Patrick McNeill celebrates his first goal of the game (All photos by Kyle Mace)
After an interesting game last night against Adirondack, Hershey played another weird one tonight after Rochester would score three goals in the third period and send the game to overtime and then a shootout. But the result was the same, as Hershey wins 4-3 over the Americans (SO.)
Bourque celebrates his short-handed goal against the Phantoms. All photos by Kyle Mace.
It’s hard to follow a huge game like the Outdoor Classic, but with the same teams playing, it makes for an interesting rematch. Speaking of the Outdoor Classic, have you checked out Kyle’s recap and amazing photos?
Unlike last night, the Phantoms scored the first goal of the game. Andrew Rowe scored by banking a shot off of Danny Richmond. Not a whole lot Richmond or Dany Sabourin could have done.
The Bears tied it up late in the same period with a patented Chris Bourque short-handed goal. It was a big goal for his 20th of the season.
The front of the New Years Eve jerseys for this Saturday’s game (Photo by Kyle Mace)
The Hershey Bears have another special jersey night coming up and they are very…interesting. The New Years Eve jerseys this year include the words “Happy New Year” along with “2012” on the front showing the upcoming year. The Bear on the front also has a party hat on it’s head to give it that “I’m ready to party” look. The back has a clock with the time showing midnight. Both sides have balloons, streamers, and fireworks (what every New Years Eve party should have.)
Braden Holtby shut out the WBS Penguins. Photo by Anthony Fabrikant / AFC Media.
The Bears are great at having strong starts, but they usually struggle to get those strong starts when they play the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Tonight, they broke through.
It was defensemen who started the show. First, Matt Ford was stopped on a wraparound attempt but Tomas Kundratek stuffed home the rebound. A few minutes later, Julien Brouillette extended the lead when he scored on a screened Brad Thiessen.
To top off the first period, Patrick McNeill scored short-side during a power play to make it 3-0 after twenty minutes. Not only were all three goals from defensemen, but they were also the fifth goal of the season for each player.
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.
We close another chapter in the book of the rivalry. All photos by Kyle Mace.
Tonight was the sixth installment in the Hershey Bears/Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins story. The Bears had a chance to even the series up after going 2-3 before tonight.
The first period saw no goals, only some good chances. But as is typical with all Bears/Penguins games, there was plenty of the rough stuff going around. Patrick McNeill was the victim of a knee-on-knee hit from Nick Petersen. McNeill didn’t finish the first period but thankfully did return for the second.
Bodies flew as the Bears beat the Crunch. Photo by Jim Commentucci / The Post-Standard.
The Bears have had a tough time against the Syracuse Crunch so far this season. They seemed determined that tonight would not see the same fate.
It’s a strange concept to have Graham Mink on the third line but it paid off. Mink was able to muscle the puck away from the Crunch and pass to Matt Pope, who snapped it past Iiro Tarkki. That beautiful goal was Pope’s first as a Hershey Bear.
Later in the period, the Crunch managed to tie it up on the power play. Braden Holtby was screened by Patrick Maroon and possibly his own teammate. Maroon tipped the shot. But the Bears wouldn’t let that get them down! Moments afterwards, Chris Bourque had a breakaway. He was stopped by Tarkki but the Bears maintained possession and Tomas Kundratek scored his first goal as a Bear!
Lake Erie celebrates their 5-4 win over Hershey Saturday night (All photos by Kyle Mace)
How do you start a recap after a game like this? After 76 penalty minutes, 9 goals, many mini line brawls, and a goal that you could argue should not have counted, the Lake Erie Monsters came out on top, 5-4, over the Hershey Bears.
Tenacity and determination lifted the Bears past Providence. Photo by Kyle Mace.
With each game, the Bears’ losing streak gets more and more disheartening. Tonight was a chance to turn things around and play a full game against the Providence Bruins.
The Bears tend to have strong starts and tonight was no exception. Just 18 seconds after puck drop, the first line combined for the first goal of the night. Chris Bourque scored his tenth goal of the season from the right face-off circle past Anton Khudobin.
The Bruins tied it up halfway through the period. David Warsofsky beat Dany Sabourin, who appeared pretty frustrated with letting that one in. The Bears answered with a goal of their own. Brett Flemming scored with a quick goal off the face-off.
Chris Bourque looks on as the Bears drop another game. (All photos by Kyle Mace)
There was no media in Mark French’s post game press conference tonight. It was that kind of game. Hershey came out strong, but didn’t finish that way. The Bears and Sound Tigers were tied 2-2 heading into the third, but Braden Holtby let in two goals as Hershey went on to lose, 4-3.