HERSHEY, Pa – After battling it out with two of their interstate rivals from the great state of Pennsylvania, the Hershey Bears will now face-off against the Providence Bruins in the AHL Eastern Conference finals. The winner will take on the Western Conference champions which will be either the Manitoba Moose or the Houston Aeros.
Series overview by Brian Jennings
The two teams have never met in the Calder Cup playoffs. The season series was tied at 1-1 with both teams winning on home ice. Hershey finished the regular season eight points ahead of Providence. Both teams are 8-3 in the playoffs.The Bears were the league’s best offense with 296 goals while Providence had 238. The Bruins allowed 232 goals while Hershey allowed 240. In the playoffs the Bears have outscored their opponents 34-23 while the Bruins have outscored their opponents 30-21.
Hershey was the league’s fifth best power play unit during the regular season, while Providence finished 22nd overall. The Bruins are third in the playoffs scoring 10 times out of 47 chances (.213) while Hershey is fourth scoring 14 out of 67 chances (.209).
Providence was also the league’s 22nd rated penalty killing unit, while Hershey finished dead last (29th overall). So far Hershey has allowed 8 power play goals in 56 chances while Providence has allowed 5 in 40.
Hershey – The Bears have three of the top 20 playoff scorers in the AHL. League MVP Alexandre Giroux and Chris Bourque are tied for fifth with 12 points each, only three points behind the league -eader, Corey Locke of the Houston Aeros. Keith Aucoin is one point behind both with 11 points and is second on the team in assists with nine, one behind Bourque. Giroux leads the team with five goals.
Staffan Kronwall leads the Bears defense with five points, with three goals and two assists. Rookie goaltender Michal Neuvirth has been stellar of late for the Bears by shutting out the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins in back-to-back games by 3-0 scores. Neuvirth is fourth in goals against average (1.91), is tied for fourth in save percentage (.936) and leads the AHL with three shutouts in the playoffs.
Hershey received reinforcements from their parent Washington Capitals in Jay Beagle and Tyler Sloan after the Caps lost Game 7 in their series with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Providence by T. Chace Jr.
Providence & Hershey Pretty Evenly Matched
Providence has won eight of their last 10 games. They are 8-3 in the playoffs, Hershey is 8-3 also and rookie goaltender Michal Neuvirth just had back to back 3-0 shutout victories. Neuvirth, a 21 year-old Czech, faces 22 year-old Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask from Finland. Their stats in the playoffs are nearly identical. In 11 games played, Rask has played 663 minutes to 661 for Neuvirth. They have each faced over 320 shots, Rask has allowed just 19 goals to 21 for Neuvirth. Rask’s GAA is 1.72 compared to 1.91 for Neuvirth. Rask’s save percentage is just a little bit better at .943 to .936. Consider the goaltending a wash as they face off on Saturday night in Hershey. Providence has several players at the top of the AHL playoff scoring stats. Three time All-Star Martin St.Pierre leads the Bruins in scoring and is tied for second in the league with 13 points, consisting of five goals and eight assists. Rookie super-pest Brad Marchand has six playoff goals, second in the league and 12 points total. Vladimir Sobotka has 10 points and along with high scoring defenseman Johnny Boychuk who has three goals and four assists helping to lead the team as they head to the Eastern Conference Finals. The teams faced off during the regular season twice, each winning on home ice. Hershey had the best record in the AHL when they faced the Bruins at “The Dunk” in Providence on January 2nd, 2009. Providence handily beat the Bears from start to finish, winning 7-2. Hershey paid back the Bruins on March 1, 2009 with a 6-4 beating that was not as close as the score would indicate. All things considered, this is match up that appears to be quite evenly matched and should make for some great hockey.
Contact Thomas.chace@prohockeynews.com
Contact brian.jennings@prohockeynews.com
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