Bears return to their winning ways, 5-1 victory


Ashton Rome celebrates a goal with the crowd.(Photo by Kyle Mace)

This is more like the Hershey team we know and love. Backed by Braden Holtby, the Bears dominated from start to finish. And no matter how hard the Adirondack Phantoms tried to push them off their game, it couldn’t be done.

While the entire team seemed to parading to the penalty box, The Phantom’s Zac Rinaldo led the team with 3 minor penalties and one fighting major. He was in just one of three fights that happened within three minutes of each other. Matt Clackson spent the entire night looking for someone to fight him and finally found a partner in Sheldon Souray. I’m betting after the beatdown Souray gave him, he’s regretting that decision. Trevor Bruess paired off with Rinaldo and Ashton Rome squared off with Kevin Marshall.

Speaking of Rome, he led the team tonight with two goals. They were his first and second goals of the season. Brian Willsie started off the scoring (as he has done in three games now). In between Rome’s two goals, Steve Pinizzotto had a nifty goal with a nice move on Backlund. With just under five minutes left in the game, Holtby’s shutout bid ended, making Kyle Greentree‘s goal the game winner.

This game was nothing short of entertaining. Between all the goals and all the fights, if you were watching, you had to be glued to you seat. These teams really don’t like each other, no matter if the Phantoms are playing in Philadelphia or Adirondack. And the best part? They play each other again tomorrow!

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Hershey falls short, lose 3-2 to Penguins


Joe Vitale scores one of his two goals on Dany Sabourin as the Baby Pens win 3-2 over the Bears. (Photo credit: AFC Media)

I mean, at least we didn’t get shut out!

It would be easy to pin the Bears loss tonight on WBS Penguins goalie Brad Thiessen who finished the game with 30 scintillating saves. However, he ended up being only the third star of the game.

Hershey just didn’t seem to have any chemistry tonight. There were a handful of inspired moments from individual players, but nothing that really made you think this team is full of Calder Cup champions. It definitely did not help that the Bears were missing Jay Beagle and Mathieu Perreault. They were mysteriously absent from the line-up. With the recent influx of injuries in Washington, it definitely had people talking. After the game, Tim Leone reported that Mark French has confirmed they have been recalled.

After this kind of loss, you would probably think that the shots were heavily favored towards the Penguins, right? So wrong. Hershey outshot them the entire night. And the final shot count? Hershey 32, Penguins 15. Ouch.

We now must take a long, leery look at Dany Sabourin, who in two games, has only a .806 save percentage. That’s not the number you want to see from a veteran goaltender. He definitely can not be faulted for all the goals against over the past two games, but he can definitely be better. I can’t help but wonder if personal things are affecting him, especially after he missed practice in Washington and in Hershey because of “family matters.” I just know that he can play better than he has been.

Now, It’s okay to be frustrated, Hershey fans. But let’s not panic yet.

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Your Photos and Video from Opening Night


Photo by Bridget.

We asked. You answered.

We had so many amazing pictures to go through that it was hard to narrow them down! This post could have easily ended up a mile long. We have coverage from the opening Calder Cup ceremony to the auction after the game, and, of course, pictures from the game itself. If you weren’t at Giant Center on Saturday night, you should definitely scroll down to see everything you missed out on!

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Hershey can’t complete the comeback, lose 3-2


Several players examine their shiny, new rings.

How does that saying go? If you don’t have anything nice to say…

It wasn’t the way Hershey intended for the game to go. I guess it’s only fitting that Rochester ruined Hershey’s home opener after Hershey ruined theirs. Perhaps inspired by the memories of last season, the Bears played with energy and came out strong…for the first five minutes. Then they seemed to lose all of their passion and energy until the last five minutes. Alright, let’s try and look at the positives:

Brian Willsie had a good night. He scored the first goal of the night and got an assist on Andrew Gordon’s goal. Outside the score sheet, he was pulling some fancy moves around the Rochester defense. It’s hard to really analyze how Dany Sabourin did in his first game as a Hershey Bear. He only faced 15 shots and stopped 12 of them. However, it’s hard to fault him when he was screened the entire night. Hershey’s defenders need to be better about clearing the goal crease.

Hershey put together another fantastic ceremony to celebrate the organization’s 11th Calder Cup Championship. Personally, I loved the video they played before introducing the 2010-2011 team. The video panned around a virtual Giant Center filled with players and moments from the past season.

One by one, the players were announced and the members of last year’s team received their rings. They all huddled together, studying every facet of their new bling.

The big news of the night involved Hershey legend, Mitch Lamoureux, who is going to be inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame. The announcement warranted a standing ovation from the jam-packed Giant Center. Congratulations to Mitch!

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Hershey is Binghamton’s Worst Nightmare, 7-1


The Bouchard-Perreault-Willsie line combined for a total of nine points.

Wow…where to even begin?? To say that Hershey dominated this game would be an understatement. Offense was the name of this game. Nine different Hershey players finished the game with at least a +2 rating. It was probably a good sign when the first goal of the night came just over two minutes into the game and a mere 12 seconds into the first power play of the night. Then the goals just came rolling in. Chances are, if you blinked, you missed a goal.

…unless it was the third period. Then you problably blinked and missed someone getting their face punched in. Joel Rechlicz, Sheldon Souray, and Patrick Wellar did a pretty good job of punishing people tonight. The three of them combined for a total of 28 penalty minutes.

It’s already been established that the Greentree-Aucoin-Gordon line works well together. But I’m more interested in seeing what the Bouchard-Willsie-Perreault line cab di. It’s probable that Brian Willsie would like to see it more too. His suitcase might be a little harder to pack up after the game when he tries to fit in those four points he got tonight.

I think the Senators are still shaking their heads after tonight. Hershey’s job tonight is to enjoy the moment, but also remember that tomorrow that they must defend the cup in front of their home crowd. The guys from last year’s squad are likely to be dreaming of their new bling tonight.

See what did I tell you?

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Hershey Gets First Win Against Amerks 4-3.


Rochester and Hershey rock the throwback jerseys.

When the teams were tied at 3 in the third period, Hershey may have been having flashbacks to the previous night. Thankfully, they seemed set on not allowing the same outcome. Keith Aucoin continues to outdo himself. After a goal and an assist last night, he gets TWO goals and assist tonight. His second goal was a shorthanded goal after he perfectly read a Rochester play and intercepted it for a 1-on-none breakaway.

Brian Fahey would step up to tie the game halfway through the third period. It was a big goal that gave Hershey the momentum and energy for the rest of the game. Andrew Gordon found the back of the net on a rebound after a Kyle Greentree breakaway. Thanks to him, Hershey will be getting on the bus with two more points tonight.

The game was officiated a little differently today. Usually, the AHL only plays with two linesmen and one referee. However, this season there will be a handful of games used to begin phasing in the two referee system. Tonight, both Jamie Koharski and Ghislain Hebert were wearing the orange arm bands. There was no shortage of penalties awarded during tonight’s game, perhaps because of having double the refs. Not to say that this game wasn’t physical, but players were getting called for just about every touch. A grand total of 18 penalties were called, 9 for Hershey and 9 for Rochester.

With how many penalties were doled out today, Hershey didn’t cash in when they had the man advantage. The powerplay crew seemed to be lacking in chemistry a little. It’s not anything to worry about yet, but could use some attention. They have some adjusting to do after losing Alexandre Giroux and Chris Bourque, HUGE parts of last season’s powerplay. Maybe the powerplay #NeedsMoreSheldonSouray?

The players will get some rest for the next few days before they travel to Binghamton to play the Senators on Friday. They play their first home game on Saturday and, if you haven’t already, I suggest you secure yourself some tickets ASAP.

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Bears Start the Season With One Point After Losing 3-4 in the Shootout


Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins celebrate getting a goal past Braden Holtby. Photo by Kyle Mace

The first game of the season results in the first shootout of the season. It probably wasn’t the way Hershey wanted to start the season, but one point is better than none. Braden Holtby, while still making some terrific saves, has some tape he will be reviewing tonight on the bus.

The first period was a crazy one. Both teams exchanged two goals each in first ten minutes. The first goal of the game came from Kyle Greentree, who scored 15 seconds into the first powerplay of the night. After allowing two goals from the Penguins, Steve Pinizzotto tied it at 2 for the final goal of the period. The Bears wouldn’t post another goal until Keith Aucoin scored to tie the game 3-3 only 48 seconds into the third period. It would be enough to merit Hershey a point, but it wouldn’t be enough to claim the game. The Penguins came out victorious after the dreaded shootout.

Thanks to Wilkes-Barre’s season opener ceremony, overtime, and the shootout, the game went a little late tonight. Hopefully the boys will still be able to get a good night’s rest as they take on Rochester Americans tomorrow at 5 pm.

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Finding the Missing Pieces

If you want to follow the AHL, the first thing you must learn is how high the turnover rate for each team is. No matter how prepared you may feel to handle losing several players, the first off-season is an eye-opener. Between trades, free agency, and call-ups, you can barely get used to a player being around before he’s gone. This season is no exception.

We lost several key players and their roles can not go unfilled. In this post, I’ll take a look at the big guys we lost and the prospects I think will fill their shoes.

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