Bears Top Albany Devils 7-4 in a Long Game

Keith Aucoin puts a backhand wraparound into the goal. Photo by Kyle Mace

Hershey came out and tried to quickly take control of the game.  For the most part, they did just that.  They were able to gain and maintain the offensive zone for long periods of time.  They were cycling the puck and making great efforts to keep the puck in the zone.  Unfortunately, the Devils were able to get on the board first.  Keith Aucoin answered at 12:27 to tie the game at one.  Only a few minutes later, Andrew Gordon was able to convert an Aucoin pass into a goal to take the lead going into the second.

Early in the second period, Gordon attempted a shot from the faceoff circle.  He broke his stick on the shot from the circle, but he almost put the blade of the sitck in the net.  He got a good chuckle out of it as he came off the ice to get a new stick.  Albany once again struck first (and second) in this period.  Just before the end of the period, Dmitry Orlov scored the only Bears goal of the period to take it back to a tie.

In the third period things went from hockey to weird in about 2.2 seconds.  There was a small delay in the start of the period due to Devils goaltender, Jeff Frazee, complaining about the condition of the ice in his crease.  Interesting that it was suddenly bad after 2 full periods of hockey.  Once that was fixed, play started for the period.  The game went back and forth as did scoring initially.  Hershey went ahead on a Brian Willsie goal.  After the Willsie goal, an Albany player went over to the celebration and  had some words with the Bears players.  Some pushing and shoving followed.  Another Albany player came crashing into the pile and that started everything.  This was the first ‘line brawl’ that I had seen in a several years.  Albany tied the score once again only a few minutes later.  Not quite half way through the period, Boyd Kane would score what would eventually the game winner.  It was after that goal that Frazee decided that he still didn’t like the ice in his crease.  A lengthly delay ensued of about 45 minutes.  Eventually play would resume, but it wasn’t good news for Albany.  Kane would put the Bears back on top and Maxime Lacroix scored the insurance goal.  That was followed by an empty-netter by Kane.

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Portland Comeback Stymies Hershey, 4-3 (OT)

Mark Parrish of Portland scores in overtime to beat Hershey. Photo by Kyle Mace

Tonight’s game against the Portland Pirates was a specialty jersey night: the Bears sported Capitals Winter Classic jerseys, but with a twist. Instead of the Capitals logo across the front, it had the Hershey logo. As usual, the jerseys were auctioned off after the game.

The Bears got the first lead of the night (as they so often do) with a goal from Andrew Joudrey. The Bears maintained the lead until Steve Pinizzotto was whistled for cross-checking and a ten minute misconduct. Down a man, Braden Holtby (just sent down from Washington this morning) almost had the puck but had it knocked out of his control and into the net.

The Bears quickly responded and scored a power play goal of their own. Patrick McNeill joined the play and scored back door on David Leggio, showing off that offensive side.

The second period saw a lot of penalties doled out to both sides. The Bears had a 5-on-3 but were not able to convert on it. However, when a Pirate was penalized for hooking Joudrey on a breakaway, they took this chance. Back in front of the loyal home crowd, Andrew Gordon did not let down and scored on the power play. He was right in front of the goal and ready to chip it home to score his first goal since returning from injury.

The Pirates scored to make a one goal difference when two Pirates sped past the Hershey defense. Two-on-none, they beat Holtby to make it 3-2 Hershey.

Things were looking good until Joudrey high-sticked a Pirate and Portland had the man advantage with a little more than six minutes left in regulation. It only took 26 seconds before T.J. Brennan one-timed it past Holtby. I hate to admit it, but it was a beautiful shot. Unfortunately, that meant it was a tie game once again.

The teams pushed on to overtime but it was Portland who came out on top. Despite leading by two goals earlier in the game, the Bears lose 4-3 (OT). Overall, the offense was spotty and could have been better but they were playing a talented Portland team. One point is better than none.

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Kozek and Willsie Lead Bears to 5-1 win over Falcons

It was a big night for the Hershey Bears as they traveled up north to play the Springfield Falcons.

It was a great start to the game if you were wearing chocolate and white. The same cannot be said for Springfield goaltender, Gustaf Wesslau. In just about four and a half minutes of play, Wesslau saw two shots. They both became goals.

The first goal was Andrew Kozek, who tipped a Brian Fahey one-timer shot. The second goal belonged to Brian Willsie. Willsie was assisted by Andrew Gordon, who made his triumphant return to the line-up for the first time since he was injured on February 5th.

And that was the end of Wesslau’s night. He was quickly pulled in favor of David LeNeveu. Before the end of the period, the Falcons brought it back within one with a back door shot from Maksim Mayorov.

The second period had sort of a deja vu feeling. It took a few shots, but Kozek finally beat LeNeveu to score his second goal of the night. With two defenders closing in on him, he scored thanks to a long pass from his defenders. Not to be outdone, Willsie scored his second goal of the game as well when he capitalized on a Falcons turnover. And that’s how Hershey found themselves with a cushy lead going into the third period.

It was a pretty quiet third through. Springfield all but rolled and over and gave up. Kyle Greentree put the final nail in the coffin with a 4-on-4 goal. Bears win 5-1.

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Penalties Prove Decisive in 3-2 SO Loss against Norfolk

Johan Harju scores the game-winner in the shootout against Schaefer. Photo by Kyle Mace

It was a big day for the special teams as the Hershey Bears took on the rival Norfolk Admirals.

Patrick McNeill scored during a first period power play. He was skating between the face-off circles when he stopped the puck with his foot. He kicked it in front of him and shot a sweet wrister past Dustin Tokarski.

During the second period, the Admirals countered with a power play goal of their own. They got Nolan Schaefer moving and he couldn’t cross the crease in time to stop a shot from Alex Berry. Tie game after two periods.

As it always seems to with these teams, it came down to a big third period. The Admirals took their first lead of the game almost halfway through the period while (you guessed it) on the power play. It was speedy play and a fast pass to the middle where James Wright tipped it past Schaefer.

But Kyle Greentree was ready to respond! Just a minute later, Greentree gave Hershey a second wind by scoring five-hole on Tokarski. And get this: it wasn’t on the power play!

I’m sure that after seven games in nine nights, overtime during the seventh game was not deserved. Nevertheless, the Bears found themselves in sudden death, fighting for that extra point. Sean Collins was whistled for a delay of game late in overtime and the Bears killed it off to move the game to the shootout.

The Admirals only scored once, but that was all they needed. Tokarski stopped all five Hershey skaters. Bears lose 3-2 (SO).

Tokarski is just unreal. We all keep waiting for him to show signs that he’s human but he’s the epitome of a “hot goalie” right now. Nevertheless, the Bears should be proud of the way they played tonight. It was a fantastic all-around effort and they definitely have a well-deserved rest coming up this week. See you Friday.

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Jared DeMichiel talks Stingrays, Injuries, and Twitter


Photo by Derek Meluzio.

When Braden Holtby and Dany Sabourin went down with knee injuries at the same time, Bears fans had to say hello to a new goalie duo. Among the call-ups was RIT alum and winner of the 2010 NCAA East Region Most Outstanding Player award, Jared DeMichiel. Last Friday, he earned his first AHL career win against the Providence Bruins, stopping 28 of 31 shots. In between Hershey’s current stretch of road games, I got to talk to DeMichiel about life in South Carolina, his season so far, and whether those tweets between him and Andrew Gordon are starting a competition. Unfortunately, it was announced today the DeMichiel was sent back down to South Carolina. We hope reading our hard-hitting interview with him will help ease the pain of missing him.

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Bears Come Out On Top, Beating Moose 5-1


The Bears celebrate a solid win against their rivals from the North. Photo by Kyle Mace

There wasn’t a whole lot of offense for the entire first period between the Hershey Bears and the Manitoba Moose. In fact, it took just under 13 minutes for the Moose to even register their first shot on goal. Maybe the teams were feeling a bit lethargic after a seven-round shootout the night before. Even the stands were a little quieter than usual due to the empty seats for those preparing for that big football game tonight.

Hershey got their first power play of the night right at the start of the second period. Brian Willsie had a beautiful wrister from the face-off circle during the man advantage to finally get a number up on that scoreboard. The Bears had just killed off a Joel Rechlicz penalty when a shot from Bill Sweatt beat Todd Ford. Tie game after two periods.

I have to wonder what was said in the Hershey locker room during the second intermission. In previous games against Manitoba, the Moose were able to keep up with any offense the Bears threw at them. But this time the Bears kicked it up for the third period.

Boyd Kane led the effort with a goal from the bottom of the face-off circle. Props to Ashton Rome for that perfect pass from the behind the goal to set Kane up. A few minutes later, Zach Miskovic had a blast from the point that eluded goaltender Tyler Weiman. Miskovic now has a career high in goals for the season and it’s just over the halfway mark!

The real dagger for Manitoba occurred when Hershey scored two goals in twenty seconds. Kyle Greentree had the first goal with a nice shot short side of the power play. The second game from Rome when he banged home a rebound off of Sean Collins‘ shot.

Ford wasn’t pressured too much and received a lot of help from the Hershey defenders. They were blocking shots all over the place and ensuring that the Moose never got the chance to get back into the game. Bears win 5-1.

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Despite Early Lead, Bears Lose to Moose 5-4 (SO)


Kevin Connauton ends the shootout in the seventh round. Photo by Kyle Mace

It’s always an interesting game with the Manitoba Moose and the Hershey Bears meet.

Dmitry Kugryshev took control of the game early by blasting the puck past a moving goaltender. He sprawled to make the save, but Kugryshev was one step ahead of him. There was some pushing and shoving but the first period ended without scandal.

The second period held the majority of the action for this game. Kyle Greentree added a brief insurance goal after Hershey broke up a Manitoba play in their own zone and took off. The Moose briefly cut Hershey’s lead in half but Keith Aucoin got a shot in close on goaltender Eddie Lack to regain the two-goal lead.

After going through a scoring drought for most of December and January, Francois Bouchard seems to have his touch back. He had perfect placement to bang home a rebound less than a minute after Aucoin scored.

By the end of the period though, it was 4-3 Hershey when Manitoba fought back. They even scored with just 3.3 seconds left in the period to send the Bears to the locker room shaking their heads.

Things started getting chippy in the third period. Both Greentree and Andrew Gordon ended up on the wrong side of some hits in the corner. Each continued to play but they definitely looked rattled for a little bit. The Hershey crowd was already fuming after neither hit was penalized and it didn’t help that the Moose then tied it up after Aucoin was called for mouthing off to the referee.

The game went to overtime but the score didn’t change. It took seven rounds in the shoot out before either team could score. The coaches cycled through their players but the goalies stopped every one. That is until Kevin Connauton finally beat Todd Ford in the bottom of the seventh round. Moose win 5-4.

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Bears Top Devils 5-3 in Atlantic City Showdown

Okay, first off: nobody panic. Just because Braden Holtby and Dany Sabourin are out with knee injuries does not mean we need to panic (more on that to come).

Tonight’s game against the Albany Devils was already circled on our calendars. Instead of being played in Albany, the game took place in Atlantic City at Boardwalk Hall, home of the now-defunct Boardwalk Bullies. But with the added obstacle of being backstopped by two ECHL goalies, this game got a whole lot more interesting.

The Bears stumbled a bit right out the gate when Albany took the early lead. However, Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond was called for a roughing penalty late in the period and Andrew Gordon made him pay. He tied it up right off the draw for the ensuing power play. Tie game after one.

Continuing to exchange back-and-forth goals, the Devils regained their lead when they scored on a rebound shot. Thankfully, Hershey’s power play was there to tie it up once again, this time with a shot from Francois Bouchard. It would be Brian Willsie‘s 20th goal of the season that gave the Bears their first lead of the game going into the final period.

Just like the first period, the Devils got the early goal in third. But Willsie didn’t take too kindly to this and countered with his second goal of the night on the (you guessed it) power play! Able to hold down their lead, the Bears wrapped it up with an empty net goal courtesy of Boyd Kane. Bears win 5-3.

Todd Ford wasn’t called on to make too many saves but he was pretty solid, especially against some monster shots, including a breakaway attempt. Thanks in part to him, the Bears extend their winning streak to seven straight games. Like I said, don’t panic.

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