The Hershey Bears (37-15-5-1) continue the 2024-25 season, presented by Penn State Health, as Hershey plays three road games this week, visiting the Springfield Thunderbirds on Wednesday, the Hartford Wolf Pack on Friday, and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday. The Bears are coming off a week that saw the club secure its 72nd playoff berth in franchise history, and Hershey will now look to lock up a first-round bye and the Atlantic Division title.
2024-25 TEAM LEADERS:
Goals: Ivan Miroshnichenko (18)
Assists: Ethan Bear (31)
Points: Ethan Bear (40)
Power-Play Goals: Chase Priskie (8)
Shorthanded Goals: Grant Cruikshank, Bogdan Trineyev (1)
Plus/Minus: Ethan Bear (+30)
Wins: Hunter Shepard (21)
GAA: Hunter Shepard (2.79)
SV%: Hunter Shepard (.893)
Only includes qualified players on active roster
LOCAL PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Monday, March 17-Sunday, March 23
No local practices during this period
Practice schedule is subject to change. Please check HersheyBears.com daily for updates.
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS:
- Wednesday, March 12 - Hershey 4 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 5 (SO)
- Saturday, March 15 - Hershey 5 at Chicago 0
- Sunday, March 16 - Hershey 5 at Chicago 2
UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE & PROMOTIONS:
Wednesday, March 19 - at Springfield Thunderbirds, 7:05 p.m.
Friday, March 21 - at Hartford Wolf Pack, 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 22 - at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 6:05 p.m.
Video Coverage: AHLTV on FloHockey; Radio Coverage: Bears Radio Network, Capitals Radio Network
All times Eastern
TEAM NEWS AND NOTES:
BEARS ARE PLAYOFF-BOUND:
Hershey's 5-2 win at Chicago last Sunday allowed the Bears to become the first team in the AHL to clinch a spot in the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs, marking a league-leading 72nd postseason appearance in franchise history. The Bears are the back-to-back defending Calder Cup champions, and will now have a chance to become only the second team in league history to win three consecutive postseason titles and the first since the Springfield Indians (now the Abbotsford Canucks based on franchise lineage) of 1960-62.
WHOA, WE'RE HALFWAY THERE:
Halfway through Hershey's franchise-record 10-game road trip, the club has posted a 4-0-0-1 record in five games to earn nine of a possible 10 points. Hershey has outscored its opponents 21-10, with 16 individual skaters finding the net. The Bears have also outshot their opponents 149-126, with Ivan Miroshnichenko leading the way with 20 shots on goal, accounting for 13.4% of shots generated by Bears skaters. From a special teams perspective, Hershey's power play is operating at a 30.8% rate (4-for-13) while the penalty kill is working at an 84.6% clip (11-for-13).
ROAD WARRIORS:
This season the Bears have been the best road team in the league, owning an .804 road points percentage on the strength of an 20-3-4-1 record away from GIANT Center. Hershey needs six more wins out of its remaining eight road contests to match the franchise mark for road victories in a season (26, 2009-10) and eight out of an available 16 points to match the club record for road points percentage (.736, 2023-24).
GOALIE GRIT:
The goaltending tandem of Hunter Shepard and Clay Stevenson appears to have rounded into form during Hershey's road trip. Shepard has posted a 2-0-0 record with a 1.50 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage, while Stevenson has gone 2-0-1 with a 1.95 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage. Both goaltenders have recorded a shutout over the course of the road swing. Shepard's 21 wins for the season are tied for second in the AHL with Texas netminder Magnus Hellberg and is just one behind Providence's Michael DiPietro's 22.
PROSPEROUS PRISKIE:
The road trip has been especially kind to Bears defenseman Chase Priskie. The blueliner has recorded at least a point in each of Hershey's five games since the March 7 contest at Cleveland, and with nine points (1g, 8a) over that stretch, Priskie has factored into 42.9% of Hershey's 21 goals scored during the trip. Priskie's nine points are also the most of any skater in the AHL since March 7. Hershey is 20-4-1-1 this season when Priskie gets on the scoresheet.
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 20 of a possible 28 points out of its remaining 14 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.
TALKIN' T-BIRDS:
Wednesday's game at Springfield marks the final contest of the regular-season series with the Thunderbirds, with the Bears winning the first three games by a combined score of 12-6. Hershey has gone 5-1-2-0 at MassMutual Center against the Springfield Thunderbirds since the 2021-22 season. Ivan Miroshnichenko leads Hershey in scoring against Springfield with four points (0g, 4a), while Aleksanteri Kaskimaki's three points (1g, 2a) paces the active roster for the Thunderbirds against the Bears.
HOWLING AT THE WOLF PACK:
Hershey faces the Hartford Wolf Pack three more times this season, starting with Friday's visit to the XL Center. The Bears previously suffered a 3-0 defeat at Hartford on Dec. 11, and Hershey will look to avoid going winless on the road against the Wolf Pack for the first time since the 2021-22 campaign (0-2-0-1).
PACING THE PENGUINS:
The Bears face the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday for the 10th time in the 12-game regular-season series as the top two teams in the Atlantic Division square off. Hershey is 5-3-0-1 against the Penguins this season. Ethan Bear leads Hershey with 10 points (2g, 8a) in eight contests, while Ville Koivunen leads Wilkes-Barre/Scranton against the Bears with 11 points (7g, 4a).
DOWN ON THE FARM:
The South Carolina Stingrays won four games in a five-day stretch last week to extend their winning streak to eight games and clinch a berth in the Kelly Cup Playoffs. Ryan Hofer scored a highlight-reel through-the-legs goal against Greenville on March 12 in a 5-2 win, then added the game-winner two nights later in a 6-3 win at Atlanta. South Carolina's surge has allowed the club to leapfrog the Florida Everblades for first place in the ECHL's Eastern Conference
BEARS BITES:
Matt Strome is three points away from his 100th pro point...Hendrix Lapierre is two points away from his 100th pro point...Spencer Smallman is two assists away from his 100th pro assist...Ethan Bear is seventh in defensive scoring with 40 points and is second among all skaters in plus/minus at +30...Mike Vecchione needs one more assist to earn his 100th as a Bear...The Bears have the third-fewest penalty minutes per game and the fewest in the Eastern Conference (10.69)...Hershey is tied with Texas for the league lead with eight road wins when trailing after the first period...Hershey is tied with Manitoba, San Diego, and Texas for the league lead with 10 wins when tied after the second period...The Bears are second in the league with 22 wins in games decided by one goal. Hershey's franchise record for wins decided by one goal is 24, set last season (24-2-0-5)...Last Saturday's game at Chicago marked the first time the Bears did not have an opportunity with the man advantage since Nov. 25, 2023 vs. Iowa.
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