Hershey Bears Wrap

After breaking their own world hockey record in the Giant Teddy Bear Toss over the weekend, the Hershey Bears hosted the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Tuesday, Jan. 7.

The Bears (21-11-3-0) attempted to rally from a three goal deficit but could not secure a tying goal late in regulation as they fell to the Phantoms (16-13-4-1) by a 5-4 score.

Other Results
– Saturday, Jan. 4 – Hershey 4 vs. Providence 3 (SO)
– Sunday, Jan. 5 – Hershey 5 vs. Providence 1

Upcoming Schedule
– Friday, Jan. 10 – at Charlotte Checkers, 7 p.m.
– Saturday, Jan. 11 – at Charlotte Checkers, 6 p.m.

Teddy Bear Toss Recap

This past Sunday’s win over the Providence Bruins was highlighted by the GIANT Teddy Bear Toss, which saw Hershey shatter its own world hockey record for the event by collecting 102,343 teddy bears and stuffed animals. Mike Sgarbossa netted the Teddy Bear Toss goal at 14:45 of the first period to tie the score at 1-1 en route to an eventual 5-1 win, marking the first time in his seven seasons with the club that Sgarbossa had struck to start the avalanche of bears after previously assisting on the goal in 2018 and 2019.

Since hosting its first Teddy Bear Toss in 2001, Hershey has now collected and donated 566,450 teddy bears and stuffed animals to children in need throughout Central Pennsylvania. As part of the club’s Hershey Bears Cares initiative, which showcases the philanthropic activities and volunteer efforts of Bears players and staff members throughout the community, teddy bears and stuffed animals are collected and donated to more than 35 local and regional organizations.

Notes From Phantom Game

– Hunter McDonald scored on Lehigh Valley’s first shot of the contest at 2:44 of the first period to put the visitors ahead 1-0.

– Grant Cruikshank scored for the second straight game for Hershey – a shorthanded marker for his third goal of the season – at 5:32 to tie the game at 1-1.

– Later in the frame, the Phantoms scored twice in a 39-second span as Elliot Desnoyers (12:47) and Ethan Samson (13:26) pushed the visitors ahead 3-1.

– Lehigh Valley scored another early goal to start the second period just 65 seconds into the frame to extend its lead to 4-1.

– Ethan Bear scored his sixth goal of the season on a shot from the blue line that evaded Cal Petersen, who was screened by Bogdan Trineyev. Henrik Rybinski and Matt Strome assisted on the goal.

– Jacob Gaucher scored at 16:58 to make it 5-2 on a wrap-around play that was originally waved off by the official until a video review reversed the call and awarded the goal to the Phantoms.

– Mike Sgarbossa deflected a pass from Bear to find the net for the third consecutive game at 19:42 to close out the period with his third of the season; Bear’s helper marked his 50th career AHL assist and 100th overall pro helper.

– Sgarbossa netted his second goal of the night 1:06 into the third period from Pierrick Dubé and Alex Limoges for the 17th two-goal game of his AHL career and his first since Jan. 11, 2023 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Limoges’ helper extended his assist streak to three games (3a).

– The Bears are now 3-2-1-0 against Lehigh Valley in head-to-head play this season.

Frankly Speaking

Bears forward Ethen Frank remains atop the team leaderboard with 20 goals but has relinquished his hold on first place atop the American Hockey League, as Calgary’s Rory Kerins now sits in place with 21. As the season enters its second half, Frank looks to become the first Bear to win the Willie Marshall Award for the league’s goal-scoring crown since Alexandre Giroux paced the AHL with 50 in 2009-10.

Nelson Wins Watch

Last Saturday’s win against Providence gave Bears head coach Todd Nelson his 117th win with Hershey, passing Murray Henderson for sole possession of ninth on the franchise list. Up next in eighth place is Ralph “Cooney” Weiland, who went 126-70-30 in 226 games behind the bench for the Chocolate and White from 1941-45 and guided the club to appearances in the Calder Cup Finals in 1941, 1942, and 1945. Nelson has 427 wins on his AHL résumé, which positions him five victories behind Kevin Dineen, who sits in fifth place on the league’s career wins list.

Down on the Farm

The South Carolina Stingrays earned points in all three of its games last week, going 2-0-0-1 with an 11-3 victory at Savannah on Dec. 31 and a 2-1 home win over Jacksonville on Jan. 5. Kyler Kupka – who appeared in training camp with the Chocolate and White – had the game-winning goal in both contests for the Stingrays and is fifth in scoring among ECHL rookies with 29 points (14g, 15a). South Carolina boasts the fifth-best power play (23.4%) and top penalty kill (90.8%) in the ECHL and is scoring an average of 3.90 goals per game (3rd) while allowing an average of 2.45 goals per game (6th).

Bears Bites

Pierrick Dubé recorded an assist on Sunday for the 100th point of his AHL career … Mike Sgarbossa is one assist away from his 300th AHL helper and one game away from his 600th AHL contest …Hershey’s road penalty kill ranks third in the league at 38-for-43 (88.4%)…Hershey is 10th in goals per game at 3.22.