Depleted Penguins defeat Injured Bears, 4-1

Nolan Schaefer had a rough night against the Penguins. Photo by Kyle Mace

It’s that time again: the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins came to town. While this game did not go the way we wanted it to go, it’s easy to imagine how fun a game would be with both teams at full strength.

I’ll admit that I began fearing the worst after the Penguins scored early in the first period. It took a little while for either team to get their first shot on goal, but the Penguins made their first shots efficient. They were able to get in Nolan Schaefer‘s face and covert a rebound shot.

Thankfully, the Bears were able to prevent a further deficit but they still never really got their offense going until very late in the first period. The Bears didn’t even register their first shot on goal until they had a power play halfway through the period.

The game finally started getting exciting during the second period. The Bears tied it up on the power play when Boyd Kane deflected a Brian Fahey shot. Immediately afterwards, the Bears were whistled for two penalties close together and had to kill off a 5-on-3 for almost a full two minutes. Led by Kane, Andrew Joudrey, and Sean Collins, the penalty kill unit did a fine job keeping it a tie game.

But Wilkes-Barre wouldn’t let Hershey take over and they regained the lead a few minutes later. Once again, they got in close to Schaefer and Geoff Walker scored on a nice assist from his teammate behind the net.

Even though they were behind, Hershey was definitely still in it. And they cranked it up for the third period. In the first half especially, they were getting some good shots off in attempts to tie it up.

Sadly, the game got away from them. Schaefer was screened and Joey Mormina scored to give the Penguins the insurance they need to control the game again. The Bears pulled the goalie for the final minute and a half but were unable to convert. To make things worse, the Penguins scored on the empty net. The Bears need to manage more than 16 shots on goal if they want to defeat these stronger teams. Bears lose 4-1.

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Bears Pounded 7-1 by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins


Photo by AFC Media Photography.

It’s easy to make excuses when two very depleted teams meet up. Both the Hershey Bears and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins entered this game with a line-up missing some big names. Due to call-ups and injuries, they were very different teams than the ones that met earlier this season.

The Penguins were the better tonight, plain and simple. I don’t mean to downplay Hershey’s effort because the score is misleading. They may not have been outstanding, but they put up a good effort at first. The Penguins defense was fantastic and did not allow the Bears any opportunity to ease the pain of being severely outscored.

Tonight’s game will serve as a very brief learning experience. But, it’s probably in the team’s best interests to put it behind them and carry on. This game does not change anything about the season. It could admittedly have been a significant two points gained on the Penguins in the standings but there will be more chances. The injury bug is just not something you can prepare for.

I could recap every single goal but it would start getting a little too depressing. For Todd Ford, it was a night he hopes to forget. He allowed four goals on nine shots before he was yanked in favor of Jared DeMichiel.

It wasn’t completely a dark night though. In the third period, Brian Willsie finally broke Brad Thiessen’s shutout on a rebound shot. But that wouldn’t even be close to enough to provide a comeback. Penguins win 7-1.

And so, we power through. The Norfolk Admirals are up next on the schedule and provide another chance to show that Hershey is more than what they put up today.

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Bears Finally Defeat Penguins with 1-0 Shutout Win

The Bears were looking for their first win against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and boy, did they get a big one.

When this game started, I’m sure everyone involved was anticipating an exciting, action-packed game. After all, the game was being played at Consol Energy Center, where the Pittsburgh Penguins normally play.They sort of got that. I’ll be honest, I thought the first two periods were kind of boring. There were a couple big hits made and both goalies made some stellar saves. But, overall, it didn’t have all the goals and excitement that people expected to see from these rivals.

The first truly exciting moment came when the Bears were on the power play at the very end of the second period. The puck was shot towards the net and it was deflected past Brad Thiessen. The goal was awarded to Keith Aucoin (who was playing his first game since being sent down from Washington), but it looked like a Penguin may have deflected into his own goal.

The third period was when things started heating up. The Bears had to protect a one-goal lead and the Penguins were running on all cylinders and making some amazing offensive plays. There were many close calls in the third period that had all the Hershey fans holding their breath. The Penguins, desperate to not get shut out on such a large stage, were dangerous. But Hershey stepped up to the challenge, even managing to kill of a few poorly timed penalties.

Braden Holtby was the number one star of the game, stopping all 25 shots that he saw. He was able to make clutch saves and shut out the hated rivals in front of the 13,567 fans inside the Consol Energy Center.The Bears set a nice standard for the Capitals to follow when they step out onto Heinz Field on January 1st. Go get ’em.

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Power play can’t save Bears from 4-3 Penguins win


Semyon Varlamov lets in a Penguins goal. Photo by Kyle M.

You know, considering the injury bug has attacked this team, this game was not that bad.

Actually, it was pretty bad for Semyon Varlamov. For a guy who carried his NHL team through two postseasons, you expect him to do better than stopping 19 of 23 shots. Period.

Andrew Gordon had a good night, scoring two of Hershey’s three goals. Lawrence Nycholat recorded the other tally, Hershey’s first goal of the night. Despite Gordon’s late goal, the Bears couldn’t overcome Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s lead and the Penguins won the game 4-3.

The crowd was full of energy and in playoff form. Games against the Penguins always bring out of the emotions. A perfect example of the emotions came after Mathieu Perreault was jumped in the corner by Chris Collins, who only got a interference penalty (see the pictures below). Thankfully, he was alright and didn’t miss a shift.

Hershey is 0-for-2 so far this weekend. Let’s hope tomorrow salvages this stretch.

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Hershey falls short, lose 3-2 to Penguins


Joe Vitale scores one of his two goals on Dany Sabourin as the Baby Pens win 3-2 over the Bears. (Photo credit: AFC Media)

I mean, at least we didn’t get shut out!

It would be easy to pin the Bears loss tonight on WBS Penguins goalie Brad Thiessen who finished the game with 30 scintillating saves. However, he ended up being only the third star of the game.

Hershey just didn’t seem to have any chemistry tonight. There were a handful of inspired moments from individual players, but nothing that really made you think this team is full of Calder Cup champions. It definitely did not help that the Bears were missing Jay Beagle and Mathieu Perreault. They were mysteriously absent from the line-up. With the recent influx of injuries in Washington, it definitely had people talking. After the game, Tim Leone reported that Mark French has confirmed they have been recalled.

After this kind of loss, you would probably think that the shots were heavily favored towards the Penguins, right? So wrong. Hershey outshot them the entire night. And the final shot count? Hershey 32, Penguins 15. Ouch.

We now must take a long, leery look at Dany Sabourin, who in two games, has only a .806 save percentage. That’s not the number you want to see from a veteran goaltender. He definitely can not be faulted for all the goals against over the past two games, but he can definitely be better. I can’t help but wonder if personal things are affecting him, especially after he missed practice in Washington and in Hershey because of “family matters.” I just know that he can play better than he has been.

Now, It’s okay to be frustrated, Hershey fans. But let’s not panic yet.

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Bears Start the Season With One Point After Losing 3-4 in the Shootout


Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins celebrate getting a goal past Braden Holtby. Photo by Kyle Mace

The first game of the season results in the first shootout of the season. It probably wasn’t the way Hershey wanted to start the season, but one point is better than none. Braden Holtby, while still making some terrific saves, has some tape he will be reviewing tonight on the bus.

The first period was a crazy one. Both teams exchanged two goals each in first ten minutes. The first goal of the game came from Kyle Greentree, who scored 15 seconds into the first powerplay of the night. After allowing two goals from the Penguins, Steve Pinizzotto tied it at 2 for the final goal of the period. The Bears wouldn’t post another goal until Keith Aucoin scored to tie the game 3-3 only 48 seconds into the third period. It would be enough to merit Hershey a point, but it wouldn’t be enough to claim the game. The Penguins came out victorious after the dreaded shootout.

Thanks to Wilkes-Barre’s season opener ceremony, overtime, and the shootout, the game went a little late tonight. Hopefully the boys will still be able to get a good night’s rest as they take on Rochester Americans tomorrow at 5 pm.

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