The Hershey Bears (1-1-0-0) continue the 2024-25 season, presented by Penn State Health, as they hit the road for the first time this season when they face the Bridgeport Islanders on Wednesday, Oct. 16, then return home to face the Chicago Wolves for the first time since the 2005-06 campaign on Saturday and Sunday at GIANT Center.
2024-25 TEAM LEADERS:
Goals: Ethen Frank, Ivan Miroshnichenko (3)
Assists: Alex Limoges (4)
Points: Ethen Frank, Alex Limoges (4)
Power-Play Goals: Ethen Frank, Ivan Miroshnichenko (2)
Shorthanded Goals: N/A
Plus/Minus: E. Bear, V. Iorio, H. Haman Aktell, L. Philp, G. Roe (+2)
Wins: Hunter Shepard (1)
GAA: Hunter Shepard (3.00)
SV%: Hunter Shepard (.909)
Only includes qualified players
UPCOMING LOCAL PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Monday, Oct. 14
Day Off
Tuesday, Oct. 15
Practice, 9:30 a.m. at GIANT Center
Travel to Bridgeport
Thursday, Oct. 17
Day Off
Friday, Oct. 18
Practice, 10:30 a.m. at GIANT Center
Saturday, Oct. 19
Morning Skate, 10:15 a.m. at GIANT Center
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS:
- Saturday, Oct. 12 - Hershey 7 vs. Cleveland 3
- Saturday, Oct. 5 - Hershey 3 vs. Cleveland 6
UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE & PROMOTIONS:
Wednesday, Oct. 16 - Hershey at Bridgeport Islanders, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 19 - Hershey vs. Chicago Wolves, 7 p.m. - BUY TICKETS
Sunday, Oct. 20 - Hershey vs. Chicago Wolves, 3 p.m. - BUY TICKETS
Television Coverage: FOX43.2 Antenna TV (Wednesday and Saturday); Video Coverage: AHLTV on FloHockey; Radio Coverage: Bears Radio Network, Capitals Radio Network
All times Eastern
TEAM NEWS AND NOTES:
THE WEEK THAT WAS:
Through the first two games of the 2024-25 season, the Bears sport an identical record to their performance at the start of last season. This time around, however, Hershey was successful in its Opening Night effort against Cleveland on Saturday, thanks to a 7-3 victory powered by Ethen Frank's hat trick, giving Hershey its first Opening Night hat trick since Andrew Gordon scored all three goals for the Chocolate and White in on Oct. 3, 2009 vs. Norfolk.
HATS OFF:
While there have been several instances of Bears players scoring hat tricks in consecutive games, this past weekend's performances from Ethen Frank and Ivan Miroshnichenko marked the first time in the franchise's 87 seasons in the AHL that the team recorded back-to-back hat tricks in its first two games of a season.
FAB FRANK:
Ethen Frank enters the week tied for second in the AHL in goals, thanks to his three-goal performance on Oct. 12; last season, Frank finished tied for eighth in goal-scoring with 29. Since making his pro debut with the Bears on April 13, 2022, the Western Michigan University alumnus has found the net 63 times in the regular season, the fourth-most goals in the AHL behind only Adam Gaudette (71, currently with the NHL's Ottawa Senators), Rocco Grimaldi (70, currently with Cleveland), and Samuel Fagemo (66, currently with Ontario).
NEW BEARS IN TOWN:
Several players made their Hershey debuts this past week, as forwards Luke Philp, Brennan Saulnier, and Spencer Smallman, along with defensemen Ethan Bear and Brad Hunt all earned a sweater for at least one game.
GONE FISHIN':
The Bears make their first visit of the season to Total Mortgage Arena on Wednesday, when they face the rebranded Bridgeport Islanders, who over the summer adopted the nostalgic "Fisherman" logo worn by their NHL parent club for a brief stretch during the mid-1990s. Hershey went 5-0-0-1 against their Atlantic Division opponents last season, going 2-0-0-1 at Bridgeport; in 122 lifetime regular-season meetings with the Bridgeport franchise, the Bears are 71-33-3-5-10 overall, and 29-23-2-3-4 on the road. Former Bears forward Brian Pinho (2018-22) is in his second season with the Islanders after appearing in all 72 games for Bridgeport last season, while Islanders forward Tyce Thompson is the son of former Bears captain Brent Thompson.
BIG, BAD WOLVES:
Hershey gets set to welcome the Chicago Wolves to town this weekend for the first time since Feb. 19, 2006. Chicago joined the American Hockey League as an affiliate of the Atlanta Thrashers in 2001 when the International Hockey League ceased operations and promptly won the Calder Cup in its first year in the new league, defeating fellow AHL expansion member Bridgeport, and again in 2008, when current Bears head coach Todd Nelson served as an assistant coach on John Anderson's staff. After the Thrashers relocated to Winnipeg in 2011, Chicago has dealt with a revolving door when it comes to its primary NHL affiliations, starting with Vancouver (2011-13), St. Louis (2013-17), Vegas (2017-20), and Carolina (2020-23, 2024-present) - adding a third Calder Cup to its mantle in 2021-22 - along with spending last season as an independently-affiliated club. The Wolves are in their first year under new head coach Cam Abbott and are coming off their first back-to-back seasons without a playoff appearance in franchise history. Hershey has only met the Wolves four times in regular-season play, winning three and tying once; the Wolves defeated the Bears three games to two in their only postseason encounter, the 2003 Western Conference quarterfinals.
LOCAL TIES FOR WOLVES:
While the Wolves roster does not possess any direct ties to the Bears, forward Nikita Pavlychev was a four-year letterman at Penn State University from 2016-20, where he was teammates with current Bears forward Alex Limoges. Former Wolves general manager Wendell Young, now the team's vice chairman and governor, led Hershey to the 1988 Calder Cup championship, winning the Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL's outstanding goaltender in the regular season, then going 12-0 in the postseason while capturing the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the most valuable player of the Calder Cup Playoffs. Wolves assistant coach Spiros Anastas is also an alumnus of nearby Lebanon Valley College, where he played for its NCAA Division III program from 2006-10.
BEARS BITES:
Bears head coach Todd Nelson is two wins away from his 100th coaching victory with Hershey. His next win will also give him his 408th career AHL victory, moving him past Scott Gordon for sole possession of seventh in league history...Alex Limoges' four assists is tied for second in the AHL...Ivan Miroshnichenko leads all skaters with 11 shots on goal after logging a career-high eight shots in Sunday's loss to Cleveland...Hershey's power play ranks fifth at 28.6% (4-for-14).
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