Halloween Beatdown: Bears Maul Monarchs 7-3

Jay Beagle defeats a Monarch after Hershey defeats Manchester.

Hershey had something to prove tonight. They needed to show that they could bounce back from even the most embarassing losses. I’d say they did a pretty good job.

Just one night after pulling their own goalie, Hershey forced Manchester to do the same. Jeff Zatkoff saw 5 shots in about 15 minutes of play. 4 of those shots became Hershey goals. Brian Willsie got the first goal of the night, as he often has this season. Thus began the back-and-forth action. Manchester tied it up only to have Hershey regain the lead on a goal from Zach Miskovic. It was his second goal in two games. Manchester tied it up again on a power play goal. Just over a minute later, Keith Aucoin had a great breakaway pass from Andrew Gordon and was able to get it past Zatkoff. Mathieu Perreault, back from his stint in Washington, added an insurance goal on a mini-breakaway.

And that was all just in the first period. “It was key for us to get a good start,” Andrew Joudrey said after the game. “It was a good response.”

The second period saw no scoring change, but Manchester went from having no minor penalties to having four. They were getting frustrated and it was obvious. Jones was pretty strong in goal despite not starting the game.

During the third period, Aucoin was taken down in the corner. He definitely seemed to be in some pain, but was able to skate himself to the bench. He stayed on the bench and returned to the ice after the Bears went on a 5-on-3. Gordon deflected a Lawrence Nycholat shot to add to the score but Manchester retaliated about 30 seconds later with a goal of their own.

Todd Ford saw his first full game of the season. He’s strong on the down low shots but could use a little more work up high. He stopped 27 of 30 shots. Coach French had a lot of praise for him. “He made big saves when we needed him to,” French said. Despite a decent outing, I think Hershey is really hurting for Braden Holtby to return. Having a goalie with confidence could go a long way.

When the final horn sounded, the players were far from done. Five penalties were doled out after the game had ended, including roughing minors to Jay Beagle and Richard Clune for their roles in a pretty bitter scrap.

With the 7-3 victory, I’m sure Hershey restored some their self-esteem that was bruised from the previous night. And they’ve got a week-long break to heal up until their next game Sunday.

Tonight’s Notes:

• After last night’s poor showing, Mark French shuffled the lines a bit. The biggest change was dropping Kyle Greentree from the top line. Not sure Greentree really enjoyed his new spot, but I know Willsie did as his replacement.
• Joe Finley got in a fight with Manchester’s Justin Johnson just over three minutes into the game. Hard to really pick a winner but it was a good bout. Later, Johnson would try and goad Finley into a rematch but Finley made a wise decision to decline.
• It was another two referee game tonight. The first in Bears history and the second the Bears have seen this season. The first came in a road game against Rochester.
• If I’m going to nitpick, the power play still isn’t good. Better than last night, but that’s not saying much. They were 1-for-8 tonight and couldn’t convert on a brief 5-on-3.
• Keith Aucoin is now just one goal away from 200 AHL career goals. His point streak climbs to 10 games. And he also leads the team in points ( 5g, 14a, 19pts). What a champ!
• Andrew Gordon isn’t too shabby either. With his three points today, Gordo has points in 9 of 10 Bears games this year. He also leads the team with 7 goals.
• You know who isn’t getting enough credit? Lawrence Nycholat. He has one goal and 8 assists but does not get any where near the attention as some of the other players with fewer points.

Actual three stars of the game:

1. Keith Aucoin (HER)
2. Mathieu Perreault (HER)
3. Brian Fahey (HER)

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

1. Aucoin: goal, two assists +3 rating
2. Gordon: goal, two assists, +3 rating
3. Perreault: game-winning goal on his night back with Hershey

Video Highlights:

More Photos from Kyle M.

Gordon celebrates a goal against Zatkoff.

Finley fights Johnson.

Gordon watches yet another goal get past Zatkoff.

Perreault’s breakaway goal ends Zatkoff’s night.

The malfunctioning video board did about as good of a job as Zatkoff did for the Monarchs.

Celebrating goal #54186 of the night.