Winning streak stands at seven games as Bears embark on five-game road trip
Published on March 25, 2002 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
Last Week: With two victories last weekend, the Bears extended their season-high winning streak to seven games and season-best unbeaten streak to 10 straight games (9-0-1). On Friday in Philadelphia, Jaroslav Obsut broke a 1-1 tie with the game-winning power play goal at 14:55 of the third period. Brett Clark also scored for the Bears, who received 22 saves from goaltender Phil Sauve. The Bears used only 16 skaters in the game due to injuries and recalls. On Sunday, the Bears got two goals from Tavis Hansen and single strikes from Kelly Fairchild, Jeff Daw and Steve Moore in a 5-1 home victory against Portland. Sauve stopped 34 shots in the triumph. The Bears are 31-25-11-6, good for 79 points. HERSHEY is in second place in the South Division and in seventh place in the Western Conference.
This Week: The Bears begin a five-game road trip on Friday in Cleveland against the Barons. HERSHEY beat Cleveland, 3-1, on February 23 at HERSHEYPARK Arena. The Bears face Cincinnati on Saturday and Sunday â the Bears lead the season series, 2-0. The trip continues next week with a pair of games in Norfolk on April 3 and 5.
Notables: The last time the Bears won at least seven straight games was in 1996 when they tied a franchise record with nine consecutive victories (10-18-96 to 11-6-96). The Bears have also won five consecutive road games and four straight home contests. HERSHEY's franchise records are: consecutive wins (nine), longest unbeaten streak (15 games) and road winning streak (eight games). Sauve is 15-1-1-1 in his last 18 starts â he has won his last eight decisions and has yielded only eight goals in his last seven starts. The Bears are 18-2-2-2 in their last 24 games played and have yielded only 36 goals during that span (1.50 goals against average). HERSHEY has held the opposition to three goals or less in 29 of its last 31 games played and is in second place in the AHL with a 2.44 team goals against average. Kelly Fairchild has seven points (2-5-7) in his last four games played. Clark has five goals (three game-winners) in his last 10 games played. HERSHEY's magic number for clinching a playoff berth is four points â any combination of HERSHEY points gained or Milwaukee points lost totaling four secures a playoff spot for the Bears. In the Western Conference standings, HERSHEY trails sixth-seeded Houston by one point and fifth-place Chicago by two points. The Bears lead eighth-place Philadelphia by two points and ninth-seeded Cincinnati by three points. All those clubs have seven regular season games remaining except for Chicago, which has six games left.
Roster Update: The following players remain on recall in the NHL: Bryan Muir (Colorado), Jordan Krestanovich (Colorado), Rocky Thompson (Florida) and Brad Norton (Florida). On Sunday, Steve Moore and Vaclav Nedorost returned to the Bears from Colorado and the Atlanta Thrashers assigned goaltender Scott Fankhouser. The Bears released goaltender Brant Nicklin on Sunday â he returned to Quad City (UHL).
American Hockey League Stories from March 25, 2002
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- Chaulk Release from Professional Tryout - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Phantoms week in review - Adirondack Phantoms
- Moose continue battle for playoff spot - Manitoba Moose
- AHL Quick Hits - AHL
- Pirates hang on to playoff hopes - Portland Pirates
- River Rats Stare Down Daunting Week Ahead - Albany River Rats
- The Envelope, Please - AHL
- Quebec Center Eric Landry Named Sher-Wood AHL Player of the Week - AHL
- P-Bruins hold seventh spot in conference - Providence Bruins
- Crunch Players To Pass Plates Instead of Pucks - Syracuse Crunch
- Crunch set AHL shutout record - Syracuse Crunch
- Aeros playoff tickets on sale today - Houston Aeros
- Norfolk clinches playoff berth, shuts out Philadelphia twice - Norfolk Admirals
- Maple Leafs Fans' Choice Award - Toronto Marlies
- Checkers drop four of five - Charlotte Checkers
- Winning streak stands at seven games as Bears embark on five-game road trip - Hershey Bears
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