Bears Send Amerks Packing After 5-1 Victory


The Bears celebrate one of many goals against the Rochester Americans. Photo by Kyle Mace

Sometimes after a blow-out victory, like the game last night against the Albany Devils, it’s easy to sit back and relax during the next game. But it’s games like the one tonight against the Rochester Americans where you will look back and regret not getting those two points if you relax too much.

I think Steve Pinizzotto took it a little too seriously when someone told him to start the game strong. Right off the opening face-off, he dropped the gloves with Michael Duco. It was over pretty quickly but I’d say Pinizzotto came out on top.

The Bears also started strong by scoring the game’s first goal. Patrick McNeill had a nice goal during a 5-on-3 where he came in and sniped the rebound shot. It was his first goal of the season and a well-deserved one. Keith Aucoin would add to the scoring sheet after he snuck in back door while Andrew Gordon had the puck.

Rochester’s only goal of the night game came during the second period. They beat Dany Sabourin on the power play to cut Hershey’s lead in half. Speaking of Sabourin, he had another great night. He stopped 25 of 26 shots and those were big shots. It’s a great thing to see him getting comfortable and winning two in a row in front of the Hershey faithful.

Thankfully, the third period was all Hershey in terms of scoring. Gordon got Hershey’s third goal with a perfect deflection past Tyler Plante. Brian Willsie tacked on another goal during the power play that got Plante moving. Finally, Ashton Rome added even more goal insurance by cashing in on another juicy rebound.

The top two lines were fantastic tonight and Hershey defeated the Amerks 5-1.The homestand continues tomorrow night when the Adirondack Phantoms come to town.

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Hershey can’t complete the comeback, lose 3-2


Several players examine their shiny, new rings.

How does that saying go? If you don’t have anything nice to say…

It wasn’t the way Hershey intended for the game to go. I guess it’s only fitting that Rochester ruined Hershey’s home opener after Hershey ruined theirs. Perhaps inspired by the memories of last season, the Bears played with energy and came out strong…for the first five minutes. Then they seemed to lose all of their passion and energy until the last five minutes. Alright, let’s try and look at the positives:

Brian Willsie had a good night. He scored the first goal of the night and got an assist on Andrew Gordon’s goal. Outside the score sheet, he was pulling some fancy moves around the Rochester defense. It’s hard to really analyze how Dany Sabourin did in his first game as a Hershey Bear. He only faced 15 shots and stopped 12 of them. However, it’s hard to fault him when he was screened the entire night. Hershey’s defenders need to be better about clearing the goal crease.

Hershey put together another fantastic ceremony to celebrate the organization’s 11th Calder Cup Championship. Personally, I loved the video they played before introducing the 2010-2011 team. The video panned around a virtual Giant Center filled with players and moments from the past season.

One by one, the players were announced and the members of last year’s team received their rings. They all huddled together, studying every facet of their new bling.

The big news of the night involved Hershey legend, Mitch Lamoureux, who is going to be inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame. The announcement warranted a standing ovation from the jam-packed Giant Center. Congratulations to Mitch!

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Hershey Gets First Win Against Amerks 4-3.


Rochester and Hershey rock the throwback jerseys.

When the teams were tied at 3 in the third period, Hershey may have been having flashbacks to the previous night. Thankfully, they seemed set on not allowing the same outcome. Keith Aucoin continues to outdo himself. After a goal and an assist last night, he gets TWO goals and assist tonight. His second goal was a shorthanded goal after he perfectly read a Rochester play and intercepted it for a 1-on-none breakaway.

Brian Fahey would step up to tie the game halfway through the third period. It was a big goal that gave Hershey the momentum and energy for the rest of the game. Andrew Gordon found the back of the net on a rebound after a Kyle Greentree breakaway. Thanks to him, Hershey will be getting on the bus with two more points tonight.

The game was officiated a little differently today. Usually, the AHL only plays with two linesmen and one referee. However, this season there will be a handful of games used to begin phasing in the two referee system. Tonight, both Jamie Koharski and Ghislain Hebert were wearing the orange arm bands. There was no shortage of penalties awarded during tonight’s game, perhaps because of having double the refs. Not to say that this game wasn’t physical, but players were getting called for just about every touch. A grand total of 18 penalties were called, 9 for Hershey and 9 for Rochester.

With how many penalties were doled out today, Hershey didn’t cash in when they had the man advantage. The powerplay crew seemed to be lacking in chemistry a little. It’s not anything to worry about yet, but could use some attention. They have some adjusting to do after losing Alexandre Giroux and Chris Bourque, HUGE parts of last season’s powerplay. Maybe the powerplay #NeedsMoreSheldonSouray?

The players will get some rest for the next few days before they travel to Binghamton to play the Senators on Friday. They play their first home game on Saturday and, if you haven’t already, I suggest you secure yourself some tickets ASAP.

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