Bears beat the Whale for French’s 100th Coaching Win

The Bears celebrate Brian Willsie’s goal, which proved to be the game-winner.

Break out the Brass Bonanza! The Hershey Bears came to town to play their first game against the Connecticut Whale (though they did play them earlier in the season when they were still the Hartford Wolfpack).

Kyle Greentree scored the first goal of the night with a nice shot from between the face-off circles. New addition, Andrew Kozek (who was playing in his first game as a Bear) had the primary assist to register his first point as a Bear.

The Bears extended their lead during the second period when Connecticut had an iffy line change. Greentree dished a long pass to Brian Willsie who was waiting up ice. Once he got the puck, Willsie raced towards the net, took aim, and scored. 2-0 Bears.

The Whale finally broke the shutout during the third period when Kris Newbury darted through the zone and right up to the net. There wasn’t much Nolan Schaefer could do to stop it. Connecticut couldn’t muster up any more goals and Bears win 2-1!

You know what that means? We finally get to congratulate Coach Mark French on his 100th AHL coaching victory! He is the fastest coach in AHL history to reach the 100 win plateau. We can’t even begin to say how much French has done for the Bears. We know the team is in great hands with him. Now the race begins to 200 wins!

Just a heads up to our readers: we will not be covering the game tomorrow night against the Adirondack Phantoms. Instead, we’ll be in Virginia with our Russian Machine Never Breaks brothers at the RMNB Party 2: Electric Boogaloo. If you’re free, head down to Arlington and have fun while donating money to the Brian St. Louis Family Fund.

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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.

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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.

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Bears Pounded 7-1 by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins


Photo by AFC Media Photography.

It’s easy to make excuses when two very depleted teams meet up. Both the Hershey Bears and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins entered this game with a line-up missing some big names. Due to call-ups and injuries, they were very different teams than the ones that met earlier this season.

The Penguins were the better tonight, plain and simple. I don’t mean to downplay Hershey’s effort because the score is misleading. They may not have been outstanding, but they put up a good effort at first. The Penguins defense was fantastic and did not allow the Bears any opportunity to ease the pain of being severely outscored.

Tonight’s game will serve as a very brief learning experience. But, it’s probably in the team’s best interests to put it behind them and carry on. This game does not change anything about the season. It could admittedly have been a significant two points gained on the Penguins in the standings but there will be more chances. The injury bug is just not something you can prepare for.

I could recap every single goal but it would start getting a little too depressing. For Todd Ford, it was a night he hopes to forget. He allowed four goals on nine shots before he was yanked in favor of Jared DeMichiel.

It wasn’t completely a dark night though. In the third period, Brian Willsie finally broke Brad Thiessen’s shutout on a rebound shot. But that wouldn’t even be close to enough to provide a comeback. Penguins win 7-1.

And so, we power through. The Norfolk Admirals are up next on the schedule and provide another chance to show that Hershey is more than what they put up today.

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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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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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Bears Extend Winning Streak With 3-2 Victory in Bingo

Giving Dany Sabourin a well-deserved rest, Braden Holtby led the Bears onto the ice against the Binghamton Senators tonight.

Boyd Kane scored the first goal of the game. He sniped the shot up high and gave Hershey the early lead. Before the end of the period, the Senators tied it up on the power play when Bobby Butler slammed home the rebound.

In the second period, the teams exchanged goals again. Bingo got their first lead of the game when they got the puck close up on the goal crease and beat Holtby. Hershey countered with a power play goal of their own. Brian Willsie gets all the credit on this one as he danced through the defense and placed a perfect backhand shot.

It looked like there was a game-changing penalty when Jim O’Brien of Binghamton was questionably penalized for a hit on Tyler Sloan. O’Brien recieved an elbowing major as well as a game misconduct. But the Senators came up big and killed off the penalty.

Just when it seemed as if not scoring on that power play was going to be their biggest regret, the Bears upped their offense and got moving. Kyle Greentree got the puck right between the face-off circles and scored five-hole on Mike Brodeur with about two and half minutes left in the game.

The Senators couldn’t muster up enough to tie the game again and the Bears won 3-2. They have now won five games in a row, their longest streak of the season!

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Hershey’s Home Stand is Perfect, beat Falcons 4-3


Sheldon Souray celebrates another win with Dany Sabourin. Photo by Kyle Mace

Before I dive into this game recap, I want to congratulate John Walton on calling his 1,000th game. Fans of any team should appreciate Walton and all that he has done for Hershey. It wouldn’t be half as interesting to listen without you, John. It would be an understatement to say that I hope he’s around for 1,000 more.

And now about the game. After getting snowed in last time and having to push the game to tonight, the two teams were going pretty strong right from the start.

The Springfield Falcons had a some notable names in the starting line-up. Mike Commodore was in, playing his first game for the Springfield Falcons. But the bigger name for Hershey fans was the return of Kyle Wilson. The Reeses Cup mascot dropped the puck in a ceremonial face-off and Andrew Gordon and Wilson took it together. It was nice to see two former teammates together again, even if they were wearing different jerseys.

Speaking of Gordon, he was the first Bear to find the back of the net. With a nice pass from Keith Aucoin, Gordon scored short side on David LeNeveu. Sean Collins, who is having a pretty good season, made it a two goal lead with a missile from center point.

The Falcons cut Hershey’s lead in half when they scored ten seconds into their first power play of the night. The second period was fairly quiet but Brian Willsie added some insurance with a power play goal of his own.

The Falcons looked like they were on the cusp of a comeback during the third period when John Moore got Springfield within one goal of tying. Steve Pinizzotto didn’t take too kindly to this and just moments later scored a sweet goal where he danced around the Falcons goaltender.

Kyle Wilson wasn’t willing to accept defeat and scored a goal with 17.8 seconds left in the game after a botched clearing attempt by Sabourin. The Bears were able to stave off any last chances from Springfield and won 4-3.

Hershey took advantage of this four game home stand and gained eight points in the standings. These four wins are crucial ones and have shown just what this time is capable of. Dany Sabourin played great, winning all four games. He has proven that we can rely on him even when we don’t have Braden Holtby with us.

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Bears Sweep Weekend With 5-1 Win vs. Phantoms


Dany Sabourin gets some well-deserved congratulations. Photo by Kyle Mace

It took a whole period for the Hershey Bears to wake up in their game against the Adirondack Phantoms. Maybe they were feeling a little lethargic on their third game in three days. On the other side, the Phantoms were looking even more tired due to all their traveling in the past few days.

The Bears made up for the goal-less first period. Francois Bouchard started the Bears off with a beautiful top shelf snipe against Michael Leighton. A few minutes later, Patrick Wellar scored on a shot from the blue line. Andrew Gordon topped off the period with a goal, the whole time fighting off a Phantom who was watching him closely.

Adirondack ended the shutout with a goal on the power play with Tyler Sloan was in the box for interference.

Thankfully, Sheldon Souray, playing his first game back from his most recent lower body injury, made up for it later. Phantom Stefan Legein absorbed the entire blow of Souray’s first bomb of a shot. As he struggled to get up, the puck returned to Souray and this time no one was willing to block it the second time and he found the back of the net. David de Kastrozza, playing only his second AHL game, got the primary assist and his very first AHL point!

Brian Willsie scored on the power play to make the final score 5-1 Hershey.

Dany Sabourin has taken a lot of criticism for his play this season. As such, I feel more than obligated to give credit where credit is due. Not only did he play three games in three days, not only did he win all three games, he played damn good. He even stopped a penalty shot late in the third period. Throughout the weekend, he stopped 78 of 83 shots. I think the decision to play him all three days is a show of support from the coaches. If anyone deserves a lot of rest tomorrow, it’s Sabourin.

These players deserve a lot of credit. Hopefully they will wrap up the homestand with a win against the Springfield Falcons on Wednesday.

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Bears Send Amerks Packing After 5-1 Victory


The Bears celebrate one of many goals against the Rochester Americans. Photo by Kyle Mace

Sometimes after a blow-out victory, like the game last night against the Albany Devils, it’s easy to sit back and relax during the next game. But it’s games like the one tonight against the Rochester Americans where you will look back and regret not getting those two points if you relax too much.

I think Steve Pinizzotto took it a little too seriously when someone told him to start the game strong. Right off the opening face-off, he dropped the gloves with Michael Duco. It was over pretty quickly but I’d say Pinizzotto came out on top.

The Bears also started strong by scoring the game’s first goal. Patrick McNeill had a nice goal during a 5-on-3 where he came in and sniped the rebound shot. It was his first goal of the season and a well-deserved one. Keith Aucoin would add to the scoring sheet after he snuck in back door while Andrew Gordon had the puck.

Rochester’s only goal of the night game came during the second period. They beat Dany Sabourin on the power play to cut Hershey’s lead in half. Speaking of Sabourin, he had another great night. He stopped 25 of 26 shots and those were big shots. It’s a great thing to see him getting comfortable and winning two in a row in front of the Hershey faithful.

Thankfully, the third period was all Hershey in terms of scoring. Gordon got Hershey’s third goal with a perfect deflection past Tyler Plante. Brian Willsie tacked on another goal during the power play that got Plante moving. Finally, Ashton Rome added even more goal insurance by cashing in on another juicy rebound.

The top two lines were fantastic tonight and Hershey defeated the Amerks 5-1.The homestand continues tomorrow night when the Adirondack Phantoms come to town.

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