Kyle Greentree celebrates his goal tonight with his teammates (All photos by Kyle Mace)
The Bears have gone 1-6 in their last seven games, which is not good. Not good at all. But the Bears got that first win in five games with a big win with a 3-0 shutout over the Binghamton Senators.
Braden Holtby looks back at one of Norfolk four goals from tonight’s game. (All photos by Kyle Mace)
Have you ever played the game Battleship? It felt like the Bears and Admirals were playing it tonight with both teams going back and forth all night long. But Norfolk was the winner of this game, hitting B1, 2, 3, and 4 and sinking S.S. Bears, 4-3.
Philadelphia, PA – Braden Holtby looks on as the Adirondack Phantoms celebate their OT win (Photo by Kyle Mace)
It was a night to remember, but also forget. With a goal scored by Chris Bourque early and one by Graham Mink late, the Bears looked like they were going to win the 2012 AHL Outdoor Classic. But that was not the case as Adirondack scored two late goals, including the game winning overtime one, as they went on to beat Hershey 4-3.
Your #4 Star of the night, Joel Rechlicz and Santa. All photos by Kyle Mace.
Tonight, against the Syracuse Crunch, the Bears hosted their social media promotion night, a nifty gimmick for those involved in the internet side of sports fandom. Luckily, the players gave us plenty to tweet about.
Known for their strong starts, the Bears were buzzing right away. Matt Ford continued his point streak when he scored on the first shot of the game. Unfortunately, a Syracuse 5-on-3 power play killed some of the momentum, especially when Patrick Maroon scored on Dany Sabourin. Sabourin made a great initial save but Maroon was there for the rebound. Tie game.
Danny Richmond (Photo by Kyle Mace)
After the meltdown formerly known as the Sunday game against Norfolk, my girlfriend (in a semi-kidding sort of way) said “We would have won if they’d have played Danny Richmond.” She kind of has a thing for him and has declared him to be her favorite. Don’t get me wrong. She’s no puck bunny. She has been studying the game in depth and is a big help when I am tweeting a game. She’s a true hockey lover. As we were on our way home, I started thinking about it more. Could there be something to this? Richmond has seen limited action this year. Including this past weekend, he has seen action in just 12 games. The limited playing time is at least in part due to the AHL’s “veteran rule”.
The rule as described by the AHL:
Francois Bouchard. Photo by Kyle Mace.
Okay… so let’s get the big news out of the way. Francois Bouchard was traded for Tomas Kundratek. [SHoE, PennLive, Bears, DFZ, PA Puck, C&W, hockeyfights.com]
The Old Barn Hockey Show [OBHS]
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.
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.
(Photo courtesy Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins Facebook Page)
Well, the Bears are off to a pretty good start! Six goals in two games, and each one has been scored by a different player. Did I mention they are now 2-0? The Bears beat their archrival, the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins by a score of 3-2 tonight, and it looks like this scoring won’t be stopping anytime soon.
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.