Bears over Hartford 1-0 in OT

So…how does one go about scoring on a 6'8" goaltender? Very good question.

First let me try to wrap my head around this. A 6'8" goaltender. That's like having Zdeno Chara, but with quick reflexes and the ability to move about on the ice even faster, in net. Many of you may already be familiar with Jason Missiaen since he's been with Hartford for a couple season now. However, he's definitely fallen under my radar for prospect goalies.  And I thought Pekka Rinne and Anders Nilsson were big.

Anyway, back to my question. How does one score on such a goaltender. The answer is with as many shots as possible and hope for a lucky bounce. And that's exactly what Hershey got on Sunday afternoon as they defeated the Wolf Pack with a power play goal in overtime with 1.5 seconds remaining.

This was a very high tempo game for both clubs as they definitely matched each other for speed. However, it was the Bear's continued excellence in the defensive zone that really stood out last night. In Saturday night's game against the Falcon's, the Bears allowed just 8 and 7 shots in the first and second periods, respectively. Last night, 8 total shots were allowed in the first and second periods (4/4). And Hartford's first shot of the second didn't come until 7:43 left in the period. That's pretty amazing against an offensively talented team like the Wolf Pack.

That being said, this was the goalies' night. And while much of the spotlight was put on Missiaen because of his numerous outstanding saves, Pheonix Copley, though not facing as many shots, was equally up to the task and deserved the shutout.

As Scott Stuccio mentions in his post game PennLive blog post, Missiaen's best saves came in the third period when he stopped both Chandler Stephenson and Garrett Mitchell back-to-back at point blank range. However, about a minute before, Copley made his own save of the game with a diving blocker on a Hartford 2 on 1. What's interesting about the lead up to this save is that the Bears had the Wolf Pack pinned in their zone 5-on-5 for what felt like at least 2 minutes. And Hershey played it like they were on the power play. You see plenty of times when one team has all the momentum but the opposition fights through and scores a goal. And it just kills the other team's energy. So Copley's save was definitely big.

So in overtime on the power play with both the Bears and Wolf Pack scrambling around the front of the net, Casey Wellman was somehow able to get the puck free and sort of flip it over Missiaen who was sprawled on the ice. Plenty of shots and a lucky bounce. I must admit that I was relieved that the Bears scored with 1.5 seconds left because I was wondering how they were going to get anything past Missiaen in the shootout.

One last thing. The Bears briefly played 3-on-3 in overtime per the new rules implemented in the off season. Scott Stuccio called it weird to watch. And I agree. However, I'm going to wait until after this weekend to see if we get another game where the 3-on-3 is played before I give my opinion on this new overtime setup.