Bears shut out Senators 4-0 on Teddy Bear Toss night


Maxime Lacroix’s goal triggers the attack of flying stuffed animals. Photo by Kyle M.

Tonight was annual Teddy Bear Toss. After the first Hershey goal, fans were instructed to throw their teddy bears onto the ice where they would then be collected and donated to Children’s Miracle Network. The Bears were playing like a team possessed for the beginning of the first period. No one wants to get shut out on Teddy Bear Toss night.

I guess technically the credit for unleashing the waterfall of teddy bears will go to Maxime Lacroix. A closer look may show that it bounced off of a Binghamton Senators player and past Robin Lehner. May I just say, fantastic job with the teddy bears, Hershey fans. It was announced that 7,199 teddy bears were thrown and they are all going to a good home.

But, back to the game! Francois Bouchard scored the first goal actually last touched by a Bear to put the team up 2-0 by the end of the first period.

Steve Pinizzotto had a spectacular pass for Jay Beagle to score a shorthanded goal. Credit to John Walton for this stat: the Bears have scored three shorthanded goals to date. The first goal was Keith Aucoin‘s and the other two belong to Beagle. Money.

At the end of the period, Pinizzotto would drop the gloves against Andre Benoit. Benoit may have started the fight but I don’t think he was ready for the impact of Pinizzotto’s fists. However, the highlight fight would probably go to Lawrence Nycholat taking on Bobby Butler in the third period. Strange pairing but Nycholat gets the win and the knockout punch. The joy of the fight was downgraded by the sight of Nycholat going down the tunnel. He never returned to the game. Get well soon!

To wrap up the game, Ashton Rome made it 4-0 Hershey after beating Lehner low. That would be the final goal of the game as Braden Holtby pitched a 26-save shutout. That’s two Saturdays in a row that Holtby has shut out the opposing team. And so, Hershey earns a perfect record for the weekend as they chalk up their 13th and 14th wins of the season. Woo!

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Pinizzotto and the Bears outlast Albany Devils, 3-2


Dany Sabourin rushes to make a save against the Albany Devils. Photo by the Albany Devils.

It was a quiet first period. In fact, it was a fairly quiet game against the Albany Devils.

The first goal of the game came exactly five minutes into the second period. Thankfully, Jay Beagle was able to counter with a goal just 31 seconds later, with an assist by Maxime Lacroix. The assist was Lacroix’s first AHL point of the season.

Trading back-and-forth goals, the Devils scored on the power play to regain their lead. But wait! How comfortable is Dmitri Kugryshev looking these days? He scored his second goal of the season to tie the game at two a piece before the end of the second period.

The hero of the night? Steve Pinizzotto. Showing the clutch guy he can be, he capitalized on an Albany turnover and scored the game-winning goal, unassisted, to give Hershey their first lead of the night. Thankfully, they only needed the lead once to maintain it and won 3-2.

So it may not have been the most exciting game but a win is a win. And wins are what Hershey needs.

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Perreault’s goals can’t hold off 5-2 Charlotte victory


Braden Holtby pushes Zach Boychuk down after Boychuk gets a little too close. Photo by Kyle M.

While the Carolina Hurricanes and the Washington Capitals battled two hours away, their farm teams were playing a game of their own.

Sunday is Mathieu Perreault‘s day. Thanks to John Walton’s mention, I looked up Perreault’s stats for every Sunday game he has played in Hershey. He has at least one point in all five Sunday games that he played. In the past three Sunday games, he has at least two points, including the night of his six assists. Tonight was no exception. He scored the only two goals for Hershey that would sadly go to waste.

Thanks to Perreault, the Bears had an early lead against the Charlotte Checkers. The lead would hold until the beginning of the second period when a funny bounce went over Braden Holtby‘s shoulder to tie the game.

After Perreault’s second goal, a controversial penalty shot went down that left people scratching their heads. Replays later showed that it was the result of a questionable hook by Sheldon Souray. It was definitely a penalty, not so much worth a penalty shot. Nevertheless, Jacob Micflikier beat Holtby and tied the game once again. Just a few seconds later, the Checkers then took their first lead of the game with a funny shot. Former Bear, Oskar Osala was credited with the goal that would prove to the game winner.

During the third period, a scrum erupted in front of Holtby. He appeared to take a puck to the wrist but that didn’t stop him from leaving his crease to take down Zach Boychuk. Holtby received a two minute roughing penalty that created an uproar of cheers from the Hershey fans.

It may not have been the greatest idea to leave Holtby in goal. He seemed to have some problems with his hand. He also let in two goals within four minutes of each other. The first goal came right at the end of the Hershey power play and the second goal came on the Charlotte power play.

And so the Charlotte Checkers beat the Hershey Bears 5-2. Here’s hoping Holtby heals quickly. We only just got him back!

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Holtby shuts out Phantoms 4-0 in return to Hershey


Dmitri Kugryshev is all smiles after he scores his first career AHL goal! Photo by Kyle M.

The Adirondack Phantoms came into tonight’s game with just three wins in the season. But, for the first few minutes, they were standing strong against Hershey. The last thing the Bears needed was a loss to the last place team to kill their swagger.

Boyd Kane drew first blood late in the first period. Andrew Gordon later scored on the power play when he deflected a Kyle Greentree shot. Gordon leads the league in goals (with 15) and in points (with 29). After Gordon’s goal, Phantoms goaltender Johan Backlund was helped to the bench with seemingly a lower body injury. Nic Riopel replaced him in goal and there was no looking back.

Big congratulations to Dmitry Kugryshev who scored Hershey’s third goal of the game and his first career AHL goal! It’s been a long time coming for Kugryshev. Every game he seems to be getting more and more playing time and deservedly so. Mark French even tried mixing the lines up a little and playing Kugryshev on the top line with Gordon and Mathieu Perreault. Kugryshev’s confidence was through the roof for the rest of game. He’s a talented guy and is bound to be a serious threat once he fully adjusts to AHL life.

Hershey helped maintain their lead by scoring 32 seconds into the third period. It was Kane’s second goal of the night. Kane just loves playing against the Phantoms. He always seems to love harassing his former team.

The story of the night though is Braden Holtby‘s triumphant return to Hershey. After a fairly long call-up in Washington, he came back and took his rightful spot as the #1 goalie for the Bears. He stopped 28 of 28 shots and some of them were doozies. He seemed as comfortable as ever as Bears defeat Phantoms 4-0.

Hershey remains undefeated since the closed door meeting on Wednesday night. Like I said in the last recap, hopefully this is the start of a better, more consistent season.

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Bears dominate Crunch with a 5-1 victory

After Wednesday’s loss to the Worcester Sharks, Mark French was mad. The coaches held a closed door meeting that had us a little afraid for the players. We obviously don’t know what was said but it made tonight’s game against the Syracuse Crunch all that more important. Hershey needed to make a statement.

The first period was pretty even. Syracuse would draw first blood when Patrick Maroon scored his first goal as a member of the Crunch. It would be their only goal of the night. Andrew Gordon tied the game during a 5-on-3 power play before the end of the period.

The second period was key for the Bears. Hershey spent the majority of the period dominating the offensive zone, so much so that Syracuse opted for a goaltender change. This switch was most likely an attempt to wake up the rest of the team and not so much a reflection of Timo Pielmeier’s performance. Before the switch, Mathieu Perreault found the back of the net thanks to an assist from Gordon. Andrew Joudrey added a one-timer from Steve Pinizzotto that eluded Pielmeier.

For the rest of the game, the Bears tried to minimize Syracuse’s scoring chances as much as possible. Gordon scored his second goal of the night and 14th goal of the season. After killing off a penalty, Hershey regrouped and Kyle Greentree scored Hershey’s fifth and final goal of the night.

It’s easy to assume that Dany Sabourin was chosen to start in tonight’s game due to his previous success in Syracuse. Sabourin recorded his first win of the season in this building. He also shutout the Crunch in the last meeting between these two teams. After tonight’s game, he remains undefeated in Syracuse as Hershey wins 4-1.

There you go. A full 60 minute effort proves what Hershey is capable of. Let’s hope that meeting was the kick the Bears needed to turn this season around for good.

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Worcester takes Thanksgiving Eve 3-2 victory


Brian Willsie has to be held back after Alex Stalock leaves the crease to give him a good shove after the whistle. Photo by Kyle M.

We were all hoping to cut into our turkeys tomorrow and be thankful for a Bears victory to start the holiday. Unfortunately, we’ll just have to be thankful that it’s only the beginning of the season.

The first period started off a little awkward. The Worcester Sharks opened scoring with a rebound goal that beat Dany Sabourin. Just over a minute later, Tommy Wingels scored Worcester’s second goal on a breakaway that left Zach Miskovic and Sheldon Souray in the dust on the blue line. By the end of period, Hershey seemed to finally develop a sense of control and tempo that unfortunately did not foreshadow a comeback, but instead a good attempt at a comeback.

The second period continued the offensive flow that the Bears found in the first period. Mathieu Perreault broke the shutout to put Hershey on the board. Unfortunately, Worcester counted with another goal to make it 3-1 by the end of the second period.

Starting the third period on the power play, the Bears needed to use this man advantage. Souray had a huge missile of a shot (though when doesn’t he?) that Jay Beagle was able to convert on to bring Hershey back within a one goal difference. Even with a couple of power plays in the third, Hershey couldn’t convert to tie the game. Sharks take this one 3-2.

Hershey outshot Worcester for most, if not all, of the game. The final shot count was 21-43 in favor of Hershey. Those shots tell the story of Hershey’s fierce attempt at evening the score and also the story of goaltender Alex Stalock’s skills.

We’ll wrap this recap up on a positive note: To all our American readers, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. To those of you who don’t celebrate Thanksgiving…Happy Fourth Thursday of November.

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Second period pushes Bears to 4-3 win over Wolf Pack


Hartford goalie Cameron Talbot looks back at a puck in his net. Photo by Kyle M.

Hershey chalks up a win the last game they will ever play against the Hartford Wolf Pack before they become the Connecticut Whale.

With Hershey controlling the tempo of this game, it was another game where Semyon Varlamov did not see a lot of shots. He stopped 19 of 22 and at least one of those goals there was really nothing he could do. He looked more comfortable in his crease, even after getting plowed down by Chad Kolarik in the first period.

A strong start to the second period helped push Hershey to an early lead. Mathieu Perreault showed off his speed by breaking up a pass at the blue line before darting off to get an unassisted goal just 17 seconds into the second period. Just over a minute later, Brian Fahey had a bomb of a shot from the right point.

Minutes later, Fahey and Sean Collins took two quick penalties and suddenly the Wolf Pack had their first goal. However, the Bears remained calm and Perreault picked up his fourth goal of the season halfway through the period. Brian Willsie would wrap up the period with a power play goal to make 4-1 Hershey after 40 minutes.

After that period, Hershey was done scoring but Hartford wasn’t. They scored two more goals halfway through the third period before Hershey’s defense could corral them. Willsie’s goal became the game winner as Hershey defeated Hartford 4-3.

So it’s adios Wolf Pack. Hello Whale. We’ll see you in March.

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Power play can’t save Bears from 4-3 Penguins win


Semyon Varlamov lets in a Penguins goal. Photo by Kyle M.

You know, considering the injury bug has attacked this team, this game was not that bad.

Actually, it was pretty bad for Semyon Varlamov. For a guy who carried his NHL team through two postseasons, you expect him to do better than stopping 19 of 23 shots. Period.

Andrew Gordon had a good night, scoring two of Hershey’s three goals. Lawrence Nycholat recorded the other tally, Hershey’s first goal of the night. Despite Gordon’s late goal, the Bears couldn’t overcome Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s lead and the Penguins won the game 4-3.

The crowd was full of energy and in playoff form. Games against the Penguins always bring out of the emotions. A perfect example of the emotions came after Mathieu Perreault was jumped in the corner by Chris Collins, who only got a interference penalty (see the pictures below). Thankfully, he was alright and didn’t miss a shift.

Hershey is 0-for-2 so far this weekend. Let’s hope tomorrow salvages this stretch.

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Senators record rare win against Bears, 4-2

Before the game, Andrew Gordon called it:

When the Binghamton Senators scored the first two goals of the game, it was the first time the Senators held a lead against the Bears this season. Boyd Kane got his seventh goal of the season to cut Binghamton’s lead in half. Andrew Joudrey tied the game at two goals a piece with a goal late in the second period. It all came down to the third period.

Unfortunately, it was Binghamton that was ready to finish the game. Try as he might, Jay Beagle just could not get a goal. He had a lot of good chances but none were going his way. Hershey had a good push in the waning minutes of the game, but Barry Brust stood strong and even got the secondary assist on the empty net goal to make it 4-2 Senators over Bears.

Yes, Brust put on a much better performance than on Sunday. He stopped 42 shots tonight, giving himself a .954 save percentage. That’s a pretty good way to make up for a .771 save percentage from the last game.

So, close…but no cigar. The Bears need to rest up because they’ve got a big game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins tomorrow. What better way to redeem themselves? Oh, and please send a ‘Get Well Soon’ card to our many injured players.

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Perreault and the Bears send Senators packing, 8-3


Mathieu Perreault leads the Bears to victory on a night Barry Brust and the Binghamton Senators do not want to look back on. Photo by Kyle M.

How to even begin writing about this game…

It was all Andrew Gordon at first. He opened scoring only 70 seconds into the game. Seven minutes later, he added another goal to become the first Bear to reach double digits in goals this season. Brian Willsie scored his first goal a 25 seconds later and Steve Pinizzotto added to the tally a minute after that. Kyle Greentree scored before another Willsie goal to wrap up the first period. That’s right, 6-0 after the first period.

Binghamton managed to regain some of their dignity and come back with three goals during the rest of the game. Lawrence Nycholat had the final say with the last goal of the game to make it 8-3 Bears.

But let’s talk about Mathieu Perreault. He fell one assist short of tying the Hershey record for most assists in one game. Per Tim Leone, the current record is seven assists, set by Mitch Lamoureux on November 21, 1987 against Baltimore. the AHL Twitter announced that Perreault’s six assist night was the first since Rochester’s Chris Taylor on Oct 21, 2005.

The Bears were definitely playing well but it’s important to remember that the Binghamton Senators are having some serious goalie issues at the moment. Both Robin Lehner and Mike Brodeur are injured. A lot of people were questioning why the coaches weren’t pulling Barry Brust after goal four and on. Zane Kalembra was sitting on the bench and they probably weren’t in a hurry to put him in the game. He has never played an AHL game and only played one ECHL in his career. He was signed that morning as an emergency back-up. However, Brust actually did a good job after the first period. Maybe he realized that he was going to be in this game for the long run.

I know you’re all dying to hear how Semyon Varlamov did. When he was sent to Hershey, I’m thinking they were hoping to see him challenged more than he was tonight. He didn’t really have to deal with a lot of shots until the second period when Binghamton had a couple power plays, including a 5-on-3. He let in three goals, two while Hershey was on the penalty kill. He was pretty solid but probably wants at least one of those goals back. It’s understandable since he’s shaking off a lot of rust. He looked great when he stopped a shorthanded breakaway shot during the third period. Overall, he made 21 for 24 saves.

Hershey will rest for a few days. Their next game is Friday against the Senators again, but this time in Binghamton. The Senators are probably hoping they have more healthy goaltenders by then.

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