Bears vs Monsters Preview, 12/21

Hershey Bears
record ~ 21-7-0-1 43 points
standings ~ 1st in East Division
most recent game ~ 4-2 Win vs Lowell, 12/20
last 5 games ~ 3-2-0-0
home record ~ 12-2-0-0
goals for ~ 119
goals against ~77
power play ~ 16.4% (16th)
penalty kill ~ 82.4% (16th)


Lake Erie Monsters
record ~ 11-12-1-4 27 points
standings ~ 6th in North Division
most recent game ~ 4-0 Win @ Syracuse, 12/20
last 5 games ~ 2-1-0-2
road record ~ 3-6-0-2
goals for ~ 73
goals against ~ 82
power play ~ 15.2% (20th)
penalty kill ~ 82.1% (19th)

last time teams met - First meeting this season.

Players to watch:

Hershey:

C Kyle Wilson (18)- 2 goals in last nights game and 1 goal in the previous game gives him 12 goals on the season. His line was very good last night.
RW Graham Mink (21) - Scored 11 seconds into the game last night. Hopefully it jump starts his season from here on in. He claims to be a better after holiday player.
C Mathieu Perrault (24) - After having a nice 7 game point streak last month he has cooled off with only 2 assists in his last 7 games.

Lake Erie:

LW Chris Durno (25) - Leading the Monsters with 19 points this season he has been playing well of late with 3 goals and 3 assists in his last 6 games.
C Marty Sertich (15) - Second on the team in points (with 16) he has also been hot of late with 2 goals and 6 assists in the last 6 games, including 2 goals last night.
G Jason Bacashihua - Having a tough season in the net so far with a 3-8-2 record. His goals against 3.29 (41 out of 48 in league) while his save percentage is .895 (34th) aren't much better.


News and Notes:

• Surprise surprise another Capital left yesterdays game injured. Tom Poti left with what is assumed to be a strained groin.
• Kip Brennan is unable to play due to immigration paper problems. He probably won't play until after Christmas sometime.
• Simeon Varlamov should be getting the start in goal today after being reassigned on Friday. He is 11th in save percentage and 2nd in goals against in the league.
• Tyler Weiman is the better goalie for Lake Erie. If he plays his record is 8-5-2 and his numbers are better with 2.34 goals against (8th) and .920 save percentage (7th). Weiman played last night and Lake Erie hasn't been playing goaltenders back to back often this season.

LET'S GO BEARS!!