Hershey Bears

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Hershey Bears
City: Hershey, Pennsylvania
League: American Hockey League
Conference: Eastern Conference
Division: East Division
Founded: 1932 (T-SHL/EAHL);
1938 (I-AHL/AHL)
Home Arena: GIANT Center
Colors: burgundy, black, gold
Owner(s): Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company (HERCO)
General Manager: Doug Yingst
Head Coach: Bob Woods
Media: The Patriot-News
Affiliates: Washington Capitals (NHL), South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL)
Franchise history
1932 to 1933: Hershey B'ars
1933 to 1934: Hershey Chocolate B'ars
1934 to 1936: Hershey B'ars
1936 to present: Hershey Bears
Championships
Regular Season Titles: 6 1942-43, 1957-58,
1980-81, 1985-86, 1987-88, 2006-07
Division Championships: 13 1938-39, 1943-44,
1946-47, 1951-52, 1966-67, 1967-68, 1968-69, 1975-76, 1980-81, 1985-86, 1987-88, 1993-94, 2006-07
Conference Championships: 3 1996-97, 2005-06,
2006-07
Calder Cups: 9 1946-47, 1957-58,
1958-59, 1968-69, 1973-74, 1979-80, 1987-88, 1996-97, 2005-06

The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League. The team is based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA. Home games are played at the GIANT Center. Hershey is the longest-existing member club in the AHL, joining the league in 1938, and played their 5,000th game December 20, 2006.[1]

The Hershey Bears hockey club is owned by the Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company (HERCO), formerly known as Hershey Estates, an entity wholly owned and administered by the Hershey Trust Company.

Contents

[edit] Quick facts

Former Arenas: Hershey Ice Palace (1932-36); Hersheypark Arena (1936-2002)
NHL Hockey Hall of Famers: Frank S. Mathers (2002),
AHL Hall of Famers: Frank S. Mathers (2006), Willie Marshall (2006), Mike Nykoluk (2007), Gil Mayer (2007), Tim Tookey (2008)
Mascot: Coco the Bear
Radio Announcer: John Walton

[edit] Retired Numbers

  • 3 - Frank S. Mathers (D) 1956-62 & Ralph Keller (D) 1963-74
  • 8 - Mike Nykoluk (C) 1958-72
  • 9 - Arnie Kullman (C) 1948-60 & Tim Tookey (C) 1980-81, 85-87, 89-95
  • 16 - Willie Marshall (C) 1956-63 & Mitch Lamoureux (C) 1986-89, 93-95, 97-99,

[edit] Hockey Hall of Famers

  • Frank S. Mathers (Player/Coach; Coach; GM; President/GM) 1956-91 Elected HHOF (Builder) 1992
  • Ralph "Cooney" Weiland (Coach) 1941-45 Elected HHOF (Player) 1971

[edit] Team History

The history of the AHL Hershey Bears Hockey Club (also popularly known as the "Chocolate & White") goes back to a series of amateur hockey matches played in Hershey between college teams beginning in early 1931. The first such formal hockey game ever played in Hershey took place on February 18, 1931, when Penn A.C. and Villanova faced off in the 1,900-seat Hershey Ice Palace. Nine months after that successful inaugural contest, Swarthmore Athletic Club moved into the Ice Palace as its home ice where they played their first game on November 19, 1931, against Crescent A.C. of New York City. (In the lineup that night for Crescent was 23-year old center Lloyd S. Blinco, a native of Grand Mere, Quebec, who came to Hershey the next year and would remain continuously associated with Hershey hockey for a half century as a player, coach, and manger).

The popularity of these amateur hockey matches prompted chocolate maker and amusement park operator Milton S. Hershey and his long time entertainment and amusements chief, John B. Sollenberger, to sponsor a permanent team in 1932-33 called the Hershey B'ars which joined the newly formed Tri-State Hockey League with Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Atlantic City. After one season that circuit reformed itself into a larger, seven-club loop called the Eastern Amateur Hockey League in which Hershey played first as the "Chocolate B'ars" (1933-34), then again as the "B'ars" (1934-36), and finally in 1936 as the "Hershey Bears," a name they adopted in response to criticism levied by New York sportswriters and the league that the "B'ars" moniker was too commercial. (These writers had already informally dubbed the club as the "Bears from Penn's Woods" when they visited Madison Square Garden to play the New York Rovers.)

On December 19, 1936, the newly renamed Bears also moved from the confines of the World War I-era Ice Palace (where they had to play on a small 60x170 foot rink) into the newly constructed 7,286-seat Hersheypark Arena (then known as the "Hershey Sports Arena") built immediately adjacent to the older venue. Over the next sixty-six seasons the Bears played a remarkable total of 2,280 regular season and playoff games at the Arena which served as their home from 1936 to 2002 before moving a few hundred yards further west to the new 10,500-seat GIANT Center at the start of the 2002-2003 season.

In 1938-39 the Bears became the eighth member of the newly formed International-American Hockey League (renamed the American Hockey League in 1940) which was created on the June 28, 1938, by the formal merger of the International and the Canadian-American (Can-Am) Hockey Leagues after those two smaller circuits had played interlocking schedules with each other over the previous two seasons. Although four of the seven other I-AHL charter member cities (Springfield, Syracuse, Providence, and Philadelphia) are also represented in the AHL today (2006-2007), only the Bears have played in the league without interruption since that inaugural 1938-39 I-AHL season.

In the mid 1950s The Hershey Bears/Boston Bruins signed a young high school kid playing in the OHA at the time,[2] Donald Stewart Cherry. Cherry's first NHL game was in the 54-55 season when Boston called him up for a playoff game. Don Cherry went on playing for another 20 years before becoming a coach and then the popular comentator for CBC's Hockey Night in Canada that many know him for today. During the three seasons Cherry played for the Bears, from 1954-55 to the 1956-57 season, he racked up 424 penalty mins, 15 goals, and 55 assists.[3]

The Washington Capitals returned as the Bears NHL parent club in 2005 after a 21 year span where Hershey had been affiliated with the Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers, and Colorado Avalanche. (The club has also had earlier NHL affiliations with the Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Buffalo Sabres). The Bears are presently tied with the original Cleveland Barons for the most Calder Cup championships (9). Their most recent championship was in 2005-06 versus the Milwaukee Admirals.

On December 20, 2006 the Bears played the club’s 5,000th regular season game at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, NY. The Bears scored seven times en route to a 7-4 win versus the Albany River Rats.[1]

On May 2, 2007 the Bears played their 500th Calder Cup playoff game in franchise history at GIANT Center. The Bears played the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and won 4-3.[2]

Hershey has tied an AHL mark for consecutive series victories with seven playoff series wins in a row. The record is now shared with the 2005-07 Bears and the 1990-1992 Springfield Indians.[3]

Hershey was recently eliminated from the Calder Cub playoffs by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

[edit] Logos and uniforms

The colors of the Hershey Bears are burgundy, black, and gold, a reference to the colors used by The Hershey Company to brand their products. The primary logo is a maroon bear, outlined in black, swatting a hockey puck centered below the Hershey Bears wordmark. The wordmark is a horizontal gradient using gold and burgundy outlined in black, with the Hershey part centered on a rectangular outline designed to resemble a Hershey's candy bar. The alternate logo consists of a bear's head in burgundy and black with the initials "HB."

Before their move to the GIANT Center in 2002, the Hershey Bears wore simpler uniforms with the colors of chocolate brown and white. The previous logo used a silhouette of a skating bear with a hockey stick in brown centered in a white, ovular shield outlined in brown.

In the advent of the 2007-2008 season, all of the teams of the American Hockey League unveiled newly designed Reebok EDGE uniforms, including the Hershey Bears. The home uniform includes a white jersey with black side panels, maroon trim around the collar, black piping outlining the shoulders, and striping around the cuffs in the colors burgundy, black, and gold. The word "Bears" is centered on the front of the jersey in a traditional, descending formation in black, capital letters outlined in gold. The shoulder logos include the Washington Capitals logo and the former Bears logo. The away jersey is burgundy with black side panels, black piping outlining the shoulders, white trim around the collar, white sleeve stripes, and black cuffs. The chest includes the word "Hershey" in the traditional, descending formation in white, capital letters outlined in black. Both home and away uniforms include the 70th anniversary logo centered on the left-side chest for the 2007-2008 season.

[edit] 2006 Calder Cup Championship

In 2006 the Hershey Bears, with new head coach Bruce Boudreau, returned to the playoffs after a 2 year absence. The team came off with a strong start by winning their first two series, against the Norfolk Admirals and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 4 games each. In the Eastern Conference Finals, The Bears played the Portland Pirates. The Bears quickly took a 2-0 series lead, but then lost the third game. The Bears then rebounded and won game four, to take a 3-1 series lead. However the Bears were unable to finish the job and were forced back to the GIANT Center for game seven. The Bears trailed throughout the game, but managed to tie it with a goal from Graham Mink just over two minutes remaining. Then in OT, the Bears finished the job off a goal by Eric Fehr, to win the series 4-3. On June 15, 2006, The Bears won the Calder Cup by a series mark of 4-2, defeating the Milwaukee Admirals. This marked the ninth time the franchise had won the Calder Cup which tied Hershey with the original Cleveland Barons for the most times winning the AHL's playoff title.

[edit] Season-by-season results

[edit] Regular Season

Season Games Won Lost Tied OTL SOL Points Goals
for		 Goals
against		 Standing
1932–33 18 6 11 1 — — 13 69 58 3rd, TSHL
1933–34 23 13 9 1 — — 27 45 38 3rd, EAHL
1934–35 21 10 9 2 — — 22 56 22 2nd, EAHL
1935–36 39 27 10 2 — — 56 119 78 1st, EAHL
1936–37 48 25 15 8 — — 58 133 105 1st, EAHL
1937–38 58 32 15 11 — — 75 197 135 1st, EAHL
1938–39 54 31 18 5 — — 67 140 110 1st, West
1939–40 56 27 24 5 — — 59 154 156 2nd, West
1940–41 56 24 23 9 — — 57 193 189 2nd, West
1941–42 56 33 17 6 — — 72 207 169 2nd, West
1942–43 56 35 13 8 — — 78 240 166 1st, East
1943–44 54 30 16 8 — — 68 181 133 1st, East
1944–45 60 28 24 8 — — 64 197 186 2nd, East
1945–46 62 26 26 10 — — 62 213 221 2nd, East
1946–47 64 36 16 12 — — 84 276 174 1st, East
1947–48 68 25 30 13 — — 63 240 273 3rd, East
1948–49 78 28 35 5 — — 61 256 261 2nd, East
1949–50 70 21 39 10 — — 52 229 310 5th, East
1950–51 70 38 28 5 — — 80 256 242 2nd, East
1951–52 68 35 28 5 — — 75 256 215 1st, East
1952–53 64 31 32 1 — — 63 208 217 4th, AHL
1953–54 70 37 29 4 — — 78 274 243 2nd, AHL
1954–55 64 29 28 7 — — 65 217 225 5th, AHL
1955–56 64 19 39 6 — — 44 218 271 5th, AHL
1956–57 64 32 28 4 — — 68 223 237 4th, AHL
1957–58 70 39 24 7 — — 85 241 198 1st, AHL
1958–59 70 32 32 6 — — 70 200 202 4th, AHL
1959–60 72 28 37 7 — — 63 226 238 6th, AHL
1960–61 72 36 32 4 — — 76 218 210 2nd, AHL
1961–62 70 37 28 5 — — 79 236 213 2nd, East
1962–63 72 36 28 8 — — 80 262 231 2nd, East
1963–64 72 36 31 5 — — 77 236 249 2nd, East
1964–65 72 36 32 4 — — 76 246 243 2nd, East
1965–66 72 37 30 5 — — 79 268 232 2nd, East
1966–67 72 38 24 10 — — 86 273 216 1st, East
1967–68 72 34 30 8 — — 76 276 248 1st, East
1968–69 74 41 27 6 — — 88 307 234 1st, East
1969–70 72 28 28 16 — — 72 247 249 2nd, West
1970–71 72 31 31 10 — — 72 238 212 3rd, West
1971–72 76 33 30 13 — — 79 266 253 2nd, West
1972–73 76 42 23 11 — — 95 326 231 2nd, West
1973–74 76 39 23 14 — — 92 320 241 2nd, South
1974–75 76 27 38 10 — — 64 259 303 3rd, South
1975–76 76 39 31 6 — — 84 304 275 1st, South
1976–77 80 36 38 6 — — 78 282 293 4th, AHL
1977–78 81 27 44 10 — — 64 281 324 4th, South
1978–79 79 35 36 8 — — 78 311 324 2nd, South
1979–80 80 35 39 6 — — 76 289 273 2nd, South
1980–81 80 47 24 9 — — 103 357 299 1st, South
1981–82 80 36 38 6 — — 78 316 347 4th, South
1982–83 80 40 35 5 — — 85 313 308 2nd, South
1983–84 80 28 42 10 — — 66 320 384 7th, South
1984–85 80 26 43 11 — — 63 315 339 6th, South
1985–86 80 48 29 3 — — 99 346 292 1st, South
1986–87 80 43 36 — 1 — 87 329 309 4th, South
1987–88 80 50 25 3 2 — 105 343 256 1st, South
1988–89 80 40 30 10 — — 90 361 309 2nd, South
1989–90 80 32 38 10 — — 74 298 296 6th, South
1990–91 80 33 35 12 — — 78 313 324 4th, South
1991–92 80 36 33 11 — — 83 313 337 3rd, South
1992–93 80 27 41 12 — — 66 316 339 5th, South
1993–94 80 38 31 11 — — 87 306 298 1st, South
1994–95 80 34 36 10 — — 78 275 300 3rd, South
1995–96 80 36 30 11 3 — 86 301 287 2nd, South
1996–97 80 43 22 10 5 — 101 273 220 2nd, Mid-Atlantic
1997–98 80 36 31 7 6 — 85 238 235 2nd, Mid-Atlantic
1998–99 80 37 32 10 1 — 85 242 224 3rd, Mid-Atlantic
1999–00 80 43 29 5 3 — 94 297 267 2nd, Mid-Atlantic
2000–01 80 34 39 4 3 — 75 216 234 5th, Mid-Atlantic
2001–02 80 36 27 11 6 — 89 200 193 2nd, South
2002–03 80 36 27 14 3 — 89 217 209 2nd, South
2003–04 80 33 34 8 5 — 78 203 218 6th, East
2004–05 80 39 37 — 2 2 82 207 226 5th, East
2005–06 80 44 21 — 5 10 103 262 234 2nd, East
2006–07 80 51 17 — 6 6 114 305 219 1st, East
2007–08 See 2007-08 AHL season for up-to-date standings.

[edit] Playoffs

Season Prelim 1st round 2nd round 3rd round Finals
1932–33 Data unavailable
1933–38 Data unavailable
1938–39 Data unavailable
1939–40 Data unavailable
1940–41 — W, 2-0, NH W, 2-1, PIT — L, 2-3, CLE
1941–42 — W, 2-0, NH W, 2-1, CLE — L, 2-3, IND
1942–43 — L, 2-4, BUF — — —
1943–44 — L, 3-4, CLE — — —
1944–45 — W, 4-1, IND bye — L, 2-4, CLE
1945–46 — L, 1-2, PIT — — —
1946–47 — W, 4-0, CLE bye — W, 4-3, PIT
1947–48 — L, 1-2, BUF — — —
1948–49 — W, 2-0, IND W, 2-0, CLE — L, 3-4, PROV
1949–50 Out of Playoffs
1950–51 — W, 3-0, IND L, 0-3, PIT — —
1951–52 — L, 1-4, PIT — — —
1952–53 — L, 0-3, PIT — — —
1953–54 — W, 3-2, PIT — — L, 2-3, CLE
1954–55 Out of Playoffs
1955–56 Out of Playoffs
1956–57 — L, 3-4, CLE — — —
1957–58 — W, 4-1, PROV — — W, 4-2, SPR
1958–59 — W, 4-3, CLE — — W, 4-2, BUF
1959–60 Out of Playoffs
1960–61 — W, 3-1, BUF — — L, 0-4, SPR
1961–62 — W, 2-1, PROV L, 1-3, BUF — —
1962–63 — W, 2-1, BALT W, 3-2, CLE — L, 3-4, BUF
1963–64 — W, 2-1, PROV L, 0-3, CLE — —
1964–65 — W, 3-2, BALT W, 3-2, BUF — L, 1-4, ROCH
1965–66 — L, 0-3, SPR — — —
1966–67 — L, 1-4, PIT — — —
1967–68 — L, 1-4, ROCH — — —
1968–69 — W, 4-2, BUF bye — W, 4-1, QUE
1969–70 — L, 3-4, SPR — — —
1970–71 — L, 1-3, CLE — — —
1971–72 — L, 0-4, CIN — — —
1972–73 — L, 3-4, VIR — — —
1973–74 — W, 4-1, CIN W, 4-0, BALT — W, 4-1, PROV
1974–75 — W, 4-3, RICH L, 1-4, NH — —
1975–76 — bye W, 4-1, RICH — L, 1-4, NS
1976–77 — L, 2-4, NS — — —
1977–78 Out of Playoffs
1978–79 — L, 1-3, BING — — —
1979–80 — W, 4-0, SYR W, 4-2, NH — W, 4-2, NB
1980–81 — W, 4-0, NH L, 2-4, ADIR — —
1981–82 — L, 2-3, BING — — —
1982–83 — L, 1-4, NH — — —
1983–84 Out of Playoffs
1984–85 Out of Playoffs
1985–86 — W, 4-1, NH W, 4-3, StC — L, 2-4, ADIR
1986–87 — L, 1-4, ROCH — — —
1987–88 — W, 4-0, BING W, 4-0, ADIR — W, 4-0, FRED
1988–89 — W, 4-1, UTI L, 3-4, ADIR — —
1989–90 Out of Playoffs
1990–91 W, 14-4, ADIR L, 1-4, ROCH — — —
1991–92 — L, 2-4, ROCH — — —
1992–93 Out of Playoffs
1993–94 — W, 4-0, ROCH L, 3-4, CORN — —
1994–95 — L, 2-4, CORN — — —
1995–96 — L, 2-3, BALT — — —
1996–97 — W, 3-1, KEN W, 4-3, PHIL W, 4-3, SPR W, 4-1, HAM
1997–98 — W, 3-0, KEN L, 0-4, PHIL — —
1998–99 — L, 2-3, KEN — — —
1999–00 — W, 3-2, PHIL W, 4-1, KEN L, 0-4, ROCH —
2000–01 — W, 3-0, KEN W, 4-1, NOR L, 0-4, WBS —
2001–02 — W, 3-1, NOR L, 0-4, HOU — —
2002–03 — L, 2-3, CHI — — —
2003–04 Out of Playoffs
2004–05 Out of Playoffs
2005–06 — W, 4-0, NOR W, 4-0, WBS W, 4-3, PORT W, 4-2, MIL
2006–07 — W, 4-1 ALB W, 4-1, WBS W, 4-0, MAN L, 1-4, HAM
2007–08 — L, 1-4, WBS — — —

[edit] Team records

[edit] Single Season

Goals: 53 Flag of Canada Tony Cassolato (1982-83)
Assists: 89 Flag of Canada George "Red" Sullivan (1953-54)
Points: 124 Flag of Canada Tim Tookey (1986-87)
Penalty Minutes: 432 Steve Martinson (1985-86)
GAA: 1.98 Flag of Canada Alfie Moore (1938-39)
SV%:

[edit] Career

Career Goals: 260 Flag of Canada Dunc Fisher
Career Assists: 636 Flag of Canada Mike Nykoluk
Career Points: 808 Mike Nykoluk
Career Penalty Minutes: 1519 Flag of Canada Mike Stothers
Career Goaltending Wins: 226 Flag of Canada Gordie Henry
Career Shutouts: 29 Nick Damore
Career Games: 972 Mike Nykoluk
Career Games Coached: 1,256 (610-512-134) Frank S. Mathers

[edit] Team Season Records

Division Championships: 15
Regular Season Points Championships: 7
Most Points-One Season: 114 2006-07
Fewest Points-One Season: 44 1955-56
Most Wins-One Season: 51 2006-07
Fewest Wins-One Season: 19 1955-56
Most Losses-One Season: 44 1977-78
Fewest Losses-One Season: 13 1942-43
Most Ties-One Season(No OT): 16 1969-70
Most Ties-One Season(With OT): 12 1900-91 1992-93
Fewest Ties-One Season(No OT): 5 1948-49
Fewest Ties-One Season(With OT): 1 1952-53
Fewest Ties at Home-Season: 0 1982-83
Consecutive Tie Games(With OT): 2 12-12 to 12-13-98 (Most Recent)
Shootout Wins-One Season: 7 (7-2 overall) 04-05

[edit] Dates in History

  • August 7, 1990-Hershey named Jay Fester the club's new GM, replacing Frank Mathers.
  • Septmber 29, 2002-Bears open training camp with head coach Mike Foligno on helm for his 5th season. This marked the 1st time since 1977 and only the forth time in franchies history that a Bears bench boss for at least 5 consecutive years. (Don Penniston, Frank Mathers, and Chuck Hamiton are the other three).

[edit] References

  1. ^ Big third period leads Bears to win in 5,000th game. Hershey Bears. Retrieved on 2007-08-05.
  2. ^ CBC Sports Online: Indepth: Don Cherry
  3. ^ Don Cherry's profile at hockeydb.com

[edit] External links

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