Mathieu Perreault (left) was traded Sunday to the Anaheim Ducks. Perreault was a large part of Hershey’s 2008-09 and 2009-10 Calder Cup (Kyle Mace – Sweetest Hockey on Earth)
With the Washington Capitals needing to cut one more man off the opening night roster before tomorrow, they do so via trade. The Capitals have announced former Bear forward Mathieu Perreault has been traded to the Anaheim Ducks organization.
HERSHEY, PA – Chris Bourque scores in his return to Chocolate Town (Kyle Mace – Sweetest Hockey on Earth)
For the first time since the 2010 Calder Cup Playoffs, the Hershey Bears hosted a postseason game in the month of May. Saturday the Bears sought an unexpected three game series sweep over the AHL Regular Season Champion, Providence Bruins. Chris Bourque returned to Giant Center and claimed first star honors in a 5-1 rout over the Bears.
Screenshot via abc27 sports
Friday night in the Eastern Conference finals of the OHL playoffs, the London Knights and Plymouth Whalers faced off in a game that London would win and eliminate the Whalers. On that Whalers team was Washington Capitals prospect, Tom Wilson.
After the loss, Wilson and teammate Connor Carrick were informed they were going to Chocolate town USA to join the Bears in their run at Calder Cup number 12.
HERSHEY, PA – Jon DiSalvatore, seen here earlier in the season, scored the GWOTG during Hershey’s 5-4 victory over the Providence Bruins (Kyle Mace – Sweetest Hockey on Earth)
Game Two of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals is in the history books with another stunning Hershey Bears victory. With the hockey game tied at 4-4 after 60 minutes, Jon DiSalvatore played the role of hero for Hershey and heart breaker for Providence. DiSalvatore scored only 3:05 into extra time to give his club a surprising 2-0 series lead over the top seeded Providence Bruins.
In the best of five, first round series, the Chocolate and White are just one win away from advancing to the second round of the Calder Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2010.
The Hershey Bears entered Binghamton on Saturday with an opportunity to clinch playoff berth with a win and out of town help. The out of town assistance was provided, but the Bears fell short in a 4-2 decision against the B-Sens. Out of town, both the Norfolk Admirals and Connecticut Whale lost in regulation to open the door for Hershey.
An hour south of Binghamton, the Manchester Monarchs won their battle against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to clinch the Eastern Conference’s seventh playoff position.
There is currently a three-way tie in points for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Tied with 79 points each are the Connecticut Whale, Norfolk Admirals and Hershey Bears. The Whale rapped up their regular season with a 5-1 loss to the Portland Pirates. Both the Bears and Admirals have one game remaining and will finish the season Sunday.
With only one spot remaining and the regular season concluding Sunday evening, here are the playoff scenarios:
HERSHEY, PA- Philipp Grubauer, seen here earlier in the season, again earns first star honors against the Adirondack Phantoms in a 2-1 regulation win (Kyle Mace- Sweetest Hockey on Earth)
It’s the home stretch of the 2012-13 regular season and the Hershey Bears entered Friday on the outside looking into the playoff picture. With the Norfolk Admirals, Connecticut Whale and Manchester Monarchs also in action, a pair of out of town losses combined with a Bears win could up rise Hershey back into playoff potential.
With a Connecticut 3-2 loss later followed by a Norfolk 6-1 road defeat, a bright light of opportunity shined on Hershey to make a rising dash in the standings. Rather than melting under the pressure of a must-win game, NHL Trade Deadline addition Michael Latta scored a late-game third period goal to give the Bears a 2-1 win over the Adirondack Phantoms.
HERSHEY, PA – Former Bear Graham Mink, seen here playing against Hershey earlier in the season, score a goal during Providence’s win over the Chocolate and White (Tim Stough – Sweetest Hockey on Earth)
With the Hershey Bears locked in a tight battle for the playoffs, the Chocolate and White headed up the coast for a trio up big games. It started with a Friday night bout with the Providence Bruins, Hershey’s likely first round opponent — at least as things stand now.
It got off to an awful start for the Bears at “The Dunk.” The Bruins outshot the Bears 7-0 in the opening minutes, looking as if goaltender Philipp Grubauer was the only one who bothered to get on the bus to New England. The Bears, however, started to show some life in the latter half of the frame — helped in part to a pair of Bruins penalties — but no one was able to hit the back of the net.
HERSHEY, PA – Joel Rechlicz waves to the crowd after his second period fight in his return to the Hershey Bears during the Bears 2-1 loss to Syracuse (Tim Stough – Sweetest Hockey on Earth)
Saturday night the Hershey Bears re-matched the Syracuse Crunch at Giant Center in the final meeting of the campaign between the two sides. Opening night only rolls around once every hockey season when newer faces make their very first impression to the Hershey faithful. However in the first home game ensuing a busy trade deadline, this game had the feel of a second home opener with all the new faces.
Nate Schmidt, Michael Latta, and Dane Byers all made their Giant Center debut. Also returning to the lineup was the fan favorite enforcer, Joel Rechlicz. Rechlicz last played for Hershey last season totaling 267 penalty minutes and was not resigned during the off season. A player swap last week involving Matt Clackson and the Portland Pirates brings Rechlicz back to Hershey for his third season.
In the Bears’ second home opener of the season, it was a similar result to their first on October 20. Joey Crabb scored Hershey’s lone tally and fell to the Syracuse Crunch by a 2-1 count.