Bears dominate Crunch with a 5-1 victory

After Wednesday’s loss to the Worcester Sharks, Mark French was mad. The coaches held a closed door meeting that had us a little afraid for the players. We obviously don’t know what was said but it made tonight’s game against the Syracuse Crunch all that more important. Hershey needed to make a statement.

The first period was pretty even. Syracuse would draw first blood when Patrick Maroon scored his first goal as a member of the Crunch. It would be their only goal of the night. Andrew Gordon tied the game during a 5-on-3 power play before the end of the period.

The second period was key for the Bears. Hershey spent the majority of the period dominating the offensive zone, so much so that Syracuse opted for a goaltender change. This switch was most likely an attempt to wake up the rest of the team and not so much a reflection of Timo Pielmeier’s performance. Before the switch, Mathieu Perreault found the back of the net thanks to an assist from Gordon. Andrew Joudrey added a one-timer from Steve Pinizzotto that eluded Pielmeier.

For the rest of the game, the Bears tried to minimize Syracuse’s scoring chances as much as possible. Gordon scored his second goal of the night and 14th goal of the season. After killing off a penalty, Hershey regrouped and Kyle Greentree scored Hershey’s fifth and final goal of the night.

It’s easy to assume that Dany Sabourin was chosen to start in tonight’s game due to his previous success in Syracuse. Sabourin recorded his first win of the season in this building. He also shutout the Crunch in the last meeting between these two teams. After tonight’s game, he remains undefeated in Syracuse as Hershey wins 4-1.

There you go. A full 60 minute effort proves what Hershey is capable of. Let’s hope that meeting was the kick the Bears needed to turn this season around for good.

Tonight’s Notes:

• Francois Bouchard returned to the line-up after being sidelined with a neck injury and recorded the primary assist on Greentree’s goal.
• Maxime Lacroix‘s effort continues to impress. He doesn’t have any points yet but he’s hustling. He’s putting in a lot of work and I don’t think a point or two is far off.
• Save of the night? Sabourin just absolutely robbing Maxime Macenauer from close range. It really kept the momentum going and the Bears in the game.
• I think Syracuse might be trying to set the record for most advertisements in one arena. I mean, they are showing up the KHL arenas.
• The penalty kill went for a perfect 4-for-4. It was the perfect way to ensure that Syracuse would not find a way to rally.
• The top line of Willsie-Perreault-Gordon combined for seven points.

Lines and Pairings:

Willsie – Perreault – Gordon
Greentree – Beagle – Bouchard
Kane – Joudrey – Pinizzotto
Kugryshev – Rome – Lacroix

Yeo – Collins
Nycholat – Miskovic
Wellar – Oreskovic

Actual three stars of the game:

1. Andrew Gordon (HER)
2. Mathieu Perreault (HER)
3. Patrick Maroon (SYR)

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

1. Gordon: two goals, one assist
2. Perreault: one goal, two assists
3. Sabourin: strong effort; stopped 25 of 26 shots