Bears fall to Crunch 4-1 in final regular season game.

The team salutes the fans. Photo by Kyle Mace

Being the last game of the season this was team awards night (photo post to follow) and fan appreciation night.  Unfortunately, that was about the high point of the evening.  The Bears had quite a few healthy scratches since there was nothing to gain from this game.  It was also, therefore, a chance to take a look at some of the newer guys like newcomer Garrett Mitchell.

Despite the large number of scratches, the Bears offense was able to control the puck for a lot of the first period.  Unfortunately that didn’t translate to many shots or scoring chances.  Hershey had a total of 6 shots in the first period, but most of those came in the second half of the period.  That included three power plays in the period as well.

The second period was an improvement.  The Bears were still able to control the puck, but generated some more scoring opportunities.  This frame provided the only goal for the home team when Andrew Gordon banged home a rebound off a Steve Pinizzotto shot.

With the final stanza, the Bears played a lot like they did in the first.  Lots of puck control, but little in true offense.

Tonight’s Notes:

• It seemed like Coach French was playing around with line combinations most of the night. He had 11 on offense and 7 on defense.
• The “Drive Home” forecast got one of the biggest cheers of the game when they announced it would be 80 degrees tomorrow.

Lines and Pairings:

Almost pointless to try here because there were so many changes.

Actual three stars of the game:

1. Timo Pielmeier (SYR)
2. John Kurtz (SYR)
3. Peter Holland (SYR)

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

1. Gordon: scored Hershey’s only goal
2. Pinizzotto: assist on the Gordon goal and +1 in a bad night
3. Mitchell: nice showing on your first fight at home

Now it’s playoff time.  Hope to see you all there!!!

Additional game photos by Kyle Mace below.