Not Simeon. Simeon Varlamov held his own in net all night making 22 saves on 25 shots in regulation and overtime. And in the shootout he was solid if not fantastic stopping 3 of the 4 shots he faced. A couple of the goals in regulation were a little soft but they didn't seem to bother him. If he let one in he didn't seem to let it bother him for long.
Alexandre Giroux, Francois Bouchard, and Keith Aucoin scored in the shootout to get the Bears the extra point in the game. Bouchard's goal was special. He did a partial spin-a-rama to a backhand shot right in front of Karri Ramo. He actually pulled the same exact move earlier this summer at the Washington Capitals developmental camp. If he can develop another shot off the same move so goalies can't telegraph where he is going he will be almost unstoppable in the shootouts.
A video of the developmental goal (quality is lacking but you can see the move he pulled last night).
click here if the video doesn't load for you.
Back to the game.
Aucoin (2), Bouchard (1), and Mathieu Perrault (2) all scored for Hershey who played an average game compared to the first two of the season. None of the goals were really anything special. Just a matter of converting on a couple chances.
There was 1 fight in the game, which was to be expected with Greg Amadio and Grant McNeill playing, but it didn't go Hershey's way. Amadio went up against Jay Rosehill of the Admirals and pretty much got beaten up. I am not sure Amadio landed one punch as Rosehill just kept landing body blows. Not a bad fight for Amadio but not the way he wanted his first fight as a Bear to go.
Dean Arsene was in the booth with John Walton last night and apparently does not think too much about Norfolk fans or # 10 Radek Smolenak. Anytime Smolenak got the puck Deano made a comment about not liking him. So that should be interesting the next time these teams go at it.
My Three Stars of the Game:
- Sloan
- Zonopka
- Varlamov
Grading the Performance:
Even Strength - B - There weren't any really good chances throughout the game. Norfolk seemed to want this game more and the Bears didn't skate as hard or play as complete a game tonight. Some sustained pressure but nothing came of most of it.
Power Play - B - Solid play from the PP but only 1 goal from it. And there weren't many more opportunities to get anything else. Not as potent last night.
Penalty Kill - C+ - Still needs work. If you are going to be super aggressive, which they have been, than you need to have 2 defensemen that are aware and able to defend multiple guys. The forwards on the PK press the point men consistently but the defense seems out of position too often.
Overall - B - A game that the Admirals wanted more but Hershey managed to win the game. That is important and a good lesson for the rest of the season. The top 3 lines did little offensively last night but luckily the 4th line of Oskar Osala/Perrault/Bouchard stepped up and really won the game for Hershey.
Next up is a trip to Philly on Friday night. Let's hope Coach Woods works on his PK units this week in practice....they need it. It appears to be the weakest part of this team and if they can fix the problems on the PK they will be even harder to beat!
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