Sense of Urgency Surrounds Hershey Bears Heading into Second Half of Season

Thursday morning the Bears were back on the ice at Giant Center after a four-day break for the All-Star Challenge in Allentown. While Chris Bourque and Travis Boyd represented the Bears, the rest of the team received a much-needed rest as they prepare for the final half of the season.

“With 32 games left, we’re certainly in a good battle,” head coach Troy Mann said. “There’s so much inter-divisional play that you can’t rule out getting as high as second. We have to play real good hockey and build off of last weekend.”

“This is coming into the stretch run of the season here,” said Boyd. “Definitely time to get our game into good form and start putting together some wins and hopefully climb right back up the standings.”

Hershey has a three-in-three to kick off the month on February as they travel to Binghamton to face the Senators on Friday. Then the Bears return home for a back-to-back against St. John’s, including a 2 P.M. puck drop on Sunday due to the Super Bowl – a game many Bears players will be focusing on with five current members of the team come from the Boston area.

BITES:

• Dustin Gazley, Tyler Lewington, and Riley Barber all practiced with the team on Thursday. Gazley and Lewington sported blue non-contact jerseys, while Barber was back in a regular practice jersey for the first time since mid-November. Barber was cleared for contact today, but will still sit out the weekend series. Mann said the team is looking at next week for the 22-year-old’s return to action.
• Hershey signed Justin Agosta from ECHL Manchester to a PTO on Wednesday. He should see the line-up on Friday night. Lewington is currently day-to-day and could be back this weekend, while Aaron Ness is doubtful for the weekend.
• Chandler Stephenson was re-assigned to Hershey on Thursday but did not skate with the Bears. Christan Djoos was also re-assigned on Wednesday and did not skate with the team as well.
• With Nathan Walker now missing 4-6 weeks with a broken hand, Ryan Bourque should slot into his place in the line-up for now. Bourque has only played 24 games this season, playing only four since December 30th.