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AHL Hershey Bears

Three in Three Ahead After Brief Break

February 8, 2022 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


(Hershey, PA) - The Hershey Bears continue the 2021-22 season, presented by Penn State Health, with three games in three days this weekend. After the team enjoys a brief break away from the rink for what was supposed to be the AHL's All-Star Classic, the Chocolate and White visit Lehigh Valley on Friday night, host Belleville on Saturday, then return to Lehigh Valley on Sunday afternoon.

TEAM INFO:

Record: 23-13-3-3

Standings Position: 2nd in Atlantic

Click here for full AHL standings

TEAM LEADERS:

Goals: Garrett Pilon, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby (13)

Assists: Mike Vecchione (17)

Points: Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, Garrett Pilon (29)

Power Play Goals: Garrett Pilon (5)

Shorthanded Goals: Shane Gersich (2)

Plus/Minus: Lucas Johansen (+17)

Wins: Zach Fucale (7)

GAA: Zach Fucale (2.68)

SV%: Zach Fucale (.890)

Only includes players on the active roster

RECENT RESULTS:

Wednesday, February 2: Hartford 3, Hershey 2 (SO)

The Hershey Bears opened last week with a 3-2 shootout loss at GIANT Center to division-leading Hartford. Tanner Fritz opened the scoring for the Wolf Pack at 13:53, but Hershey's Tobias Geisser tied the game at 18:00 of the opening frame. Beck Malenstyn gave Hershey a 2-1 lead at 10:20 of the middle stanza, but Jonny Brodzinski evened the score with less than five minutes to play in the third period. Tim Gettinger scored the shootout deciding goal to give the Wolf Pack the extra point.

Friday, February 4: Hershey 4, Cleveland 1

Mike Vecchione had three points to lead the Hershey Bears to a 4-1 win at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse last Friday. It marked Hershey's first win in Cleveland since Feb. 5, 2013. Kody Clark and Lucas Johansen also tallied goals for Hershey, and the Bears finished the night 2-for-3 on the power play, and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. Zach Fucale earned the win in goal, stopping 29 shots.

Saturday, February 5: Hershey 4, Cleveland 1

Hershey defeated Cleveland on Saturday afternoon by an identical score as the night prior. Riley Sutter opened the scoring for Hershey at 17:38 of the first period, and provided the primary assist on Beck Malenstyn's game-winning goal at 15:55 of the second period. Brian Pinho and Kale Kessy also scored for Hershey, and Pheonix Copley recorded the win between the pipes with 28 saves.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE:

- Friday, Feb. 11 at Lehigh Valley, 7:05 p.m.

- Saturday, Feb. 12 vs. Belleville, 7 p.m.

Truly Take Over, Member's 1st Federal Credit Union Banking & Finance Night

- Sunday, Feb. 13 at Lehigh Valley, 2:05 p.m.

Tickets available at HersheyBears.com via Ticketmaster

Video Coverage: AHLTV, Radio Coverage: Bears Radio Network

TEAM NEWS AND NOTES:

PINHO ON A ROLL:

The Chocolate and White have benefited of late from strong play by forward Brian Pinho. The fourth-year Bear has posted points in four straight games, collecting a goal and three assists in that stretch. After missing significant time due an upper-body injury, Pinho has scored seven points in 10 games since returning to the lineup on Jan. 9. He has 11 points (3g, 8a) in 18 games this season, and overall the North Andover, Mass. native has scored 72 points (35g, 37a) in his 163 career games with the Bears.

MALENSTYN DOING FINE:

Beck Malenstyn has seven points in 31 games this season, and three of those points have come in the last three games. Malenstyn scored his second goal of the season on Feb. 2 versus Hartford, tallying for the first time since Dec. 27. He followed up that performance with a helper on Feb. 4 at Cleveland, then struck for the game-winning goal the next day versus the Monsters. The goal was his fifth career deciding marker, and his first game-winning goal since Feb. 16, 2020.

STREAKING DEFENDERS:

Blue liners Lucas Johansen and Cody Franson both enter this week on point streaks. Johansen has points in four straight games for Hershey, compiling two goals and three assists in that stretch. He scored goals in back-to-back games on Jan. 30 and Feb. 4, and he now has five goals this season in 33 games. That's only one off his career-best of six tallies posted in 74 games during his rookie season in 2017-18. Franson has also continued to find the scoresheet, assisting on goals in three straight games after returning to the lineup from injury on Feb. 2. Franson leads all Hershey blue liners with 20 points (4g, 16a) this season.

FOUR FOR PHEONIX:

Goaltender Pheonix Copley enters this week with four straight wins between the pipes for Hershey. In that streak, he's allowed just four goals, posted a .99 goals-against average to go along with .963 save percentage and one shutout. Copley is 13-7-2 this season in 22 games, and his 2.43 goals-against average is 7th best in the AHL. Additionally Copley also made his return to the NHL last week, stopping 21-of-22 shots in a relief appearance for the Washington Capitals in a 4-3 loss to Edmonton last Tuesday. It was Copley's first NHL game since Apr. 6, 2019. He was recalled by the Capitals once again on Monday.

BEARS BITES:

Hershey's special teams are now both top-10 in the league. The club's power play ranks 7th at 21.1% while the penalty kill is 10th at 82.8%...Hershey defenseman Lucas Johansen ranks tied for 4th in the AHL in plus/minus (+17), while forward Joe Snively, currently on NHL recall, led the league in that category (+22) prior to being summoned by the Washington Capitals...Defenseman Cody Franson ranks 5th in the AHL among defenders with 12 power play points...The Bears will host Belleville on Saturday, marking the return of defender Colby Williams. The blue liner played for the Bears from 2016-2020, skating in 196 games, collecting 49 points (7g, 42a)...Belleville is coached by former Hershey bench boss Troy Mann. Mann won a Calder Cup as an assistant coach with Hershey in 2010, and served as the club's head coach from 2014-18.

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