The Hershey Bears take on the Belleville Senators tonight to close out their regular-season series with the Ottawa affiliate. Hershey enters tonight's contest riding a three-game winning streak and has won its last three home matches. Tonight's game also marks the last home game for the Bears until the end of the month, as Hershey prepares to embark on a franchise-record 10-game road trip.
Hershey Bears (33-14-5-0) vs. Belleville Senators (25-19-4-4)
March 5, 2025 | 7 p.m. | GIANT Center
Referees: Morgan MacPhee (43), Austin O'Rourke (19)
Linespersons: Tommy George (61), Richard Jondo (55)
Tonight's Promotions:
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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
LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream
Radio pre-game coverage starts at 6:30 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT:
Hunter Shepard made 21 saves and Hendrix Lapierre led the way with three points on Sunday as the Bears shutout the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 4-0. Ivan Miroshnichenko scored his 16th of the season at 8:03 of the first period. Lapierre assisted on Miroshnichenko's goal and gave Hershey a 2-0 lead at 13:01, then assisted on Vincent Iorio's third-period goal. Dalton Smith also scored his first as a Bear in the second period. The Senators rolled through northeast Pennsylvania last night, and after trailing 1-0, Belleville reeled off four straight on its way to a 4-1 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Zack Ostapchuk's shorthanded goal late in the first proved to be the game-winner and Leevi Merilainen stopped a season-high 35 of 36 shots to earn his 12th win of the campaign.
LAPPY LOCOMOTION:
Hendrix Lapierre carries a six-game point streak into tonight's game. The third-year pro has posted 11 points (4g, 7a) beginning with Hershey's 5-4 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Feb. 11, including two three-point outings to match his AHL career-high, and racked up Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week honors for the period ending Feb. 16.
MIGHTY MIRO:
Ivan Miroshnichenko extended his goal-scoring streak to three games (4g) with a power-play strike on Sunday. Over the course of his streak, Miroshnichenko has collected two game-winners, both of which came in shutout victories for the Bears. The 21-year-old sniper has eight goals in his last nine contests, and ranks second on the active roster in shooting percentage at 17.6% (16-for-91) over the course of the season, a significant improvement from his rookie campaign of 10.5% (9-for-86).
SENS-SATIONAL:
Tonight's game marks the final meeting of the season between the Bears and Senators. Hershey owns a 2-0-1-0 record this season against Belleville. Alex Limoges leads the Bears in scoring against the Senators with five points (2g, 3a), while Angus Crookshank's six points (2g, 4a) paces Belleville against Hershey. NHL veteran Sam Gagner joined the Senators this season during Hershey's two-game stop in Belleville, and recorded an assist in his Senators debut against the Chocolate and White on Jan. 24. Gagner has recorded three assists in four career games against the Bears; tonight's contest could mark only Gagner's second career appearance at GIANT Center, and his first since Dec. 31, 2015 as a member of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
BEARS BITES:
Ethan Bear leads all Eastern Conference skaters in plus/minus with a +27 and is tied for sixth in league defensive scoring with 37 points...Alex Limoges is one point away from his 200th professional/AHL point, Garrett Roe is one point from his 100th AHL points, and Dalton Smith is one point away from his 100th pro point...Mike Vecchione needs one more assist to earn his 100th as a Bear...The Bears have the third-fewest penalty minutes per game (10.77)...Hershey is tied with Manitoba and Texas for the league lead with 10 wins when tied after the second period...The Bears lead the league with 21 wins in games decided by one goal.
ON THIS DATE:
March 5, 1989 - The Bears stormed back from a 4-0 deficit in the first period for an eventual 5-4 win over the Baltimore Skipjacks in front of 5,266 at Hersheypark Arena. Mark Freer started the comeback with a goal in the second period and set up two others, including Brian Dobbin's game-winner with just over three and a half minutes left in regulation. Hershey was forced to play shorthanded in the game as starting goaltender Marc D'Amour exited with a groin injury five minutes into the game while Mark Lofthouse was forced out with a shoulder injury in the second period.
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