The Hershey Bears open the 2025 portion of their calendar with their first of two weekend meetings against the Providence Bruins tonight at GIANT Center.
Hershey Bears (19-10-3-0) vs. Providence Bruins (17-11-3-0)
Jan. 4, 2025 | 7 p.m. | GIANT Center
Referees: Casey Terreri (75), Kurtis Pare (94)
Linespersons: Justin Johnson (57), Tommy George (61)
Tonight's Promotions:
PSECU Knit Hat Night - The first 4,000 fans in attendance will receive a Bears knit hat, courtesy of PSECU.
BUY TICKETS NOW VIA TICKETMASTER
Broadcast Information
Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, AHL Hall-of-Famer Mitch Lamoureux, and Jim Jones on the call
RADIO: WFVY-100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM, SportsRadio 98.9-FM & WOYK 1350-AM, 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 6:30 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT:
The Bears last took the ice against the Charlotte Checkers last Sunday, as Hershey closed out 2024 with a 1-0 loss. Justin Sourdif scored the lone goal of the game at 18:00 of the second period, while Ken Appleby made 16 saves to earn his league-leading (now tied) fourth shutout of the season, while Clay Stevenson went 21-for-22 in net for Hershey. The Bruins are coming off a 4-1 road win at Hartford last Saturday, in which Brandon Bussi steered away 36 shots, and John Farinacci scored just 1:40 into the contest to put Providence in front.
NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION:
Hershey has historically started off a New Year with success. Not including the 2020-21 season that started in February, the Bears have posted a record of 47-29-6-2-1 in their first game after the New Year. Last season, Hershey went 27-6-0-0 prior to Jan. 1, then 26-8-0-5 down the stretch after the New Year en route to a franchise-best .771 points percentage.
LOOPY FOR LAPPY:
After beginning the season with the Washington Capitals, Hendrix Lapierre is expected to suit up for Hershey tonight for the first time since June 24, 2024, when he helped the Bears lift the Calder Cup in Game 6 of the 2024 championship round and was named the recipient of the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the most valuable player of the 2024 postseason. In 81 career regular-season games with Hershey, the Caps' 2020 first-round pick has 47 points (20g, 27a), while the club posted a 53-20-5-3 record with Lapierre in the lineup.
BREWING BRUINS:
The Bears and Bruins have met twice already this season, with Hershey posting back-to-back 2-1 wins over Providence at Amica Mutual Pavilion in late October. At the time, the Bruins were two games under the .500 mark, but the team enjoyed a surge in December, winning nine of 12 games to jump to third in the Atlantic Division. Last season, Hershey won a franchise-record five of six games against the Bruins; a sweep of this weekend's series with Providence would give the Bears their second-best regular-season series with the Bruins. Providence head coach Ryan Mougenel served as an assistant coach for Hershey on Mike Haviland's staff in 2013-14, while Bears captain Aaron Ness played for Providence during the 2021-22 campaign between his two stints with Hershey and forward Dalton Smith spent part of the 2015-16 season with Providence.
SUPER SHEP:
Goaltender Hunter Shepard enjoyed a remarkable run in the calendar year of 2024. Per the AHL, he was the only goaltender in the calendar year of 2024 to finish in the top three among league netminders with wins (T-2nd, 27), shutouts (T-2nd, 5), and save percentage (T-1st, .924). Over his final three starts, Shepard has gone 1-2-0 with a .932 save percentage and a 1.69 goals-against average. Shepard's 14 wins lead all Eastern Conference goaltenders.
BEARS BITES:
Pierrick Dube is two points away from 100 AHL points...Ethan Bear is three assists away from 100 pro assists...Providence is tied for the Eastern Conference lead with 20 first goals but is also tied for the league lead with eight combined losses (L+OTL+SOL) when scoring first...Through the first five games of Hershey's eight-game homestand, the Bears have gone 13-for-13 on the penalty kill...Providence's Vinni Lettieri is eighth in league scoring with 30 points (11g, 19a).
ON THIS DATE:
Jan. 4, 1998 - Bears great Mitch Lamoureux came out of retirement to return to the lineup for Hershey in a 4-3 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack at Hersheypark Arena. Lamoureux had spent the previous two seasons with the Providence Bruins before hanging up his skates, but former Bear Al Hill lured Lamoureux out of retirement during the 1997-98 with the B.C. Icemen of the United Hockey League. Lamoureux tallied 13 points in 22 games with Hershey that season, and would play one final season with the Bears before hanging up his skates for good in 1998-99. Lamoureux's No. 16 was retired by the organization on Oct. 2, 1999.
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