Photo via the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Facebook page
The Hershey Bears traveled up I-81 for the final time during the regular season for round 12 against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Looking for their eighth victory of the season over the Pens, a span of four unanswered goals against deflated Hershey, 4-3.
Reading, PA – Philipp Grubauer makes a save during Reading’s 11th straight win (Steve Rusyn – Inside Hockey)
While the Hershey Bears had a much needed night off on Black Friday, the Reading Royals looked to extend their franchise record in consecutive wins to eleven. They had no easy task, as they battled the Greenville Road Warriors. Entering Friday, the Warriors have earned 15 of their last 20 standings points. Many former Bears had some impact on the game, including Stanislav Galiev, who recorded his first point in the East Coast Hockey League during Reading’s 5-2 win over Greenville.
Photo by Kyle Mace. Sorry that I missed last week. There was a lot going on and I couldn't get to this, but fear not. Chocolate Fix is back this week in time for the first home playoff game. Things…
Mark French argues with the officials. All photos by Kyle Mace.
Down one game, the Bears had a chance to tie up the series before returning home.
…unfortunately it didn’t go quite as planned. I won’t upset you with the details, but the Bears left the first period down four goals. Between deflections, rebounds, and just plain getting out-worked, the Penguins owned Dany Sabourin and the first period and set the tone for the rest of the game.
Dany Sabourin sees a shot enter his net. All photos by Kyle Mace.
The quest for the 12th Calder Cup began tonight. Even though the Bears are viewed as the underdogs in the series, we know that they’re not going down without a fight (literally and figuratively).
It wasn’t a strong start for the Bears. After twenty minutes, they only had three shots on goal and were down one goal. It could’ve been worse, however. Dany Sabourin was back and doing his best to keep his team in it. The Penguin goal came from Colin McDonald just ten seconds into their first power play of the night.
The penultimate game of the regular season: Hershey Bears on the road versus Manchester Monarchs.
There were four goals to talk about during the first period; unfortunately only one of them belonged to the Bears. Richard Clune started off the night by deflecting the puck off of his foot. Ryan Potulny tied it up with yet another power play goal from him. He’s pretty good at those. But Monarchs scored two more times on Daren Machesney. A shorthanded goal and a five-hole goal made it 3-1 Monarchs after twenty minutes.
Tomas Kundratek scored twice against the Devils tonight. All Photos by Kyle Mace.
Another holiday, another specialty jersey design. Donning white and green St. Patrick’s Day jerseys, the Bears took to the ice for the first of back-to-back games against the Albany Devils.
For the second night in a row, Tomas Kundratek potted the first goal of the night. His shot may have taken a bounce as it eluded Albany goaltender, Keith Kinkaid. It was the only goal of the period.
After being on the wrong end of a 6-1 thrashing last night, the Bears had a second chance to show their stuff against the St. John’s IceCaps.
The Bears weren’t able to get into a groove in the first period as both teams were in and out of the penalty boxes. But Ryan Potulny gave the Bears their first ever lead against the IceCaps with a power play goal a few minutes into the second period.
Yesterday’s AHL Clear Day deadline has come and gone. From now til the end of the season, these will be the players in the Bears lineup. Exceptions of course for call-ups and injuries. Take a look at who made the list after the jump.
Photo by Kyle Mace
Today is the day we find out who will be on the roster for the remainder of the season. For those of you unfamiliar with AHL Clear Day, here is the explanation directly from the AHL.
Only those players listed on a team’s Clear Day roster are eligible to compete in the remainder of the AHL regular season and in the 2012 Calder Cup Playoffs, unless emergency conditions arise as a result of recall, injury or suspension.
Teams may also add signed junior players or players on amateur tryout contracts after Clear Day, but only once their respective junior or college seasons are complete.
Those listed in the 22 available spots are the ones that will be able to play. If there is an injury or one of the players on the roster is called up to Washington, that spot will be filled in by a non-roster player. Those players are traditionally called the “Black Aces”. They stay in Hershey and practice with the team.
So who makes the cut?