Game Preview: Bears vs. Senators, 7 p.m. | NEWS – Hershey Bears

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The Hershey Bears are set to open the 2023-24 regular season, presented by Penn State Health, tonight against the Belleville Senators. The puck drops on Hershey's 86th season of play in the American Hockey League at 7 p.m. at GIANT Center. This evening's match marks the lone visit Belleville makes to Hershey this season, while the Bears will visit the Senators on Feb. 19.
Hershey Bears (0-0-0-0) vs. Belleville Senators (0-0-0-0)
October 14, 2023 | 7 p.m. | Game 1 | GIANT Center
Referees: Liam Maaskant (62), Casey Terreri (75)
Linespersons: Colin Gates (3), Bob Goodman (90)
Tonight's Promotions: 
PLEASE NOTE: Fans are encouraged to be in their seats by 6:40 p.m. for the start of all pre-game ceremonies.
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Broadcast Information 
Voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, former Bears captain Garrett Mitchell, and FOX43 sports director Todd Sadowski on the call
TELEVISION: Antenna TV (WPMT 43.2, Xfinity Ch. 247 and 1178, Verizon FiOS Ch. 463, Blue Ridge Ephrata Ch. 91, Blue Ridge Newberry/Duncannon Ch. 88)
RADIO: WFVY-100.1 FM, Fox Sports 1460-AM, SportsRadio 98.9-FM & WOYK 1350-AM, In-arena on 88.9 FM, Capitals Radio
WATCH LIVE: Antenna TV and AHLTV
LISTEN LIVE: Fox Sports AM-1460 Stream, Caps Radio 24/7
Radio pre-game coverage starts at 6:30 p.m., TV coverage at 6:45 p.m.
HOME OPENER HISTORY:
The Bears look to extend a simultaneous three-game point streak in season-opening and home-opening games, going 2-0-1-0 against opponents dating back to the 2020-21 season. Last season, Hershey began the campaign on Oct. 15, 2022 with a 3-1 win over the Utica Comets in front of a crowd of 7,766, as Henrik Borgstrom, Mike Vecchione, and Riley Sutter each found the net for Hershey, while Zach Fucale made 19 saves for the win. Coincidentally, all three of Hershey's goal-scorers in that game would provide valuable contributions with overtime goals in the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs, as Borgstrom capped a 3-2 overtime win in the Atlantic Division Finals over Hartford, while Sutter would score in Game 3 of the Calder Cup Finals for the Bears' first win of the series, and Vecchione would clinch the 12th Calder Cup for Hershey with a sudden-death tally in Game 7. This will be the second time that Hershey hosts the Senators in a home opener, after previously enduring a 5-2 loss in the first home game of the 2017-18 campaign. The Bears own a lifetime record of 40-38-4-2-1 (.512) in the first game of the season and a 42-34-4-3-2 (.547) record in home openers; Hershey is a lifetime 6-3-1-0 (.650) against Belleville.
RETURNING PLAYERS:
As of Monday, the Bears' roster boasted 19 returning players who were a part of last season's Calder Cup run. Among them are forwards Mike Vecchione, Joe Snively, Mike Sgarbossa, Riley Sutter, Ethen Frank, and Hendrix Lapierre, defensemen Jake Massie, Vincent Iorio, Logan Day, Aaron Ness, and Dylan McIlrath, playoff MVP netminder Hunter Shepard, as well as playoff Black Aces Julian Napravnik, Henrik Rybinski, Bogdan Trineyev, Matt Strome, and Clay Stevenson. Prior to Saturday's game, the members of the Bears who were part of Hershey's 2023 Calder Cup Finals victory over the Coachella Valley Firebirds will receive their championship rings in an on-ice ceremony.
WALK TOGETHER FOREVER:
Before the Bears and Senators drop the puck, the 2023 Calder Cup champions banner will be hoisted to the rafters of GIANT Center in a pregame ceremony. One member of the 2023 championship squad will be on the opposite side of the ice, as Garrett Pilon – who played the role of playoff hero with his Game 5 overtime-winner last spring – signed a one-year NHL contract with the Ottawa Senators on July 1, bringing an end to his time in the Washington Capitals/Hershey pipeline. In 259 regular season games over five seasons with the Chocolate and White, Pilon tallied 156 points (60g, 96a) and added 17 points (5g, 12a) in 33 playoff contests for the Bears. He also scored once in three NHL contests with the Capitals.
NELLY CLOSING IN ON FTOREK:
Bears bench boss Todd Nelson enters this season needing only two more wins to pass Robbie Ftorek (354) for 12th on the AHL's wins list for coaches. Nelson, 54, began his AHL head coaching tenure in 2010-11 at the helm of the Edmonton Oilers affiliate, the Oklahoma City Barons, after previously winning the Calder Cup in 2008 as an assistant with the Chicago Wolves. His first captain in Oklahoma City was coincidentally former Bears captain (and current Bears vice president of hockey operations) Bryan Helmer. In his nine seasons as an AHL head coach, Nelson has compiled a record of 353-208-72 (.615) and won championships with Hershey in 2023 and Grand Rapids in 2017. A 36-win season for Nelson in the 2023-24 campaign could move him as high as eighth on the AHL's coaching wins list, passing Ftorek, Terry Reardon (362), Mark Morris (374), Randy Cunneyworth (384), and Ken Gernander (388).
BETWEEN THE PIPES:
Goaltender Hunter Shepard will not dress tonight for Hershey as he is day-to-day with an illness. It is expected that goaltender Clay Stevenson will get the start for the Bears; last season, in his first year as a pro, the Dartmouth College alumnus went 19-12-4 in 36 appearances with a 2.54 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage, and three shutouts for the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays. Stevenson also appeared in three contests for Hershey, going 3-0-0 with a 1.96 GAA and a .924 save percentage, and maintains his status as an AHL rookie for the 2023-24 campaign. Backing Stevenson up is Garin Bjorklund, who missed all but one game last season with South Carolina while recovering from back surgery. The last time a Bears rookie goaltender started a season-opening game was the 2018-19 season, when Ilya Samsonov made 28 saves for Hershey in a 3-2 loss against Syracuse. The last time a Bears rookie netminder got the victory in a season-opener was Darren Jensen, who made 23 saves in his AHL debut with Hershey in a 7-4 road win over the Baltimore Skipjacks on Oct. 12, 1984.
BEARS BITES:
Defender Jake Massie's next game will be his 100th AHL contest…Forward Mike Vecchione's next point will be his 100th in a Bears sweater, while his next goal will mark the 100th time in his pro/AHL career that he has lit the lamp…Defenseman Aaron Ness is two points away from 300 AHL points, and is six points away from passing Patrick McNeill for eighth in Bears career scoring among blueliners…Defender Logan Day needs three points for his 100 in his pro/AHL tenure…Riley Sutter enters the season as Hershey's reigning ironman after playing the final 33 games of the 2022-23 campaign; the Bears' franchise record is 389, held by Mike Nykoluk…Hershey went 1-1-1-0 in the preseason…Last season, the Bears finished second out of 32 teams in goals against per game, leading the Eastern Conference with 2.56; Hershey also ranked first in allowing the fewest shots against per game, at 26.19, and the club possessed the top-ranked road penalty kill, negating 88.1% of opposing opportunities with the man advantage…Belleville's Cole Reinhardt and Egor Sokolov are tied with Jordan Murray for 169 career games with the Senators, the most in club history; should one or both of Reinhardt or Sokolov play tonight, it will establish a new record for Belleville…Senators defender Jacob Bernard-Docker's next game will be his 100th in a Belleville uniform.
ON THIS DATE:
Oct. 14, 1981 – The Bears and Adirondack Red Wings combined for the most penalty minutes in a single game in Bears history. Hershey earned 256 minutes worth of penalties (the largest single-game total for the Bears in franchise history), while Adirondack amassed 264 PIMs for a whopping total of 520 total penalty minutes, also both American Hockey League Records. Adirondack won the game 7-4 at Hersheypark Arena.
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