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.

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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!

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Bears Accomplish Rare Win against Penguins, 2-1

Andrew Kozek and his linemates shine in a game against the in-state rivals.

Looking at the standings, tonight’s game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins did not appear to hold a lot of value. Neither team would lose or gain anything in the rankings. However, for the Bears, this was a big game for them mentally. They don’t have a good record against the dreaded Penguins and a road win against them right before playoffs could go a long way.

Overall, the Bears had a fantastic first period effort against the Penguins. However, it seemed like the Penguins were giving them some help. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton took a couple of unnecessary penalties and seemed to be getting frustrated. The Bears didn’t score on any power plays but it did help to maintain control of the game.

Hershey did score an even-strength goal though thanks to Andrew Kozek. I could watch this goal all day. WBS’s Andrew Hutchinson was skating with the puck and not paying too much attention to Kozek. As soon as he lifted his stick, Kozek swiped the puck from under him and snapped the puck past Brad Thiessen.

But we’re not done talking about Kozek yet! During the second period, he scored his second goal of the night with another beauty. He pushed the puck through and danced past the defense. Ashton Rome helped to provide a slight screen and suddenly Hershey had a two goal lead.

The Penguins finally broke the shutout during a power play about halfway through the period. Mathieu Perreault was in the box for hooking. After a few failed attempts, Brett Sterling took a rebound and shot it past Braden Holtby. To give some credit to Holtby, it looked like there was a lot of action in front of him.

Some drama came late in the period when Dmitry Orlov hooked Brett Sterling and Sterling was awarded a penalty shot. Holtby successfully stopped it but then Keith Aucoin was given a ten minute misconduct, probably for arguing with the referee.

As expected, physicality dominated this game. Sheldon Souray and Ryan Craig were the first to drop the gloves. Souray stood his ground and delivered a huge punch to Craig, knocking him to the ice. It was over as fast as it started. Steve Pinizzotto decided to follow his example and took on Joey Mormina. Technically, it was listed as roughing but it was still pretty vicious. Pinizzotto took down a bloodied Mormina, but he received an extra roughing penalty for starting the incident.

But those two incidents would pale in comparison to the third period drama. Pinizzotto fell to the ice after a run in with Keven Veilleux. Veilleux paused long enough to recognize that Pinizzotto was flat on the ice and still pulled back and took a full swing at Pinner. Holtby, who was the closest to the play, bolted out of his crease to come to Pinizzotto’s defense.

Veilleux received a match penalty for slashing. I’m a little confused as to why it was a slashing call but nevertheless, the match penalty part works for me. John Walton said that a match penalty carries an automatic one game suspension so Veilleux will not play tomorrow against the Bears in Hershey. I’m hopeful we’ll see some more supplementary discipline for that absolutely classless move by Veilleux. Pinizzotto appeared to be okay as he skated during the ensuing power play.

There wouldn’t be any more scoring and not too much excitement after that incident. The Bears hang on and win 2-1!

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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.

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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.

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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).

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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.

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Healthy Hershey Line-up Loses 2-1 to Adirondack

As the regular season dwindles down, the Hershey Bears traveled up North to play the Adirondack Phantoms for the final time this season.

All in all, it was quiet start to the game. Both goalies faced about the same amount of shots and both teams had good scoring chances. The Phantoms had two power plays but the Bears held them back. Unfortunately, Adirondack had the lead after one period. A pass came to Ben Holmstrom from behind the net and Nolan Schaefer couldn’t stop it in time.

Andrew Carroll did his part to get the team going by dropping the gloves with Marc-Andre Bourdon during the second period. For relatively smaller guys, this was a pretty nice fight. Good punches from both guys. I give the win to Bourdon though because he had the final say.

And that was all that happened during the second period. The Bears killed off an early third period penalty but that didn’t stop Adirondack. A puck was deflected in front of Schaefer and suddenly the Phantoms were up 2-0. It wasn’t until just about the halfway point that the Bears finally broke the shutout! Brian Willsie scored and tied his career best in goals. Coincidentally, the last time he scored 29 goals in one season was back in 2002-2003 when he was the Bears.

Even with Willsie making it a close game again, it wasn’t enough. Bears lose 2-1.

Ironically enough, this was the healthiest line-up the Bears have dressed in a long time. Looking at the lines and pairings below, you would think this team wouldn’t have any problem finding the back of the net. In fact, the scratches for this game (healthy or not), have accounted for only 26 of the 230 goals Hershey has scored this season.

Nevertheless, the Bears’ offense didn’t play a full game tonight and the score shows it. The good news is that there are two more games this weekend for them to make up for it.

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