Bears Allow Falcons Comeback, Lose 4-3 (OT)

Andrew Joudrey (seen here during Springfield’s preseason) faced his former team tonight.

The Bears began another 3-in-3 tonight, once again on the road. They started the weekend with a game against the Springfield Falcons, the new team of former captain, Andrew Joudrey.

The first period moved along quickly as the teams battled away. The Bears were playing well and had several big scoring opportunities. One of those opportunities came when Cody Eakin was robbed with a glove save about halfway through the period. But the first goal of the game wasn’t far off. Boyd Kane wrestled the puck away in the neutral zone and got it to Eakin. Eakin set up Jacob Micflikier on a 2-on-1 opportunity and the Bears took the first lead of the game!

Shortly after that, Garrett Mitchell earned his first career AHL goal and it was a nice one! The Bears were playing with an extra man due to a delayed penalty call against the Falcons. Mitchell was near the net and backhanded a rebound past goaltender Danny Taylor.

The good news for the Bears continued into the beginning of the second period. Hershey had a 2-on-1 play and Keith Aucoin passed to Chris Bourque, who tapped the puck past Taylor. How nice is it to have him back? With the goal, Bourque continues his streak of having at least one point in every regular season game.

Unfortunately, the Falcons broke their scoring drought soon after that. The Bears were on their first penalty kill of the night. Braden Holtby was screened and barely saw the puck coming. Then, when Zach Miskovic was whistled for cross-checking, the Falcons were back on the power play and scored once again to make it a one-goal game by the end of the second period.

Late in the third period, a back door play during a Springfield power play made it a tie game. Neither team could muster up another goal before the end of the third period so they pressed on to overtime. The Bears owned the first twenty minutes but the Falcons owned the rest. Springfield won it with a breakaway goal with just over two minutes in OT. The Bears lose to the Falcons, 4-3 (OT).

Tonight’s Notes:

• Sean Collins was called up to Washington this week and he played in their game against the Edmonton Oilers last night. He finished the game with three shots, one blocked shot, and a +1 rating. He has traveled with them to Vancouver and may play tomorrow night.
• The fourth line really put in a ton of effort tonight. They created the first major scoring chance of the game. Of course, they have Mitchell’s goal to show for their work.
• It was kind of a mediocre night for the special teams. The Bears failed to score on three power plays and allowed three power play goals.
• I had to add this for all the Holtby fans out there: During the third period, Wade MacLeod fell on Braden Holtby. Holtby promptly responded by punching MacLeod with his glove hand. Here is a screencap I took during the replay:

Lines and Pairings:

Bourque – Aucoin –  Ford
Kane – Eakin – Micflikier
Hanson – Sjogren – Carroll
Lacroix – Mitchell – Bouchard

McNeill – Miskovic
Brouillette – Orlov
Wellar – Flemming

Three stars of the game:

1. Ryan Russell (SPR)
2. Dane Byers (SPR)
3. Chris Bourque (HER)