Hershey Bears Week Preview: March 30
By Tori Hartman
Photo Credit: Tori Hartman
The Hershey Bears are coming off another four point week. The week started with a rough 6-3 loss to the league leading Manchester Monarchs. On Saturday, the Hershey Bears redeemed themselves and beat the Monarchs 6-2, and they continued on to beat the Bridgeport Sound Tigers 4-3 on Sunday. Most importantly they clinched a spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs with Sunday’s win. Here are some players who had a good week:
More from Hershey Bears
- Hershey Bears win Calder Cup
- Bears drop Game 6
- Bears back in Coachella Valley for Game 6
- Bears go up 3-2, one win away from Calder Cup
- Big Game 5 looming for Bears
- Dmitry Orlov finally made it into a hockey game since being out almost an entire season. He was reassigned last week to the Hershey Bears for a three game conditioning stint. Orlov played two of those games this past weekend and posted three assists. He will play his third game with the Hershey Bears on Wednesday agains the Worcester Sharks.
- Tim Kennedy (11-46-57) continues to produce for the Hershey Bears. Kennedy has eight points (4G, 4A) in his last nine games, and has points in 10 of 13 games in March.
- Connor Carrick has eight goals and 32 assists this season. Carrick is the first defensemen to register 40 points in a season since Patrick McNeill during the 2011-12 season. He is also fifth in the league with 18 power play assists.
- Pheonix Copley has continued his fabulous rookie season with a 2.20 GAA and .923 SAV%. He is 14-3-3 this season, and in his 12 starts this new year, he has only lost two games; both in overtime.
Check out my photos from the Hershey Bears and Manchester Monarchs double header on Friday and Saturday.
Although the Hershey Bears clinched the playoffs on Sunday, they will be looking to clinch the East Division in the next few weeks. This upcoming week they will face the Worcester Sharks and Norfolk Admirals for the last time ever as neither team will be a part of the AHL next season.
Hershey Bears vs Worcester Sharks
Hershey Bears record against the Sharks: 2-1-0-0
Sharks’ record: 37-23-4-2 in 66 GP
Sharks in the standings: 80 points, 7th in the Eastern Conference
Recalls: D Tyler Fedun (6-27-33 in 63 GP)
While most Hershey Bears fans were rooting for the Sharks to beat Springfield on Sunday to help the Bears clinch, that will not be the case on Wednesday. Worcester has gone 6-4-0-0 in their last 10 games and are currently on a five game win streak. If the playoffs started today, these two teams would face off in the first round. Enjoy seeing the Sharks for the last time Bears fans. They will be relocating to San Jose to be closer to their NHL club, and at this time, Worcester won’t have a hockey team next season.
Player to watch: LW Bryan Lerg (13-28-41 in 64 GP)
Bryan Lerg has five goals, six assists, and 11 points in March including a two goal performance against the Hershey Bears on March 18th. Hershey Bears’ fans may be more familiar with Lerg’s days playing with the WBS Penguins. In 2011-12, he posted his best record of 27-26-53 in 70 GP with WBS. Lerg isn’t too far off from matching his previous season best this year.
Hershey Bears vs Norfolk Admirals
Hershey Bears record against the Admirals: 4-2-0-0
Admirals’ record: 23-36-6-3 in 68 GP
Admirals’ in the standings: 55 points, 15th in Eastern Conference
Recalls: C Chris Wagner (15-13-28 in 48 GP)
Broadcast: Friday and Saturday’s games will be shown throughout Central PA on ABC 27.2, Verizon Fios 461, Comcast 246, Blue Ridge 152, Kuhn 67
The Hershey Bears and Admirals haven’t met since February in a 2-0 Bears win. The Norfolk Admirals are 1-7-2-0 in their last 10 games and are on a five game losing streak. In general, games haven’t been going so well for the Norfolk Admirals as they’ve only won four games in their last 20. The Admirals are also officially eliminated from the playoffs. Ouch. Its a shame to see the team finish their last AHL season like this especially after their magnificent cup-winning season in 2011-12. The Admirals will be joining the ECHL next season, so hockey will still remain in Norfolk.
Player to watch: LW Max Friberg (12-20-32 in 50 GP)
Friberg currently leads the Norfolk Admirals in points. On Friday, he scored one goal and registered two assists against the Albany Devils. With the exception of the players on tryout agreements, Friberg is one of two players who doesn’t have a minus rating.
NOTES:
–Playoffs: The Hershey Bears are looking to clinch the East Division and turn that “X” to a “Y”. According to Tim Leone of PennLive, the new magic number to clinch the division is 11. This number can be reduced by any Hershey Bears win or any WBS Penguins loss. Leone also noted, “The Bears need just nine points in their final eight games to reach 100 for the first time since 2010-11.”
–ECHL Affiliate: The South Carolina Stingrays win streak was snapped at 23 games on Saturday as they lost to the Indy Fuel 3-2. Jeff Jakaitis, who had one his previous 15 starts, was given the night off for fresh out of college goaltender, Keegan Asmundson. The 23-game streak is the second longest win streak in professional hockey. The Stingrays rebounded with a 4-0 win on Sunday. The shutout on Sunday was their 11th of the season and ties the ECHL record for the most in one season. Congrats to the Stingrays players on a great run. Now they can set their eyes on the Kelly Cup.