The Hershey Bears (38-16-6-1) continue the 2024-25 season, presented by Penn State Health, as Hershey concludes its franchise-record 10-game road trip with games at Bridgeport and Utica, before returning home on Sunday to host the Comets at GIANT Center for Hall of Fame Night.
2024-25 TEAM LEADERS:
Goals: Ivan Miroshnichenko (18)
Assists: Ethan Bear (31)
Points: Ethan Bear (41)
Power-Play Goals: Chase Priskie (8)
Shorthanded Goals: Grant Cruikshank, Bogdan Trineyev (1)
Plus/Minus: Ethan Bear (+31)
Wins: Hunter Shepard (22)
GAA: Hunter Shepard (2.77)
SV%: Hunter Shepard (.893)
Only includes qualified players on active roster
LOCAL PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Monday, March 24
Practice, 11 a.m. at Hersheypark Arena
Tuesday, March 25
Travel to Bridgeport
Practice schedule is subject to change. Please check HersheyBears.com daily for updates.
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS:
- Wednesday, March 19 - Hershey 4 at Springfield 2
- Friday, March 21 - Hershey 3 at Hartford 4
- Saturday, March 22 - Hershey 2 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3 (OT)
UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE & PROMOTIONS:
Wednesday, March 26 - at Bridgeport Islanders, 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 29 - at Utica Comets, 7 p.m.
Sunday, March 30 - vs. Utica Comets, 5 p.m. - CLICK TO PURCHASE TICKETS
Television Coverage: FOX 43.2 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:
ATLANTIC DIVISION DOGFIGHT:
Hershey enters the week atop the Atlantic Division standings with 83 points, giving the Bears a five-point edge over second-place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and a six-point lead over third-place Providence with an identical number of games remaining. Hershey's Magic Number to lock up a second consecutive Atlantic Division title sits at 18 points.
BJORKLUND JOINS BEARS:
The Bears announced on Tuesday that goaltender Garin Bjorklund has been re-assigned to Hershey from the South Carolina Stingrays by the Washington Capitals. The 22-year-old netminder has posted a 21-4-3 record with one shutout in 29 games this season for South Carolina. He ranks third in the ECHL in goals-against average (2.02) and is tied for second in save percentage (.927) and has won his past five games. Bjorklund also earned Warrior Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Week honors for the week of Feb. 17-23 after going 2-0-0 with one shutout, a 0.50 goals-against average, and a .980 save percentage in two appearances. Should Bjorklund get into game action at any point while on Hershey's roster, it will mark his AHL debut.
AT THE END OF THE ROAD:
Eight games into Hershey's franchise-record 10-game road trip, the club has posted a 5-1-1-1 record to earn 12 of a possible 16 points. Hershey has outscored its opponents 30-19, with 19 individual skaters finding the net. The Bears have also outshot their opponents 242-207, with Ivan Miroshnichenko leading the way with 27 shots on goal, accounting for 11.2% of shots generated by Bears skaters. From a special teams perspective, Hershey's power play is operating at a 27.8% rate (5-for-18) while the penalty kill is working at a 78.9% clip (15-for-19).
ROAD WARRIORS:
This season the Bears have been the best road team in the league, owning an .774 road points percentage on the strength of an 21-4-5-1 record away from GIANT Center. Hershey needs to win all five of its remaining road contests to match the franchise mark for road victories in a season (26, 2009-10) and earn five out of an available 10 points to guarantee the club will finish the season by matching the club record for road points percentage (.736, 2023-24).
PUSH TO 100:
As the playoff picture begins to crystallize in the final weeks of the regular season, the Bears can set their sights on some regular-season benchmarks. If Hershey earns 17 of a possible 22 points out of its remaining 11 games, the team can set a new club record for best points percentage over a three-year period, surpassing the mark of .685 currently held by the Chocolate and White during the period of 2008-09 through 2010-11.
BACK TO THE ISLAND:
The Bears will close out their regular-season series with the Bridgeport Islanders this Wednesday. Hershey has largely dominated the series this season, posting a 4-1-0-0 record against the last-place team in the Atlantic Division. Ivan Miroshnichenko leads Hershey with eight points (6g, 2a) against Bridgeport, while Chris Terry's seven points (2g, 5a) paces the Islanders against the Bears. Terry's 59 points this season place the veteran forward fourth in the race for the John B. Sollenberger Trophy for the league's scoring title.
CURBING THE COMETS:
Hershey closes out its road trip on Saturday at Utica, marking the first game of a weekend home-and-home set. Despite claiming the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy last season as the top team in the AHL, Hershey failed to earn a win in two contests against Utica (0-1-0-1), marking the first time the Bears failed to get a victory against the Comets. Hershey's last win against Utica came in the home opener for the 2022-23 season, a 3-1 win over the Comets on Oct. 15, 2022, and its last road win against Utica came in a 4-0 win on Feb. 25, 2022. Utica began the season 0-8-0-1 before the parent New Jersey Devils relieved Kevin Dineen of his head coaching duties and appointed assistant coach Ryan Parent as interim head coach, going 24-21-5-1 since the change. The Bears completed one trade with Utica this season, sending Dmitry Osipov to the Comets for Jace Isley on Nov. 29.
DOWN ON THE FARM:
The South Carolina Stingrays won all three of their games last week - outscoring their opponents 13-7 - to extend their winning streak to 11 games, and lead the entire ECHL with 97 points. The Stingrays will clinch home-ice advantage for the first round of the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs if the Jacksonville Icemen lose in regulation on Wednesday or if the Stingrays win on Friday in Kalamazoo.
BEARS BITES:
Hunter Shepard's 22 wins ranks second among goaltenders...Ethan Bear is seventh in defensive scoring with 41 points and is second among all skaters in plus/minus at +31...Matt Strome's next point will mark the 100th of his pro career...Spencer Smallman is two assists away from his 100th pro assist...Bears head coach Todd Nelson is two wins away from passing Don Penniston (136 wins) for seventh on the franchise list for wins by a head coach...The Bears have the second-fewest penalty minutes per game and the fewest in the Eastern Conference (10.48)...Hershey is tied with Texas for the league lead with 12 wins when trailing after the first period.
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