Hershey Bears Edge Out Manitoba Moose, 4-3

Hershey started off incredibly strong. They absolutely punished the Manitoba Moose in the first two minutes alone. Brian Fahey got the first goal of the night 43 seconds into the game. His shot came from the blue line and may have deflected off a Moose player before entering the goal. A little over a minute later, Nikita Kashirsky recorded his second goal of the season. Two shots for Hershey, two goals for Hershey.

Manitoba then took a time out to regain their composure. They rebounded and were able to keep calm despite their early deficit. In the last minutes of the period, they got their first goal of the night. It kind of looked like Patrick Wellar screened Dany Sabourin on that shot.

During the second period, the Bears relaxed a little. They stopped firing shots at Manitoba goaltender Eddie Lack. As a result, Manchester kicked it up and tied the game. It was a good cross ice pass for Manitoba but Sabourin didn’t handle it well. Instead of using lateral movement to slide across the crease, he panicked and dove.

Hershey regained the lead before the end of the second period. Stop me if you’ve heard this before but Andrew Gordon scored on the power play with a shot right on the door step of the Manitoba goal. Shocking, I know.

During the third period, the first half was mostly uneventful. It didn’t get interesting until Manitoba tied it up again with a goal that beat Sabourin short side. I’m going to guess he wants that one back.

But have no fear! Andrew Gordon, power play player extraordinaire, is here to save the day! Once again, parking out in front of the net paid off. Lawrence Nycholat‘s shot from the blue line came towards the net and Gordon got his stick on it with less than thirty seconds left in the game. The Bears were able to stave off any last minute chances from the Moose and won 4-3 in exciting fashion.

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SHOE’s Voting Guide for the 2011 AHL All-Star Classic

Hi, I’m Brian. First, let me start by saying I am thrilled to be part of the Sweetest Hockey On Earth team! I will be bringing you coverage of the back-to-back Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears from a local (and rink-side) perspective. Please take a moment to go to the About Us page to read more about me.

As for the 2011 AHL All-Star game, the Captains for this season’s game have already been named.  Heading up the Eastern Conference will be Mark Wotton and from the West it will be Alexandre Giroux.  They both are not only veterans of the league, but between the two of them, they have been named to several All-Star teams.  More interesting to you Hershey fans, is that both of these team captains are former Calder-Cup winning Bears players!

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Holtby Blocks Norfolk in 2-0 Hershey Victory


Kyle Greentree sneaks the puck past Dustin Tokarski to give Hershey the lead. Photo by Kyle.

It’s very curious to me that when the two best offensive teams in the league play each other, the game ends up being a low-scoring event. The Norfolk Admirals are the league leaders in goal scoring but only managed to score one goal the first time they played Hershey this season.

Ironically, that was the last time Braden Holtby let in a goal. Tonight was his fourth shutout of the season. Thanks to Tim Leone for help with this stat: Holtby has now played 173 minutes and 37 seconds without letting in a goal, including two complete shutouts. While Dany Sabourin may be struggling to find his groove, Holtby is holding down the fort.

Despite winning both games against the Admirals, the Bears themselves have not been able to score as much as usual either. Kyle Greentree scored the eventual game-winner during the first period. The Bears were on the power play and Greentree shot the puck towards the goal. I think Dustin Tokarski was more concerned with Andrew Gordon‘s placement on the doorstep than with Greentree’s shot, which then hit Tokarski and deflected in.

Zach Miskovic added a little insurance during the second period. Keith Aucoin had an absolutely beautiful cross-ice pass to Miskovic who then one-timed it into the net. John Walton noted that the goal was Miskovic’s fifth of the season, but his third in the past week. It’s good to see him finding a style that works for him and feeling comfortable joining the offense. As proven in the past week, he can be quite the offensive threat.

I found it interesting that the Norfolk Admirals opted not to pull Tokarski until there was under half a minute left in the game. Interesting strategy for a team that was down two goals and about to get shut out.

Nevertheless, Hershey gains another valuable two points and downs Norfolk 2-0.

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Bears Finally Defeat Penguins with 1-0 Shutout Win

The Bears were looking for their first win against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and boy, did they get a big one.

When this game started, I’m sure everyone involved was anticipating an exciting, action-packed game. After all, the game was being played at Consol Energy Center, where the Pittsburgh Penguins normally play.They sort of got that. I’ll be honest, I thought the first two periods were kind of boring. There were a couple big hits made and both goalies made some stellar saves. But, overall, it didn’t have all the goals and excitement that people expected to see from these rivals.

The first truly exciting moment came when the Bears were on the power play at the very end of the second period. The puck was shot towards the net and it was deflected past Brad Thiessen. The goal was awarded to Keith Aucoin (who was playing his first game since being sent down from Washington), but it looked like a Penguin may have deflected into his own goal.

The third period was when things started heating up. The Bears had to protect a one-goal lead and the Penguins were running on all cylinders and making some amazing offensive plays. There were many close calls in the third period that had all the Hershey fans holding their breath. The Penguins, desperate to not get shut out on such a large stage, were dangerous. But Hershey stepped up to the challenge, even managing to kill of a few poorly timed penalties.

Braden Holtby was the number one star of the game, stopping all 25 shots that he saw. He was able to make clutch saves and shut out the hated rivals in front of the 13,567 fans inside the Consol Energy Center.The Bears set a nice standard for the Capitals to follow when they step out onto Heinz Field on January 1st. Go get ’em.

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Hershey Takes Down Offensive-Powered Norfolk, 3-1


Steve Pinizzotto’s empty net goal is icing on the cake in the Bears victory over the Admirals. Photo by Kyle Mace

There’s nothing like a good power play goal to get the game rolling. Hershey did just that when the Norfolk Admirals were whistled for a tripping call. Zach Miskovic was able to tip Patrick McNeill‘s shot past Dustin Tokarski on the power play to give Hershey the first lead of the night. The score stayed the same until the second period when Norfolk’s Chris Durno tied it up.

During the second period, Ashton Rome was jumped by Norfolk’s Vladimir Mihalik. At 6 foot 8, Mihalik has the clear size advantage. They were shoving back and forth beforehand but it wasn’t until Rome had his back turned that Mihalik attacked. Rome wrestled back and they both fell to ice. The crowd expressed its disapproval as both were assessed two minute roughing penalties.

While skating 4-on-4, Brian Willsie got tangled up with an Admiral player. The call could have gone either way, but it’s definitely hard to agree with two minors (tripping and roughing) against Willsie for the play. The Bears then had to play four minutes down a man. However, they rose to the occasion and did a great job keeping Norfolk back. And it remained all tied up after two periods.

And that’s how two high-scoring teams ended up starting the third period with a score of 1-1. Keith Aucoin brought the game back under Hershey’s control with a completely innocent shot. He was at the back wall and lightly tapped the puck to be back in front of the net. It some how caromed off of Tokarski himself and found its way into the net.

Steve Pinizzotto topped it off with an empty net goal and Hershey beat the Norfolk Admirals 3-1. It’s a big two points against a very strong team. It’s a game like this that gives a team a lot of confidence.

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Bears Create Custom Ornaments for the Holidays

This past weekend was a very festive one at Giant Center. Most people already know about the, er, distinctive holiday jerseys they wore during Sunday’s trumping of the Charlotte Checkers. But if you were at the game this weekend, you may have seen another way they got in the Christmas spirit: by decorating ornaments.

It is a tradition involving the wives and girlfriends that dates back to 2003 for Hershey. Out on the concourse, a table displayed the artistic talents (or lack thereof) of our very own Hershey Bears. Each of the players were given a plain glass bulb and free rein to decorate it as they wish. The results involve a lot of sharpie art, glitter, and tinsel. With each player putting a twist on their ornament, you can really see a fun side of the players come out.

In addition to the individual ornaments, the team also signed over a hundred extra ornaments to sell. As for the one-of-a-kind decorations, they were auctioned off to the highest bidder.

After the cut, see pictures and a video of some of these original ornaments and the unique ways the players chose to adorn them.

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Breakaway goals help Phantoms defeat Bears 3-1

Tonight was a big night for the Bears. In the midst of injuries and call-ups, Keith Aucoin returned after missing 16 games due to a knee injury. Additionally, Patrick McNeill made his season debut after having shoulder surgery during the offseason. They were facing the struggling Adirondack Phantoms, who were looking for only their fifth win of the season.

The game started off on the right foot with a power play goal by Brian Willsie. Aucoin got the primary assist and looked to be back in his element.

During the first period, Sheldon Souray chased after a puck with Matt Clackson and fell funny on his leg. He had to be helped off the ice and never returned to the game. Ironically, the last injury Souray had also involved Clackson after he injured his hand in the now infamous fight.

It was during the second period that the wheels started to fall off. After losing Souray in the first period, Dylan Yeo then made the fateful trip down the tunnel. He too never returned to the game.

After getting called for one penalty too many, the Phantoms scored their first goal of the night on the power play. Exactly one and a half minutes later, Phantom Shane Harper capitalized on a blue line turnover and scored his first ever AHL goal on a breakaway. I hate to admit it but it was a really nice goal.

Despite a handful of power plays in the third period, the Bears could not find the back of the net. Adirondack’s Denis Hamel scored his second goal of the night on a breakaway after Dany Sabourin was, once again, left out to dry. It’s worth noting that Hamel’s goal was his 300th career goal, which is pretty impressive. Phantoms take this one 3-1.

And so Hershey finishes their four-game road trip with two wins and two losses. They return home tomorrow to play the Providence Bruins at Giant Center.

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