The Hershey Bears look to extend the club's winning streak to four games tonight as they welcome the Rochester Americans to town in a matchup of the AHL's oldest rivals, and the top two teams in the Eastern Conference.
Hershey Bears (24-11-3-0) vs. Rochester Americans (23-10-3-1)
Jan. 19, 2025 | 5 p.m. | GIANT Center
Referees: Rob Hennessey (87), John Lindner (92)
Linespersons: Patrick Dapuzzo (57), Tommy George (61)
Tonight's Promotions:
Throwback Jersey Auction - POSTPONED- In order to avoid our guests and team members' stay at GIANT Center from being extended, the jersey auction scheduled for today has been postponed until March 2, 2025. Our players will be wearing the jerseys today and on March 2.
Toyota Poster Night - All fans will receive a poster, thanks to Toyota.
BUY TICKETS NOW VIA TICKETMASTER
Broadcast Information
Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, former Bears captain Garrett Mitchell, and FOX43 Sports Director Todd Sadowski on the call
TELEVISION: Antenna TV (WPMT FOX 43.2, Xfinity Ch. 247 and 1178, Verizon FiOS Ch. 463, Blue Ridge Ephrata Ch. 91, and Blue Ridge Newberry/Duncannon Ch. 88)
RADIO: WFVY-100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM, SportsRadio 98.9-FM & WOYK 1350-AM (in progress), Capitals Radio, In-arena on 88.9 FM
WATCH LIVE: AHLTV on FloHockey
LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream, Caps Radio 24/7
Radio pre-game coverage starts at 4:30 p.m.; TV coverage starts at 5 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT:
The Bears opened the weekend with a 4-1 victory over the Belleville Senators on Friday night at GIANT Center. Hershey outshot the Senators 9-1 in the first period and led 1-0 on an Alex Limoges tally on the power play. In the second period, Hershey got goals from Mike Vecchione and Luke Philp, and Aaron Ness capped the scoring in the third period to lead the Bears to victory. Hershey outshot Belleville 35-15 to capture a third straight win. Rochester was in action last night at Lehigh Valley, securing a 3-2 win. After falling to the Phantoms in a shootout by an identical score on Friday in Rochester, the Amerks returned the favor in the back half of the home-and-home set, as Isak Rosen potted a pair of goals in last night's win, including tallying the winner at 16:53 of the third period.
THROWING IT BACK WITH THE AMERKS:
With Hershey wearing throwback themed jerseys tonight, it is fitting they sport them versus the Americans as the AHL's oldest rivalry is on display this evening. Today's game is the 468th meeting in the regular season between Hershey and Rochester, the most of any opponent the Bears have faced in their history. The Bears own a lifetime record of 220-189-53-3-2 against the Americans. Hershey bested the Amerks in the club's previous meeting on Nov. 22 with a 4-3 comeback win in overtime at Blue Cross Arena. In the regular season, Hershey has won its last three outings versus Rochester, and the club has secured points in five straight head-to-head matchups (4-0-0-1). The Americans' last visit to GIANT Center came on Feb. 24, 2024 as the Bears scored a 2-1 overtime win thanks to Alex Limoges' deciding tally 1:20 into the extra session. Tonight's game is Rochester's lone visit to Hershey this season.
MIKE MAKES HIS MARK:
Hershey alternate captain Mike Vecchione has enjoyed a goal-scoring surge, posting tallies in two straight games, scoring again on Friday after notching his first hat trick as Bear last Saturday in Charlotte. Prior to that performance, Vecchione had been snakebitten with just one assist over his previous 10 games. The last time Hershey played Rochester on Nov. 22, Vecchione enjoyed a huge night, scoring the tying goal with just nine seconds left in regulation to force overtime, then striking for the winner at 3:38 of the 3-on-3 session. In his AHL career, Vecchione has seven points (4g, 3a) in 10 games versus the Amerks. The Bears are 6-0-0-0 this season when Vecchione scores a goal and 15-1-1-0 when he has at least a point.
BIG TESTS AHEAD:
The Amerks enter tonight's game with 50 points, just one point back of Hershey for the Eastern Conference lead with one game in-hand. Only the Texas Stars (9-1-0-0) have been hotter than the Americans (8-1-0-1) over the past 10 games. Hershey's schedule doesn't get any easier in its next outing on Wednesday as they travel north of the border to battle the Laval Rocket. Laval sits third in the Eastern Conference with 49 points, just two back of Hershey's 51 points. The Rocket are idle today and won't play again until Wednesday's game versus Hershey, so they'll have two games in-hand on the Bears heading into that contest.
WELLAR'S KILLERS:
Hershey's penalty kill went 2-for-2 on Friday, and the Bears enter today's game fifth in the league on the PK at 86.2%. Hershey has been perfect on the penalty kill in 10 of the club's past 12 games, going an impressive 39-for-41 (95.1%) in that stretch. Rochester is 16th in the league on the power play at 16.6%, but they are coming off a 3-for-7 performance last night at Lehigh Valley, and Amerks forward Brett Murray leads the league with nine tallies on the man-advantage.
BEARS BITES
Grant Cruikshank will wear #41 tonight in a temporary number change as the team wears specialty jerseys...The Washington Capitals loaned goaltender Hunter Shepard to the Bears yesterday, and in a corresponding move, goaltender Garin Bjorklund was re-assigned to South Carolina (ECHL)...The Bears are 6-2-1-0 versus the North Division this season...Hershey has scored on the power play in the club's last two outings. This season, the Bears are 13-3-3-0 when scoring a power-play goal...Mike Sgarbossa's assist in Friday's win was the 300th helper of his AHL career...With two points (1g, 1a) on Friday, Alex Limoges extended his point streak to six games (3g, 4a)...Defender Ethan Bear has points in five straight games (7a), while fellow blueliner Aaron Ness enters today with points in three straight outings (2g, 1a)...Hershey defender Chase Priskie skated with the Americans during the 2022-23 campaign while forward Dalton Smith played four seasons for Rochester from 2017-21 logging 321 penalty minutes...Former Bears forward Vaclav Prospal is back for his second season as an assistant coach for Rochester. Prospal played for the Bears from 1993-96.
ON THIS DATE:
Jan. 19, 1991 - Rookie forward Craig Fisher recorded three goals, including the game-winner, in a 4-3 victory over the Capital District Islanders at Hersheypark Arena. Fisher went on to lead the Bears in goals that season, finishing with 41, a mark that stands to this day for Hershey rookies. That season would be Fisher's only with Hershey, and he would conclude his playing career by skating in two seasons with Rochester from 1998-2000.
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