Chocolate Fix 6/8/11
Not much happening again this week on the Bears front. The biggest news of the week is probably the Boyd Kane signing. All things Boyd Kane. [Bears PR, HBHB PennLive] New Penn State coach has ties to the Bears. [PennLive]…
Third Period Effort Earns Checkers 5-3 Win vs Bears
Patrick McNeill tries to hold off Nicolas Blanchard. Photo by Checkers SmugMug.
The story of this series against the Charlotte Checkers has been offense. Both teams are incredibly offensively talented and the score usually shows that. Tonight was no exception.
It was all Hershey for the first two periods. Steve Pinizzotto scored the first goal of the game after Boyd Kane took a Charlotte turnover and dished it to Pinizzotto. Pinizzotto won’t miss that shot often. 1-0 Hershey. The Bears kept frustrating the Checkers by maintaining constant control of the puck and not allowing Charlotte to garner any momentum.
Mathieu Perreault scored quickly at the start of the second period to give Hershey some breathing room. After Braden Holtby made a great save on the Checkers, the Bears moved the puck the other direction. Brian Willsie got the first shot off and Perreault came crashing towards the net to capitalize on the rebound.
I’ve been a fan of Andrew Carroll since we picked him up from the Reading Royals. Tonight, he had one of the best games I’ve seen from him. All of his hard work paid off when he scored his first AHL career playoff goal. With his back to Murphy, he backhanded the puck into the goal as he was losing balance. It’s the kind of gritty goal you would expect from him.
A few minutes later, the Checkers dumped the puck and Braden Holtby went to play the puck behind the goal. Unfortunately, the puck hit the boards and bounced back out to the front of the goal. Brett Sutter crashed the net and made sure the puck went in, giving Charlotte their first goal of the game.
A two goal lead going into the third period is nice. But as Tim Leone warned us on Twitter, the Checkers have outscored the Bears 5-2 in the third period during this series. They proved this point when Charlotte scored on the power play just one minute into the third.
To make things worse, the Checkers tied it up a few minutes later. Oskar Osala had a 1-on-none breakaway. Holtby stopped the first shot but Osala converted his own rebound to get the game-tying goal.
The tables had completely turned. The Checkers now kept control of the puck and the inevitable finally happened: Nick Dodge scored after rushing to the net to give Charlotte the first lead of the night. There was a brief conversation about whether it was kicked in or not but it was eventually determined to be a good goal. Once they had the lead, the Checkers were content to play it safe. Even when the Bears pulled Holtby, they still couldn’t get anything done. The Checkers scored an empty net goal and the Bears lost 5-3. Charlotte now leads the series 3-2.
Bears Battle to beat Charlotte Checkers, 4-2
Brian Willsie celebrates his game-winning goal against the Checkers. Photo by Kyle Mace
There’s not much to say about tonight’s game. Everyone involved knew that it was a big one. It would have been scary going down to Charlotte down two games. But thankfully it didn’t go that way.
The Bears spent the entire first period playing sloppy hockey leading to tons of incomplete passes. Perhaps trying to keep up Charlotte’s speed, the players seemed to be constantly rushing with the puck instead of slowing down and making plays. The Bears’ power play failed to impress tonight, especially during the first period. They had trouble keeping the puck in the zone and couldn’t muster many shots on goal until later in the game.
But sometimes even sloppy hockey pays off. A little over halfway through the period, the Bears collapsed on Justin Pogge and Patrick McNeill scored.
When they came out for the second period, the team seemed calmer and maybe a touch more confident. Dmitry Orlov made a great play to keep the puck in the zone and passed to Andrew Kozek who extended the Bears’ lead with a shot from between the face-off dots.
The Checkers answered quickly though and scored less than a minute later. The Checkers gained a bit of momentum from this goal and the Bears had to adjust quickly. Thankfully, Brian Willsie was there to give some insurance. After a sliding Checker blocked the inital shot, he took a second whack at it and scored. It would end up being the game-winning goal.
The Checkers were able to make it a one goal difference later on the power play. A bear was in the box for yet another Charlotte power play. Zac Dalpe scored his second goal of the night on a shot that I don’t think Braden Holtby saw. He was definitely screened, possible by his own teammate.
The Bears had a big penalty kill a few minutes later while Boyd Kane was in the box for slashing. The penalty kill unit got control of the puck and moved back towards Pogge. The players seemed a bit tired, passing to each other but it finally ended up on Sheldon Souray‘s stick. Souray wound up and unleashed that signature shot that flew past Pogge and into the net
The third period saw no score change but there were some close calls. Things got a little scary with a minute left in the game. Pogge was on the bench and Charlotte had their last chance at making a comeback. Two Checkers jabbed at the puck and Holtby couldn’t stop them. The goal was waved off though because of two matching penalties that were assessed to Souray and Dalpe.
After successfully stopping any final attempts by the Checkers, the Bears won 4-2 and tied the series at one game each. Now the battle moves south to North Carolina.
Bears Lose Offensive Showdown to Checkers, 5-4
Charlotte celebrates on their five goals against Holtby during Game 1. Photo by Kyle Mace
Hold on to your hats, Bears fans. This could be a long series against the Charlotte Checkers.
The Bears did exactly what they needed to do: they started off strong. On the very first play, Boyd Kane had a good scoring chance. Just 70 seconds in, Andrew Joudrey took a Charlotte turnover and dished a perfect pass to Steve Pinizzotto who scored.
The Checkers took back some momentum a couple of minutes later when Zac Dalpe rushed around Andrew Gordon and right to the net. Braden Holtby made the initial save but Dalpe was in his face and ready to bang home the rebound. Gordon’s bad luck wouldn’t stop there. The Checkers got another shot off on Holtby, who yet again made the initial save. Unfortunately, the rebound appeared to deflect off on Gordon and into the net. Charlotte had their first lead of the game.
Towards the end of the period, the Bears got their second power play of the game. Brian Willsie had a nice cross-ice to Keith Aucoin, who scored backdoor on Justin Pogge. Tie game after one period.
The Bears are not going to want to play the special teams game with the Checkers. The Checkers are ranked high in the league for both the penalty kill and the power play. During the second period, the Checkers were whistled for delay of game. The Bears lost control of the puck and Charlotte scored a shorthanded goal as Bellemore scored on (you guessed it) the rebound.
During the same period, Zach Boychuk took off on a break. He was right up to Holtby when Aucoin absolutely robbed him and stole the puck out from right under him. Aucoin took the puck and gave it Kane and Kane buried it. Tie game…again.
The Bears finally regained the lead early in the third period. Willsie had a gorgeous slapshot that snuck past Pogge. But that lead wouldn’t last. Zach Boychuk tied the game up on the rebound (I’m not joking). Charlotte didn’t take long to take the lead back as Drayson Bowman scored five-hole on Holtby. It wasn’t a rebound shot, but it was also a shot that Holtby should’ve had.
The Bears just plain couldn’t keep up with the Checkers. Mark French had some terse answers for the reporters post-game. He was especially disappointed in his team’s third period effort. The team will have two days to rest before they have their next chance.
One game down. Plenty more chances. We’re looking forward to meeting everyone this Sunday at the Sweetest Tailgate on Earth. Clear your schedule and get down to Giant Center early! Get pumped!
Photos: Hershey Bears’ 2011 Awards Ceremony
Keith Aucoin gets his AHL Second Team All-Star Award
Before the final regular season game of each season, the Hershey Bears hold their annual award ceremony. I was lucky enough to be on the ice to get these photos.
Penguins Win 3-2 Nail-Biter with Overtime SHG
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Bryan Lerg scores in overtime to beat the Bears. Photo by Kyle Mace
What a game!
We already know that both teams will be going to playoffs this season. Despite the troubles that Hershey has had with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this year, it would be a fun series if these teams met up during the post-season.
After shutting out the Montreal Canadiens last night, Braden Holtby returned to Hershey and allowed a goal on the second shot of the game. The Penguins got the first lead of the night on the power play while Perreault was in the box for tripping. They only needed four seconds of the man advantage before they scored.
Hershey tied it up during the second period. They came rushing into the offensive zone and Brian Willsie passed to Mathieu Perreault. He got a shot off and John Curry stopped it but the rebound bounced back out to Francois Bouchard who didn’t miss.
Unfortunately, the Penguins regained their lead in the same period. Yet again, it was on the power play. This time it took them 37 seconds on the power play to score.
With their backs against the wall in the third period, the Bears had to kill off a penalty to Boyd Kane for elbowing with the final few minutes of the period dwindling. The Bears stood tall and interrupted the Penguins offense. There was a two-on-one but Wilkes-Barre broke that up. Perreault collected the puck and dished a perfect pass to Keith Aucoin, who was crashing the net: tie game thanks to a short-handed goal.
With the crowd roaring, this game would need overtime to end it. Steve Pinizzotto was whistled for tripping just 29 seconds in and fans held their breath. But they were excited again when Brett Sterling took a penalty of his own almost two minutes later.
Unfortunately, that wouldn’t slow down the Penguins. They scored short-handed to cement the win and their East Division Championship. Bears lose 3-2 (OT).
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.
Worcester holds off Hershey Comeback, Win 3-2
Dmitry Orlov’s first AHL goal isn’t enough to stop the Worcester Sharks.
And so the road trip rolls on…
Tonight, the Bears faced the Worcester Sharks. You may remember the last time these two teams met Brian Willsie almost fought Worcester goaltender, Alex Stalock.
Thankfully for Willsie, Stalock wasn’t playing tonight but that didn’t mean that this game would be any easier.
All was well at first. The Bears were putting some good shots on goal and even got the early lead. It was none other than Dmitry Orlov who gave the Bears the lead, scoring his first career AHL goal. It was a hard shot from the face-off circle that goaltender Tyson Sexsmith couldn’t handle. Orlov has been paired with Sheldon Souray for four games now. Between the pure skill, the physicality, and the hard shots, that pairing has to put some fear in the opposing teams. I definitely would not want to be facing down those guys.
However, the Sharks tied it up in the same period. The Sharks were attacking and the Bears couldn’t clear the zone. After a couple of quick shots, Nolan Schaefer tried his best but couldn’t stop the last shot and Worcester scored.
During the second period, the Bears badly outshot the Sharks 16 to 7. Unfortunately, it was the Sharks who came ahead though. The Sharks killed off a Hershey 5-on-3 power play and then scored in the minutes afterwards. It was a bit of a fluky goal as Brandon Mashinter flung the puck towards the goal and it tipped off Schaefer and into the net.
The third period saw the Bears on the wrong side of a 5-on-3. Boyd Kane and Ashton Rome were whistled for penalties and the Worcester didn’t miss the opportunity. With two Bears in the box, the Sharks scored. There was a glimmer of hope later on when Rome dished out a perfect pass to Maxime Lacroix who backhanded it past Sexsmith. It wouldn’t be enough to push the Bears to victory and they lose 3-2.
Depleted Penguins defeat Injured Bears, 4-1
Nolan Schaefer had a rough night against the Penguins. Photo by Kyle Mace
It’s that time again: the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins came to town. While this game did not go the way we wanted it to go, it’s easy to imagine how fun a game would be with both teams at full strength.
I’ll admit that I began fearing the worst after the Penguins scored early in the first period. It took a little while for either team to get their first shot on goal, but the Penguins made their first shots efficient. They were able to get in Nolan Schaefer‘s face and covert a rebound shot.
Thankfully, the Bears were able to prevent a further deficit but they still never really got their offense going until very late in the first period. The Bears didn’t even register their first shot on goal until they had a power play halfway through the period.
The game finally started getting exciting during the second period. The Bears tied it up on the power play when Boyd Kane deflected a Brian Fahey shot. Immediately afterwards, the Bears were whistled for two penalties close together and had to kill off a 5-on-3 for almost a full two minutes. Led by Kane, Andrew Joudrey, and Sean Collins, the penalty kill unit did a fine job keeping it a tie game.
But Wilkes-Barre wouldn’t let Hershey take over and they regained the lead a few minutes later. Once again, they got in close to Schaefer and Geoff Walker scored on a nice assist from his teammate behind the net.
Even though they were behind, Hershey was definitely still in it. And they cranked it up for the third period. In the first half especially, they were getting some good shots off in attempts to tie it up.
Sadly, the game got away from them. Schaefer was screened and Joey Mormina scored to give the Penguins the insurance they need to control the game again. The Bears pulled the goalie for the final minute and a half but were unable to convert. To make things worse, the Penguins scored on the empty net. The Bears need to manage more than 16 shots on goal if they want to defeat these stronger teams. Bears lose 4-1.
Bears win Nail-biter Against Norfolk Admirals, 3-2
Brian Willsie with the shot of the game against the Norfolk Admirals. Photo by Kyle Mace
After a crushing defeat on Wednesday, the same two teams faced off tonight. Armed with Nolan Schaefer in goal, the Bears were hoping for a much different outcome against a tough Norfolk Admirals team.
Perreault and Willsie celebrate the GWG
The first period was one of the best twenty minutes of hockey the Bears have put together this season. They were completely in control. Schaefer, in his first start as a Bear, made this phenomenal diving save during an Admirals power play. It fired up the crowd and the players. During the same penalty, Brian Willsie chased the puck down ice and Dustin Tokarski came out to clear the puck. His mishandled it and Willsie took off with it. To say that it was a sharp angle shot for Willsie is an understatement. Nevertheless, he someone managed to put Hershey up with an unassisted shorthanded goal.
Speaking of Willsie, the guy was having a fantastic period. He got his second goal of the night in the same period when he capitalized on a rebound shot.
Unfortunately, the second period didn’t go quite as well. The Admirals picked up their game and managed to tie it up. The game-tying goal came in the final 20 seconds of the second period. And then mayhem ensued.
The major problem was not that the Admirals had tied it up. It was a funny bounce but there’s no doubt that it was good goal. The problem came during the discussion afterwards when the refs were talking about the goal. Boyd Kane got a ten minute misconduct for abuse of officials. Meanwhile, Tokarski took offense to something and threw a water bottle towards the Hershey bench. Lucky for him, Joel Rechlicz was on the bench because Recker was mad. Eventually, they were able to wrap up the final 14 seconds of the period but the players weren’t finished. There was still some pushing and shoving and one official had to hold Sheldon Souray back while he mouthed off at Tokarski.
First period went to the Bears, second period went to the Admirals and it all came down to the third.
Tonight was a two referee game. In this case, two is not better than one. Keith Aucoin was high-sticked and neither ref was looking. As Aucoin skated towards the bench, covering his face, it looked like he was a blindsided by a hit of an Admiral’s shoulder. Yet again, no call. Aucoin went down the tunnel and didn’t return for the rest of the game. We’ll keep you updated on our Twitter with any information about his condition.
Just when it seemed like we might be going to overtime, the man of the hour, Willsie, set up Mathieu Perreault for a beautiful shot to give Hershey the game-winning goal. It was tense final few minutes but the Bears hung on and got an intense win against their rivals. Bears win 3-2.