Charles LeClaire – US PRESSWIRE
The Hershey Bears (Washington Capitals) take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh Penguins) tonight, in the Capital BlueCross AHL Outdoor Classic held in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Tonight marks the 145th all-time contest between the East Division rivals, with the Bears holding a 72-61-11 advantage historically over Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate.
Hershey is 6-2 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton prior to tonight’s game, but the Bears dropped the last matchup by a 1-0 score on the road. Brian Dumoulin tallied the only goal in the game for the Penguins and net minder Brad Thiessen earned the shutout in goal for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Hershey goalie Dany Sabourin nearly matched Thiessen, totaling 20 saves on 21 shots.
The Penguins enter on a recent hot streak, winners of three straight. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton recently defeated the Norfolk Admirals 4-2. Hershey has been playing better since the end of the NHL lockout, but recently dropped a penalty filled affair to the Lake Erie Monsters at home. Forward Jeff Taffe and Captain Boyd Kane tallied goals for Hershey. Young Capitals goalie prospect Philipp Grubauer left the Bears a chance to comeback in the third period with a strong performance in goal.
Bears goalie Dany Sabourin will start in goal for Hershey and Jeff Zatkoff will likely guard Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s net.
Hershey Defenseman Dmitry Orlov and forward Evan Barlow remain sidelined with injuries.
Projected Hershey Lines
Forwards:
Boyd Kane-Ryan Potulny-Zach Hamill
T. J. Syner-Jeff Taffe-John DiSalvatore
Barry Almeida-Jonathon Kalinski-Garrett Mitchell
Matt Pope-Mike Carman-Mathieu Beaudoin
Defensemen:
Patrick McNeill-Steve Oleksy
Cameron Schilling-Tomas Kundratek
Kevin Marshall-Julien Brouillette
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