Hershey jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Oskar Osala's 22nd of the year only 2 minutes into the game. But before Hershey could get through one period they were already down 2 goals with a 3-1 score after one period. And things didn't get better right away either as Portland scored less then 4 minutes into the second to go up 4-1.
It was at this point that John Walton decided to blame Daren Machesney for the amount of goals being scored. While I agree that the save percentage wasn't pretty and maybe another goalie would have stopped a couple, I DID NOT think Cheese was to blame for most of those. I honestly didn't think anyone was to blame. The fourth goal especially was just a favorable bounce for Portland. The puck was bouncing around like a Mexican jumping bean and it just happened to bounce in front where a Pirate was standing and he tipped it in. I didn't see what Cheese did that was so wrong, could he have had it? Sure. But should he have been expected to stop it....I don't think so.
In fact I think all 4 of Portland's goals were more the result of them out hustling the Bears to start the game and some favorable bounces. Once Hershey started to skate hard and hustle after every loose puck they started getting some favorable bounces themselves.
Alexandre Giroux came to play in the third period last night. For the first two periods he seemed to be struggling with the desire factor for the second straight night but he sure turned it on when needed. He scored twice and assisted on the game winner which leaves him at 49 games this season. He is only 5 goals away from becoming the all time Hershey single season goal scoring record holder. With just 1 more goal he becomes the first Bear since Tim Tookey (his name and number hang in the space above your heads at the Giant Center) to do so.
The victory was a big one as the Bears keep pace with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. And thanks to Norfolk the Bears are now a full 3 points in front of the Penguins. The Penguins are off tonight while the Sound Tigers host these same Portland Pirates at 4:00 this afternoon.
And keep in mind that Hershey has played 2 fewer games than the Tigers and Penguins with only 11 games to go for Hershey.
My Three Stars of the Game:
- Alexander Giroux - 2 goals, 1 assist, and a game high 7 shots for the AHL's leading scorer
- Staffon Kronwall - first goal as a Bear is a game winner. Since he arrived the defense has been MUCH better.
- Mark Mancari - a goal and an assist for the Pirates
Grading the Performance:
- Offense - B+ - Really it was a tale of three periods. Through the first two it seemed like Hershey couldn't beat Enroth but the third was all Bears. They kept working and getting to the net and it paid off for them. Not much else to say....really good game.
- Defense - B+ - I saw no real mistakes. Even on the four goals I really don't think they did too badly. Lots of blocked shots by everyone was very impressive.
- Goaltending - B - Like I said above...I didn't think Cheese played badly. Sure some of those could have been stopped but every goal in theory could be stopped. I have seen much worse from the goalie's this season but I have seen much better too.
- Power Play - B+ - Not many opportunities and I think they could have done better but 1 goal out of 3 chances is pretty good.
- Penalty Kill - B+ - They only allowed a 5 on 3 goal and that was due to a lack of communication between Joudrey and Beagle that left a guy open for a second too long. Again...many blocked shots and solid positional play.
- Overall - B+ - If you take away a couple of favorable Portland bounces this game is probably 4-2 Hershey and not close. I honestly think this was just one of those games. And the fact that the Bears stuck together and came back to win in the other teams building is very important and should not be overlooked. These are the games you HAVE to win from time to time to win a Cup and this team has done it a couple times now this season.
Good Game Bears!!!
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