Bears Drop Penalty-Filled Game against Admirals, 2-1

Graham Mink collides with a Norfolk Admiral. Photo by John Wright.

It’s almost time for the All-Star break but first the Hershey Bears have to play back-to-back games against the Norfolk Admirals.

The Hershey Bears have picked up many rivals throughout the years. It’s not much of a secret that these teams always play a tough game against each other. The first period saw seven combined penalties and no score.

The Admirals got the scoring going about halfway through the second period. Braden Holtby lost sight of a shot on goal. The puck slowly squeaked through him and Carter Ashton chipped it in.

Jacob Micflikier tied the game up by getting right in the face of Dustin Tokarski. He now has points in seven straight games. Unfortunately, the Admirals regained the lead a few minutes later. Holtby made a big sliding stop but he couldn’t do anything about the rebound.

The penalties continued but neither team was able to convert. The Bears had a few last minutes chances but Hershey loses 2-1 to the Admirals.

Tonight’s Notes:

• Quite a few roster moves over the past couple of days. To sum up: Cody Eakin and Tomas Kundratek are back with the Bears which means that Matt Pope and Phil Oreskovic were sent back to South Carolina.
• Additionally, defenseman Paul Baier was called up from the Stingrays in order for the Bears to release him from his contract so he could play in Italy.
• Patrick Wellar returned to the line-up after missing eight games with an ankle injury.
• Tonight was also the end of Keith Aucoin‘s point streak. He didn’t reach points in his 17th straight game but 16 games is still pretty darn good.
• Let’s talk special teams because that was the theme of this game. A total of fifteen penalties were called during the game and yet neither team scored a power play goal. The Bears were 0-for-6 on the power play but also stifled all nine attempts by the Admirals power play unit.
• Braden Holtby has nothing to be ashamed of tonight. He made some enormous crucial saves and stopped 44 of 46 shots. It’s a tough loss for the guy who did everything right.

Lines and Pairings:

Kane – Aucoin – Bourque
Micflikier – Eakin – Potulny
Greentree – Hanson – Ford
Mitchell – Carroll – Mink

McNeill – Collins
Brouillette – Kundratek
Miskovic – Wellar

Three stars of the game:

1. Pierre-Cedric Labrie (NOR)
2. Carter Ashton (NOR)
3. Dustin Tokarski (NOR)