Bears Start Weekend with 4-1 Win against Albany

Tonight began the first three games in three days of the season for the Bears. Stage one: take on the Albany Devils on the road.

For the first time this season, the Bears gave up the first goal of the game. Steve Zalewski scored on a breakaway. Patrick Wellar tried to catch up to him but couldn’t make it in time. Braden Holtby tried his best to stand Zalewski up but the shot went high and into the net.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long for the Bears to counter with a goal of their own. Keith Aucoin took an Albany turnover and set up Matt Ford, who was all alone in front of the goal. Tie game.

If the Bears can continue to dominate on the man advantage, opponents should be afraid. It’s no secret that Chris Bourque has the magic touch for the power play. Tonight, he put a shot on goal during Hershey’s first power play. That shot took a funny bounce off of Cody Eakin and Jeff Frazee had no chance of stopping it. 2-1 after twenty minutes.

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Chocolate Fix 10/19/2011

Chris Bourque’s season has started off big. Photo by Kyle Mace.

Last week we pondered warm up music.  For those of you unable to make the home opener, here is what was played:

  • “Interlude” by Jay-Z
  • “We Found Love (feat. Calvin Harris)” by Rihanna
  • “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall” by Coldplay
  • “Levels” by Avicii
  • “Rebellion” by Arcade Fire

The Old Barn is back with another edition [OBHS]

  • Part 1 – Coverage of the home opener and Chris Bourque’s season thus far.
  • Part 2 – NHL news around the league and of course a bunch of Caps talk.
  • Part 3 – This was supposed to be a segment with Graham Mink, but he never called. Lots of fill instead.

The AHL recognizes Keith Aucoin’s 500th assist. [AHL]

Out of curiosity I did some math. For his career Aucoin has averaged .70 assists per game. In the last 5 seasons that average is .83 per game including playoffs.  If you look at just his time in Hershey, he is an even 1.0 assist per game including playoffs.

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Norfolk Spoils Hershey’s Home Opener, 6-5 (OT)


Michel Ouellet scores in overtime to defeat the Bears. Photo by Kyle Mace.

Despite the fact that the Bears had already played three games before tonight, there was a lot of energy and excitement in Giant Center. For once, the Bears were not raising a banner before their home opener but they did celebrate the 10th anniversary of Giant Center. The Bears were wearing commemorative jerseys tonight, honoring Giant Center and the three Calder Cups they’ve won since playing there. It was time to show off the new Bears slogan in front of the Hershey faithful.

The Bears celebrate an early lead.

To start the game, the Admirals did exactly what they didn’t want to do: they went to the penalty box. After having a great night against the Norfolk penalty kill unit last night, the Bears continue to score during the man advantage. Keith Aucoin had a sharp angle shot towards the crease and Graham Mink did what he does best. The puck deflected past Jaroslav Janus and Hershey took the early lead.

But, much like last night, the Admirals responded and tied the game up a few minutes later. They got Braden Holtby moving and Radko Gudas was able to score on the rebound. Then the Admirals gained their first lead of the weekend before the end of the first period when several players crashed the net. Christian Hanson fell on his own goaltender and Gudas scored again with the loose puck. With less than a minute left in the first period, the Bears made up for it by scoring on a Sean Collins shot from the point.

For the second night in a row, the game was tied 2-2 after one period.

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Bears Spoil B-Sens Banner Raising Night, Win 3-2

Christian Hanson, pictured here at training camp, scored his first goal as a Bear tonight. (Photo by Kyle Mace)

It has been three straight years the Bears have played on a banner raising (and dropping) night for the Calder Cup champions in the AHL, but this is the first in those three years that it has not been their own. With the return of Chris Bourque and Graham Mink, and the additions of Christian Hanson and Ryan Potulny, the Bears look to win a Cup this season, and they showed that them meant business as they beat the Senators, 3-2.

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Let the games begin!


Photo via Hershey Bears Facebook Page

There is a fall chill in the Central PA air.  It’s now October.  The Bears have had training camp and the preseason games are over.  Now comes the anticipation as we await the start of the regular season.  For the team it starts tomorrow, but we won’t see them until October 15th.  Currently, there is a large RV show that has taken over the parking lots of the Giant Center and Hersheypark.  This happens every year and it yet another signal of hockey’s impending return.

The final cuts have been made, and the opening roster is set. But this is the AHL.  The roster won’t be the same for long.  When the Caps lose a player to injury, he is temporarily gone.  Those positions are filled in from the Bears.  As an AHL fan, we know that our guys are different.  Instead of being temporarily gone, they are temporarily here.  There are no long term contracts. We hope for the best for them and that their dreams of making it to the NHL come true.  I kind of equate it to parenting.  We want the best for our boys, but while they are under our roof we demand the best from them.  This is Hershey.  When you look up the rafters in Giant Center you will see the names of the greats and 11 Calder Cup banners.  Division and Conference championship banners are not hung.  The Reese’s advertising in section 211 says it all.  “It’s all about the cup!”.  This is Hershey and you will be held to a higher standard.  With that in mind, let’s take a look at who we will be seeing in Hershey to start the season.

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Hershey Falls 2-1 to Pens in Second Pre-Season Game


Wilkes-Barre celebrates one of their 2 goals as they come back to beat Hershey (Kyle Mace)

It’s getting closer. With the start of the regular season less than a week away, the Hershey Bears play the second of their three pre-season games Saturday night at Giant Center. And although the results don’t count in the standing, the Bears dropped their second straight to Wilkes-Barre Scranton, 2-1.

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Chocolate Fix 9/21/2011

Chris Bourque photo by Andrew Harnik, The Washington Times

It may not be October yet, but hockey has started.  The Caps opened their preseason last night with several Bears in the line up.  Unfortunately, it was a 2-0 loss to the Preds which means there isn’t much in the way of highlights from Bears.  Here is what I was able to dig up.

Head Coach Bruce Boudreau has some praise for Stanislav Galiev and Jay Beagle. [Caps video]

Beagle was a stand out. [Wash Times]

Sean Collins and others talk about the poor ice conditions. [Wash Times]

Former Bear and current Predator Tyler Sloan talks about the ice. [WaPo]

Collins talks about making the Caps roster. [Wash Examiner]

Patrick Wellar gets his first NHL game. [PennLive]

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