Sound Tigers defeat Bears in Penalty-Ridden Game

February 19, 2012
Kathryn Hedrick
Game Recap

Braden Holtby did his best to keep the Bears in it. All Photos by Kyle Mace.

Just about halfway through their five-game road stretch, the Bears shipped off to face the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

In a pretty calm first period, neither team found the back of the net. Braden Holtby and Anders Nilsson weren’t called on to make too many saves for their respective teams but there were some good chances. It was a close game from the start.

The scoring drought finally ended almost halfway into the second period. During a 5-on-3 Hershey power play, Chris Bourque‘s slapshot sailed right past Nilsson like a missile. Unfortunately, the Sound Tigers tied it up before the end of the period during a power play of their own. A sharp angle shot by David Ullstrom eluded Holtby during a frustrating penalty for the Bears.

Despite two power play chances in the third period, the Bears were unable to score again in regulation. The game pushed on to overtime. The Bears out-shot the Sound Tigers but it wasn’t enough so we needed the shootout.

Nilsson stopped all five shooters but Holtby couldn’t stop Jon Landry in the final round. Bears lose, 2-1 (SO).

Don’t forget to check out our “Snapshots” feature tomorrow for more of Kyle’s fantastic photos from this weekend!

Tonight’s Notes:

The Capitals sent Keith Aucoin back down to Hershey this morning. Of course, he did not play because he would not be able to get to Bridgeport in time.
There were a ton of penalties called during the course of the game. For Hershey, it became especially annoying when their first three power plays were all cut short due to an infraction by a Bear.
Andrew Carroll dropped the gloves with Micheal Haley after Haley kneed Bourque in a big hit. It was over quickly but nice to see guys sticking up for their teammates.