Hershey’s climb to the top not an easy one this time around

HERSHEY, Pa – The past few seasons, it seemed as though the Hershey Bears were given the East Division by default. The back-to-back Calder Cup champions are finding out quickly that if the team wants to get back to the mountain top it will have to go through some stiff competition this time around.
The Bears currently reside in fourth place in the division behind Wilkes-Barre Scranton, Charlotte, and Norfolk, but are only two points from being in second place all by themselves. The Penguins are currently nine points ahead of Hershey in first place and have the league’s best record with 52 points.  
Still, no one in Chocolatetown is panicking that the team won’t do well come play-off time.
Only five teams in the AHL have scored more than Hershey’s 119, and their 85 goals allowed is third best overall.  The Bears are 13^th on the penalty kill and 8^th on the power play. On offense, Andrew Gordon is having another great season and is tied for 8^th in the league in scoring with 34 points. On defense goaltender Braden Holtby is proving to be another Hershey goaltending find. He is third in the league in goals against average (1.66) and save percentage (.940) and is tied for second in shutouts (4).  The blueline is led by Lawrence Nycholat who is a +15 and is sixth in the league in scoring by a defenseman.
Former Philadelphia Phantom, Kyle Greentree is second on the team in goals with 15 and Brian Willsie has 12 goals along with Boyd Kane and Keith Aucoin’s 10 goals to round out the teams top goal scorers. Sean Collins leads the team in the plus/minus category with a +18.
The Bears continue to lead the league in attendance averaging 9,151 in 19 home games so far this season. The league average is 4,814. This year’s AHL All-Star game is being held in Hershey at the end of the month.
You may contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com