The Bears finished off their best weekend of the season as they earned all 6 points possible in stunning fashion by outscoring the opponents 19-5 in the three games.
What a difference in flow between Saturday and Sunday. In Saturday's game referee Nygel Pelletier called 23 different penalties as the Bears went 4 for 8 on the power play. Sunday night referee Jeff Smith called only 10 penalties (4 were for fighting) and the Bears went 1 for 2 on the power play.
But there was something that didn't change between Saturday and Sunday....
The Bears scoring a lot!
If you didn't see it or hear it or read about it yet the Bears beat the Binghamton Senators last night 9-0 in Hershey.
Yes you read that right....9-0! 8 of those goals came at even strength and after the first period.
It was actually a game where Bingo played better than Hershey in the first period outshooting the Bears 14-12 in the period but they trailed 1-0 on a goal from Alexandre Giroux (10th of the year).
And then the flood gates opened. Almost half way through the second period Andrew Gordon added his 8th of the year. Graham Mink (8th and 9th), Francois Bouchard (5th), Keith Aucoin (7th), and Kyle Wilson (4th) all scored in the second half of the second period.
Giroux (11th) and Mathieu Perrault (4th) finished up the scoring in the third period.
Combine 9 goals with 26 saves from Daren Machesney and the Bears looked like a very dominant team. Albeit against a team WITHOUT 3 of their top 5 scorers.
It was a very good game after the midway point of the second period for the Bears but before anyone thinks the Bears are back and are going to score at will again remember that this Bingo team was severely short handed. While it isn't an excuse for why the Bears won because they more than likely would have anyway it is a reason not to get super excited about a big score. And I know 3 players doesn't make a team but think back to last season and imagine playing without Wilson, Bourque, and Lepisto and realize that the Bears would have been in trouble too.
But either way I huge win for the Bears and a big confident boost for Cheese.
My Three Stars of The Game:
- Keith Aucoin - 1 goal and 4 assists in the game. All 4 assists were primary assists.
- Alexandre Giroux - scored the game winner and then added another goal and 2 assists.
- Graham Mink - 2 goals and 2 assists
Offense - A - after the first period the offense turned it on. Amazing passes and great shots led to a huge win for Hershey. I think the best pass of the night was Perrault's pass to Bouchard in the second period for Bouchard's goal. If you didn't see it Perrault looked up and made a perfect pass through the D and the crease right onto Bouchards stick for the goal, these guys can play with ANYBODY.
Defense - A - I don't think they were really ever tested even though Cheese faced 26 shots. It never felt like Bingo was anywhere near scoring on most of those shots. I think it was a testament to the backchecking and defensive zone play by the team that Bingo didn't have any good looks.
Goaltending - A - There were some tough saves in their especially early when the game was close. Remember that the score was only 1-0 at the 9 minute mark of the second period. He kept the team in the game and made the onslaught possible with some key saves.
Power Play - ? - I can't really give a grade since they only had 2 opportunities. They did score on one so it was a solid night but not enough to really get an idea of the unit.
Penalty Kill - A - I can't think of anything they did wrong. They faced 4 power plays and stopped all of them. You can't ask for much more.
Overall - A - Obviously a very good game for the Bears. Really though I think Bingo stopped playing about midway through the second. But the Bears didn't and made it all look real easy for most of the night.
Next up for Hershey is Friday at Philadelphia.
LET'S GO BEARS!!
2 comments:
9-0 is absolutely amazing. But I have a feeling the Caps are going to make some moves in the coming weeks, dumping Nylander and possibly even Morrisonn. If that does happen, Bears fans are probably going to have to say goodbye to Chris Bourque and Karl Alzner or Sami Lepisto.
That probably will be the case, but it looks like Hershey has more than enough firepower to fill in the gaps if that happens. I would only be worried in that department if the players you mentioned go to Washington, and some injuries happen too.
I still fear the goaltending more than anything though. Unless Varmolov or (especially) Macheseny step up (and it does look like Varmolov is starting to), the Bears are not going to go far.
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