Perreault and the Bears send Senators packing, 8-3

Mathieu Perreault leads the Bears to victory on a night Barry Brust and the Binghamton Senators do not want to look back on. Photo by Kyle M.

How to even begin writing about this game…

It was all Andrew Gordon at first. He opened scoring only 70 seconds into the game. Seven minutes later, he added another goal to become the first Bear to reach double digits in goals this season. Brian Willsie scored his first goal a 25 seconds later and Steve Pinizzotto added to the tally a minute after that. Kyle Greentree scored before another Willsie goal to wrap up the first period. That’s right, 6-0 after the first period.

Binghamton managed to regain some of their dignity and come back with three goals during the rest of the game. Lawrence Nycholat had the final say with the last goal of the game to make it 8-3 Bears.

But let’s talk about Mathieu Perreault. He fell one assist short of tying the Hershey record for most assists in one game. Per Tim Leone, the current record is seven assists, set by Mitch Lamoureux on November 21, 1987 against Baltimore. the AHL Twitter announced that Perreault’s six assist night was the first since Rochester’s Chris Taylor on Oct 21, 2005.

The Bears were definitely playing well but it’s important to remember that the Binghamton Senators are having some serious goalie issues at the moment. Both Robin Lehner and Mike Brodeur are injured. A lot of people were questioning why the coaches weren’t pulling Barry Brust after goal four and on. Zane Kalembra was sitting on the bench and they probably weren’t in a hurry to put him in the game. He has never played an AHL game and only played one ECHL in his career. He was signed that morning as an emergency back-up. However, Brust actually did a good job after the first period. Maybe he realized that he was going to be in this game for the long run.

I know you’re all dying to hear how Semyon Varlamov did. When he was sent to Hershey, I’m thinking they were hoping to see him challenged more than he was tonight. He didn’t really have to deal with a lot of shots until the second period when Binghamton had a couple power plays, including a 5-on-3. He let in three goals, two while Hershey was on the penalty kill. He was pretty solid but probably wants at least one of those goals back. It’s understandable since he’s shaking off a lot of rust. He looked great when he stopped a shorthanded breakaway shot during the third period. Overall, he made 21 for 24 saves.

Hershey will rest for a few days. Their next game is Friday against the Senators again, but this time in Binghamton. The Senators are probably hoping they have more healthy goaltenders by then.

Tonight’s Notes:

• The Bears debuted their new third jerseys. I, for one, love them. Such a classic look. The numbers and name look a little different but it’s still a nice look. Perfect for a third jerseys.
• Fights galore! Grant McNeill and Francis Lessard went at it twice. The first wasn’t a great fight but the second made up for it. Incredible frustration got to the Senators and Patrick Wellar and Phil Oreskovic dropped the gloves within seconds of each other.
• Happy to see Sean Collins healthy and returning to the line-up after his eyelid was cut by a skate (er, rather a stick) during a game against Charlotte.
• The top line of Willsie-Perreault-Gordon combined for 11 points in the first period alone.
• Gordon is now 4th in the AHL in goals scored, 2nd in the league in points.

Video Highlights:

Lines and Pairings:

Willsie – Perreault – Gordon
Greentree – Beagle – Bouchard
Kane – Joudrey – Pinizzotto
G. McNeill – Rome – Kugryshev

Collins – Fahey
Nycholat – Miskovic
Wellar – Oreskovic

Actual three stars of the game:

1. Mathieu Perreault (HER)
2. Andrew Gordon (HER)
3. Brian Willsie (HER)

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

Going to have to agree with the actual three stars
1. Perreault: six assists
2. Gordon: two goals and two assists
3. Willsie: two goals and two assists

More photos from Kyle M.:

One side of Varly’s new mask

Perhaps predicting a victory, Gordon is all smiles during warm-ups.

Ranger Scratch from ZooAmerica drops the puck before the game. Probably the biggest moment in tonight’s game.

Brust is still trying to figure out where that shot from Gordon went.

Pinizzotto celebrates his tip-in goal.

McNeill vs Lessard

Grant McNeill approves.

Wellar vs Bass

Oreskovic vs Spencer

Gordon high-fives Varly

Yet another goal flies past Barry Brust.

Varly makes a save against Binghamton

What a night!