50 Shots!

G Tyler Plante was under fire last night in net for the Rochester Americans. He faced 50 shots in 3 periods. And he didn't do terrible either....he did make 42 saves. Most nights against most teams 42 saves would win the game and probably get you a shutout or at most 2/3 goals against.

Not this night and not against this team.

After a very sluggish first period the Bears came out firing scoring4 goals in the second and 3 more in the third to defeat the Amerks 8-3 in front of a sold out Giant Center.

The Bears looked tired and overly confident in the first period. Their only goal of the period was on a (in my opinion questionable) penalty shot call that Chris Bourque converted for his 4th goal of the season. Later in the period Bourque had a puck go off his skate and in the net but that was waved off immediately by referee Francis Charron. That was another questionable call as Bourque did not actually "kick" the puck in the net but I can see why it wasn't allowed.

Rochester played well and was in the game for a period and a half though. It was 1-1 after the first period and 2-2 halfway through the 2nd. But that was it for this team.

Karl Alzner scored his first goal as a pro early in the second and then the flood gates opened. The Bears got second period goals from Andrew Gordon (5) and two from Quintin Laing (2,3). And then in the third there were goals from Alexandre Giroux (8) and Oskar Osala (4,5).

Daren Machesney played okay in net for the Bears making13 saves on 16 shots. He seemed to find himself out of position numerous times. A couple of the goals were the result more of his defense not clearing the front of the net.

There were numerous scuffles during the game and a couple of fights. I was personally VERY impressed with Keith Aucoin sticking up for Minker in the third by absolutely going after Keaten Ellerby for cross checking Mink. And Kyle Wilson took a short beating before fighting back very well against Michael Duco, who also fought Greg Amadio in the first. Very impressed of the Bears standing up for their teammates....even guys who aren't fighters were in there mixing it up. That is an good sign of a team that is playing "together".

Overall......a good game from the Bears. Not a complete game but a good game. Next up is at Hamilton on Wednesday night.


My Three Stars of the Game

1. Chris Bourque
2. Quintin Laing
3. Keith Aucoin

Grading the Performance:

Even Strength - B - The first period and a half were very sluggish. It was almost like this team realized how bad Rochester has been and figured they would win just by showing up. But after that they obviously started to play and really played well. That is a good sign from a good team.
Power Play - B+ - On most of the power plays they played extremely well. They set up good and got some good shots. There is a little too much looking for the perfect pass and shot instead of shooting and getting rebounds. Plante was giving up big rebounds but the Bears were waiting to shoot on the PP. But they scored 2 goals and easily could have had more.
Penalty Kill - C+ - They only gave up 1 goal but this unit is lacking something. They are too aggressive during the penalty kill in my opinion. And they need to get the guys out of the front of the net. Players are being allowed to stand RIGHT IN FRONT of the goalie with no consequences. There were regularly Amerks standing right in the slot waiting for a pass with no one bothering them.
Overall - B - A GOOD game but no more than that. They came out expecting to win and then when they realized they actually had to play they turned it on. But against a good team it would be too late. And the penalty kill is a liability right now....they just aren't stopping other teams. The only other problem in my eyes....goaltending. It hasn't been strong. This team may have to outscore teams more than they would like to win it all.