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AHL Hershey Bears

Strong Start To February

February 4, 2013 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


The HERSHEY BEARS Hockey Club picked up three of four possible points on home ice this weekend in a pair of 2-1 games, to start February with a record of 1-0-1-0. On Saturday night in front of a crowd of 10,672, the BEARS defeated the Manchester Monarchs by a score of 2-1, in the teams' first of four meetings of the regular season. Barry Almeida started the scoring just 2:05 into the contest, Cameron Schilling netted the eventual game-winner early in the third period, and Philipp Grubauer made 22 saves to preserve the victory. Mike Carman assisted on both of the HERSHEY goals. The BEARS took a season-high 44 shots on net including a season-high 19 in the second period, and spoiled a stellar outing by Monarchs goaltender Martin Jones. Linden Vey tallied the lone goal for Manchester, spoiling Grubauer's shutout bid with 5:54 remaining.

On Sunday, arch-rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was in town at the end of their stretch of three games in less than three nights. The BEARS got the jump in the 2:00 pm contest, getting a power-play goal from captain Boyd Kane just beyond the halfway point of regulation. Newly-acquired forward Casey Wellman picked up his first assist with HERSHEY on the goal. The lead held until the 12:03 mark of the third, when Riley Holzapfel banged a puck underneath Dany Sabourin in a goalmouth scramble. It was the only shot of 35 to beat Sabourin in regulation. The Penguins then earned an overtime power play with 1:15 left in the extra session, and capitalized when Chad Kolarik's slapper eluded Sabourin with just 10.8 seconds remaining. Jeff Zatkoff turned aside 20 shots in the Penguins' 2-1 victory. The BEARS now embark for Cleveland, Ohio for a Tuesday game against the Lake Erie Monsters, and then return home for games against the Binghamton Senators and Norfolk Admirals on Saturday and Sunday.

BEARS NEWS AND NOTES

D-FENSE: The BEARS are now tied for third in the AHL in goals against per game (2.40). The club has allowed two goals or less in six of the past 10 games, and has allowed three goals or less in 18 consecutive games, dating back to a 4-3 shootout loss against Worcester on December 15.

STOPPED BY SABOURIN: With his 37-save performance on Saturday at Binghamton, goaltender Dany Sabourin has allowed two goals or less in six of his last seven starts.

WELCOME TO HERSHEY: Newly-acquired forwards Peter LeBlanc and Casey Wellman made their debuts this weekend against Manchester on Saturday and against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Sunday. LeBlanc, who turned 25 on Sunday, totaled eight shots on goal over the two games while Wellman totaled six. Wellman also picked up his first assist on Sunday.

P-MAC HITS 300: Defenseman Patrick McNeill appeared in the 300th game of his HERSHEY career on Saturday night against Manchester. He now resides in 42nd place in BEARS all-time games played, nine games behind Andre Gill and the legendary Frank Mathers. His 141 career points (31-110-141) rank ninth in HERSHEY history.

HOLDING THE LEAD: The BEARS are still unbeaten in regulation with a lead after two periods. The team has a record of 16-0-2-1 in such games.

OUTSHOT? NO PROBLEM: The BEARS have been outshot in 30 of the team's 45 games this season, but have picked up 33 points in those games (15-12-2-1).

STILL THE ONE: A combined 20,195 fans came through the gates this weekend at GIANT Center, pushing the BEARS' league-leading attendance to an average of 9.822 fans per game. The BEARS have led the AHL in attendance for six consecutive seasons.

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