Bears Remain Winless Against the Pens at Home

The Baby Pens celebrate one of many goals against the Bears tonight. Photo by Kyle Mace

For your average teams, a game with two teams who already have secured seeds in the playoffs would be just another game to get through.

Someone should tell the Bears and Penguins this, although I don’t think they’d hear you over the sound of their hatred for each other.

It didn’t take long for everyone to realize that this game would be just as physical as yesterday’s, if not moreso. Just about five minutes in, Ashton Rome had a big hit on Zach Sill. Sill had a few words for Rome and then they dropped the gloves. It was definitely dominated by Rome though, who brought the crowd to their feet after delivering some huge blows.

It didn’t take long for Patrick Wellar and Jesse Boulerice to follow suit and fight near center ice. Wellar had the advantage early but Boulerice got the takedown.

Despite several power plays, the Bears just could not find the back of the net. This is mostly the result of John Curry’s stunning saves. Just when it seemed like the period would end scoreless, the Penguins kicked it up a notch during the final minute of play. The Bears botched several attempts to clear the zone and all of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s offense got Braden Holtby moving. 1-0 Penguins.

The second period started off a little quieter but it only took thirty seconds for Hershey to be in a 3-0 hole. Brett Sterling was positioned right in front of Holtby and chipped the puck past Holtby. It was a good shot and there wasn’t much he could do about it.

The next goal stung a bit more. The Penguins were on a power play with Souray in the box. Holtby came out of his crease a little to make a save but the rebound came right out to Nick Petersen. Holtby was too far out and Petersen practically had an empty net.

With all the momentum on their side, the Penguins kept it going. Bryan Lerg fired a fast shot from the above the face-off circle that went right past Hershey.

In one period, the game went from about equal to domination by the Penguins. The Bears did a better job during the third period of holding the Penguins back.

It took 58 minutes for the Bears to finally break the shutout. Andrew Gordon was easily the best player on the ice for the Bears tonight. He was robbed on several occasions but he was eventually able to beat Curry.

Just 31 seconds later, Maxime Lacroix, who also had several good chances throughout the game, closed in on the net and cut the Penguins’ lead in half.

It was good to see these guys rewarded for their play in a game that some guys had mailed in. Unfortunately, it was too little too late as the Bears lost 4-2. They remain winless against the Penguins on home ice.

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Penguins Win 3-2 Nail-Biter with Overtime SHG

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Bryan Lerg scores in overtime to beat the Bears. Photo by Kyle Mace

What a game!

We already know that both teams will be going to playoffs this season. Despite the troubles that Hershey has had with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this year, it would be a fun series if these teams met up during the post-season.

After shutting out the Montreal Canadiens last night, Braden Holtby returned to Hershey and allowed a goal on the second shot of the game. The Penguins got the first lead of the night on the power play while Perreault was in the box for tripping. They only needed four seconds of the man advantage before they scored.

Hershey tied it up during the second period. They came rushing into the offensive zone and Brian Willsie passed to Mathieu Perreault. He got a shot off and John Curry stopped it but the rebound bounced back out to Francois Bouchard who didn’t miss.

Unfortunately, the Penguins regained their lead in the same period. Yet again, it was on the power play. This time it took them 37 seconds on the power play to score.

With their backs against the wall in the third period, the Bears had to kill off a penalty to Boyd Kane for elbowing with the final few minutes of the period dwindling. The Bears stood tall and interrupted the Penguins offense. There was a two-on-one but Wilkes-Barre broke that up. Perreault collected the puck and dished a perfect pass to Keith Aucoin, who was crashing the net: tie game thanks to a short-handed goal.

With the crowd roaring, this game would need overtime to end it. Steve Pinizzotto was whistled for tripping just 29 seconds in and fans held their breath. But they were excited again when Brett Sterling took a penalty of his own almost two minutes later.

Unfortunately, that wouldn’t slow down the Penguins. They scored short-handed to cement the win and their East Division Championship. Bears lose 3-2 (OT).

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Worcester holds off Hershey Comeback, Win 3-2


Dmitry Orlov’s first AHL goal isn’t enough to stop the Worcester Sharks.

And so the road trip rolls on…

Tonight, the Bears faced the Worcester Sharks. You may remember the last time these two teams met Brian Willsie almost fought Worcester goaltender, Alex Stalock.

Thankfully for Willsie, Stalock wasn’t playing tonight but that didn’t mean that this game would be any easier.

All was well at first. The Bears were putting some good shots on goal and even got the early lead. It was none other than Dmitry Orlov who gave the Bears the lead, scoring his first career AHL goal. It was a hard shot from the face-off circle that goaltender Tyson Sexsmith couldn’t handle. Orlov has been paired with Sheldon Souray for four games now. Between the pure skill, the physicality, and the hard shots, that pairing has to put some fear in the opposing teams. I definitely would not want to be facing down those guys.

However, the Sharks tied it up in the same period. The Sharks were attacking and the Bears couldn’t clear the zone. After a couple of quick shots, Nolan Schaefer tried his best but couldn’t stop the last shot and Worcester scored.

During the second period, the Bears badly outshot the Sharks 16 to 7. Unfortunately, it was the Sharks who came ahead though. The Sharks killed off a Hershey 5-on-3 power play and then scored in the minutes afterwards. It was a bit of a fluky goal as Brandon Mashinter flung the puck towards the goal and it tipped off Schaefer and into the net.

The third period saw the Bears on the wrong side of a 5-on-3. Boyd Kane and Ashton Rome were whistled for penalties and the Worcester didn’t miss the opportunity. With two Bears in the box, the Sharks scored. There was a glimmer of hope later on when Rome dished out a perfect pass to Maxime Lacroix who backhanded it past Sexsmith. It wouldn’t be enough to push the Bears to victory and they lose 3-2.

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Injured Bears Annihilated in Norfolk, 6-1

Shane Owen looks on as the Admirals pot their sixth goal of the night.

Well…yeah, that was bad.

It didn’t always look so bleak. Steve Pinizzotto put the Bears on the board first. Earlier he had been whistled a boarding call but he made up for it by scoring on his next shift. Unfortunately, the Admirals tied it up before the end of first twenty minutes. And that started the roll of unanswered goals by Norfolk.

The penalties began racking up in the second and third periods with the Bears on the wrong end of the calls. By the end of the second period, it was a 4-1 game in favor of Norfolk. It’s at this point that you really start thinking about all the injuries that are keeping Bears out of the game and wondering how many players might be playing through minor injuries.

Just to add insult to injury (literally), the Admirals came out fast for the final period and scored just 32 seconds in. That goal would mean the end of Jared DeMichiel’s game and Shane Owen was put in goal. Yes, the same Shane Owen that was signed this morning to a pro tryout contract. The intention was to just have him back-up DeMichiel tonight…but plans change. John Walton informs fans that Owen is not expected to be here long which means that either Braden Holtby or Semyon Varlamov is returning from injury soon.

In his clashing bright red pads, Owen stopped nine of ten shots through the remainder of the game. The only goal he let up came a little over halfway through the period. He lost sight of the puck and couldn’t dive across the crease in time. But, obviously, that’s not enough. Bears lose 6-1.

If anything, this game proves that the Bears need to talk a hard look at some goalies to possibly add before clear day. Granted, Holtby should be getting healthy soon, but what happens if we gets injured again? DeMichiel still has some developing to do and Todd Ford isn’t the kind of goalie you want to backstop you through playoffs.

But it’s probably best to deal with that when it comes.

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Bears Sweep Weekend With 5-1 Win vs. Phantoms


Dany Sabourin gets some well-deserved congratulations. Photo by Kyle Mace

It took a whole period for the Hershey Bears to wake up in their game against the Adirondack Phantoms. Maybe they were feeling a little lethargic on their third game in three days. On the other side, the Phantoms were looking even more tired due to all their traveling in the past few days.

The Bears made up for the goal-less first period. Francois Bouchard started the Bears off with a beautiful top shelf snipe against Michael Leighton. A few minutes later, Patrick Wellar scored on a shot from the blue line. Andrew Gordon topped off the period with a goal, the whole time fighting off a Phantom who was watching him closely.

Adirondack ended the shutout with a goal on the power play with Tyler Sloan was in the box for interference.

Thankfully, Sheldon Souray, playing his first game back from his most recent lower body injury, made up for it later. Phantom Stefan Legein absorbed the entire blow of Souray’s first bomb of a shot. As he struggled to get up, the puck returned to Souray and this time no one was willing to block it the second time and he found the back of the net. David de Kastrozza, playing only his second AHL game, got the primary assist and his very first AHL point!

Brian Willsie scored on the power play to make the final score 5-1 Hershey.

Dany Sabourin has taken a lot of criticism for his play this season. As such, I feel more than obligated to give credit where credit is due. Not only did he play three games in three days, not only did he win all three games, he played damn good. He even stopped a penalty shot late in the third period. Throughout the weekend, he stopped 78 of 83 shots. I think the decision to play him all three days is a show of support from the coaches. If anyone deserves a lot of rest tomorrow, it’s Sabourin.

These players deserve a lot of credit. Hopefully they will wrap up the homestand with a win against the Springfield Falcons on Wednesday.

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Bears Gain Penalty Minutes and Goals Against Devils


Dany Sabourin lays on the ice in pain after being run down by Louis Robitaille. Photo by Kyle Mace

If you were looking for excitement tonight, you better have been watching the Hershey Bears play the Albany Devils tonight.

The game started off innocently. Brian Willsie opened scoring on a funny goal that he jammed past the Albany goaltender, Mike McKenna.

Then Louis Robitaille jumped on the ice and the game was never the same.

In true Robitaille fashion, he caused drama just four minutes into the game. Dany Sabourin went to clear the puck next to the goal and Robitaille absolutely ran him down. There was no effort to slow down and Sabourin fell awkwardly on his leg. He took a while to get back up but did finish the game and played pretty damn well. Robitaille received a game misconduct (along with two major penalties) and never returned. After the game, Robitaille claimed that he was just coming around the forecheck and that he didn’t mean to hit him. I guess that’s his story and he’s sticking to it.

I’m awarding Robitaille’s dumb penalty as tonight’s game changer. During the subsequent power play, Steve Pinizzotto scored on the power play.

I won’t even begin to go into detail with all the goals tonight, but here’s the gist: Patrick Wellar and Brian Fahey added goals and the Devils were able to get one back before the end of first period.

In the second period, Francois Bouchard and Sean Collins scored, as well as Willsie getting his second goal of the night. McKenna was pulled and Dave Caruso took his unenviable spot.

The third period was better for the Devils, as they scored twice more. Suffice to say, it wasn’t enough, especially with Kyle Greentree adding a power play goal. Bears destroy Devils, 8-3.

To say this game was ugly would be the understatement of the century. With other 32 penalties and seven fights, there was not a dull moment in this game.

Even Keith Aucoin dropped the gloves with Matt Anderson. It was mostly a wrestling match but when Aucoin fights, you realize how insane this game really is.

So that’s that. I reckon tomorrow’s game against the Rochester Americans looks pretty calm at the moment. It’ll be hard to top tonight.

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Another Perfect Night for Bears Penalty Killers

The Bears came to tonight’s game looking to grab a couple more points from a struggling Adirondack team.  The Phantoms have recently been playing better than they had at the start of the season.  Before tonight they had not lost in regulation in the last six games.  Both teams played a tight game.  In the end the Bears were able to prevail and take two more standings points home with them.  Those were points that they ended up needing since Norfolk also won tonight.  The Bears are still trailing Norfolk by one point for third place in the Eastern Division; however the Bears have a game in hand.

Without many whistles, the first period moved along quickly.  The Bears had 3 power plays during the period.  Sloppy passing and stick handling caused them to squander the first two opportunities.  The third Bears power play of the period started out the same way.  The first unit was ineffective against the Phantoms penalty killers.  With time running short on the power play the second unit was sent out.  Dmitri Kugryshev was able to keep the puck in on the right boards then get a pass to Zach Miskovic near the center point.  Miskovic fired a shot through traffic that found the back of the net.  The period ended with 10 total shots on goal (Bears 8, Phantoms 2)

The second period started much like the first, but Brian Willsie quickly changed that.  After Phantoms turnover Steve Pinizzotto took the puck below the right faceoff circle and sent a pass to Willsie in the high slot.  Leighton never got over in time and Willsie was able to bury the shot in the back of the net.  Willsie later gave Patrick Wellar an assist.  Wellar took a deflected shot to the mouth late in the second period and immediately left the ice with blood evident.  Willsie skated over, found Wellar’s tooth and made sure the tooth made it back to its rightful owner.

The Bears took a couple penalties in the front half of the third period.  Unlike the first two periods, the Phantoms were able to get some quality chances on those power plays.  In the first two stanzas, I found myself forgetting that the Bears were actually killing a penalty.   Fortunately Danny Sabourin and the penalty killers were able to keep the Phantoms off the score sheet.  At 17:36 Keith Aucoin took a slashing minor to make the last couple minutes of the game a little more interesting.  With about 1:20 left, Michael Leighton was pulled to add an extra skater.  In the end it didn’t make a difference.  The Bears killed off the penalty, and Pinizzotto added an empty netter to finish off the game.

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Hershey Bears Edge Out Manitoba Moose, 4-3

Hershey started off incredibly strong. They absolutely punished the Manitoba Moose in the first two minutes alone. Brian Fahey got the first goal of the night 43 seconds into the game. His shot came from the blue line and may have deflected off a Moose player before entering the goal. A little over a minute later, Nikita Kashirsky recorded his second goal of the season. Two shots for Hershey, two goals for Hershey.

Manitoba then took a time out to regain their composure. They rebounded and were able to keep calm despite their early deficit. In the last minutes of the period, they got their first goal of the night. It kind of looked like Patrick Wellar screened Dany Sabourin on that shot.

During the second period, the Bears relaxed a little. They stopped firing shots at Manitoba goaltender Eddie Lack. As a result, Manchester kicked it up and tied the game. It was a good cross ice pass for Manitoba but Sabourin didn’t handle it well. Instead of using lateral movement to slide across the crease, he panicked and dove.

Hershey regained the lead before the end of the second period. Stop me if you’ve heard this before but Andrew Gordon scored on the power play with a shot right on the door step of the Manitoba goal. Shocking, I know.

During the third period, the first half was mostly uneventful. It didn’t get interesting until Manitoba tied it up again with a goal that beat Sabourin short side. I’m going to guess he wants that one back.

But have no fear! Andrew Gordon, power play player extraordinaire, is here to save the day! Once again, parking out in front of the net paid off. Lawrence Nycholat‘s shot from the blue line came towards the net and Gordon got his stick on it with less than thirty seconds left in the game. The Bears were able to stave off any last minute chances from the Moose and won 4-3 in exciting fashion.

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Hershey Shames Binghamton in 6-1 Victory


Joel Rechlicz is all smiles after fighting three Bingo Senators in one night. Photo by Kyle M.

Wow…what is there to say about this game?

Before the game, the Washington Capitals called up Keith Aucoin in time to play against the Montreal Canadiens. I admit that I was one of the ones worried about how Hershey would play tonight against the Binghamton Senators. Top line? We don’t need no stinkin’ top line! Hershey put together one of the best offensive efforts we’ve seen all season. Now if I were to actually go into detail about every Hershey goal, this recap would be five miles long.

Basically, Sean Collins started the game off on the right foot with his first goal of the season. Kyle Greentree then scored twice. Dmitri Kugryshev scored a goal and then had a sweet assist on Nikita Kashirsky’s goal (his first goal as a Bear). Zach Miskovic made sure the Senators didn’t escape the second period and scored with 13 seconds left in the period. Six goals, five different goal scorers, eleven different players with points. Good times had by all.

Oh yeah, and the Senators did manage to score once. Dany Sabourin was a bit out of position and they scored just seconds into a power play while Andrew Joudrey was in the box for interference.

The real story of the night? “The Wrecker,” Joel Rechlicz. I’m not sure how many minutes he played exactly (not many), but everyone will remember him tonight. He got a hat trick alright, a hat trick of fights.

Round 1: vs Francis Lessard. You may remember their last bout as the fight that gave Rechlicz the double black eyes. Lessard seemed hesitant to start throwing the punches and kept skating away when Rechlicz would close in on him. Rechlicz had a huge finish with a lot of rights straight to Lessard’s face. Decision: Rechlicz

Round 2: vs Cody Bass. I’m not completely sure this was a wise decision for Bass, who is much smaller than Rechlicz. He picked the fight though and when you ask, you shall receive the fists of fury. Decision: Rechlicz.

Round 3: vs Tim Spencer. This might have been the closest fight of the night. Another marathon fight with two strong guys. But another big finish pushed Rechlicz to the end. Decision: You guessed it, Rechlicz.

Rechlicz received a game misconduct (automatic after three majors). Lessard wanted a rematch and had to settle for fighting Patrick Wellar. However, that was over quickly and Wellar didn’t even have time to actually drop his gloves.

To sum up: Hershey blows Binghamton out of the water with a 6-1 win. The Bears are now 4-1 against the Senators and have outscored them 27 to 9. And Rechlicz now has three enemies on the Senators team. Good night.

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