Bears Bounce Back With 2-1 Win Against Norfolk

Now that’s more like it!

The Bears did not have a lot of time to think about their loss to the Penguins on Sunday because they had to hit the road and take on the Norfolk Admirals tonight.

From the start, the Bears looked much more comfortable than they did on Sunday. They were moving their feet and getting shots in. Most importantly, Todd Ford was solid and confident in the crease. He stopped 29 of 30 shots in a fantastic outing. Good to see him bounce back after getting pulled on Sunday.

It was Sean Collins who gave Hershey the early lead. Dylan Yeo had the first shot of the play but the rebound came out to Collins who buried it past goaltender Mike Smith.

During the second period, the Admirals managed to tie it up. Mike Angelidis was right between the face-off circles when he sniped it in the top left corner past Ford. But with just 18 seconds left in the period, Keith Aucoin countered with a missile of his own. Beautiful goal that ended up being the game-winner. The third period saw no scoring change and the Bears won 2-1.

The best part of this? They did it with only five defensemen instead of the usual six. Josh Godfrey was called up before the game but his flight did not arrive in time to make the line-up. Instead, Joel Rechlicz got a spot as a thirteenth forward. Tonight’s win will serve as a much better game to reflect on during their next few days off. The line-up keeps changing, but the Bears will keep winning.

Tonight’s Notes:

• On Monday, the Bears announced that they released Chris Blight and Andrew Carroll from their professional tryout contracts. Due to injuries though, they needed another player so they signed Ryan Cruthers of  the Reading Royals to a PTO. While he was on ice for Norfolk’s only goal, he did have a strong game.
• Congratulations are in order for Patrick McNeill, who the Caps called up tonight. The Caps play tomorrow night and he is poised to play his first NHL game. Godfrey was called up to fill McNeill’s spot.
• Hit of the night goes to Yeo: nice open ice check to send Blair Jones flying. I’m pretty sure Jones is still seeing stars.
• You might get tired of reading this but I don’t get tired of writing it: another perfect night for the penalty kill unit who stopped all four of Norfolk’s chances.

Lines and Pairings:

Kane – Aucoin – Pinizzotto
Greentree – Willsie – de Kastrozza
Lacroix – Beagle – Bouchard
Kugryshev – Cruthers – Rome
Rechlicz

Collins – Wellar
Yeo – Miskovic
Kroll

Actual three stars of the game:

1. Keith Aucoin (HER)
2. Sean Collins (HER)
3. Mike Angelidis (NOR)

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

1. Collins: goal and assist
2. Aucoin: game-winning goal
3. Ford: stopped 29 of 30 shots