Offense Rules: Bears beat Admirals 7-5

Seen here last season, Keith Aucoin and Mike Angelidis face off. Photo by John Wright.

It was a battle of the undefeated teams tonight and someone had to go home with a loss. The Bears and the Admirals always have interesting games when they play each other and tonight was no exception. This could take a while to recap, so let’s get to the goals.

Just about four minutes in, Chris Bourque was hit up high with a stick. He exacted revenge by scoring during the ensuing power play with a big shot from the point. A teammate provided the screen and Dustin Tokarski couldn’t do much to stop it. About halfway through the period, Brett Flemming earned his first AHL goal with a shot that was very similar to Bourque’s. Once again, there was a lot of bodies in front of Tokarski and a powerful shot sailed right past him.

The first half of the period was all Hershey but the second half was all Norfolk. J.T. Wyman was right in front of Dany Sabourin and flipped the puck past him during a delayed penalty call against the Bears. Soon after, Boyd Kane went to the box for tripping and the Admirals tied the game up with a power play goal. Tyler Johnson easily made his way through the Hershey defense and scored with no one between him and Sabourin.

Four goals after one period but we were just getting started.

The Bears started the second period on the power play due to an interference call at the very end of the first. Just as the man advantage expired, Flemming set up Cody Eakin for a perfect one-timer. Eakin was wide open and sent the puck flying. It was a beautiful goal for the Bears to regain the lead. Bourque then gave the Bears a two goal lead by scoring on an almost identical shot to his first goal (also on the power play).

The Admirals did manage to get one goal back after a bit of a funny bounce put the puck in just the right spot for Mark Barberio. But instead of allowing the Admirals to get back in the game, the Bears potted yet another power play goal. Jacob Micflikier was right in front of the net and was able to slam a rebound shot right into the net.

If that wasn’t enough for you, Eakin got his second goal of the game to give him his first multi-goal game. Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but he scored on Tokarski with (you guessed it) a heavy shot from the point. That would be the end of Tokarski’s night and Jaroslav Janus took over. As they were doing all night, Norfolk responded quickly with a goal of their own. The Admirals got another lucky bounce from the behind the net and Sabourin couldn’t react in time. Keith Aucoin scored lucky goal number seven thanks to a turnover by the Admirals defense. The Admirals wouldn’t go down without a fight and did manage to score one more goal but it wasn’t enough.

So the power play secured the win tonight and Sabourin certainly didn’t do too shabby down on his end. Bears win 7-5 against the Admirals. The rematch is set for tomorrow during Hershey’s home opener. No rest.

Tonight’s Notes:

• Since the game last Saturday, Braden Holtby was called up to Washington where he practiced with the Caps and backed up Tomas Vokoun during yesterday’s game against Pittsburgh. Michal Neuvirth is nursing a minor injury but Holtby was reassigned to Hershey this morning.
• After not getting any points in his first two games, Micflikier earned a goal and two assists tonight.
• Mike Angelidis and Andrew Carroll fought during the first period. It was mostly wrestling but both got in a couple of good shots. Technically Carroll got the takedown but may have just lost his balance.
• As usual, Tim Leone had the interesting facts for the game: “That is Bourque’s 1st multi-goal regular-season game for Hershey since Jan. 1, 2010, at WBS.” “That is Bourque’s 3rd 5-point game for Hershey.”
• The Bears went three-for-six on the man advantage. They also stopped five of six Norfolk power plays.
• It might get lost in all the goals, but Dany Sabourin was pretty sharp tonight. Despite allowing five goals, he stopped 41 shots. His work during the first period alone ensured that the Admirals didn’t take over the game.
• Flemming and Dmitry Orlov both appeared to get injured. They were both missing at the end of the game. We’ll keep you updated on our Twitter with any news.

Lines and Pairings:

Bourque – Aucoin – Mink
Kane – Hanson – Micflikier
Greentree – Sjogren – Ford
Carroll – Eakin – Bouchard

McNeill – Collins
Richmond – Orlov
Wellar – Flemming

Three stars of the game:

1. Chris Bourque (HER)
2. Jacob Micflikier (HER)
3. Cody Eakin (HER)