The Hershey Bears (33-14-5-0) continue the 2024-25 season, presented by Penn State Health, with three games this week. The Bears host the Belleville Senators on Wednesday before beginning a franchise-record 10-game road trip with a pair of games in Cleveland this weekend.
2024-25 TEAM LEADERS:
Goals: Ivan Miroshnichenko (16)
Assists: Ethan Bear (29)
Points: Ethan Bear (37)
Power-Play Goals: Chase Priskie (8)
Shorthanded Goals: Grant Cruikshank, Bogdan Trineyev (1)
Plus/Minus: Ethan Bear (+27)
Wins: Hunter Shepard (19)
GAA: Hunter Shepard (2.80)
SV%: Hunter Shepard (.894)
Only includes qualified players on active roster
LOCAL PRACTICE SCHEDULE:
Monday, March 3
Day Off
Tuesday, March 4
Practice, 10:30 a.m. at GIANT Center
Wednesday, March 5
Morning Skate, 10:15 a.m. at GIANT Center
Thursday, March 6
Travel to Cleveland
Practice schedule is subject to change. Please check HersheyBears.com daily for updates.
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS:
- Saturday, March 1 - Hershey 5 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 4 (OT)
- Sunday, March 2 - Hershey 4 vs. Lehigh Valley 0
UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE & PROMOTIONS:
Wednesday, March 5 - vs. Belleville Senators, 7 p.m. - BUY TICKETS
Friday, March 7 - at Cleveland Monsters, 7 p.m.
Saturday, March 8 - at Cleveland Monsters, 4 p.m.
Television Coverage: Antenna TV (Friday and Sunday); Video Coverage: AHLTV on FloHockey; Radio Coverage: Bears Radio Network, Capitals Radio Network
All times Eastern
TEAM NEWS AND NOTES:
NHL DEADLINE DAY APPROACHING:
The National Hockey League trade deadline is this Friday at 3 p.m. ET. Three current Bears have been traded on deadline day previously in their careers:
The AHL trade deadline is Friday, March 14 at 3 p.m. ET.
SHEPARD'S DELIGHT:
Following Sunday's game against Lehigh Valley, Hunter Shepard is just the fourth Bears goaltender since the 2005-06 campaign to appear in at least 30 games for Hershey in at least three consecutive seasons, joining Freddy Cassivi (2005-08), Braden Holtby (2009-12), and Vitek Vanecek (2016-20). Shepard's 21-save shutout win against the Phantoms was also his 74th career victory with Hershey to tie Holtby for eighth on the franchise wins list, and his 10th career shutout, tying Peter Budaj for 10th in franchise history. Shepard is 2-1-0 in three appearances with a 2.01 goals-against average, a .931 save percentage, and one shutout since the All-Star break.
THE BEST DEFENSE IS A GOOD OFFENSE:
With under two months remaining in the regular season, Hershey defensemen Chase Priskie and Ethan Bear have stood out offensively. Priskie is one of only two Eastern Conference defensemen (Logan Mailloux, Laval, 11g) with at least 10 goals and the first Bears blueliner to record at least 10 goals since Christian Djoos lit the lamp 13 times in the 2016-17 season. Bear's 37 points are the most by a Hershey defender since Aaron Ness tallied 55 in the 2018-19 campaign. Bear currently has a four-point lead on teammate Alex Limoges for the team scoring lead; should Bear maintain his status through the end of the regular season, he would be the first Hershey defender to lead the team in scoring since Roland "Rollie" McLenahan paced the Chocolate and White with 60 points in the 1949-50 season to earn AHL First All-Star Team honors.
LAPPY LOCOMOTION:
Hendrix Lapierre carries a six-game point streak into the week. The third-year pro has posted 11 points (4g, 7a) beginning with Hershey's 5-4 win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Feb. 11, including two three-point outings to match his AHL career-high, and racked up Howies Hockey Tape/AHL Player of the Week honors for the period ending Feb. 16.
WORKING OVERTIME:
Hershey's overtime win over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton last Saturday gave the club its league-leading eighth win in the sudden-death frame this season (8-5). The Bears have had 16 games in total extended to overtime, with Hershey earning three wins via the shootout. Hershey has already established a new franchise record for road overtime wins this season (5-4), passing the previous mark of four from the 2003-04 and 2021-22 seasons; the club mark for home overtime wins is six, also set during the 2021-22 campaign.
NORTHERN WINDS:
Hershey's three games this week are all against North Division opponents. The Bears have gone 8-3-3-0 against the North Division this season. Hershey has played every North Division team with the exception of Utica; the Bears will face the Comets as part of a home-and-home set at the end of the month to close Hershey's road trip.
SENS-SATIONAL:
The Bears face the Belleville Senators for the final time in the 2024-25 regular season on Wednesday. Hershey owns a 2-0-1-0 record this season against Belleville. Alex Limoges leads the Bears in scoring against the Senators with five points (2g, 3a), while Angus Crookshank's six points (2g, 4a) paces Belleville against Hershey. NHL veteran Sam Gagner joined the Senators this season during Hershey's two-game stop in Belleville, and recorded an assist in his Senators debut against the Chocolate and White on Jan. 24. Gagner has recorded three assists in four career games against the Bears; Wednesday's contest could mark only Gagner's second career appearance at GIANT Center, and his first since Dec. 31, 2015 as a member of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
HIT THE ROAD, JACK:
Following Wednesday's home contest against Belleville, the Bears will embark on a franchise-record 10-game road trip, playing the first two games in Ohio against the Cleveland Monsters. The previous mark of nine consecutive road games has occurred twice before in the team's history. Hershey went 3-5-1 from Feb. 8-25 in the 1958-59 campaign and 3-6-0-0 from Feb. 27-March 14 in the 2007-08 season. This season, the Bears have been the best road team in the league, owning a .783 road points percentage on the strength of a 16-3-4-0 record away from GIANT Center. Hershey needs 10 more wins out of its remaining 13 road contests to match the franchise mark for road victories in a season (26, 2009-10) and 17 out of an available 26 points to match the club record for road points percentage (.736, 2023-24).
CLEVELAND ROCKS:
Hershey will face the Monsters for the first time since the opening weekend to the 2024-25 season, when the Bears earned a split of two games at GIANT Center. Hershey will make its first visit to the recently-rebranded Rocket Arena since the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals. Hershey won both of its regular-season contests in Cleveland last season before going 1-2 at the venue in the postseason, as the Bears eventually claimed the Richard F. Canning Trophy at home in a Game 7 overtime thriller. The Bears have won six consecutive regular-season games at Rocket Arena dating back to the 2021-22 season, and are 8-5-0-1 lifetime on the road against the Monsters. Alex Limoges leads the active roster against Cleveland with four points (0g, 4a), tied with the recalled Ethen Frank (3g, 1a).
DOWN ON THE FARM:
The South Carolina Stingrays made up some ground on the South Division-leading Florida Everblades last week, going 2-1-0-0 against Florida on the road in three games at Hertz Arena, outscoring the three-time defending Kelly Cup champions 11-8. South Carolina now sits just six points back of Florida for the top spot in the division with a game in hand. The Stingrays - who boast the ECHL's top offense (3.74 goals scored per game) and the second-best defense (2.39 goals against per game) feature in the lone contest on the ECHL slate tonight as they take the ice in Orlando against the Solar Bears.
BEARS BITES:
Hershey has won its last three games at home and its last three overall contests...Ethan Bear leads all Eastern Conference skaters in plus/minus with a +27...Alex Limoges is one point away from his 200th professional/AHL point, Garrett Roe is one point from his 100th AHL points, and Dalton Smith is one point away from his 100th pro point...Mike Vecchione needs one more assist to earn his 100th as a Bear...The Bears have the third-fewest penalty minutes per game (10.77)...Hershey is tied with Manitoba and Texas for the league lead with 10 wins when tied after the second period...The Bears lead the league with 21 wins in games decided by one goal.
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