The Hershey Bears host the Bridgeport Islanders for the second straight night in an Atlantic Division duel at GIANT Center. This is Hershey's final game until next Saturday as the league breaks for the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic.
Hershey Bears (27-12-5-0) vs. Bridgeport Islanders (10-29-2-2)
Feb. 1, 2025 | 7 p.m. | GIANT Center
Referees: Jordan Deckard (14), Chris Conway (33)
Linespersons: Brandon Grillo (79), Tommy George (61)
Tonight's Promotions:
PA Lottery Night - The first 4,000 fans 18 & over will receive a coupon offer, courtesy of the Pennsylvania Lottery.
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, In-arena on 88.9 FM
WATCH LIVE: AHLTV on FloHockey (Social Saturday AHL Game of the Week, Watch FREE)
LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream
Radio pre-game coverage starts at 6:30 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT:
The Bears earned a 5-4 win over the Bridgeport Islanders last night at GIANT Center. One game after suffering a 9-0 defeat at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Hershey came back with moxie, jumping out to a 2-0 lead as Ivan Miroshnichenko scored just 18 seconds into the game, and Pierrick Dube tallied at the 50-second mark. The Islanders would tie the game before the first frame ended, and took a brief 3-2 lead in the second period on a Gemel Smith power-play goal, but Miroshnichenko potted the next two tallies to put Hershey ahead 4-3, before Matthew Maggio scored in the third period to tie the score again for the visitors. Only 1:09 after Maggio's marker Hershey's Alex Limoges provided the final blow, striking for his 11th goal of the season at 4:30 of the third period to give Hershey a 5-4 lead they wouldn't relinquish. The win marked Hershey's third consecutive win on home ice, matching its previous season mark. Hershey improved to 3-1-0-0 against Bridgeport this season, earning its first home win against the Islanders.
FAWNING OVER FEBRUARY:
Tonight marks the start of Hershey's lightest month of the 2024-25 season. The Bears will play only six games during the month of February, and the Chocolate and White do not venture out of the Keystone State, or play games on back-to-back days, until the end of the month when they head to Charlotte for games on Feb. 22-23. Hershey does not have a game on any Fridays in February, and the club will not play on three of the four Sundays in the calendar's shortest month. February's schedule is a stark contrast to the upcoming slate in March, a month in which Hershey skates in 14 games, including a team record 10-game road trip from March 7-29.
THROW THOSE HATS:
Hershey forward Ivan Miroshnichenko posted his second hat trick of the season last night, making him the first Bear since Ethen Frank (Dec. 2, 2023 at Charlotte, March 5, 2024 at Iowa) to collect two hat tricks in a season. Miroshnichenko's first hat trick came on Oct. 13 versus Cleveland, and he's the first Bear since Mathieu Perreault (Feb. 7, 2010 vs Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Feb. 27, 2010 vs. Bridgeport) to tally two hat tricks in a season at GIANT Center. Miroshnichenko has scored five goals versus Bridgeport this season, and in his AHL career, the second-year Bear has registered eight points (7g, 1a) in nine games versus the Islanders.
ALL-STAR ON TAP:
Following tonight's game against Bridgeport, Ethan Bear and Alex Limoges will head to Palm Desert, California, where they will represent the Bears as part of the Atlantic Division Roster for the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic at Acrisure Arena. Last season the Bears blanked the Islanders 4-0 in the final game prior to the 2024 AHL All-Star Classic in San Jose. Since the AHL's modern mid-season showcase was first introduced in the 1994-95 season, the Bears have posted a record of 18-9-0-0-1 in their final game prior to the event.
PINHO PRODUCING:
Joining Ethan Bear and Alex Limoges at the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic will be Bridgeport forward Brian Pinho, who continues to burn his former club. Pinho posted a goal and an assist last night for the Islanders, and in four games versus Hershey this season, Pinho has registered five points (2g, 3a). Pinho played parts of four seasons with the Chocolate and White from 2018-22, scoring 78 points (40g, 38a) in 172 games.
BEARS BITES:
With last night's win, Bears head coach Todd Nelson passed Kevin Dineen for sole possession of fifth place on the league's coaching wins list with 433 victories...Riley Sutter (13 games missed), Brennan Saulnier (four games missed), Mike Sgarbossa (three games missed), and Hendrix Lapierre (three games missed) all returned to the lineup for Hershey last night after missing time due to injury...Yesterday, the Capitals placed Hershey defenseman Hardy Haman Aktell on unconditional waivers for mutual contract termination. Haman Aktell finishes his Hershey career with 20 points (2g, 18a) in 82 regular season games, and he posted nine points (5g, 4a) in Hershey's run to the 2024 Calder Cup title...Last night marked the eighth time this season that Mike Sgarbossa had two assists in a game for Hershey...The Bears went 0-for-7 on the power play last night as they failed to capitalize on the man-advantage against a Bridgeport team that had given up a power-play goal in eight straight games.
ON THIS DATE:
Feb. 1, 1986 - The Bears picked up a 5-3 win over the Baltimore Skipjacks before 6,946 fans at Hersheypark Arena. Ray Allison scored three goals, all on the power play, for a natural hat trick to help give Hershey a 3-1 lead. Ron Hextall made 21 saves to get the victory; Baltimore's final goal at 11:57 of the third period marked the final time Hextall surrendered a goal over his next 216:51 of game action on home ice until March 19 against St. Catharines.
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