Photo Credit: Tori Hartman
Well, the Hershey Bears can add another huge weekend into the 2014-15 record books. Here are some of the outstanding Hershey Bears numbers from the weekend:
- 1st in the AHL in the standings
- 1st in the league in the penalty kill (88.8%)
- 4 wins against the Albany Devils sweeps the season series against them
- 5 seconds between two goals from Tim Kennedy and Chris Conner set a record for the fastest two goals in franchise history (previous was 6 seconds by Tim Tookey and Bill Armstrong in 1990)
- 6 points on the weekend from wins against the Binghamton Senators (5-1), Albany Devils (4-2), Lehigh Valley Phantoms (2-0)
- 7th is Grubauer‘s rank in all time Hershey shutouts (6SO)
- 9 shutouts in a season ties the franchise record (tied with the 1997-97 Calder Cup team and the 2003-04 team)
- 12 home game win streak is the leagues longest active home point streak
- 37 first goals scored leads the league
- 28 points to clinch the playoffs
Check out more info on the Bears numbers. Now let’s preview the opponents the Bears look to defeat this weekend.
Hershey Bears vs Providence Bruins
If the playoffs started today, the Hershey Bears would take on the Providence Bruins. The Bruins are holding on to the final seed of the Eastern Conference with the Portland Pirates nipping at their heels. At the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Rhode Island, we could see a preview of Hershey’s first round series. They last time these two teams faced off was on February 22 in a high scoring 5-4 overtime Bears win. Providence has gone 7 -2-2-0 in their last 11 games and will surely bring the heat on Friday to extend their point advantage over the Portland Pirates.
Added to the roster from the trade deadline: Zach Phillips (7-8-15 in 49GP) from Iowa Wild and Paul Carey (13-14-27 in 43GP) from Lake Erie Monsters
Who to watch: Alexander Khokhlachev
Khokhlachev was the Boston Bruins second pick (40th overall) in the 2011 Entry Draft. The 5’11”, 184 pound center is on the second year of his three year entry level contract with the Bruins. He leads the Providence Bruins with 35 points (13G, 22A) on the season so far. Khokhlachev had two of the four Providence Bruins goals the last time they faced the Hershey Bears on February 22.
Hershey Bears vs Hartford Wolf Pack
The Hershey Bears took on the Hartford Wolf Pack pretty early this season. The last game was a 3-2
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loss for Hershey on November 9th. The Bears have gone 2-1-0-0 against the Wolf Pack, but could easily end the season series with a win on Saturday. Hershey will face off against three former Bears in
,
, and
. The 6th seeded Hartford team will try to bounce back from two straight losses last weekend.
Added to the roster from the trade deadline: Carl Klingberg (15-15-30 in 51GP) from the St. John’s Ice Caps
Who to watch: Chris Bourque
I mean do I really need to tell the Bears fans to watch him? We’ve all seen what he can bring to a team even if you don’t want to admit it. Chris Bourque only has one goal against Hershey in the season series so far, but he will surely look to add to that on Saturday especially since it is Bourque Brothers Bobblehead Night (Chris has a brother, Ryan, who also plays for Hartford). In the 55 games Bourque has played this season, he is 20-27-47, and in February alone, he has registered 8 points (2G, 6A).
Hershey Bears vs Portland Pirates
Hershey will continue to see former Bears on Sunday when the face Patrick McNeill and the newly-aquired David Leggio. As I mentioned earlier, the Pirates are in the chase for the last spot in the playoffs. Right now, they are trailing the Providence Bruins by two points, but the Bruins have a game in hand, so they could easily catch up and push Providence out of the playoffs. The last time the Bears played Portland, Hershey won 5-2. The Pirates didn’t fair too well in February either and went 4-4-0-1.
Added to the roster from the trade deadline: David Leggio (3.93GAA, .861 SAV%) from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Who to watch: Brendon Shinnimin
Shinnimin didn’t face the Bears the last time they played each other as he was on an 11 game recall with the Arizona Coyotes. Shinnimin went undrafted and finally signed an entry level deal with the Coyotes in 2012 despite putting up tremendous numbers in the WHL. This season he has played 46 games with the Pirates and posted 31 points(12G, 19A), which is only two points away from his previous season high in 2012-13. In January, he registered points in 6 consecutive games and earned himself a spot on the AHL All-Star roster.
Notes:
Hershey managed to escape the NHL trade deadline unaffected. Now we just have to wait for the AHL trade deadline on March 9th at 3 p.m. I honestly don’t think the Bears should make any changes. With how the team is playing, why would you, but I am not in charge of the team, so we will see what happens. Hershey Bears General Manger Doug Yingst told Tim Leone, “About eight teams have called looking to make some moves actually to bolster their roster. Our roster is really good, so it would have to be the right fit for us if we would decide we want to do something else.” Mr Yingst, sir, please don’t decide to do anything else especially since Andre Burakovsky just got reassigned to Hershey and should add some more depth up front.
Yingst said Burakovsky expected to physically report to Hershey. Not just a paper transaction. Potentially slotting at LW.
— Tim Leone (@timleone) March 2, 2015
Tim Leone also pointed out that Justin Peters wasn’t sent down to the AHL by 3 p.m. today, so he will be won’t be able to play in Hershey. Why does this matter? Well, many people suspected that Peters would be exchanged for Philipp Grubauer to back up Braden Holtby. Since Peters isn’t eligible to play in Hershey it doesn’t seem like the two switching places will happen. As a Bears fan, I’m breathing a sigh of relief because Grubi is playing tremendously for the team. Caps fans how are you feeling about this?
After Sunday’s game against the Portland Pirates, Hershey won’t be home again until March 27 when they take on the Manchester Monarchs. Home games are dwindling, but Hershey still leads in attendance with an average of 9,636 per game. Let’s keep supporting this team and get that attendance per game up to 10,000!