Sabourin’s Blunder Ends Hershey Comeback, 3-2


Dany Sabourin makes a save on Mike Zigomanis but costs Bears the game. Photo by Kyle M.

Wellar vs Rosehill (Photo by Kyle M.)

If you’re familiar with the Toronto Marlies, then you’ll certainly find it as no surprise that this was an aggressive game. The only consistent thing about the game was Hershey never losing control of the physical part of the game. Patrick Wellar took on Jay Rosehill for the fight of the night and it was a good one. Hard to pick a winner because all I saw were a ton of punches landing for both guys. They both walked away a little bruised and bloody.

Hershey saw a new player tonight, Phil Oreskovic, who was signed to a professional tryout yesterday. It was the perfect game to pick for his debut as he was playing against his former club. Oreskovic played for the Marlies for the past four seasons. He knew what to expect and came out delivering the big hits.

It took about two and a half periods for Hershey to finally get that first goal. Steve Pinizzotto had a great assist on Boyd Kane‘s tip-in that broke Toronto’s shutout. Just about a minute later, Kyle Greentree scored on the power play and suddenly Hershey had all the momentum in the world.

Well, that is until that fateful giveaway by Dany Sabourin. It’s a play that I think he’ll be replaying in his head over and over. He skated behind the goal to get the puck and then passed to the side where a Marlie awaited. I’m sure the coaches played Sabourin tonight to show confidence in him after a great showing in Charlotte. However, that move didn’t really work. I know that fans will be ripping him apart and they have ample reason to. Tonight was not his best showing, but it was also not his worst either. However, that giveaway was probably the worst moment of his trying season so far. The highlight of the night came after he made a sprawling glove on a shorthanded try by Mike Zigomanis. Check out Kyle M’s amazing photo of it below!

The power play seems to miss Keith Aucoin…a lot. The Bears had two 5-on-3 power plays during the game and could not convert on either. They even allowed a handful of shorthanded tries. That’s not to say that Hershey wasn’t playing well. There were a lot of dazzling offensive sequences but nothing was finding the back of the net. The biggest reason for this is the Marlies goaltender, Jussi Rynnäs. The young goalie was fantastic and I think it was sheer exhaustion from the Marlies that turned the game in Hershey’s favor.

Two weeks ago, Captain Andrew Joudrey touched on the importance of having a great first period. As much fun as those come-from-behind victories are, it’s also fun to see a 60 minute effort.

Read More

Checkers twist up Bears, 4-2


Bryan Rodney and Boyd Kane take a ceremonial face-off before the first game between these two clubs. Photo by Checkers SmugMug

The Hershey Bears played their very first game against the Charlotte Checkers, a new team this year after the Albany River Rats were relocated. For the Bears, it was a game to forget.

Dany Sabourin continues to be a main focus of the season but not for good reasons. He had one good showing in Syracuse but has put up very mediocre numbers otherwise. He is a talented goaltender but he has not been himself this season. It’s not much of a stretch to wonder if he will be released from his contract if he can’t get back on track. I think you can see that his team is having difficulty being confident in Sabourin. He made some stellar saves in the third period after puttin up abysmal numbers during the second period. I brought up this discussion on Twitter and would like to hear some more answers: Would you rather have Sabourin or Daren Machesney?

Keith Aucoin played tonight after hurting his knee in the game against Manchester. He played for about half the game until he fell on his knee again. He stayed on the bench at first but then took that fateful walk down the tunnel and never returned. Unfortunately, this means the end of his point streak, which had reached ten games. Get well soon!

The power play was able to click late in the game to save Hershey from complete embarrassment. Both goals went to Kyle Greentree, his fourth and fifth goals of the season. Brian Fahey had a pretty good night, with primary assists on both goals. He also had some excellent plays to help out Sabourin.

Marcus Johansson had a pretty quiet night. No points or penalties and only two shots on goals. Hershey probably could have used him to step up with the absence of Aucoin.

And so Hershey loses the first ever meeting between these two teams with a score of 4-2. Rematch is set for Tuesday night.

Read More

Halloween Beatdown: Bears Maul Monarchs 7-3


Jay Beagle defeats a Monarch after Hershey defeats Manchester.

Hershey had something to prove tonight. They needed to show that they could bounce back from even the most embarassing losses. I’d say they did a pretty good job.

Just one night after pulling their own goalie, Hershey forced Manchester to do the same. Jeff Zatkoff saw 5 shots in about 15 minutes of play. 4 of those shots became Hershey goals. Brian Willsie got the first goal of the night, as he often has this season. Thus began the back-and-forth action. Manchester tied it up only to have Hershey regain the lead on a goal from Zach Miskovic. It was his second goal in two games. Manchester tied it up again on a power play goal. Just over a minute later, Keith Aucoin had a great breakaway pass from Andrew Gordon and was able to get it past Zatkoff. Mathieu Perreault, back from his stint in Washington, added an insurance goal on a mini-breakaway.

And that was all just in the first period. “It was key for us to get a good start,” Andrew Joudrey said after the game. “It was a good response.”

The second period saw no scoring change, but Manchester went from having no minor penalties to having four. They were getting frustrated and it was obvious. Jones was pretty strong in goal despite not starting the game.

During the third period, Aucoin was taken down in the corner. He definitely seemed to be in some pain, but was able to skate himself to the bench. He stayed on the bench and returned to the ice after the Bears went on a 5-on-3. Gordon deflected a Lawrence Nycholat shot to add to the score but Manchester retaliated about 30 seconds later with a goal of their own.

Todd Ford saw his first full game of the season. He’s strong on the down low shots but could use a little more work up high. He stopped 27 of 30 shots. Coach French had a lot of praise for him. “He made big saves when we needed him to,” French said. Despite a decent outing, I think Hershey is really hurting for Braden Holtby to return. Having a goalie with confidence could go a long way.

When the final horn sounded, the players were far from done. Five penalties were doled out after the game had ended, including roughing minors to Jay Beagle and Richard Clune for their roles in a pretty bitter scrap.

With the 7-3 victory, I’m sure Hershey restored some their self-esteem that was bruised from the previous night. And they’ve got a week-long break to heal up until their next game Sunday.

Read More

Gordo’s 2 goals leads Bears past Phantoms 4-2


Andrew Gordon pots one of his two goals against Adirondack. (Photo by Kyle Mace)

Do you think Andrew Gordon wants a spot on an NHL roster? The man now has points in seven straight games and leads the team with eight goals. Two of those goals came tonight against the Adirondack Phantoms.

The Phantoms got an early lead, scoring two goals in the first ten minutes of the game. Hershey, like only a top-tier team can, was able to ride out the storm and responded with four unanswered goals. I think they’re doing just fine without Jay Beagle, Mathieu Perreault, and Dany Sabourin in the line-up.

Despite the final score, the game was a lot closer than you would think. It was a pretty evenly matched game, a point emphasized by the sudden lack of penalties in the third period. In the end, the Bears were able to wear down Brian Stewart, the rookie goaltender for the Phantoms, and the rest of the defense.

It was another hard-hitting game (I know that must be hard to believe). Zach Miskovic, Patrick Wellar, and Steve Pinizzotto took it upon themselves to teach the Phantoms players that if you’re not keeping your head up, you’ll be going down. I suspect there will be some Adirondack players with ice bags strapped to them after tonight. I can’t emphasize enough how fun it is to watch these kind of games.

I’m going to wrap up this gamer because I want to go buy tickets to every Hershey/Adirondack game this season.

Read More

Your Photos and Video from Opening Night


Photo by Bridget.

We asked. You answered.

We had so many amazing pictures to go through that it was hard to narrow them down! This post could have easily ended up a mile long. We have coverage from the opening Calder Cup ceremony to the auction after the game, and, of course, pictures from the game itself. If you weren’t at Giant Center on Saturday night, you should definitely scroll down to see everything you missed out on!

Read More

Finding the Missing Pieces

If you want to follow the AHL, the first thing you must learn is how high the turnover rate for each team is. No matter how prepared you may feel to handle losing several players, the first off-season is an eye-opener. Between trades, free agency, and call-ups, you can barely get used to a player being around before he’s gone. This season is no exception.

We lost several key players and their roles can not go unfilled. In this post, I’ll take a look at the big guys we lost and the prospects I think will fill their shoes.

Read More
Back To Top
Search