Bears Release Images of 1980 Throwback Jerseys
Via Hershey Bears Facebook page
Tuesday afternoon the Hershey Bears released images of the 1980 throwback jerseys that will be worn Saturday night for the Bears home opener.
2005-06 Hershey Bears: 10 Years Later – Brooks Laich
Brooks Laich during game six of the 2006 Calder Cup Finals.
Before the 2006 Calder Cup Playoffs, Brooks Laich had a phone call with his dad. “We’re going to win the Calder Cup Championship,” he told his father. “How do you know that?” his dad responded. “You can’t run though our team four times. We are too big, too strong, too deep.”
Laich was right. That playoff run brought Hershey their first Calder Cup in nine seasons, sweeping the first two rounds of the playoffs before forcing a game seven with Portland, beating future NHL stars like Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry after an OT goal from Eric Fehr to go to the Calder Cup finals.
Joel Rechlicz Returns to Area for Youth Hockey Camp
Lower Paxton Township – Joel Rechlicz watches a drill at Edge Performance Summer Camp on Sunday afternoon (Kyle Mace / Chocolate Hockey)
Former Bears heavyweight Joel Rechlicz is back in town for a summer youth hockey camp in Harrisburg. The Edge Performance Summer Camp is taking place at Twins Ponds East where over sixty young skaters are taking part in a week long session lead by Rechlicz and former Bears Calder Cup champion Rob Shearer.
Hershey Bears Breakdown Day
Another Hershey Bears season has come to a close and the team is now parting ways. After a disappointing ending against the Hartford Wolf Pack, players took a moment to speak to the media on breakdown day about their thoughts on the season and accomplishments from this past year.
Hershey Bears Breakdown Day: Liam O’Brien
After starting out the season with the Washington Capitals, 20-year-old rookie Liam O’Brien came to Chocolate Town, USA to join the Hershey Bears. After posting up only eight points in 45 games, O’Brien had a breakout playoffs scoring three goals and three assists in ten games for the Bears.
O’Brien will rejoin the Capitals organization next year after signing a three-year contract with Washington at the beginning of the season.
Hershey Bears Breakdown Day – Mike Moore
Many fans might not remember the fact that defenseman Mike Moore played only ten games before he was injured at the beginning of the season. Moore would miss almost three months of the season before returning to the line-up on February 1st against Norfolk. Only two days games later would Moore get his first goal, an OT game winner against Wilkes-Barre. The 30-year-old defenseman appeared in 41 games for the Chocolate and White with a stat line of 3-11-14. He is set to be an unrestricted free agent.
Hershey Bears Breakdown Day – Troy Mann
In his first year as Head Coach in Hershey, Troy Mann accomplished many feats which had not been since he was an assistant coach with the team during the 2010 Calder Cup run. With new assistant coaches Bryan Helmer and Ryan Murphy, the Bears won their first division title since 2010, closed out a 100 point regular season for the first time since 2011, and finished the season with a 46-22-5-3 record. Mann lead the team to their first second round appearance in the playoffs since 2010.
Hershey Bears Breakdown Day – Philipp Grubauer
Philipp Grubauer returned to the Hershey Bears for his third season and posted career highs in games played with 49, and 27 wins. Grubauer received top goaltender honors in the 2015 AHL Skills Competition while representing the Eastern Conference All-Stars.
Hershey Bears Breakdown Day – Nate Schmidt
Spending the first half of the season in Washington after making the Capitals opening night roster, Nate Schmidt returned to Hershey for what was planned to be just two games against Norfolk in January. An unexpected injury would sideline Schmidt for six weeks, before he would return on February 27th against Binghamton where he had one assist.
His play in Hershey would earn him three more recalls to Washington, two of which came in the post season, when he lead the league in scoring as a defenseman at the time of Hershey’s exit (4-5-9 in eight playoff games). Schmidt will be a restricted free agent this summer.
Hershey Bears Breakdown Day – Steve Oleksy
After spending parts of two seasons in Washington, defenseman Steve Oleksy started the season out with the Hershey Bears, this time wearing an alternate captains patch. The 29-year-old played a key part in Hershey’s strong defensive corps, earning him a call up to Washington in a game in February against the LA Kings where he logged 12 minutes of ice time against the Kings in a Capitals loss.
Oleksy would return to have that ‘A’ changed to a ‘C’ as he was named the 42nd captain in Bears history after injury forced Dane Byers out for the rest of the season. Oleksy with four goals and 15 points (4-11-15) in the regular season and three assists in the post season. Oleksy is set to go on the free agency market as an unrestricted free agent this summer.