The Hershey Bears host the Charlotte Checkers for the club's final game of 2024 this afternoon. Today's game marks Charlotte's final visit to Hershey in the 2024-25 season.
Hershey Bears (19-9-3-0) vs. Charlotte Checkers (16-8-1-2)
Dec. 29, 2024 | 3 p.m. | GIANT Center
Referees: Liam Maaskant (45), Harrison O'Pray (82)
Linespersons: Patrick Dapuzzo (57), Richard Jondo (55)
Tonight's Promotions:
Kids Night - Join us for a family-friendly night, featuring activities just for the kiddos!
Belco Kids Lunchbox Giveaway- The first 3,000 kids 12 & under will receive a lunchbox, courtesy of Belco.
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, In-arena on 88.9 FM
WATCH LIVE: AHLTV on FloHockey
LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream
Radio pre-game coverage starts at 2:30 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT:
The Bears returned from a holiday break last night and got back into the win column with a 3-2 overtime victory versus Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Mike Sgarbossa opened the scoring at 17:46 of the first period for Hershey, but Avery Hayes tied the game 8:36 into the second period for the visitors. In the third period, the teams would trade goals as Pierrick Dube struck at 2:34 for Hershey, but Villie Koivunen answered the tally for the Penguins at 11:38 to tie the game. In overtime, Spencer Smallman won a puck battle and found Ethen Frank for a breakaway, and the forward potted the winner at 1:15 of overtime for Hershey. Hunter Shepard made 23 saves to earn the win in net for the Bears. The Checkers dropped a 2-1 decision last night at Lehigh Valley. Tobias Bjornfot had the only tally for Charlotte, and Chris Driedger stopped 22 shots in the loss.
BACK IN A BIG WAY:
Hershey got back to its winning ways, snapping a three-game skid last night with the overtime victory, and the club's home ice record is back to .500 at 8-8-1-0 on the season. The Bears have four games remaining in the team's eight game homestand, which concludes on Jan. 7 versus Lehigh Valley. Forward Mike Sgarbossa returned to the lineup last night after missing three games with an upper-body injury, while forward Pierrick Dube also made his return for the first time since Dec. 11. Both players returned to the lineup with a goal, with Sgarbossa potting his first tally since Nov. 20 at Toronto.
FRANK FIRES IN 20:
Hershey forward Ethen Frank tallied the game-winning marker last night in overtime to give him his league leading 20th goal of the season. Frank became the first Bear since Andrew Gordon (2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11) to score 20 or more goals in three straight seasons with Hershey. Frank's goal last night was his fifth game-winning tally of the season, which ties him for the league lead with Bakersfield's Matvey Petrov. It also marked the first overtime goal in Frank's 157-game AHL tenure.
MILESTONES GALORE:
Last night was a milestone night for a number of Bears. Forward Matt Strome skated in his 200th career AHL game, while netminder Hunter Shepard played in his 100th AHL game, all with Hershey. The win last night was Shepard's 69th career victory with the Bears, passing Claude Dufour for 11th in franchise history. Defender Chase Priskie earned the 100th assist of his AHL career on Mike Sgarbossa's first period goal. Hershey head coach Todd Nelson posted his 425th as an AHL head coach, moving him past John Anderson for sole possession of sixth in league history for wins by a head coach. Nelson is one victory away from his 117th with Hershey, which would pass Murray Henderson (1952-56) for sole possession of ninth in club history for wins by a head coach.
CHECK MATE:
Tonight marks the Charlotte Checkers' fourth and final visit to GIANT Center this season. Hershey is 1-2-0-0 versus Charlotte this year, with the Checkers winning the last head-to-head matchup on Dec. 14 by a 2-1 score. Hershey's Ethen Frank and Charlotte's John Leonard lead the season series with identical stat lines (2g, 1a). The Checkers have gone 3-for-7 on the power play versus Hershey, but they enter tonight's game having dropped two straight contests.
BEARS BITES:
Tonight marks the final game of the calendar year 2024. In a year that saw Hershey claim its 13th Calder Cup, the Bears have gone a cumulative 59-23-3-5 in 2024 (regular season and playoffs combined). Goaltender Hunter Shepard has recorded a 41-14-1-3 record in 2024 with a 2.14 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage, while forward Ethan Frank scored 64 points (45g, 19a) over 80 total games in 2004...With last night's win, Hershey is now 13-4-3-0 in one-goal games this season...Frank's overtime goal last night was Hershey's 100th goal of the season, making the Bears one of just four teams in the AHL this season to hit the 100-goal mark.
ON THIS DATE:
Dec. 29, 1973 - The Bears established a club record by firing 63 shots in an 11-2 win over the Jacksonville Barons at Hersheypark Arena. Hershey recorded 17 shots in the first, 21 in the second, and 25 in the third period to record the most shots on goal in a single game in Bears history.
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