Pens @ Bears Preview, 1/23

Hershey Bears
record ~ 31-12-0-2 64 points
standings ~ 1st in East Division
most recent game ~ 6-2 Win @ Norfolk, 1/21
last 5 games ~ 3-2-0-0
home record ~ 16-5-0-1
goals for ~ 178
goals against ~130
power play ~ 18.1% (11th)
penalty kill ~ 81.5% (21st)


Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
record ~ 26-15-1-2 55 points
standings ~ 3rd in East Division
most recent game ~ 4-1 Win vs Manchester, 1/21
last 5 games ~ 3-2-0-0
road record ~ 12-10-1-0
goals for ~ 157
goals against ~ 124
power play ~ 16.5% (17th)
penalty kill ~ 84.6% (7th)

last time teams met - Wilkes Barre won 6-2 at home on January 11th.

Players to watch:

Hershey:

LW Alexandre Giroux (12)- The goal streak ended but the points streak continues. He has points in 20 straight. He has scored a goal in 3 of the 4 games against the Pens his season.
LW Chris Bourque (17) - Got his first goal in 12 games last night. He has 2 goals against the Pens this season. Also he has an assist in 13 of his last 16 games.
C Kyle Wilson (18) - With 2 goals last night he is now tied with Oskar Osala for second on the team with 19 goals. He also has 2 goals against the Pens this season.

Penguins:

C Jeff Taffe (22) - The team leader with 47 points. He has a point in 4 straight games with 2 goals and 3 assists in those games.
LW Chris Minard (14) - Leading the team and currently second in the league with 26 goals. Has only played 4 games this month after scoring in all 7 of his games in December (10 goals).
LW Janne Pesonen (25) - Third in points on the Pens he has 9 points in the last 6 games. He has 4 goals and 5 assists in that span.


News and Notes:

• Wilkes Barre leads the season series 3-1 including winning the only game in Hershey.

• If you eliminate the first game of the season the Bears have been outscored 15-9 against Wilkes Barre this season.
• The Bears have lost 3 of their last 4 home games.

• The Pens are 3-4 in their last 7 road games
• They have not scored less than 3 goals in their last 7 games (4-2-0-1 in that span)