The Hershey Bears (30-13-5-0) continue the 2024-25 season, presented by Penn State Health, as they begin the final third of the campaign by heading down to the Queen City for a pair of games against the Charlotte Checkers. Bears fans can catch the action this weekend on FOX43.2 Antenna TV.
2024-25 TEAM LEADERS:
Goals: Alex Limoges (13)
Assists: Ethan Bear (25)
Points: Alex Limoges, Ethan Bear (32)
Power-Play Goals: Chase Priskie (8)
Shorthanded Goals: Grant Cruikshank, Bogdan Trineyev (1)
Plus/Minus: Ethan Bear (+21)
Wins: Hunter Shepard (18)
GAA: Hunter Shepard (2.94)
SV%: Hunter Shepard (.888)
Only includes qualified players on active roster
LOCAL PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Monday, Feb. 17
Day Off
Tuesday, Feb. 18
Practice, 10:30 a.m. at Hersheypark Arena
Wednesday, Feb. 19
NO PUBLIC PRACTICE
Thursday, Feb. 20
Travel to Charlotte
Practice schedule is subject to change. Please check HersheyBears.com daily for updates.
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS:
- Tuesday, Feb. 11 - Hershey 5 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 4
- Saturday, Feb. 15 - Hershey 4 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3 (OT)
UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE & PROMOTIONS:
Saturday, Feb. 22 - at Charlotte Checkers, 4 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 23 - at Charlotte Checkers, 1 p.m.
Television Coverage: Antenna TV; Video Coverage: AHLTV on FloHockey; Radio Coverage: Bears Radio Network
All times Eastern
TEAM NEWS AND NOTES:
SPENDING THE HOME STRETCH ON THE ROAD:
At the 48-game mark, the Bears sit atop the Atlantic Division and tied in points with Laval (65) atop the Eastern Conference and league standings as Hershey enters the final third of the 2024-25 season. Hershey has played 27 of its 48 games at home, meaning a heavily road-loaded slate over its final 24 games, including this weekend's pair of games and a franchise-record 10-game road trip in the month of March; Hershey happens to boast a league-leading .810 road points percentage thanks to a 15-2-4-0 record away from GIANT Center. Last season, the Bears went 16-5-0-3 over their final 24 games, and the club posted a record of 14-7-0-3 in its final third of the 2022-23 campaign.
LAPIERRE TAKES PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS:
The American Hockey League announced on Monday that forward Hendrix Lapierre had been selected as the Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Feb. 16. The third-year pro collected five points (2g, 3a) last week, including his first two goals of the 2024-25 campaign. Lapierre is Hershey's first selection for AHL Player of the Week honors since Connor McMichael did so on May 26, 2021.
MILESTONE MEN:
Four Bears enter the week in position to reach various games-played milestones in their next contest. Brad Hunt is one game away from 700 pro games (288 NHL, 411 AHL); Chase Priskie is one game away from 300 pro games (4 NHL, 295 AHL); Alex Limoges is one game away from his 100th as a Bear; Jon McDonald's next game will mark his 100th pro contest (13 AHL, 86 ECHL). Garrett Roe is also two games away from his 200th career AHL contest.
OFFENSIVE BLUE LINE BLOSSOMING:
Both Ethan Bear and Chase Priskie made valuable offensive contributions in last week's games. Bear's five points (1g, 4a) has vaulted him into a tie for sixth in league scoring among defensemen with 32 points (7g, 25a) on the season, which brings him two points back of the 34 points produced by Priskie in 2023-24 to lead Hershey in defensive scoring that season. Priskie, meanwhile, recorded his 10th goal of the season last Saturday at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to tie the game, and makes him the first Hershey defenseman to record double-digit goals for the Chocolate and White in a single season since Christian Djoos lit the lamp 13 times in 2016-17.
QUEEN CITY QUEST:
Hershey's visit to Charlotte this weekend sees the Bears face the Checkers for the final two meetings of the season. Each team has earned three wins apiece through the first six games, with Charlotte owning a slide edge due to points earned in overtime and shootout losses. The Bears took both of their previous games at Bojangles Coliseum in January; Hershey has posted a 6-2-1-1 record at Charlotte during the Todd Nelson era.
ENDURANCE-TESTED BEARS:
Hershey has demonstrated an ability to go the distance this season while winning its share of close games. The club owns a league-leading 20-6-5-0 record in games decided by one goal, just four victories shy of the club mark for one-goal wins set last season. Hershey's 12 games decided in the overtime period (with a win-loss record of 7-5) are tied with Hartford and Lehigh Valley for the league lead. The Bears have also spared no shortage of comeback dramatics, as they are tied for the league lead with 11 victories when trailing after the first period and lead the league outright with 10 wins when tied after the second period.
NELSON PASSES WEILAND:
Hershey's win at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last Saturday gave head coach his 127th career win with the Bears, moving him past Ralph "Cooney" Weiland for sole possession of eighth in franchise history. Ahead of Nelson in seventh place with 136 wins is Don Penniston, who succeeded Weiland as the third head coach in Bears history and guided the club to its first Calder Cup championship in 1947.
DOWN ON THE FARM:
The South Carolina Stingrays went 3-0-0-0 last week, beating Savannah on the road 5-3 on Thursday and winning at home against Wheeling (3-1) and Jacksonville (5-4 OT) on Saturday and Sunday. Washington Capitals goaltending prospect Garin Bjorklund earned the win in all three games, going 97-for-105 (.924 save percentage). The Stingrays sit nine points back of the first-place Florida Everblades with two games in hand.
BEARS BITES:
Mike Vecchione's next assist will mark his 100th career helper as a Bear...Hunter Shepard is tied for the league lead with 18 wins, and his next victory will mark his 74th career win with Hershey, tying him with Braden Holtby for eighth in franchise history...Garrett Roe is two points away from his 100th career AHL point, while Alex Limoges is two points away from his 200th AHL point...Entering the week, Hershey has lost 170 man games this season due to either injury or illness; Hershey lost only 107 man games to injury or illness for the entirety of the 2023-24 regular season...Former Bears video coach Mike King and Team USA are slated to face Team Canada in the championship of the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off on Thursday, Feb. 20 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
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