HERSHEY, Pa. – The Hershey Bears received a big player on a long-term conditioning loan from the Washington Capitals as top scorer Joe Snively joined the team for their first-round playoff series against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Snively joined the Bears for practice on Wednesday for the first time since he was called up in January, last playing for the team on January 25. Snively tallied 38 points (15 goals, 23 assists) in just 35 games played for the Bears this season, and his points total still ranks third-best on the team at the conclusion of the season.
Snively is only eligible to play in the first round, which gets underway on May 6 and concludes no later than May 9.
Snively’s incredible season saw him among the top scorers in the AHL at the time of his recall. He had a 14-game point streak on home ice with 21 points in that stretch, which tied a record set by former Bear Alexandre Giroux as the longest home point streak in team history. The incredible production for Snively over the course of the season included four power-play goals, three shorthanded goals, and three game-winning goals. He was named co-team MVP alongside Pheonix Copley at the end of the season. His last game saw him score two shorthanded goals against the Penguins, including an empty-net goal.
Joe Snively scores his 14th goal of the season with a shorthanded beauty! #WBSvsHER pic.twitter.com/WbnoGUDc05
— Bears Hockey Nation (@HBHNationBlog) January 26, 2022
Although Snively’s time in Hershey will come to an end after the first round, regardless of the outcome, the addition should go a long way towards getting Hershey’s offense rolling, which has sorely missed him as well as other top forwards like Axel Jonsson-Fjallby – following his recall at the beginning of March – along with Matt Moulson and Brian Pinho, the pair of whom were lost for the season with different surgeries. Hershey has also been without the services of Shane Gersich, who was injured on April 19, as well as Riley Sutter.
Snively is recovering from a wrist injury sustained on February 28 and was recently signed to a two-year NHL contract by the Capitals on March 16. In 119 career AHL games with Hershey, Snively has tallied 86 points (35 goals, 51 assists).
Hershey’s first round series with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton gets underway on Friday, May 6 at Mohegan Sun Arena before the series shifts to Giant Center for the only time on May 8. Should a third and decisive game be necessary, it would take place on Monday, May 9 in Wilkes-Barre.
In other roster news, the Bears announced that forward Christopher Brown had been released from his professional tryout agreement, while Dru Krebs and Garin Bjorklund were released from their amateur tryout agreements.
