Hershey Shames Binghamton in 6-1 Victory

Joel Rechlicz is all smiles after fighting three Bingo Senators in one night. Photo by Kyle M.

Wow…what is there to say about this game?

Before the game, the Washington Capitals called up Keith Aucoin in time to play against the Montreal Canadiens. I admit that I was one of the ones worried about how Hershey would play tonight against the Binghamton Senators. Top line? We don’t need no stinkin’ top line! Hershey put together one of the best offensive efforts we’ve seen all season. Now if I were to actually go into detail about every Hershey goal, this recap would be five miles long.

Basically, Sean Collins started the game off on the right foot with his first goal of the season. Kyle Greentree then scored twice. Dmitri Kugryshev scored a goal and then had a sweet assist on Nikita Kashirsky’s goal (his first goal as a Bear). Zach Miskovic made sure the Senators didn’t escape the second period and scored with 13 seconds left in the period. Six goals, five different goal scorers, eleven different players with points. Good times had by all.

Oh yeah, and the Senators did manage to score once. Dany Sabourin was a bit out of position and they scored just seconds into a power play while Andrew Joudrey was in the box for interference.

The real story of the night? “The Wrecker,” Joel Rechlicz. I’m not sure how many minutes he played exactly (not many), but everyone will remember him tonight. He got a hat trick alright, a hat trick of fights.

Round 1: vs Francis Lessard. You may remember their last bout as the fight that gave Rechlicz the double black eyes. Lessard seemed hesitant to start throwing the punches and kept skating away when Rechlicz would close in on him. Rechlicz had a huge finish with a lot of rights straight to Lessard’s face. Decision: Rechlicz

Round 2: vs Cody Bass. I’m not completely sure this was a wise decision for Bass, who is much smaller than Rechlicz. He picked the fight though and when you ask, you shall receive the fists of fury. Decision: Rechlicz.

Round 3: vs Tim Spencer. This might have been the closest fight of the night. Another marathon fight with two strong guys. But another big finish pushed Rechlicz to the end. Decision: You guessed it, Rechlicz.

Rechlicz received a game misconduct (automatic after three majors). Lessard wanted a rematch and had to settle for fighting Patrick Wellar. However, that was over quickly and Wellar didn’t even have time to actually drop his gloves.

To sum up: Hershey blows Binghamton out of the water with a 6-1 win. The Bears are now 4-1 against the Senators and have outscored them 27 to 9. And Rechlicz now has three enemies on the Senators team. Good night.

Tonight’s Notes:

• Before the game, it was announced that Lawrence Nycholat was out with an upper body injury. Dylan Yeo is also listed as week-to-week with a lower body injury.
• Ashton Rome stepped up and played today even though he was still battling an illness. Despite being sick, he did not make an noticeable mistakes so I give him a point for that.
• Another night of special jerseys as the Bears wore 75th AHL anniversary blue jerseys. They were no holiday jerseys, but they were still an interesting mix with the chocolate pants and helmets.
• After going seven games without a point, Francois Bouchard had two assists tonight. I think he misses Mathieu Perreault.

Video Highlights:

Lines and Pairings:

Greentree – Willsie – Bouchard
Kane – Joudrey – Pinizzotto
Lacroix – Rome – Kugryshev
Kashirsky – Bruess – Rechlicz

Collins – Wellar
Kroll – Miskovic
P. McNeill – Fahey

Actual three stars of the game:

1. Kyle Greentree (HER)
2. Sean Collins (HER)
3. Dmitri Kugryshev (HER)

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

Definitely agreeing with the actual three stars
1. Greentree: two goals (including game-winner), one assist
2. Collins: first goal of the night, +4 rating
3. Kugryshev: goal and assist

More Photos from Kyle M.

Collins celebrates his first goal of the season.

Kugryshev scores a nice goal from between the faceoff circles.

I think Kashirsky learned his goal celebration from Kugryshev.

Rechlicz takes Bass down to the ice.

Don’t leave Miskovic hanging after he scores Hershey’s sixth goal!

Spencer gets credit for actually making contact with Rechlicz’s face during his fight.

Hershey celebrates their third win in a row. (Did Braden Holtby’s mom fix his hair on the bench or something?)