Sabourin rebounds, shuts out Crunch, 3-0


Brian Willsie skates away with the puck. Photo by Lauren Long / The Post-Standard.

Clearly Syracuse is Dany Sabourin‘s favorite city.

At the end of October, Sabourin recorded his first win of the season in an overtime victory against the Syracuse Crunch. And tonight, he gets the first shutout for any Hershey goaltender this season. He wasn’t really challenged for the first two periods, seeing only 13 shots after 40 minutes. By the third period, Syracuse realized they were in trouble and starting firing more. He was even able to stop a brief 5-on-3 penalty kill near the end of the game. Kind of funny how yesterday we were calling him out for throwing the game away and today he proves how good he can be.

Speaking of back and forth playing…the Bears have won every other game for the past seven games. Coincidence or are the Bears just good at rebounding from losses?

The game was scoreless after the first period. Ashton Rome finally broke the scoring drought with his fourth goal of the season. He had a fantastic assist from Dmitri Kugryshev. Andrew Gordon now leads the team with eight goals after he scored on the power play. Brian Willsie added on another insurance goal during the third period, assists going to Mathieu Perreault and Gordon.

Semyon Varlamov is scheduled to start in goal tomorrow, giving Sabourin time to rest and bask in his shutout glory. Let’s hope for a little consistency from the Bears and hope that they record back-to-back wins for the first time since October 29th.

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Sabourin’s Blunder Ends Hershey Comeback, 3-2


Dany Sabourin makes a save on Mike Zigomanis but costs Bears the game. Photo by Kyle M.

Wellar vs Rosehill (Photo by Kyle M.)

If you’re familiar with the Toronto Marlies, then you’ll certainly find it as no surprise that this was an aggressive game. The only consistent thing about the game was Hershey never losing control of the physical part of the game. Patrick Wellar took on Jay Rosehill for the fight of the night and it was a good one. Hard to pick a winner because all I saw were a ton of punches landing for both guys. They both walked away a little bruised and bloody.

Hershey saw a new player tonight, Phil Oreskovic, who was signed to a professional tryout yesterday. It was the perfect game to pick for his debut as he was playing against his former club. Oreskovic played for the Marlies for the past four seasons. He knew what to expect and came out delivering the big hits.

It took about two and a half periods for Hershey to finally get that first goal. Steve Pinizzotto had a great assist on Boyd Kane‘s tip-in that broke Toronto’s shutout. Just about a minute later, Kyle Greentree scored on the power play and suddenly Hershey had all the momentum in the world.

Well, that is until that fateful giveaway by Dany Sabourin. It’s a play that I think he’ll be replaying in his head over and over. He skated behind the goal to get the puck and then passed to the side where a Marlie awaited. I’m sure the coaches played Sabourin tonight to show confidence in him after a great showing in Charlotte. However, that move didn’t really work. I know that fans will be ripping him apart and they have ample reason to. Tonight was not his best showing, but it was also not his worst either. However, that giveaway was probably the worst moment of his trying season so far. The highlight of the night came after he made a sprawling glove on a shorthanded try by Mike Zigomanis. Check out Kyle M’s amazing photo of it below!

The power play seems to miss Keith Aucoin…a lot. The Bears had two 5-on-3 power plays during the game and could not convert on either. They even allowed a handful of shorthanded tries. That’s not to say that Hershey wasn’t playing well. There were a lot of dazzling offensive sequences but nothing was finding the back of the net. The biggest reason for this is the Marlies goaltender, Jussi Rynnäs. The young goalie was fantastic and I think it was sheer exhaustion from the Marlies that turned the game in Hershey’s favor.

Two weeks ago, Captain Andrew Joudrey touched on the importance of having a great first period. As much fun as those come-from-behind victories are, it’s also fun to see a 60 minute effort.

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Hershey records first ever win in Charlotte, 5-2


Brian Willsie defends against Nicolas Blanchard. Photo by Checkers SmugMug

In a rare Tuesday night game, the Bears had to make up for their poor showing against the Charlotte Checkers on Sunday. And they looked pretty good, even without Keith Aucoin, Mathieu Perreault, and Lawrence Nycholat. Bumped up to the first line, Marcus Johansson did a solid job filling in at center. He was making good plays and logging a lot of playing time. No points but, at the end of the night, he had one shot on goal and a +1 rating.

For Dany Sabourin, it was a shot at redemption. I’m thinking Todd Ford is nursing a minor injury or the coaches really want to try and boost Sabourin’s confidence. Either way, he was able to make the big saves when the team needed him to and rack up those statistics we want to see. He stopped 37 out of 39 shots, giving him a scintillating .949 save percentage. Not-so-coincidentally, his defense was helping to clear the crease and block shots. The team worked together for a full 60 minute effort and the score certainly showed it. On the other end of the ice, the Bears chased starting goaltender, Justin Pogge, out of the crease after he let in two goals on three shots. Mike Murphy finished the game.

I think Kyle Greentree might love playing in Charlotte. He has scored two goals in both games against Charlotte. He came into town with three goals and left with seven. Tonight, he scored the second and fourth game on the night.

Francois Bouchard opened scoring just under 6 minutes into the game. Patrick Wellar potted the game-winning goal during the second period and the Bears led 3-0. A few minutes later, things got a little scary as Charlotte scored two goals and made it a close game. Thankfully Hershey remained composed and regained an insurance goal before Boyd Kane added on an empty net goal to secure the win.

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Checkers twist up Bears, 4-2


Bryan Rodney and Boyd Kane take a ceremonial face-off before the first game between these two clubs. Photo by Checkers SmugMug

The Hershey Bears played their very first game against the Charlotte Checkers, a new team this year after the Albany River Rats were relocated. For the Bears, it was a game to forget.

Dany Sabourin continues to be a main focus of the season but not for good reasons. He had one good showing in Syracuse but has put up very mediocre numbers otherwise. He is a talented goaltender but he has not been himself this season. It’s not much of a stretch to wonder if he will be released from his contract if he can’t get back on track. I think you can see that his team is having difficulty being confident in Sabourin. He made some stellar saves in the third period after puttin up abysmal numbers during the second period. I brought up this discussion on Twitter and would like to hear some more answers: Would you rather have Sabourin or Daren Machesney?

Keith Aucoin played tonight after hurting his knee in the game against Manchester. He played for about half the game until he fell on his knee again. He stayed on the bench at first but then took that fateful walk down the tunnel and never returned. Unfortunately, this means the end of his point streak, which had reached ten games. Get well soon!

The power play was able to click late in the game to save Hershey from complete embarrassment. Both goals went to Kyle Greentree, his fourth and fifth goals of the season. Brian Fahey had a pretty good night, with primary assists on both goals. He also had some excellent plays to help out Sabourin.

Marcus Johansson had a pretty quiet night. No points or penalties and only two shots on goals. Hershey probably could have used him to step up with the absence of Aucoin.

And so Hershey loses the first ever meeting between these two teams with a score of 4-2. Rematch is set for Tuesday night.

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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.

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Baby Pens Extend Winning Streak, Humble Bears 6-2


Todd Ford takes over for a defeated Dany Sabourin. Photo by Kyle M.

The sarcasm expressed by the crowd tonight was palpable. Between the bronx cheers and the slow claps, Hershey fans weren’t being quiet about their disapproval. But that wasn’t how it seemed it would be. There was a lot of hype for this game. Of course the Bears and the Penguins have one of the biggest rivalries in the AHL. And the Penguins were coming into this game as the only undefeated team in the league. The Bears were hoping to end Wilkes-Barre’s winning streak at seven games.

For the home crowd, this game started out perfect. Keith Aucoin beat Curry short side just 49 seconds into the game. The crowd was roaring and it felt like this would be a great game. Then Wilkes-Barre/Scranton tied it up only 26 seconds later. The game was never the same.

Sean Collins celebrated his 27th birthday with a hat trick…of penalties. Interference, tripping, and hooking. The worst part? Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s only two power play goals came while he was in the box. Grounds for worst birthday ever?

Todd Ford finally got to see his first game of the season. He had the unenviable position of joining the game down 2 goals. Dany Sabourin, looking to start a winning streak after finding victory in Syracuse last night, was pulled after letting in 3 goals on 7 shots. That’s a .571 save percentage. Ouch. However, I thought Ford was pretty solid considering the mess he was coming in to. Hershey’s defense was not giving him a lot of help.

Zach Miskovic had a missile of a goal in the third period. I think it deserves some credit for the sheer power behind it. It was his first goal of the year. Dylan Yeo and Dmitri Kugryshev had assists, giving Yeo his first AHL point of this season and Kugryshev’s first AHL point ever. Kudos.

The final score of 6-2 in favor of the Penguins almost seems too nice. Let me tell you, it felt like a much wider deficit.

To sum up: I think it would be best if we just forgot about tonight and moved on. The Penguins will be brought down eventually.

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Gordo’s 2 goals leads Bears past Phantoms 4-2


Andrew Gordon pots one of his two goals against Adirondack. (Photo by Kyle Mace)

Do you think Andrew Gordon wants a spot on an NHL roster? The man now has points in seven straight games and leads the team with eight goals. Two of those goals came tonight against the Adirondack Phantoms.

The Phantoms got an early lead, scoring two goals in the first ten minutes of the game. Hershey, like only a top-tier team can, was able to ride out the storm and responded with four unanswered goals. I think they’re doing just fine without Jay Beagle, Mathieu Perreault, and Dany Sabourin in the line-up.

Despite the final score, the game was a lot closer than you would think. It was a pretty evenly matched game, a point emphasized by the sudden lack of penalties in the third period. In the end, the Bears were able to wear down Brian Stewart, the rookie goaltender for the Phantoms, and the rest of the defense.

It was another hard-hitting game (I know that must be hard to believe). Zach Miskovic, Patrick Wellar, and Steve Pinizzotto took it upon themselves to teach the Phantoms players that if you’re not keeping your head up, you’ll be going down. I suspect there will be some Adirondack players with ice bags strapped to them after tonight. I can’t emphasize enough how fun it is to watch these kind of games.

I’m going to wrap up this gamer because I want to go buy tickets to every Hershey/Adirondack game this season.

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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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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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