Kozek and Willsie Lead Bears to 5-1 win over Falcons

It was a big night for the Hershey Bears as they traveled up north to play the Springfield Falcons.

It was a great start to the game if you were wearing chocolate and white. The same cannot be said for Springfield goaltender, Gustaf Wesslau. In just about four and a half minutes of play, Wesslau saw two shots. They both became goals.

The first goal was Andrew Kozek, who tipped a Brian Fahey one-timer shot. The second goal belonged to Brian Willsie. Willsie was assisted by Andrew Gordon, who made his triumphant return to the line-up for the first time since he was injured on February 5th.

And that was the end of Wesslau’s night. He was quickly pulled in favor of David LeNeveu. Before the end of the period, the Falcons brought it back within one with a back door shot from Maksim Mayorov.

The second period had sort of a deja vu feeling. It took a few shots, but Kozek finally beat LeNeveu to score his second goal of the night. With two defenders closing in on him, he scored thanks to a long pass from his defenders. Not to be outdone, Willsie scored his second goal of the game as well when he capitalized on a Falcons turnover. And that’s how Hershey found themselves with a cushy lead going into the third period.

It was a pretty quiet third through. Springfield all but rolled and over and gave up. Kyle Greentree put the final nail in the coffin with a 4-on-4 goal. Bears win 5-1.

Tonight’s Notes:

• Mathieu Perreault was out of the line-up tonight due to illness. Unfortunately, former bear Kyle Wilson was also out of the line-up because of an injury.
• With two goals tonight, Kozek earned his first multi-goal game of the season (s/t to John Walton).
• It wasn’t only Gordon returning to the line-up tonight: Steve Pinizzotto also returned after being sidelined with an injury since the March 2nd game against the Norfolk Admirals.
• Willsie is now one goal away from tying his AHL career high in goals (s/t to John Walton). His career high is 29 goals, which he earned during his 2002-2003 season with Hershey.

Lines and Pairings:

Greentree – Willsie – Gordon
Kane – Joudrey – Pinizzotto
Kozek – Lacroix – Bouchard
Kugryshev – Carroll – Rome

McNeill – Collins
Miskovic – Orlov
Wellar – Fahey

Actual three stars of the game:

1. Andrew Kozek (HER)
2. Brian Willsie (HER)
3. Patrick Wellar (HER)

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

1. Willsie: two goals, including the game-winner, and one assist
2. Kozek: two goals
3. Wellar: two assists