Simon Despres celebrates his game winning OT goal (All Photos by Kyle Mace. Click to enlarge.)
The fourth installment of the the 12 part I-81 rivalry for the 2011-12 season was in Chocolate town Friday. The Bears were looking to tie up the season series at two apiece. But for the Chocolate and White, that didn’t happen. Going back and forth all night long, Hershey got the early edge, but they couldn’t hold on and lose 5-4 in overtime.
Photo by AFCMedia Photography.
It was the battle of the in-state rivals’ third jerseys tonight. The Bears wore their white skating bear sweaters while the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins wore dark jerseys with more tan than their usual uniforms. But it was more than a story about fashion.
Just 33 seconds in, Patrick Wellar laid out a nice check at the blue line. It was a clean hit but, as often happens in hockey these days, he was immediately jumped. He and Ryan Schnell exchanged some rough stuff but the Bears ended up with a power play.
Unfortunately, the Penguins killed off the penalty and then took the first lead of the game. An innocent pass by Wilkes-Barre in front of Dany Sabourin became a goal when the puck bounced off of an unlucky Patrick McNeill. Before the end of the period, the Penguins scored again on a stuff attempt.
Chris Bourque and Cody Eakin model their Halloween costumes this year.
It’s that time of year again – the time when people are expected to wear a costume and take part in general tomfoolery. When else do you get to see Cody Eakin as Ron Weasley and Chris Bourque as Justin Bieber?
Thanks to the magic of Twitter, we were able to get a look a few of the Hershey Bears’ costumes this Halloween. Hockey players – so like us. After the jump, check out a few other costumes from the Hershey boys.
We wish our readers and a safe and happy Halloween! If you have any hockey-related costumes or pumpkin carvings, leave a comment and let us know!
Dmitry Orlov celebrates with Keith Aucoin. Photo by Kyle Mace
If you missed my story on Hockey Fights Cancer, now is your chance to go read it.
Tim Leone on Dmitry Orlov’s first full season with the Bears. [PennLive]
The Old Barn Hockey Show is back with a new show for the week. [OBHS]
The Bears make news in Fort Wayne, IN. [Journal Gazette]
AHL Hall of Famer and former Bears Willie Marshal is spending his days reading and writing poetry. [LDN]
Patrick McNeill (aka PMac) talks about what he has accomplished so far and some of his favorite things. [LDN]
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.
Photo by Kathryn Hedrick. While there hasn't been official word as of this writing, reports are that the Capitals have signed Patrick McNeill to a 2 year deal. [PennLive, HBHB] Hockey Diaries followed Braden Holtby this past season. In this…
The Hershey Bears in conjunction with the Washington Capitals announced yesterday that defenseman Zach Miskovic has been signed to a one year contract. Here's the official announcement: 05/18/2011 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 18, 2011 CONTACT: John Walton-HERSHEY BEARS –…
Photo by Kyle Mace And with that, the season is over. Not much to say that hasn't already been said. After today, Chocolate Fix will focus on Bears that were called up to Washington as well as prospects coming up…
Brian Willsie celebrates his game-winning goal against the Checkers. Photo by Kyle Mace
There’s not much to say about tonight’s game. Everyone involved knew that it was a big one. It would have been scary going down to Charlotte down two games. But thankfully it didn’t go that way.
The Bears spent the entire first period playing sloppy hockey leading to tons of incomplete passes. Perhaps trying to keep up Charlotte’s speed, the players seemed to be constantly rushing with the puck instead of slowing down and making plays. The Bears’ power play failed to impress tonight, especially during the first period. They had trouble keeping the puck in the zone and couldn’t muster many shots on goal until later in the game.
But sometimes even sloppy hockey pays off. A little over halfway through the period, the Bears collapsed on Justin Pogge and Patrick McNeill scored.
When they came out for the second period, the team seemed calmer and maybe a touch more confident. Dmitry Orlov made a great play to keep the puck in the zone and passed to Andrew Kozek who extended the Bears’ lead with a shot from between the face-off dots.
The Checkers answered quickly though and scored less than a minute later. The Checkers gained a bit of momentum from this goal and the Bears had to adjust quickly. Thankfully, Brian Willsie was there to give some insurance. After a sliding Checker blocked the inital shot, he took a second whack at it and scored. It would end up being the game-winning goal.
The Checkers were able to make it a one goal difference later on the power play. A bear was in the box for yet another Charlotte power play. Zac Dalpe scored his second goal of the night on a shot that I don’t think Braden Holtby saw. He was definitely screened, possible by his own teammate.
The Bears had a big penalty kill a few minutes later while Boyd Kane was in the box for slashing. The penalty kill unit got control of the puck and moved back towards Pogge. The players seemed a bit tired, passing to each other but it finally ended up on Sheldon Souray‘s stick. Souray wound up and unleashed that signature shot that flew past Pogge and into the net
The third period saw no score change but there were some close calls. Things got a little scary with a minute left in the game. Pogge was on the bench and Charlotte had their last chance at making a comeback. Two Checkers jabbed at the puck and Holtby couldn’t stop them. The goal was waved off though because of two matching penalties that were assessed to Souray and Dalpe.
After successfully stopping any final attempts by the Checkers, the Bears won 4-2 and tied the series at one game each. Now the battle moves south to North Carolina.
Keith Aucoin gets his AHL Second Team All-Star Award
Before the final regular season game of each season, the Hershey Bears hold their annual award ceremony. I was lucky enough to be on the ice to get these photos.