In one of the most well-deserved recalls in the past few years, Liam O’Brien is heading back to the NHL for the first time since 2014.
O’Brien played 13 games for Washington at the beginning of the 2014-15 season before being assigned to Hershey. Since that stint, O’Brien has played 132 games for the Bears, scoring 16 goals and 42 points, 18 of those points coming this season alone.
Since his assignment to Hershey in December 2014, Liam O’Brien has become a fan favorite. The Halifax, NS native won over Bears fans with his grit and hard-nosed style of play. But a recent promotion to the second line has O’Brien only two points away from matching his season total from last year. Heading into Christmas Break, O’Brien is riding a four-game point streak, which was extended with a beautiful assist to Paul Carey on Sunday night.
“This is basically our third year with Liam, and his skill set has certainly improved,” head coach Troy Mann said. “One thing I brought up during my interview process three years ago was to involve more skill development with our team prior to practice. We’ve been doing it here for the third season. Liam as a prospect, young player, has been a big part of that, and a lot of the credit goes to Ryan Murphy. One of his strengths as a coach is his ability to break down the skillset. He does a nice job with the forwards.”
On Tuesday afternoon, the Hershey Bears visited Penn State Hershey’s Children’s Hospital for their annual Christmas craft day. Bears players Riley Barber, Madison Bowey, Liam O’Brien, Zach Sanford, Tyler Lewington, and Aaron Ness helped some patients make some picture frames and sign some autographs for them.
During the regular season, we began our Hershey Bears video game series with Bears forward Jakub Vrana taking on Jonas Siegenthaler in a game of FIFA 16. Now, only weeks away from UFC 202, featuring a rematch of Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz, we have decided it’s now a perfect time to feature another match-up from that day. Vrana takes on Liam O’Brien in UFC 2. Vrana will fight out of the blue corner as Nate Diaz, as O’Brien fights out of the red as The Notorious Conor McGregor.
HERSHEY, PA – Liam O’Brien punches Tom Sestito in the face during Hershey’s 5-3 win over Wilkes-Barre Wednesday night. (Kyle Mace / Chocolate Hockey)
The Hershey Bears won one of the most dramatic games in Giant Center history Wednesday night. This game had a lot coming starting all the way on Monday night after Tom Sestito and Liam O’Brien had some top notch banter on Twitter.
Wilkes-Barre, PA – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins forward Tom Sestito (right) reacts to having a penalty called on him after hitting Garrett Mitchell from behind in game four of the Atlantic Division finals Monday night (Kyle Mace / Chocolate Hockey)
Mondays are normally the worst day of the week, but the night of Monday, May 10 was definitely a fun one.
Prior to Game 4 of the Hershey Bears and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Atlantic Division Finals, the two teams had what we are calling The Tea Party at The Red Line during warm-ups. It all started after Tom Sestito was looking to start trouble skating up and down the red line in warm-ups, going from Chris Bourque to Zach Sill, then Liam O’Brien, who he has some past history with.
Prior to game 4 of the Atlantic Divison Finals between Hershey and Wilkes-Barre, we had a bit of a get-together.
Harrisburg Senators manager Matt LeCroy talks to Hershey Bears defenseman Erik Burgdoerfer and forward Liam O’Brien prior to the Senators game against the Altoona Curve on Tuesday night. (Kyle Mace / Chocolate Hockey)
Tuesday night at the Harrisburg Senators game, Bears defenseman Erik Burgdoerfer and forward Liam O’Brien had the opportunity to throw out the first pitch.
“We were just at the rink this morning and they asked if anyone wanted to come out and throw the first pitch at the ballgame and watch the Senators play,” said Burgdoerfer. “I’m a big baseball fan. When I was a kid, probably until I was ten, [I played baseball].”
Earlier this week, in a locker room in historic Hersheypark Arena, we had three Hershey Bears players try their best at a holiday tradition with a hockey twist. Chandler Stephenson, Liam O’Brien, and Nathan Walker made Gingerbread Zambonis – and we want you to vote on the best ones! Watch the video, visit each player’s individual page to get a better look at the creations, and then vote!
