Belleville at Hershey
HERSHEY, Pa. (Interstat) — The Hershey Bears will host the Belleville Senators in a minor-league hockey game on Saturday, with Hershey looking to rebound from its most recent result and Belleville seeking to build on a high-scoring road win.
Hershey enters with a 4-2 record. The Bears’ most recent game was a 6-1 loss to Providence. Bogdan Trineyev is the player to watch for Hershey. The right wing had six shots on goal and two penalty minutes in that game. He also recorded an assist and three shots in a 5-3 win over Providence, two goals and five shots in a 6-1 win over Texas, one goal and four shots in a 2-1 win over Texas, one shot in a 3-2 win over Charlotte and two shots in a 5-2 loss to Charlotte. Trineyev has been among Hershey’s more active forwards in the early part of the season, and the Bears will need that kind of production against a Belleville side coming off a strong offensive night.
Belleville enters with a 4-4 record. The Senators’ most recent game was a 7-3 win at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Jonas Johansson is the player to watch for Belleville. The goaltender stopped 20 of 22 shots in a 4-2 win at Toronto in his most recent appearance. He made 41 saves on 46 shots against Laval, 30 saves on 32 shots at Syracuse, 20 saves on 21 shots against Rochester and 28 saves on 32 shots against Brantford. Johansson has faced a heavy workload at times this season and has posted several efforts with at least 20 saves. Belleville will need him to be steady against a Hershey team that has scored frequently in several of its wins.
The matchup brings together teams with four wins apiece. Hershey is 4-2, while Belleville is 4-4. The Bears have had productive games from their forward group, including Trineyev, and Belleville has shown the ability to generate offense after its seven-goal performance in its most recent outing. The Senators’ recent results include wins over Toronto, Syracuse and Rochester, along with losses to Toronto, Laval, Utica and Hamilton.
Belleville’s next scheduled game is at Lehigh Valley, while Hershey is set to visit Rochester in its next game. Belleville’s upcoming schedule also includes home games against Hartford and Toronto after the Lehigh Valley trip. Before that, the Bears will focus on the visiting Senators and the challenge of slowing Johansson and Belleville’s offense.
Interstat’s game simulator projects a final score of Hershey 5, Belleville 2. Interstat’s ELO system projects Hershey with a 61.2 percent probability to win.