Friday, October 31, 2008

Bears @ Albany Preview

Hershey Bears
record ~ 7-2-0-0 14 points
standings ~ 1st in East Division
most recent game ~ 6-0 Loss @ Hamilton, 10/29
last 5 games ~ 3-2
road record ~ 4-1
goals for ~ 44
goals against ~ 31

Albany River Rats
record ~ 1-4-1-0 3 points
standings ~ Last in East Division
most recent game ~ 3-0 Loss vs Philadelphia 10/25
last 5 games ~ 1-3-1-0
home record ~ 1-2-1-0
goals for ~ 13
goals against ~ 21

last time teams met - First meeting this season.

Players to watch:

Hershey:

LW Chris Bourque (17) - Was he even dressed against Hamilton because I didn't hear his name called. 4 goals 7 assists in 7 games is good but he needs to get going again.
RW Andrew Gordon (10) - He didn't play well in the Bears zone against Hamilton and needs to pick up that part of his game. He has 5 goals and 4 assists through 9 games.
D Bryan Helmer (20) - He is on here because as captain he needs to step up now and get this team focused after a bad loss. He does have 5 assists on the season which is solid.

Albany:

RW
Jakub Petruzalek (16) - Leading the Rats in goals with 3 and points with 5. He seems to be one of the few bright spots for this team right now.
D Mark Flood (6) - One of the top prospects in the Carolina organization this defense man has 2 goals and 2 assists in 6 games this season.
RW Nick Dodge (8) - Another of the top prospects he has 1 goal and 2 assists in the first 6 games of his rookie campaign.


This will be Keith Aucoin's return to Albany where he played and captained the River Rats for the past few seasons. It also starts Hershey's 2nd 3 in 3 this season. The last one wasn't bad as the Bears went 2-1. Hopefully they can get back on track tonight.

LET'S GO BEAR!!!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

What about Osala?
I still can't understand that he accepts to play in AHL. He could earn a lot of more money and probably could play with better hockey players and get a bigger role if he choosed to play some where else (europe or russia).
What have You got for impression of him? Something must be wrong when he isn't deliver (or is he?). Doesn't he have the coach faith or?

verb said...

my impression of Osala has been good so far. When he has played with Perrault and Bouchard he has been very good. He is a big guy and has really done a good job for the bears the year! Thats just my impression as a fan.


B-E-A-R-S Bears, Bears, Bears WOOOOOOOOOO!

GM said...

Anonymous - It isn't always about the money for these guys. The AHL is considered by many to be the 3rd most talented league in the World behind the NHL and KHL. He could surely play professionally somewhere else but then it is harder for the Capitals organization to get a feel for the talent they have. By playing in Hershey he is readily available for a call up or for the coaches to come see him in person.

You will surely see Boudreau and maybe even McPhee in Hershey for a couple games this year and if he was in Russia he wouldn't have that.

He actually did play in the Finnish pro league last year and was one of (if not the) top rookies.

My impression of Osala is that he is a good big player that likes to shoot. Sometimes shooting all the time is great and other times it isn't. One way I think he could really improve his playing time AND get long looks from Washington was if he really learns to play the physical game in front of the net. He is a big guy that can get in there and handle the banging from the defense and score a lot of garbage goals by putting in the rebounds.

But I think he has a lot of potential and could be in the NHL next season. Depending on what the Caps do to their roster.

Anonymous said...

I (Anonymous) have seen him playing since he was a kid. I have seen him playing in Vaasa, Espoo and even when he was playing for his country Finland. I haven't seen him yet in Hershey live, but I probably will.
I lika Osala a lot and I'm trying to read as much as I can about him and Hershey.
I like this blog but You don't write almost anything about him so I thought he is struggling or something. That's why I asked.

GM said...

Anonymous - He is doing fine. He scored his 6th goal of the season last night. And it ended up being an important goal.

I think he is a VERY GOOD young player that could be playing for the Washington Capitals next season.

Right now he is skating on Hershey's "fourth line" which really isn't a fourth line at all. It is an all rookie line with Francois Bourchard and Mathieu Perrault that is VERY TALENTED. They get plenty of playing time and can more than handle their own. He also sees time on the power play from time to time.

What do YOU think of him? You have seen more of him than I have I am sure.

Feel free to send me an email with your contact info and I will keep you updated on anything Osala related.