Hershey records first ever win in Charlotte, 5-2

Brian Willsie defends against Nicolas Blanchard. Photo by Checkers SmugMug

In a rare Tuesday night game, the Bears had to make up for their poor showing against the Charlotte Checkers on Sunday. And they looked pretty good, even without Keith Aucoin, Mathieu Perreault, and Lawrence Nycholat. Bumped up to the first line, Marcus Johansson did a solid job filling in at center. He was making good plays and logging a lot of playing time. No points but, at the end of the night, he had one shot on goal and a +1 rating.

For Dany Sabourin, it was a shot at redemption. I’m thinking Todd Ford is nursing a minor injury or the coaches really want to try and boost Sabourin’s confidence. Either way, he was able to make the big saves when the team needed him to and rack up those statistics we want to see. He stopped 37 out of 39 shots, giving him a scintillating .949 save percentage. Not-so-coincidentally, his defense was helping to clear the crease and block shots. The team worked together for a full 60 minute effort and the score certainly showed it. On the other end of the ice, the Bears chased starting goaltender, Justin Pogge, out of the crease after he let in two goals on three shots. Mike Murphy finished the game.

I think Kyle Greentree might love playing in Charlotte. He has scored two goals in both games against Charlotte. He came into town with three goals and left with seven. Tonight, he scored the second and fourth game on the night.

Francois Bouchard opened scoring just under 6 minutes into the game. Patrick Wellar potted the game-winning goal during the second period and the Bears led 3-0. A few minutes later, things got a little scary as Charlotte scored two goals and made it a close game. Thankfully Hershey remained composed and regained an insurance goal before Boyd Kane added on an empty net goal to secure the win.

Tonight’s Notes:

• Wellar’s goal was his first of the season.
• Joe Finley had the primary assist on Greentree’s second goal, giving him his first ever AHL point. Congrats to Big Joe!
• Perreault’s injury was a last minute report. He seems to have aggravated a groin injury during practice.
• Tim Leone reported that Aucoin and Nycholat returned to Hershey early in order to treat their injuries.
• Greentree scored his seventh goal of the season and is now tied with Andrew Gordon for most goals on the team.
• Hershey’s penalty kill was perfect tonight. Unfortunately, so was Charlotte’s.

Lines:

Willsie – Johansson – Gordon
Greentree – Rome – Bouchard
Kane – Joudrey – Pinizzotto
G. McNeill – Beagle – Bruess

Fahey – Finley
Yeo – Miskovic
Collins – Wellar

Actual three stars of the game:

1. Kyle Greentree (HER)
2. Chris Terry (CHA)
3. Dany Sabourin (HER)

Sweetest Hockey On Earth’s three stars of the game:

1. Greentree: two goals
2. Wellar: game-winning goal
3. Sabourin: stopped 37 of 39 shots