The Hershey Bears could be getting a major boost to their lineup as they return home for Game 3 of their second-round series against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Prospect defenseman Ryan Chesley was removed from the team’s unavailable list and took warmups ahead of Hershey’s 2-1 victory over the Penguins during Saturday’s Game 2 — a good indication that he’s nearly fully healthy and an option for head coach Derek King again.
Chesley initially suffered the injury — upper body in nature — during the Bears’ 2-1 loss to the Bridgeport Islanders on April 18, the team’s penultimate game of the regular season.
With the right-handed shooting Chesley out, Reilly Webb has substituted into the lineup, skating on the first pairing with Aaron Ness.
Hershey Bears’ Game 2 defense pairings
On Sunday, the Bears sent Webb down to the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays, but the move does not necessarily correlate with Chesley’s availability.
Webb has been going up and down, playing in both Hershey’s and South Carolina’s playoff runs. The 26-year-old rearguard has suited up in all four of the Bears’ postseason games and two of the Stingrays’ six games. Game 6 of the Stingrays and Atlanta Gladiators series is Monday night at Gas South Arena, with South Carolina currently leading the South Division Semifinals series three games to two. Game 3 for the Bears is on Tuesday night at Giant Center. The best-of-five series is tied 1-1.
Chesley, 22, posted 16 points (6g, 10a) in his rookie season in the AHL. When he suits up in a postseason game, it will mark his AHL Calder Cup Playoffs debut.
