Bears @ Norfolk Preview, 1/21

Hershey Bears
record ~ 30-12-0-2 62 points
standings ~ 1st in East Division
most recent game ~ 3-2 SO Win vs Worcester, 1/18
last 5 games ~ 2-2-0-1
road record ~ 14-7-0-1
goals for ~ 172
goals against ~128
power play ~ 17.5% (12th)
penalty kill ~ 81.3% (23rd)


Norfolk Admirals
record ~ 16-19-2-5 39 points
standings ~ Last in East Division
most recent game ~ 6-5 OT Loss vs Worcester, 1/17
last 5 games ~ 2-1-1-1
home record ~ 10-7-2-2
goals for ~ 131
goals against ~ 154
power play ~ 20.0% (4th)
penalty kill ~ 80.6% (25th)

last time teams met - Hershey won 3-2 in Norfolk on January 7th.

Players to watch:

Hershey:

LW Alexandre Giroux (12)- Obviously on a hot streak with 15 straight games with a goal but he has also scored in 3 of 4 games against Norfolk.
C Andrew Joudrey (23) - One of the best defensive forwards on the team he has 4 goals this season. Half of those goals were against Norfolk.
LW Chris Bourque (17) - Not the goal scorer that he has been in recent years but he is producing assists instead. But he has scored 2 goals against Norfolk this season.

Admirals:

RW Brandon Bochenski (27) - The team leader with 13 goals. In the last 5 games he has 2 goals and 4 assists. He is the only Norfolk player to score more than once against Hershey this season. He has 2 goals and 3 assists in 5 games against Hershey this season.
C Bracken Kearns (11) - Not usually an offensive force except for lately. He has a goal in 4 straight games and a point in 5 straight.
C Chris Gratton (77) - The NHL veteran has 3 goals and 7 assists in 12 games with Norfolk this season. He has points in 7 of his last 8 games.


News and Notes:

• Daren Machesney is expected to start tonight. Last night he was the backup goalie for the Caps in Ottawa.
• Simeon Varlamov will be the back up tonight.
• Josh Godfrey and Michal Neuvirth are back in South Carolina.

• Hershey leads the season series 5-0 against Norfolk.

• Norfolk is in the middle of a record 9 game home stand and are 2-1-1-1 so far.
• They have scored 3 short handed goals in their last 6 games.