Bears Remain Winless Against the Pens at Home

April 9, 2011
Kathryn Hedrick
Game Recap

The Baby Pens celebrate one of many goals against the Bears tonight. Photo by Kyle Mace

For your average teams, a game with two teams who already have secured seeds in the playoffs would be just another game to get through.

Someone should tell the Bears and Penguins this, although I don’t think they’d hear you over the sound of their hatred for each other.

It didn’t take long for everyone to realize that this game would be just as physical as yesterday’s, if not moreso. Just about five minutes in, Ashton Rome had a big hit on Zach Sill. Sill had a few words for Rome and then they dropped the gloves. It was definitely dominated by Rome though, who brought the crowd to their feet after delivering some huge blows.

It didn’t take long for Patrick Wellar and Jesse Boulerice to follow suit and fight near center ice. Wellar had the advantage early but Boulerice got the takedown.

Despite several power plays, the Bears just could not find the back of the net. This is mostly the result of John Curry’s stunning saves. Just when it seemed like the period would end scoreless, the Penguins kicked it up a notch during the final minute of play. The Bears botched several attempts to clear the zone and all of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s offense got Braden Holtby moving. 1-0 Penguins.

The second period started off a little quieter but it only took thirty seconds for Hershey to be in a 3-0 hole. Brett Sterling was positioned right in front of Holtby and chipped the puck past Holtby. It was a good shot and there wasn’t much he could do about it.

The next goal stung a bit more. The Penguins were on a power play with Souray in the box. Holtby came out of his crease a little to make a save but the rebound came right out to Nick Petersen. Holtby was too far out and Petersen practically had an empty net.

With all the momentum on their side, the Penguins kept it going. Bryan Lerg fired a fast shot from the above the face-off circle that went right past Hershey.

In one period, the game went from about equal to domination by the Penguins. The Bears did a better job during the third period of holding the Penguins back.

It took 58 minutes for the Bears to finally break the shutout. Andrew Gordon was easily the best player on the ice for the Bears tonight. He was robbed on several occasions but he was eventually able to beat Curry.

Just 31 seconds later, Maxime Lacroix, who also had several good chances throughout the game, closed in on the net and cut the Penguins’ lead in half.

It was good to see these guys rewarded for their play in a game that some guys had mailed in. Unfortunately, it was too little too late as the Bears lost 4-2. They remain winless against the Penguins on home ice.

Tonight’s Notes:

After last night’s match penalty, Keven Veilleux was suspended for two games, meaning he will miss the rest of the regular season.
Dmitry Orlov, originally slated to start tonight’s game was a late scratch. After take part in warm-ups, Zach Miskovic took his spot. John Walton tweeted post-game that Orlov was scratched because of a lower body injury. It doesn’t seem to be too serious but it’s good to rest him in games like this that don’t matter.
From Tim Leone’s game recap: “With one home game remaining, Hershey set a single-season attendance record of 381,570.” Job well done, Bears fans!