Bears Have Scoring Marathon, Beat B-Sens 7-4

HERSHEY, PA – Andrew Hammond is unable to save Stan Galiev’s goal, the first of seven in Hershey’s 7-4 win over Binghamton (Kyle Mace / Sweetest Hockey on Earth)

After an unsuccessful comeback Friday night, the Chocolate and White tried to bounce back against Binghamton on a snowy night in Hershey. With former 2009 Calder Cup Playoffs MVP Michal Neuvirth back between the pipes for the Bears, Hershey was on their a-game, scoring seven goals on 41 shots, winning 7-4 over the Senators.

It only took 1:20 for the Bears to get on the board, with Stan Galiev lighting the lamp and giving Hershey a 1-0 lead quickly out of the gate.

The Senators would answer back with a short handed goal halfway though the period, but five minutes later Julien Brouillette would score the first of his two goals on the night.

Hershey was fast out of the gate at the start of each period, especially in the second when Matt Watkins scored from the seat of his pants, giving Hershey a two goal lead.

Binghamton would answer back with three goals of their own, including two on a five minute major penalty after an elbowing major from Michael Latta, which many fans argued should have been a non-call. The game was marked by 142 minutes in penalties, perhaps not unusual for two teams who have been meeting so often. “You’ve got two teams that are playing desperate right now,” said head coach Mike Haviland. “They are struggling a little bit, we’re up and down. When you are searching for things as a team, you’re asking your guys to play hard, play the right way and give it everything they’ve got. I think when you have two teams like that, when you see each other every other week, it’s going to turn into that when you have 10-12 games against each other.”

With time winding down late in the second, Brouillette tacked on his second of the night, tying the game up at four.

While the plows were working on the roads out side of Giant Center during the third period, Hershey plowed though Binghamton, scoring three goals in 3:41, coming from Brandon Segal, Nathan Walker, and Ryan Stoa, giving Hershey a 7-4 win.

Haviland had plenty of praise for Brouillette’s two goal performance after the game. “He was great tonight,” said Haviland. “He competed. He brings that every night. To get the offensive end out of him was great. We’ve been telling him to shoot from up top and we had some traffic on the first goal. The second one he scored late in the second was a huge goal. It settled us in.”

Brouillette earned the number one star honors with his two goals, including the tally that tied the game at four. “We changed things up a little bit. It was more about getting pucks through, which we lacked the past few games,” said Brouillette. The last two games against Binghamton have featured Bears comebacks. “We know we can play with them. It was just one or two details in the game you want to change. Apparently the last two third periods we did it.”

The crowd was one of the smallest recent history, despite being announced larger,but the fans who came out were very vocal. “I want to thank them for coming out,” said Haviland. ” It’s pretty impressive when you see the storm and what they were calling for. It shows the loyalty and passion that our fans have. They are the best fans in the American Hockey League.”

Photos from the game:

Galiev celebrates his goal

Neuvirth is joined by Patrick Wellar to celebrate Hershey’s win