The Hershey Bears (19-10-3-0) continue the 2024-25 season, presented by Penn State Health, with two games this week on home ice at GIANT Center against the Providence Bruins, including the world-famous GIANT Teddy Bear Toss on Sunday, Jan. 5.
2024-25 TEAM LEADERS:
Goals: Ethen Frank (20)
Assists: Mike Sgarbossa (20)
Points: Ethen Frank (27)
Power-Play Goals: Chase Priskie (5)
Shorthanded Goals: Bogdan Trineyev (1)
Plus/Minus: Ethan Bear (+14)
Wins: Hunter Shepard (14)
GAA: Hunter Shepard (2.53)
SV%: Hunter Shepard (.904)
Only includes qualified players
LOCAL PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Monday, Dec. 30
Day Off
Tuesday, Dec. 31
Practice, 10:30 a.m. at GIANT Center
Wednesday, Jan. 1
Day Off
Thursday, Jan. 2
Practice, 10:30 a.m. at GIANT Center
Friday, Jan. 3
Practice, 10:30 a.m. at GIANT Center
Saturday, Jan. 4
Morning Skate, 10:15 a.m. at GIANT Center
Practice schedule is subject to change. Please check HersheyBears.com daily for updates.
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS:
- Saturday, Dec. 28 - Hershey 3 vs. Wilkes-Barre Scranton 2 (OT)
- Sunday, Dec. 29 - Hershey 0 vs. Charlotte 1
UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE & PROMOTIONS:
Saturday, Jan. 4 - vs. Providence Bruins, 7 p.m. - BUY TICKETS
Sunday, Jan. 5 - vs. Providence Bruins, 3 p.m. - BUY TICKETS
Television Coverage: Antenna TV (Sunday); Video Coverage: AHLTV on FloHockey; Radio Coverage: Bears Radio Network, Capitals Radio Network
All times Eastern
TEAM NEWS AND NOTES:
DECEMBER LEADERS:
Hershey went 5-5-0-0 in 10 games in the month of December, with Mike Sgarbossa (1g, 6a) and Henrik Rybinski (2g, 5a) tied for the team scoring lead with seven points. Ethen Frank led the club with five goals, while Sgarbossa's six helpers paced Hershey for assists.
FRANK IN FIRST:
Bears forward Ethen Frank notched his 20th goal of the season on Saturday, making him the first AHL player this season to hit the 20-goal plateau. Frank is the first Bear to hit the 20-goal mark in three consecutive seasons since Andrew Gordon.
SHEPARD MOVING UP FRANCHISE LIST FOR GAMES PLAYED AND WINS:
Shepard went 3-3-0 in December with a 2.20 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage. The netminder leads all Eastern Conference goaltenders with 14 wins and 499 saves. Shepard made his 100th career AHL appearance (all with Hershey) in Saturday's win against the Penguins, passing Marc Denis and Dominic Roussel for sole possession of 19th in club history, while the victory marked his 69th career win with Hershey, passing Claude Dufour for sole possession of 11th on the franchise list.
TEDDY BEAR TOSS TIDBITS:
The Bears will host their world-famous GIANT Teddy Bear Toss on Sunday against Providence, as Hershey looks to supplant its own ice hockey world record. Last season's Jan. 7 game against Lehigh Valley saw Bogdan Trineyev score Hershey's Teddy Bear Toss goal at 4:15 of the second period, prompting fans to throw a club-record 74,599 teddy bears and stuffed animals to the ice that were ultimately collected and donated across over 35 local organizations. The event has grown in scale each year since it was first held by the Bears in 2001, and the club has collected in total 464,107 stuffed animals since then. Since 2001, Hershey has posted a record of 14-3-0-2 along with two ties in Teddy Bear Toss games hosted by the club. The organization also hosted a drive-thru event in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fastest Teddy Bear Toss goal in club history was scored by Steve Oleksy just 39 seconds into the game against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Dec. 7, 2014, while the latest Teddy Bear Toss goal was Liam O'Brien at 13:27 of the second period against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Dec. 3, 2017.
WHO'S IT GOING TO BE?:
Trineyev is the only player on the active roster to have scored a Teddy Bear Toss goal for the Bears, although Matt Strome scored a Teddy Bear Toss goal in his major junior days with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the Ontario Hockey League. Chase Priskie and Hardy Haman Aktell assisted on Trineyev's Teddy Bear Toss goal last season, while Mike Sgarbossa and Aaron Ness have previously assisted on Teddy Bear Toss goals for Hershey in the past, with Sgarbossa assisting in both 2018 and 2019.
NELSON CLIMBING LEAGUE, CLUB WINS LEADERBOARD:
Saturday's win vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton gave Bears head coach Todd Nelson the 425th of his AHL head coaching career, moving him past John Anderson for sole possession of sixth in league history. Next up in fifth place is Kevin Dineen at 432. Nelson's next victory will be his 117th with Hershey, which will enable him to pass Murray Henderson (1952-56) for sole possession of ninth in club history for wins by a head coach.
DOWN ON THE FARM:
Injuries to goaltenders Garin Bjorklund and Mitch Gibson prompted the South Carolina Stingrays to sign goaltender Ryan Kenny in advance of their third game of the weekend on Sunday after Seth Eisele had started four consecutive games. Kenny made 24 saves and South Carolina earned a point, but the club fell 3-2 in overtime to the visiting Savannah Ghost Pirates. The Stingrays have dropped six of their last seven games to slide back to third in the ECHL's South Division.
BEARS BITES:
Chase Priskie is tied for first in power-play goals among defensemen with five goals and 12th in scoring among defensemen with 16 points (6g, 10a)...Pierrick Dube is two points away from 100 in his AHL career...The Bears allow the fifth-fewest shots against per game, at 26.50...Hershey is tied for the league lead with seven wins when trailing after the first period.
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