Pinizzotto and the Bears outlast Albany Devils, 3-2


Dany Sabourin rushes to make a save against the Albany Devils. Photo by the Albany Devils.

It was a quiet first period. In fact, it was a fairly quiet game against the Albany Devils.

The first goal of the game came exactly five minutes into the second period. Thankfully, Jay Beagle was able to counter with a goal just 31 seconds later, with an assist by Maxime Lacroix. The assist was Lacroix’s first AHL point of the season.

Trading back-and-forth goals, the Devils scored on the power play to regain their lead. But wait! How comfortable is Dmitri Kugryshev looking these days? He scored his second goal of the season to tie the game at two a piece before the end of the second period.

The hero of the night? Steve Pinizzotto. Showing the clutch guy he can be, he capitalized on an Albany turnover and scored the game-winning goal, unassisted, to give Hershey their first lead of the night. Thankfully, they only needed the lead once to maintain it and won 3-2.

So it may not have been the most exciting game but a win is a win. And wins are what Hershey needs.

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Second period pushes Bears to 4-3 win over Wolf Pack


Hartford goalie Cameron Talbot looks back at a puck in his net. Photo by Kyle M.

Hershey chalks up a win the last game they will ever play against the Hartford Wolf Pack before they become the Connecticut Whale.

With Hershey controlling the tempo of this game, it was another game where Semyon Varlamov did not see a lot of shots. He stopped 19 of 22 and at least one of those goals there was really nothing he could do. He looked more comfortable in his crease, even after getting plowed down by Chad Kolarik in the first period.

A strong start to the second period helped push Hershey to an early lead. Mathieu Perreault showed off his speed by breaking up a pass at the blue line before darting off to get an unassisted goal just 17 seconds into the second period. Just over a minute later, Brian Fahey had a bomb of a shot from the right point.

Minutes later, Fahey and Sean Collins took two quick penalties and suddenly the Wolf Pack had their first goal. However, the Bears remained calm and Perreault picked up his fourth goal of the season halfway through the period. Brian Willsie would wrap up the period with a power play goal to make 4-1 Hershey after 40 minutes.

After that period, Hershey was done scoring but Hartford wasn’t. They scored two more goals halfway through the third period before Hershey’s defense could corral them. Willsie’s goal became the game winner as Hershey defeated Hartford 4-3.

So it’s adios Wolf Pack. Hello Whale. We’ll see you in March.

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Checkers twist up Bears, 4-2


Bryan Rodney and Boyd Kane take a ceremonial face-off before the first game between these two clubs. Photo by Checkers SmugMug

The Hershey Bears played their very first game against the Charlotte Checkers, a new team this year after the Albany River Rats were relocated. For the Bears, it was a game to forget.

Dany Sabourin continues to be a main focus of the season but not for good reasons. He had one good showing in Syracuse but has put up very mediocre numbers otherwise. He is a talented goaltender but he has not been himself this season. It’s not much of a stretch to wonder if he will be released from his contract if he can’t get back on track. I think you can see that his team is having difficulty being confident in Sabourin. He made some stellar saves in the third period after puttin up abysmal numbers during the second period. I brought up this discussion on Twitter and would like to hear some more answers: Would you rather have Sabourin or Daren Machesney?

Keith Aucoin played tonight after hurting his knee in the game against Manchester. He played for about half the game until he fell on his knee again. He stayed on the bench at first but then took that fateful walk down the tunnel and never returned. Unfortunately, this means the end of his point streak, which had reached ten games. Get well soon!

The power play was able to click late in the game to save Hershey from complete embarrassment. Both goals went to Kyle Greentree, his fourth and fifth goals of the season. Brian Fahey had a pretty good night, with primary assists on both goals. He also had some excellent plays to help out Sabourin.

Marcus Johansson had a pretty quiet night. No points or penalties and only two shots on goals. Hershey probably could have used him to step up with the absence of Aucoin.

And so Hershey loses the first ever meeting between these two teams with a score of 4-2. Rematch is set for Tuesday night.

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Baby Pens Extend Winning Streak, Humble Bears 6-2


Todd Ford takes over for a defeated Dany Sabourin. Photo by Kyle M.

The sarcasm expressed by the crowd tonight was palpable. Between the bronx cheers and the slow claps, Hershey fans weren’t being quiet about their disapproval. But that wasn’t how it seemed it would be. There was a lot of hype for this game. Of course the Bears and the Penguins have one of the biggest rivalries in the AHL. And the Penguins were coming into this game as the only undefeated team in the league. The Bears were hoping to end Wilkes-Barre’s winning streak at seven games.

For the home crowd, this game started out perfect. Keith Aucoin beat Curry short side just 49 seconds into the game. The crowd was roaring and it felt like this would be a great game. Then Wilkes-Barre/Scranton tied it up only 26 seconds later. The game was never the same.

Sean Collins celebrated his 27th birthday with a hat trick…of penalties. Interference, tripping, and hooking. The worst part? Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s only two power play goals came while he was in the box. Grounds for worst birthday ever?

Todd Ford finally got to see his first game of the season. He had the unenviable position of joining the game down 2 goals. Dany Sabourin, looking to start a winning streak after finding victory in Syracuse last night, was pulled after letting in 3 goals on 7 shots. That’s a .571 save percentage. Ouch. However, I thought Ford was pretty solid considering the mess he was coming in to. Hershey’s defense was not giving him a lot of help.

Zach Miskovic had a missile of a goal in the third period. I think it deserves some credit for the sheer power behind it. It was his first goal of the year. Dylan Yeo and Dmitri Kugryshev had assists, giving Yeo his first AHL point of this season and Kugryshev’s first AHL point ever. Kudos.

The final score of 6-2 in favor of the Penguins almost seems too nice. Let me tell you, it felt like a much wider deficit.

To sum up: I think it would be best if we just forgot about tonight and moved on. The Penguins will be brought down eventually.

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