning Return Defenseman Matt Taormina, Mark Barberio Recalled - Syracuse Crunch
- The Rock Report - St. John's IceCaps
- Olesz Named CCM/AHL Player of the Week - Rockford IceHogs
- Forward Jack Downing Loaned to Elmira - Binghamton Senators
- Wolves Playoff Tickets on Sale at 11 a.m. Wednesday - Chicago Wolves
- Barons To Wear Teal Ribbons To Raise Awareness For Sexual Asssault Prevention - Oklahoma City Barons
- Bob Funk Jr. Recognized for Efforts to Prevent Sexual Assaults - Oklahoma City Barons
- Monarchs Weekly Report - Manchester Monarchs
- Rockford's Rostislav Olesz Named CCM/AHL Player of the Week - AHL
- Falcons Weekly Notes - Springfield Falcons
- Portland Pirates Recall Scott Arnold from Gwinnett - Portland Pirates
- Sheahan Returns to Grand Rapids, Nestrasil to Toledo - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Four Games, Four Victories, Eight Points - Rockford IceHogs
- Dallas Stars Recall Jordie Benn from Texas - Texas Stars
- Whale Weekly - Connecticut Whale
- Six Games To Go In Race For Postseason - Hershey Bears
- Pirates Weekly - Portland Pirates
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