The MAG Line Wins Another

The sixth place team in the Atlantic division came into Hershey last night and really gave the Bears all they could handle. Manchester couldn't quite muster enough offense however as they fell 2-1 to the Bears.

Hershey's offense was again the MAG line for the game and luckily it was enough. Giroux added his 36th goal of the season and Keith Aucoin scored his 17th to give the Bears a win heading into the all star break.

The Monarchs put up a good fight though as they outshot the Bears 30-28 in the game and Jonathan Bernier stopped 26 shots to keep them in the game.

In the Bears net Michal Neuvirth started his second game in a row and looked impressive stopping 29 shots on his way to another win. Neuvirth has now played in 6 games with Hershey and is 3-2-0-1.

Overall it was a sloppy game by the Bears that turned very sloppy for the referees at the end of the game as they missed at least 2 calls against the Monarchs and called an icing when the Bears were about to score in the empty net.

Hershey dominated the first 10 minutes and the last 15 but in the middle they yet again allowed the opponent to control the play. Offensively this team has all the pieces but lately it is only one piece that is winning the games.


My Three Stars of the Game:

1. Alexandre Giroux - a goal and an assist to help the Bears to the win
2. Keith Aucoin - had the other goal and an assist
3. Jay Beagle - great hustle all night and his second fight in as many games

Grading the Performance:

• Offense - C - I thought that this was one of the worst offensive games of the season so far. In the second period they had almost no sustained pressure and really didn't get too many good shots on Bernier for most of the game. The beginning of the game and the third period were dominated by the Bears but the middle part is still a struggle.
• Defense - B+ - It looked pretty good but keep in mind that this is one of the worst offenses in the league right now. They managed to get many blocks and were in position to clear away some pucks that were just laying in front of the goal.
• Goaltending - B+ - I think he COULD have stopped the one goal which is the only reason he is getting this grade. He played another great game and is really getting comfortable in net at this level.
• Power Play - C - Yeah they had a goal but they didn't look that good after that one. They ended with 5 power plays and the pressure on 4 of those was rather poor.
• Penalty Kill - B - The one goal given up was on a 5 on 3 so it is tough to stop them but it seemed like they could have done a little better. Not bad though as they killed off 4 penalties.
• Overall - B - Let's face it the Bears should have won this game 5-0 but they seemed to let Manchester back into it. This seems to be the style against teams they dominate for the first 10 minutes of the game...they let the opponent control the play after that. Being the best team in the league means you are going to get everyone else's best game every time...you CAN'T have an off night if you expect to win.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!