The Hershey Bears (42-18-6-1) continue the 2024-25 season, presented by Penn State Health, as Hershey heads out on the road for the final time this season with games at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Friday and Lehigh Valley on Saturday.
2024-25 TEAM LEADERS:
Goals: Ivan Miroshnichenko (20)
Assists: Ethan Bear (36)
Points: Ethan Bear (46)
Power-Play Goals: Chase Priskie (9)
Shorthanded Goals: Grant Cruikshank, Bogdan Trineyev (1)
Plus/Minus: Ethan Bear (+33)
Wins: Clay Stevenson (17)
GAA: Clay Stevenson (2.90)
SV%: Clay Stevenson (.889)
Only includes qualified players on active roster
LOCAL PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Monday, April 7
Day Off
Tuesday, April 8
Practice, 10:45 a.m. at Hersheypark Arena
Wednesday, April 9
Practice, 10:30 a.m. at GIANT Center
Thursday, April 10
Practice, 10:30 a.m. at GIANT Center
Friday, April 11
Morning Skate, 10:15 a.m. at GIANT Center
Travel to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Practice schedule is subject to change. Please check HersheyBears.com daily for updates.
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS:
- Friday, April 4 - Hershey 2 at Lehigh Valley 1
- Saturday, April 5 - Hershey 3 vs. Hartford 2 (OT)
- Sunday, April 6 - Hershey 2 vs. Hartford 1
UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE & PROMOTIONS:
Friday, April 11 - at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, April 12 - at Lehigh Valley Phantoms, 7:05 p.m.
Television Coverage: FOX 43.2 Antenna TV (Friday); Video Coverage: AHLTV on FloHockey; Radio Coverage: Bears Radio Network, Capitals Radio Network
All times Eastern
TEAM NEWS AND NOTES:
END OF THE ROAD:
This season the Bears have been the best road team in the league, currently owning a .765 road points percentage on the strength of a 23-5-5-1 record away from GIANT Center. With their final two road contests looming this weekend, Hershey needs to earn at least one out of four available points to match the club's single-season record for road points percentage (.736, 2023-24) at the conclusion of the campaign.
JUMPING RIGHT IN:
Washington Capitals defensive prospects David Gucciardi and Ryan Chesley both made their professional debuts with the Bears on Saturday and Sunday respectively, with each player recording their first career pro goals. The last Bear to score for Hershey while making their pro debut was defenseman Alex Alexeyev on Oct. 5, 2019 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
CLOSE CALLS:
Last Sunday's 2-1 win over Hartford marked Hershey's league-leading 25th victory this season determined by a single goal (25-7-6-1), breaking the previous franchise mark of 24 set last season (24-2-0-5). Hershey's franchise record for most games decided by one goal is 45 (20-13-4-8), set during the 2011-12 campaign.
MAGIC NUMBER MATH:
With 91 points, the Bears have a five-point edge on the Charlotte Checkers in the Atlantic Division standings in the race for the Frank S. Mathers Trophy for the regular-season division title. Hershey has the best chance to lock up the division title with a Magic Number of six points; a regulation win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this Friday would also secure a first-round bye for the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs. The Bears have also made up some ground on the Laval Rocket in the pursuit of the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy for first place overall in the AHL with a Magic Number of 13, behind only Laval's Magic Number of nine points.
GOALIE GRACE:
With Hunter Shepard recalled to Washington, the goaltending duties in Hershey are currently split between Clay Stevenson and Garin Bjorklund. Stevenson went 2-0-0 last week for Hershey with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .965 save percentage; the third-year pro has allowed one goal or fewer in eight starts this season with the Bears. Bjorklund made his first home start on Saturday, turning in 23 saves in Hershey's 3-2 overtime win against the Hartford Wolf Pack.
20/20 VISION:
Ivan Miroshnichenko netted his 20th goal of the season on Sunday, burying the game-winner for Hershey in a 2-1 victory over Hartford. Miroshnichenko is now tied with Ethen Frank (recalled to Washington since Jan. 10) for the team goal-scoring lead. Not far behind are Pierrick Dube (19) and Mike Vecchione (18). Should Dube and Vecchione manage to join Frank and Miroshnichenko, it would give the Bears four 20-goal scorers since the 2010-11 campaign, when Brian Willsie (30), Kyle Greentree (30), Andrew Gordon (28), and Boyd Kane (24) reached the 20-goal plateau.
PESTERING THE PENGUINS:
The Bears begin this weekend against the Penguins as they make their final visit of the 2024-25 campaign to Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza, where Hershey has gone 2-1-1-1 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season, with the last three road games against the Penguins all going past regulation. Ethan Bear leads Hershey in scoring against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with 10 points (2g, 8a) in eight contests, while Ville Koivunen (recalled to Pittsburgh) and Filip Kral have put up 11 points in 10 games to pace the Penguins against the Bears. Penguins netminding prodigy Sergei Murashov has gone 4-0-0 against the Bears with a 2.44 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage.
FANNING THE PHANTOMS:
Hershey leads the head-to-head series against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms with a 5-2-1-0 record through eight meetings. The Bears have posted a 24-6-1-3 (.667) record against Lehigh Valley in the Todd Nelson era. Ethan Bear's nine points (2g, 7a) in six contests leads Hershey in scoring against the Phantoms, while Jon-Randall Avon and Olle Lycksell (recalled to Philadelphia) have each recorded five points to lead Lehigh Valley against Hershey. The Chocolate and White have gone 3-for-27 (11.1%) on the power play against the Phantoms and 20-for-21 (95.2%) on the penalty kill.
LEAPING LIMO:
Alex Limoges' game-winning goal against Hartford in Hershey's 3-2 overtime win last Saturday marked his second overtime tally of the campaign. Last season - Limoges' first with the Chocolate and White - he tied the club mark for most overtime goals in a single season with three, joining John Sorrell (1942-43), Dunc Fisher (1953-54), Willie Marshall (1959-60), and Eric Perrin (2003-04). Limoges' five career overtime goals with Hershey are just two off Fisher's franchise mark. The Bears lead the AHL this season with nine wins in the overtime period (9-6) and are just one overtime victory away from matching the club's single-season record of 10 (2021-22; 10-6).
AIDING THE 'GR8 CHASE':
With Alex Ovechkin's record-setting 895th NHL goal on Sunday, the Washington Capitals legend passed Wayne Gretzky for sole possession of first place in league history for goals. In his pursuit of a record that was once considered unbreakable, 56 Bears - including four currently on Hershey's active roster and current Bears vice president of hockey operations Bryan Helmer - contributed a total of 607 assists on Ovechkin's goals. Former Bear John Carlson has the most career assists of any Hershey alumnus on Ovechkin's goals with 158.
DOWN ON THE FARM:
The South Carolina Stingrays won both of their games last week - a 4-2 win vs. Orlando on Saturday and 3-2 victory at Greenville on Sunday - to extend their winning streak to 15 games and break franchise records for wins (50) and points (105), with three games remaining in the campaign. South Carolina's Magic Number to lock up the Brabham Cup is down to one point; if the Stingrays are successful in achieving the feat, it will be only the second time in franchise history and the first time since 1996-97 that the club has finished atop the ECHL standings.
BEARS BITES:
Ethan Bear is sixth in defensive scoring with 46 points and is tied for second among all skaters in plus/minus at +33...Mike Vecchione is one point away from his 300th pro point...Spencer Smallman is one assist away from his 100th pro helper...Brad Hunt is three points away from his 300th AHL point...Hershey's 3.28 goals scored per game is eighth in the AHL...The Bears have managed 13 wins this season when trailing after the first period, which is tied with Texas for the league lead...Hershey's .813 points percentage when scoring first (24-4-4-0) is sixth in the AHL...Hershey's road penalty kill ranks fourth in the league at 86-for-100 (86%).
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