Chocolate Fix 6/29/2011
Photo by Brian Mills A little event happened at the end of last week that you might have heard about. It's called the NHL Entry Draft. Here's the Caps roundup [RMNB] Former Bear Claude Noel was named as the head…
Hershey Gains 2-1 Series Lead with Win in Charlotte
Zach Miskovic chases after Nicolas Blanchard. Photo by Checkers SmugMug.
Spurred on by the excitement of winning Game 2, the Bears traveled down South to play the Charlotte Checkers on the road. Perhaps with a bit more confidence, they aimed to earn their first series lead of the post-season.
It’s a common phrase in hockey to say that “you need bounces to go your way.” This became a literal occurence when Francois Bouchard scored the first goal of the game. Bouchard was behind the net and the puck deflected off of his skate and over the goal. It bounced off of goaltender Mike Murphy’s back and into the net. It was such a bizarre way to get the first lead of the night but it counted and that’s what matters.
The second half of the period was a busy one for the Bears. They scored two goals to end the period with a three goal lead. One goal came from Keith Aucoin. Steve Pinizzotto has a nice, fast pass to moving Aucoin and all Coiner had to do was tip it into the net. There was not much Murphy could have done to stop that one. The final goal of the period came from Kyle Greentree who scored with a shot from the top of the face-off circle.
The Checkers finally broke the shutout in the second period with a soft goal that I’m sure Braden Holtby is not proud of. Holtby saw it coming the whole way but the puck squeaked past him courtesy of Nick Dodge. The penalty kill unit withstood a few Charlotte power plays and prevented any more goals during the second period.
From the start, the third period had a much different tempo and control than the previous forty minutes. The Checkers were roaring and got several quality scoring chances early on. Holtby was able to stand most of them up but Zach Boychuk finally got one of those scoring chances to go in and made it a one goal game.
Despite the Checkers controlling and outshooting the Bears in the final stanza, Hershey hung on. It became a nail-biter during the final two minutes when Greentree was sent to the box for high-sticking. But they prevented any game-tying goals and the Bears won 3-2. With this win, the Bears gained their first lead of the series.
Bears Score 4 Unanswered Goals to Beat Admirals, 5-4
The difference between tonight’s first period and last night’s first period could not be any bigger. Just about the only similarity was that they were still on the road and playing the Norfolk Admirals .
It started off fine. Dustin Tokarski went to chase a puck down from behind the net. Instead, the puck bounced off the back boards and out to Kyle Greentree who scored on the completely empty net.
From there, it went downhill. Norfolk didn’t allow this fluke goal to mess up their game. They responded with a 4-on-4 goal (Brian Fahey was in the box for cross-checking and Blair Jones joined him for diving). After that, Andrew Gordon was whistled for tripping and the Admirals only took eleven seconds on the power play to score.
With Sheldon Souray in the box, Norfolk scored a second power play that seemed to especially tick off Braden Holtby. After the goal, he turned and shoved the net towards the back wall. It’s hard to tell if it was just general frustration but some fans in attendance said that the net was already off it’s pegs. Holtby knew it and was angry that the goal counted. It took a while to get the net fixed but there Bears were still down two goals.
Before you could blink, the Admirals then scored an even strength goal with less than a minute left in the first period. The Bears were sent to the locker room with a lot of goals to discuss.
As rough as the first period was, the second period made up for just about all of it. Francois Bouchard continues to show the coaching staff that he doesn’t belong on the fourth line. He scored his second goal this weekend. Just about 30 seconds after that, Greentree got his second goal of the night on a gorgeous pass from Keith Aucoin. They both came roaring towards the net and Aucoin placed his pass perfectly so that Greentree could flip it past Tokarski.
With all the momentum in their favor, the Bears actually tied the game up before the second period was even half over. It was Patrick McNeill who got the goal when he skated just past the blue line and got a big shot past the Norfolk goaltender. Amazingly, it was a 4-4 game.
Norfolk really took a blow when Tokarski got injured. Gordon was in front of the net and accidentally hit Tokarski with his stick. Tokarski immediately fell to the ice and the skated to the bench during a stoppage in play. Jaroslav Janus took over.
Janus gave up his first goal towards the end of the second period. For Hershey fans, I can just describe as your typical “Andrew Gordon” goal. Another great play by Aucoin to Gordon who was in Janus’ face. After being down 4-1, suddenly the Bears were up 5-4.
Neither side scored during the third period, although there were some close calls. During the final moments when Norfolk had pulled Janus, they came very close to tying the game but Hershey escaped with another big win. Bears win 5-4.
Bears Make April Fools of Admirals with 6-3 Victory
Andrew Gordon celebrates Sheldon Souray’s goal against the Norfolk Admirals.
It’s officially April. We all know that means it’s almost time for playoffs, but first we have to wrap up the final five games of the season. And it would be pretty nice for the Bears to lock up second place in the East Division.
Step one? Take down the Norfolk Admirals.
As far as first periods go, tonight’s was a pretty nice one. Well, except for the whole two 5-on-3s. It seemed as if the Bears were only capable of being penalized in pairs. Nevertheless, the penalty kill unit did it’s job and held off the Norfolk power play. Despite the penalties and Norfolk leading in shots, the Bears were the ones leading after twenty minutes.
The first goal came from Andrew Gordon. Right after killing the first power play, Gordon had a pretty shot with no one between him and goaltender Dustin Tokarski. Francois Bouchard followed that with a goal of his own. Perhaps not appreciating his recent demotion to the fourth line, he took his assist from Andrew Kozek and didn’t miss. Dmitry Orlov also got an assist on that goal.
The second twenty minutes started off just as nice. Sheldon Souray, who returned to the line-up for the first time since getting injured back in mid-March, was making his presence known all night. Early in the second period, he demonstrated his NHL talent as he danced around a Norfolk defender and unleashed the a big shot on Tokarski. 3-0 Bears.
Braden Holtby was called on to make a save on a penalty shot. He was ready but perhaps shooter Stefano Giliati wasn’t as his shot appeared to miss the goal. After that, it take Hershey long to get goal #4. After closing in on the Norfolk crease, Mathieu Perreault‘s shot deflected off on Norfolk’s Radko Gudas and past an unsuspecting Tokarski.
Finally fed up, the Admirals responded with a goal of their own. Holtby might have been screened but nevertheless, his shutout bid was gone. For Norfolk, the ninth time was a charm. With Andrew Carroll in the box and the Admirals on their ninth power play, they finally figured out how to work the man advantage and got another goal back to make it 4-2 after two periods.
The third period saw a Hershey power play early on. For once, it was the Bears with the 5-on-3 power play. It took a couple of shots but Keith Aucoin finally put one away to increase Hershey’s lead. Bouchard appeared to score again but it was waved off because of a penalty to the Bears. It wouldn’t be just one penalty, it would be two. Yes, another 5-on-3. No sweat, Hershey killed it. Again.
However, Souray was sent to the box late in the period and Norfolk did score then. Steve Pinizzotto made sure that it didn’t matter though and topped off the game with an empty net goal.
I would like to give a standing ovation to our penalty kill unit. To face thirteen penalties and only allow two goals is phenomenal. I don’t think I need to tell you that this would have been an entirely different game if they hadn’t played so well. Thanks to them, Bears win 6-3.
In the long run, this game could prove important in helping Hershey mentally. They have had issues battling the Admirals, especially with Tokarski in goal. Tonight they proved that they are capable of big games. I can’t imagine Norfolk will make it an easy game when these teams battle again tomorrow.
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).
Boyd Kane Leads Bears to 4-3 Win Over Devils
Joel Rechlicz has another impressive fight against LeBlond. Photo by Kyle Mace
We said earlier that the organization was one goalie injury away from having a serious problem on our hands. In front of a sold out crowd tonight against the Albany Devils, Jared DeMichiel showed that don’t need to completely panic. He was a little shaky at first and gave up a goal when he couldn’t get control of the puck. But after that, he settled down and stood up for some great saves, including a jaw-dropping one on Darcy Zajac in the third period. By the end, he stopped 27 of 30 shots.
After allowing the Devils the early lead, Boyd Kane countered with a goal of his own, bouncing the puck past Mike McKenna. Later on the 5-on-3 power play, the Bears took their first lead of the night on a goal from Francois Bouchard.
Steve Pinizzotto scored to start the second period, also on the power play. The Devils didn’t respond until the waning moments of the second period but they still stood a goal behind.
Kane scored again in the third period. His second goal would prove to be the game-winner as the Devils scored with 18.4 seconds left. Can we talk about Boyd Kane for a second? We all know that Kane is a clutch player, but as of late he has really stepped his game up even more. He’s been racking up the points and some confidence.
The story of the night for many people was the AHL debut of Dmitri Orlov. I think all around, people were impressed. Troy Mann did a great job coaching Orlov. He was doing a great job of keeping up with his teammates and definitely didn’t look like he was new to the team. He even recorded his first AHL point tonight with a secondary assist on Pinizzotto’s power play goal. He was on ice for both of Hershey’s power play goals and none of Albany’s goals. He also finished the game with three shots on goal. I think it’s safe to say that Hershey fans are happy to add this Russian to the team.
The other story of the night is Joel Rechlicz. I said it on Twitter during the game but I need to repeat it: it’s absolutely mind-blowing how long Rechlicz can fight before he tires out. I’ve never seen a player consistently have fights that last over a minute all while throwing some great punches. Tonight, he was speared in the ribs by Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond (yes, him again) and they fought, of cour se. All while using only his left arm, Rechlicz took down Leblond and was even yelling at him for more. What a champ.
And that wraps up yet another exciting game against the Devils. Bears win 4-3. Goalie carousel be damned.
Bears Win High-Scoring Showdown Against Tigers
Boyd Kane leads the Hershey Bears to victory! Photos by Kyle Mace
If you were looking for goals, this was the game for you!
Two guys returned to the line-up tonight. The first was Braden Holtby, who held down the crease for the game. The second was Patrick McNeill, fresh off his call-up to Washington but returning without playing a game. He scored the first goal of the game just over one minute in. You think he wants to show the Caps what they’re missing?
Bridgeport briefly tied it up on the power play. Holtby tried to clear the puck up the middle but it was intercepted and he couldn’t recover in time. Thankfully, Steve Pinizzotto was there to give the Bears some breathing room. It was a strange goal. He was hit into the Bridgeport goalie but managed to backhand the puck in without even looking as he was falling. Money.
Soon it became 3-1 Bears as Joel Rechlicz (yes, Joel Rechlicz) scored his first goal of the season. Not only his first goal, but his first ever AHL goal and his first goal since his 2007-2008 IHL season (s/t to Tim Leone for that fact). Right after, Rechlicz dropped the gloves with Brett Gallant. It was a brilliant fight, both guys got in some huge punches and the fight lasted for at least a minute. That’s the kind of fight people will be talking about the next day. Before the end of the period, the Sound Tigers got one goal back.
Come second period, Pinizzotto got his second goal of the night on his own rebound. You give him that shot from between the face-off circles twice and he’s not going to miss twice. Mikko Koskinen was yanked in favor of Joel Martin, a smart move since Koskinen was looking shaky all night. The Sound Tigers responded with a goal (imagine that). But Boyd Kane scored a nice goal to cap off the period. Francois Bouchard had just gotten out of the penalty box when he took the puck right up to the goal. He had a shot but Martin stopped it and Kane got the second shot off.
In the third period, the Sound Tigers responded with another power play goal. But Kane was able to get his second goal of the game to make sure the Sound Tigers couldn’t come back and take over the game. Bears win 6-4.
It might have been a fun game for fans with all the offense, but it was not a good showing for the team. Holtby can be forgiven for knocking off some rust tonight but our defense really needs to step it up and help out our goalies. Maybe Dmitri Orlov will bring some help?
Bears Hold Off Bruins, DeMichiel gets 4-3 Win
First thing’s first: huge congratulations to Jared DeMichiel for earning his first AHL start and win tonight as the Bears battled the Providence Bruins! DeMichiel was fantastic, having to face a lot of shots early and then continuously seeing more shots than his opponent on the other side, Nolan Schaefer, did. By the end, DeMichiel stopped 28 of 31 shots!
But the Bears gave DeMichiel an early lead to work with. Boyd Kane, continuing his recent point streak, led the offensive attack and scored the first goal of the night. A couple of minutes later, Kyle Greentree reached the twenty goal mark and beat Schaefer.
A very scary moment came midway through the first period. At first it seemed harmless enough when Trevor Bruess and Antoine Roussel dropped the gloves. They both threw some punches and fell to the ice. And then Bruess did not get back up. Very quickly, trainer Dan Stuck ran to his side and the medical staff of the Providence arena came to help.
It was hard to tell what was hurt but Bruess did not move a lot. Eventually, they stabilized him on a stretcher and took him off the ice. The only good news was that Bruess did manage to give the crowd a little wave as they rolled him off. John Walton announced that the news is that Bruess has a “fairly significant lower body injury.” We wish all the best to Trevor and hope that he can be back on the ice soon.
Once the game started up again, the Bruins finally managed to get a puck past DeMichiel. Maxime Sauve was left all by himself right in front of the goal and he went low and cut Hershey’s lead in half.
During the second period, Kane regained the two-goal lead on his second goal of the night. The goal came from an absolutely perfect passing sequence from Keith Aucoin to Francois Bouchard to Kane. Just beautiful. The Bruins fought back to get the game within one goal again. I’m willing to bet no one had Brian McGrattan down as their guess for the goal scorer.
At the very end of the period, the Bears were on the penalty kill and Providence worked their way up ice for one last attempt for time ran out. In the neutral zone, the Bears fought for the puck and Aucoin got away with it with no Bruin to fight him. He sped down the ice and sniped it right past Schaefer to give the Bears a 4-2 lead.
There was only one scoring change in the third period when the Bruins scored on the power play. Things got interesting in the last two minutes when Providence pulled their goaltender and Greentree was whistled for a delay of game. Thankfully, the Bears and DeMichiel stopped any last shots and the Bears won 4-3!
Despite Early Lead, Bears Lose to Moose 5-4 (SO)
Kevin Connauton ends the shootout in the seventh round. Photo by Kyle Mace
It’s always an interesting game with the Manitoba Moose and the Hershey Bears meet.
Dmitry Kugryshev took control of the game early by blasting the puck past a moving goaltender. He sprawled to make the save, but Kugryshev was one step ahead of him. There was some pushing and shoving but the first period ended without scandal.
The second period held the majority of the action for this game. Kyle Greentree added a brief insurance goal after Hershey broke up a Manitoba play in their own zone and took off. The Moose briefly cut Hershey’s lead in half but Keith Aucoin got a shot in close on goaltender Eddie Lack to regain the two-goal lead.
After going through a scoring drought for most of December and January, Francois Bouchard seems to have his touch back. He had perfect placement to bang home a rebound less than a minute after Aucoin scored.
By the end of the period though, it was 4-3 Hershey when Manitoba fought back. They even scored with just 3.3 seconds left in the period to send the Bears to the locker room shaking their heads.
Things started getting chippy in the third period. Both Greentree and Andrew Gordon ended up on the wrong side of some hits in the corner. Each continued to play but they definitely looked rattled for a little bit. The Hershey crowd was already fuming after neither hit was penalized and it didn’t help that the Moose then tied it up after Aucoin was called for mouthing off to the referee.
The game went to overtime but the score didn’t change. It took seven rounds in the shoot out before either team could score. The coaches cycled through their players but the goalies stopped every one. That is until Kevin Connauton finally beat Todd Ford in the bottom of the seventh round. Moose win 5-4.
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.