Bears CAN win this series

The 2009-10 version of the Hershey Bears were ridiculously good.  They dominated the regular season and then met little resistance on their way to the Calder Cup. 

Playing their best wasn't always necessary.  If they struggled out of the gate or had a mid game lull it didn't hurt them because they could easily make up for it.

Simply put...they didn't have to play their best hockey to win.

The 2012-13 version can't do that.  If they don't play their best hockey, they will lose.  Rarely this season did the Bears play a sub-par game and still come away with a win.  From time to time it happened, and bad starts were a regular occurrence, but it wasn't common.

So when you get the best team in the league, point wise at least, you can't have lackluster performances.


The 2010-11 and 2011-12 Bears teams played the same style of hockey as the 08-09 and 09-10 teams did.  But it didn't work as well because the personnel wasn't as good. 

Two first round exits the last two years and we Bears fans are itching for a long playoff run.  We were spoiled by the first 5 years of the Capitals affiliation (3 Cups, 1 2nd place) and we expect more. 

They don't raise Conference Championship banners in Hershey.  Or Division Championship.  When you play for the Bears or root for them, you want one thing...the Calder Cup.

Much of this season I said that considering the lackluster finishes the past 2 years maybe it was time for a more defensive system that is generally a better performing system in the playoffs.  The recent teams were built on speed and skill and didn't bring a lot of grit to the table...didn't have a lot of guys who would crash the net and get loose pucks and put them home. 

You know...the ugly goals.

So this season saw the development of a new system in the organization.  One that relies on solid play in the neutral zone and the Bears own zone and one that is designed to take advantage of opponent mistakes and capitalize on opportunities. 

The Capitals have bought in and are as hot as any team in the NHL (outside of Pittsburgh and Chicago anyway).  The Bears system is the same and it works just as well when they play it. 

This is a system that was designed in the 'ugly' (or boring) hockey capital of the world...New Jersey.  The Devils have been good for over a decade because their system is designed to win close games and get goals that require more effort than skill...although its also because of a certain hall of fame goalie.

That's what playoff hockey is all about.  It isn't about the flashy goals guys score all through out the regular season.  It's about the grinders picking up goals by crashing the net and getting the rebounds.  And goalies coming up huge for their teammates. 

Michael Neuvirth was a clutch playoff goalie.  You could always count on him to make a huge save when you needed it.  Philipp Grubauer has shown that same ability at times during the season.  He struggled a bit more late in the year, but he made huge saves with regularity.

I think the goalie part of the equation is there.  Defensively?  They are solid.  Sometimes they get caught in their own zone for a while, but so long as they keep the teams to the outside and don't let open guys stand in prime scoring locations they are fine.  Unfortunately, they do tend to wander from their positional responsibilities from time to time and that gets them in trouble.

But overall I think the defense is good enough to make a run.

So the goalie is in place and the defense is adequate.  What about the offense?

The moves made throughout the year have really changed how this team is built.  They went from a team of grinders to having some more guys that weren't afraid to go to the net and get shots. 

The question is, will this team take advantage of their chances when they get them?  When the team is clicking and playing their style they are good.  Just look at last Sunday...first period they came out shooting and scored a weak goal 16 seconds in.  They finished the period with 15 shots and 2 goals. 

When they had a look they were shooting and that leads to rebounds and deflections.  THAT IS HOW YOU SCORE IN PLAYOFF HOCKEY. 

Teams shut down the flashy scorers all the time.  Even in 09-10 the Texas Stars shut down Alexandre Giroux in the first two games. 

You have to be willing to go to the net and put pucks on goal. 

The problem for this years Bears team is when they don't play their game they don't shoot.  How many 2 on 1 or 3 on 1 opportunities did the Bears have this year where they passed it 1 (or 2) time too many and ended with no shot?  Or they hold and hold, waiting for the pass or shot to open up and then its too late?  Saw that happen on Sunday actually.

If you have an extra guy...put the puck on net and let the other guy crash for the rebound.  Nothing bad can come from it.  Even if he makes the save cleanly and smothers the rebound, you can still crash the net and disrupt his personal space. 

If they play the right way this Bears offense is good enough, and balanced enough, to make a long run in the playoffs. 

If they play the wrong way and pass on shots they will likely be golfing by the 2nd weekend in May.


My prediction...for this series...Bears in 4. 

Hershey HAS TO split the game in Providence tonight and Sunday.  If they don't then I honestly think they are done.  I won't stop rooting or believing, but if they come back from Providence down 2 games to none they would have to win 3 straight against a team that would be riding an 11 game winning streak and hasn't lost 3 in a row ALL SEASON. 

Tonight's game is as important as any.  If the Bears win they put all the pressure on the Bruins headed into game 2. 

Hershey needs to come out ready to play.  They have been in playoff mode for the past couple weeks and have won 3 of their last 4.  They need to make that 4 of 5.

Bears in 4.  Enjoy the games. 

Faceoff tonight is at 7:05...check it out on AHL Live or the radio.  I will have Stuccio's call on my phone through the Bears app.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!!!

3 WINS TO ADVANCE.

Let's Look at Bruins vs Bears

What do we make of the Bears first round series?  Obviously a 1 vs 8 matchup makes it look like one team is drastically better than the other, but in the AHL that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

The Bears played in the East Division which featured no bad teams.  Norfolk, the worst of the 5, finished just 2 points out of the playoffs with 79.  Hershey played 34 of their 76 games against the East.

The Bruins played in the Atlantic, which included 2 teams that finished well out of the playoffs, Worcester and St. Johns.  The Bruins played 38 of their 76 games against the Atlantic.

And that there is why you can't necessarily worry about playoff seeds.  Teams don't play balanced schedules.  The Bruins played Worcester 12 times.  The Bears played Wilkes-Barre 12 times.  Worcester finished 13th in the East, the Baby Pens finished 5th.  

So don't worry too much about anything that has happened up until this point stat wise.  Unfortunately that's the best way to compare the two teams outside of an extended regular season series.  So the rest of this post is going to feature lots of stats and team comparisons.  Some may end up being relevant, but others won't be.

Fact is, the Bears need 3 wins in their next 5 games to advance.  Simple as that.

So....a look at the Bears/Bruins first round series:  (If you don't care about stats or don't want to read a bunch of them...I would probably just skip to the bottom.  It gets a little numbery from here on.)

Season Matchups:

The Hershey Bears and Providence Bruins faced off twice during the regular season with each team winning on home ice 3-2.

Both games saw the Bruins jump out to 2-0 leads before Hershey rallied to tie it.  At Giant Center on March 30 the Bears managed to get the game winner in the 3rd period.  And on April 12 at Dunkin Donuts Center the Bruins put an end to Hershey's comeback with their own goal in the 3rd.

The good for each team....Bruins leading scorer Jamie Tardif scored 3 goals in the 2 games while Hershey's Ryan Potulny and Nicholas Deschamps each tallied twice in the series.

The bad....Bears defenseman Cameron Schilling was on the ice for 4 of the Bruins 5 goals and Bruins defenseman Colby Cohen was on the ice for 4 of the Bears 5 goals.

Neither team got their power play going in those games with the Bears going a combined 1 for 8 and Providence 1 for 3.

Providence out shot the Bears both games 39-26 and 27-26 and in 4 of 6 periods.  Surprisingly the Bears won the game where they were out shot worse and Providence won all 3 periods in that game when it came to shots.

What to make of this?  Who knows.  It's a very small sample size so it's hard to know if it means anything.

Goalies:

The most important position on the ice in any game takes on even more meaning in the playoffs.  Teams can ride hot goaltenders the whole way to a championship if things go right.  See Price, Carey...2007.

Both the Bears and Bruins are going to roll out rookie netminders as their #1's in this series.

Providence's Niklas Svedberg went 37-8-2 on the year with 4 shutouts.  He had a 2.17 goals against average and a .925 save percentage to go with it.

Hershey's Philipp Grubauer went 15-9-2 with 2 shutouts.  He had a 2.25 goals against average and a .917 save percentage.

Those numbers are very similar.  Svedberg got better goal support from his team so his record is better, but the goalie measurables are very close.

Now the bad news Bears fans....Svedberg is 12-1 in March and April and has only had a per game goals against average over 3.00 1 time and a per game save percentage under .923 1 time in that stretch.

The good news...that 1 loss and the gaa over 3 and save percentage under .923 came against the Bears at Giant Center on the 30th of March.

Scoring:

Balanced is the word of the day for the Bears.  They feature 11 skaters with double digit goals and none with  20 or more.  7 of those players have between 15 and 19 goals.

Balance is good in the playoffs as top lines are routinely shut down as space is harder to come by and defenses are ready to go.

The Bruins have balance as well with 10 double digit scorers, but only 3 of their players have more than 13 and 2 have 25+.

Obviously having the go to scorers is a good thing, but only if they are scoring.

Jamie Tardif leads the Bruins in goals with 30 but in his last 18 games (all of March and April) he has only tallied 4 goals.  Unfortunately 3 of those came against the Bears.

The Bruins 2nd leading scorer, Craig Cunningham, has 25 goals.  2 in the last 3 games, but not a single point in the 7 games prior to that.

So their go-to scorers aren't scoring a lot of late.

The Bruins are riding a 9 game winning streak so obviously they are getting scoring somewhere, but Hershey's balance can rival anyone's.

Hard to say if balance or go-to guys are better in the playoffs.  You have to have some balance, which both teams do, but having that one guy to look to to get a late goal is also nice.  Hershey doesn't have that.

Special Teams:

Another stat that is hard to really gauge.  No matter how you look at it, the Bruins are better...statistically...then the Bears.

League rank the Bruins power play is 8th, Bears is 11th.  Bruins penalty kill is 5th, Bears 10th.

Seems close.

Actual numbers...Bruins power play converts 18.5% of the time.  Bears, 18%.  Half a percentage point.  Not much.

Bruins penalty kill is successful 85.7% of the the time.  The Bears...84.2%.  A little larger difference, but still close.

And as mentioned above, neither team did much in the 2 games against each other.  Bears went 1 for 8 and Bruins 1 for 3.

Miscellaneous Records:

The Bruins scored 1st 48 times during the regular season...they went 37-8-0-3 in those games.  That was one of the top records in the league.

The Bears scored 1st 43 times and went 27-11-2-3.  One of the worst records in the league.

When leading after 1 the Bruins are 29-3-0-1 and the Bears are 20-4-0-2.

Leading after 2...Bruins are 32-1-0-1...Bears 25-1-2-2.

Tied after 1, Bruins are 16-11-0-3 and Bears are 12-9-3-2.

Tied after 2 the Bruins are 14-7-0-4 and the Bears are 10-6-1-2.

All of those records are relatively close.  Again, when looking at records it is hard because the level of competition is NOT the same.

Goals For and Against:

Overall the Bruins averaged 2.92 goals scored per game and 2.41 goals against.

The Bears scored 2.68 goals per game and allowed 2.58.

Eh.  Just tells me that the Bears are used to close games and are ready for playoff hockey.

BUT...the following numbers I think do tell a story.

The Bruins outscored their opponents in the first period by 31 goals.

The Bears....6 goals.

The Bruins start fast and in many games, that holds up for them.

In the final 2 periods the Bruins outscored their opponents by 2 goals.  The Bears...4 goals.

This just tells me that the Bruins start better than other teams, but don't have the killer instinct (or experience) in closing them out.


Overall Conclusion:

As I said above, regular season stats mean little.  All we really know about these teams is what we have seen and what they did against each other.

Any Bears fan knows that this team is great when they play together and shoot and below average when they don't.  Their problem is consistency.  One period they are great...see 1st period, this past Sunday.  The next period they are terrible....see 2nd period, this past Sunday.

I can't necessarily speak on the Bruins but it seems to me that a team that finishes #1 in the league would be due to better consistency.

My honest opinion...the Bears best is just as good as the Bruins best.  They just have a harder time finding it.

The wild card in this entire series will be experience.  The Bruins roster features 10 players who get regular minutes who are identified by the AHL as rookies.

The Bears...2.

We all know the Bears are old.  They have veterans up and down the lineup that understand what it takes to win in the postseason.

Will that help them in the playoffs?  Tim Leone doesn't think so.  He has the Bears losing in 5 and says the best they can do is the Eastern Conference Finals.

Is that a fair pick?  Absolutely.  But as an optimist and Bears fan I would like to believe they can go further.

The Bears season stats and record are deceiving because this team is DRASTICALLY different now compared to early in the year.  Zach Hamill, Garrett Stafford, Mathieau Beaudoin, and Kevin Marshall are gone.  In their place are players like Casey Wellman, Chey Genoway, Peter LeBlanc, Nicholas Deschamps, Nate Schmidt, Michael Latta, and Dane Byers.

I would take any of those upgrades any day of the week.

I will believe in the Bears until their final game.  I legitimately believe that that day could come in mid-June.  But I wouldn't be surprised if it came next weekend.

The Bears are in the playoffs.  Anything can happen now.

Just ask Ryan Potulny.  Two years ago he played for the Eastern Conference's 7th seeded Binghamton Senators.  They did ok.  Winning a Calder Cup and everything.

Series starts tomorrow night.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!!!!!!

A 2 point weekend....good enough?

By a show of hands, who feels better about the Bears playoff chances after a 1-1 weekend? 

Yeah, me neither.

It was a good finish though.  After getting beat by a team riding a 6 game losing streak on Saturday (Albany) the Bears stormed back from behind on Sunday to pick up a 3-2 win over one of the top Eastern Conference teams (Providence).

But it took a highly questionable call on Chay Genoway by referee Jean Herbert for the Bears to really start playing hockey.

The Bears have talent.  And through trades I think this team is easily as talented as any other.  Maybe not as fast, but talent wise I think they are pretty deep. 

Which will likely only get better in the coming week (or so) when Capitals prospect Filip Forsberg is expected to be joining the Bears for a trial run after his season in Sweden ends on April 5.

No, the talent is there.

And I hate to question a team's "effort" or "heart" as I don't know these guys and can't speak to how hard they are working and how much they want to win.  Without being there on a day to day basis I don't see how anyone can.

But I can question their physicality and, in a manner of speaking, toughness.

This team doesn't want to hit anyone.  Even fan favorite Matt Clackson shied away from some hits on Saturday night. 

Until the call by Herbert on Saturday night I could probably count on 1 hand the number of real hits the Bears made in 35ish minutes of hockey.  Once that call was made and they actually saw their coach react, they started taking the body more and playing physical hockey.  And all of a sudden they were controlling the play and forcing mistakes by the Bruins.

Anyone else notice how many turnovers the Bruins made in the third period when the Bears were actually playing a physical game?

Even Ryan Potulny was hitting people in the 3rd period. 

Jeff Taffe is 6'3" 209 lbs and if the AHL kept track of hits, I bet you he wouldn't even rank amongst the top 10 Bears.

What makes no sense to me is that the Bears are getting hit all game long.  It isn't like the officials are calling every single hit for interference or something.  Sometimes, yes, it makes sense to pull up and not make the hit, but so often the Bears just skate towards a guy, attempt to poke the puck, and when they miss, they turn and skate away.  The opposing player is bracing for a hit and yet he isn't touched.

Fact is, hockey is a physical game.  You are going to get hit.  So why not hit them back?

Garrett Mitchell hits.  Danick Paquette sure as hell did when he played.  Boyd Kane usually does, although on Saturday even he was turning away from hits early in the game.  Steve Oleksy did. 

That's pretty much it. 

The 2008-09 Bears had Steve Pinnizzotto, Greg Amadio, Dean Arsene, Kip Brennan, Staffon Kronwall, Bryan Helmer, Quintin Laing, Andrew Gordon, Chris Bourque, Jay Beagle, and Graham Mink.  All of those guys played the body and made a hit when they got a chance.  They also had some contact-adverse players such as Mathieu Perreault, Keith Aucoin (although he would hit from time to time), and Alexandre Giroux (same as Coiner).

2009-10 had many of the same players. 

Those years saw a good mix of talent and physicality.  Since then...talent hasn't been a problem. 

So is it the roster or is it the coaching?

As I mentioned...there is size on the roster.  But they don't seem to play with any emotion.  And that would tell me that it has something to do with their emotionless leader.

And I think Saturday night confirmed that for me.  Before he got upset...no physicality from the team and little emotion.  Afterwards...they came back to win after trailing at the 2nd intermission for the first time this season.

It wasn't just body checks either.  In the first period a Bruins player made solid contact with Philipp Grubauer's leg in the crease after the whistle and did anyone go after him...nope.  Questionable hits on other Bears, any post-whistle scuffles...nope.

For all you Matt Clackson lovers (nice round of applause when he was announced as a starter)...he was even out there when Grubauer got run...and he did NOTHING.  Was it partially the fault of a Bear playing directing him towards the crease?  Yes.  But watch any other hockey game and see if that stops anyone from putting a hand in the guys face.

Finally, late in the 2nd period someone stuck up for a teammate.  I can't remember which player took the questionable hit, but Chay Genoway stood up for him. 

Yes, Chay Genoway.  All 5'9" 177lbs of him.  The smallest Bear on the ice Saturday night went after Bruins forward Bobby Robins (6'1" 220lbs) after a questionable hit. 

At least someone did.  His retaliation created the questionable call by Herbert, which caused Mark French to have a lengthy conversation with Herbert, which led (finally) to the Bears playing like they actually wanted to win and want to make the playoffs.

So if the Bears make the playoffs I believe it will be Chay Genoway and shitty officiating by Jean Herbert as the main reasons.


This team HAS the talent to win.  But if they aren't playing a physical, emotional game, then the opposition will always control the play and will be unafraid to push the limits of the rules.  French needs to figure out a way to tap into the emotion and physicality that they showed in the 3rd period Saturday night the rest of the season.  If he can't, then I hope Doug Yingst will bring in a coach that will.

Bears on the road this weekend

Tonight the Bears will play in Providence, Rhode Island.  Tomorrow they travel to Manchester, NH.  Sunday they complete the weekend in Bridgeport, CT.  After that game they will return to Hershey.

Except that is just the beginning of their journey over the next week.  This is the longest stretch of road games for the Bears this season (5) and due to the layout of the games the Bears will spend more than 1/7 of their next week on a bus. 

The first leg, this weekend, will take them from Hershey to all the cities I already mentioned.  That is 15 hours on a bus...according to mapquest anyways.

Then they come back to Hershey for about 3 days before leaving Wednesday (I assume, but they may leave Tuesday) for a trip to Rochester, NY to play that night.  Then Thursday they go to Cleveland to play again. 

And then they come home.

All combined it is 1750 miles and over 31 hours on a bus.  That means that about 18% of the teams next 7 days will be spent on a bus. 

That's a rough road trip.


Tonight the Bears get the Providence Bruins.  Currently the Bruins sit in last place in the Atlantic Division and 11th in the Eastern Conference.  Tim Leone points out that they have been one of the better AHL teams over the past 10 games, going 6-2-2-0 in those games. 

Compare that to the Bears 4-5-0-1 in their last 10 and you might think the Bruins are playing better today.  Except that the Bruins are 1-3 in their last 4 games while the Bears are 3-0-0-1 in their last 4. 

In addition to that, the Bruins have scored a total of 8 goals in their last 4 games.  Which is bad enough.  But 6 of those goals came in one game.  The 3 losses in their last 4 have seen goal totals of 0, 1, and 1 by the Bruins. 

Although that shouldn't be entirely surprising considering they are currently ranked as the 30th team (out of 30) in the AHL in goals per game with only 2.33 per game. 

Hershey scores 3.60 per game.

A few other stats in the Bears favor tonight...

• Providence is only 1-5 versus the East Division
• Bruins are 28th in the league with the man advantage on home ice
• Bruins are only 15th in the league on the penalty kill at home
• The Bruins enter the game with a -13 scoring margin in the first period
• And a -14 in the third period.

One thing the Bruins do have going for them...they are 2nd in the league in attendance per game with 7,321 per game.

That is second to the Bears...by 2,352. 


Next up is the Manchester Monarchs.  These guys beat our Bears twice in two days back in January.  First there was a 5-4 win for them on Saturday the 21st.  Then they followed it up with a 4-2 win on Sunday the 22nd.

So Hershey should be looking for some retribution.

The Monarchs enter the game 2nd in the Atlantic and 6th in the Conference.  They are also 1-3 in their last 4 games (just like Providence) and have actually scored fewer goals in those 4 than the Bruins, only 7.  While allowing 14.

Again, that shouldn't be surprising as the Monarchs score only 2.6 per game.  And they don't do it on the power play at home as they are only 23rd in that category. 

What they do well is keep opposing power plays from scoring as they are currently 6th in the league on the penalty kill at home. 

Just in case you were wondering...Hershey is 1st in road power play.

While Providence weaknesses appear to be in the 1st and 3rd periods, the Monarchs are weak in the 2nd.  They carry a -16 scoring margin in the 2nd period on the season.  The Bears are +21 in the 2nd...their strongest period.  (Also a +17 in the first so that is good...and not too bad in the 3rd, -2).


Finally this weekend the Bears get the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.  The Tigers are probably the best team of the three this weekend...especially of late.

Yes the Bears beat them twice back in December.  Once in Hershey and once in Bridgeport.  But those games fell in a tough pattern for the Tigers as they were only 1-8 during a stretch there. 

Since that stretch ended though they are a very impressive 13-1-0-1.  Their two losses were to St. Johns and Manchester and impressively they have scored at least 5 goals in 4 of their last 6 games.  All wins of course.

The good news...both the losses took place on home ice.  If that helps you anyways.

Bridgeport is the best offensive team Hershey will see this weekend (7th in goals scored).  Their power play on home ice is weak, only 26th in the league, but the penalty kill at home is a solid 4th in the league.

Lucky for us this game will be on TV starting at 3:00 Sunday afternoon.

Enjoy the games.

GameDay Preview: Bears vs Bruins

This will be the first (and maybe only) weekend where Bears fans truly feel the effects of the shorter/longer/revamped AHL schedule.  In years past the Bears would play 4 games in 5 nights around Thanksgiving with home games the Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday and a road game Friday night.  Honestly I was hoping they would keep the 3 home games and do away with the Friday road game but they did not for 2011-12.

Instead the Bears will play 4 games in 7 nights as they travel to Connecticut on Tuesday.

Things have not been going well for the Bears of late though.  Their last win came 2 weeks ago on Wednesday the 9th when the beat Binghamton at home. 

In fact the Bears have only twice in their last 9 games...both against Binghamton at home. 

But I am feeling confident tonight.  I feel a win coming. 

Ryan Potulny and Matthew Ford are both expected back in the lineup tonight for the first time in a while.  Potulny hasn't played since the 2nd game of the season due to a sports hernia that he may have suffered last spring but never had looked at. 

Ford hasn't played since November 4th against the Pens.  He has 3 goals and 3 assists in 11 games played this season and his return will be very good for the teams offensive productivity.

Maybe the return of these players will mean DJ King will be a healthy scratch.  King was reassigned by the Capitals to Hershey because he and his agent wanted him to play more.  It is an understandable desire, but I wish it would have happened somewhere else. 

He has played in 5 games, dating back to the Binghamton win on the 9th, and is a -6 in those games including an embarrassing -4 against the Baby Pens back on the 11th.  If you take out the win over Binghamton he is -7 in his last 4 games. 

And last week I saw two separate incidents which make me question his motives in Hershey.  The first was after one of his penalties expired.  Typically guys come out of the box and if his line is not on the ice he skates to the bench for a change IMMEDIATELY (if the situation call for it). 

Last Saturday he came out of the box with the Bears possessing the puck in their own end with minimal rush from the Devils.  The Hanson-Micflikier-Mink line was on the ice...except for Mink.  So what did King do?  He stood at the blue line waiting for a pass and then proceeded to join the rush while Mink sat on the boards waiting for his change.  And yes Mink was up and waiting...this was not an instance when Coach French didn't call for the change.  King just didn't come to the bench.

The other incident was during a delayed penalty on the Devils.  Generally, watch for it tonight if you don't believe me, the Bears (or any team) will try to get their best offensive players on the ice if they have the opportunity.  Last Saturday Braden made it to the bench and the Bears possessed the puck in their own end and many players changed as the Rechlicz-Carroll-King line was on the ice.  Carroll and Wrecker went off...King stayed on. 

Obviously I am not on the bench (or near it to be honest) so I am not 100% certain that he isn't being told to stay out...but somehow I strongly doubt it.  It appears that King is of the mindset that he should be getting more minutes in Hershey as well and it is costing the Bears opportunities and games.

Up until this point injuries and recalls (Cody Eakin remains in Washington...as does Dmitry Orlov) have forced the Bears to play guys they typically don't give regular minutes too.  With the return of Potulny and Ford tonight the Bears finally have enough healthy bodies where they don't have to do that. 

King is an enforcer...just like Rechlicz.  Except Joel has been the better player in that role this season in games with and without King.  If an enforcer is used I hope it is Wrecker with DJ King sitting up in the rafters. 

Either way it is likely that, at the most, only one of the two will be on the ice at Giant Center tonight.  Which is good news for the Bears and bad news for the Bruins.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!

Bears beat Monarchs, get ready for Bruins

So by a show of hands how many of you really believed the Bears could win in a shootout?  I'll be honest...I wasn't sure they could.  But they proved me wrong last night as Todd Ford won his 4th game of the season over the Atlantic division leading Manchester Monarchs.

The Bears took the critical first period lead and it paid off for them.  Hershey is now 18-2-0-2 in games where they have a lead after the 1st period. (Manchester is undefeated when they lead after one).

Patrick McNeill scored his 2nd goal of the season while Todd Ford made 28 saves (plus 5 more in the shootout) to pick up the win for the Bears.

With the win Hershey trails Wilkes-Barre by just 8 points with 2 games in hand. 

From that game against a division leader on a hot streak to a game against a 6th place team that isn't playing too well.  And the 2nd game in 3 nights away from Giant Center.

The Providence Bruins enter tonight's game residing in 6th place in the Atlantic division.  They really aren't what you would expect from a 6th place team though.  They are only a couple games below .500 and are only 6 points out of the final playoff spot in the division.

At home they aren't dominant but they have won 5 straight on home ice.  In those 5 wins they are outscoring the opponent 15-6.

Overall they aren't playing that well of late though.  They have lost 3 straight and 4 of the last 5 games.  In those 5 games they have recorded 8 goals and have given up 14.  So defensively they are still playing well but the goals aren't being scored.

The Bruins can hang their hat on the fact that they beat the Bears 2-1 back in December.  It was the last game of a 3 game losing streak the Bears were riding. 

Since that game the Bears are 16-2-1-2.

I would say this is a different team now.  And they will surely be looking to avenge the earlier loss.

Some more fun facts:

• Providence is only 2-6-1-0 against the East division (wins over Albany and Hershey)
• Hershey is (after Wed nights victory) 4-2-0-0 against the Atlantic
• Providence is the WORST team in the league for power play success at home - only 8.6%
• Hershey is #15 in the league in penalty killing on the road
• Providence is #18 in home penalty killing
• Hershey is #5 in power play success on the road
• Providence has been outscored by 20 goals in the 2nd period
• Hershey outscores the opposition by 13 in the 2nd period (actually their worst period, 22 in the first and 23 in the third)
• Providence is 28th and 21st in goals for and goals against per game, respectively
• Hershey is 2nd and 1st in the same categories

Hershey Bears
record ~ 32-14-1-3 68 points
standings ~ 2nd in East Division
most recent game ~ 2-1 SO Win @ Manchester, 2/9
last 5 games ~ 4-0-0-1
road record ~ 15-6-1-1
goals for ~ 174
goals against ~ 117
power play ~ 22.6% (2nd)
penalty kill ~ 85.1% (8th)

Providence Bruins
record ~ 23-24-3-1 50 points
standings ~ 6th in Atlantic Division
most recent game ~ 4-1 Loss @ Charlotte, 2/8
last 5 games ~ 1-4-0-0
home record ~ 10-13-1-1
goals for ~ 124
goals against ~ 157
power play ~ 11.6% (29th)
penalty kill ~ 77.9% (27th)

  
last time teams met - Providence won 2-1 in Hershey on December 18th.  This is the 2nd and final meeting of the regular season.

Players to watch:

Hershey:

LW Boyd Kane (12) - This might surprise some people...Kane is riding a 4 game point streak.  2 goals and 4 assists in those 5.  Actually has at least one point in 10 of his last 11 (4g, 9a).
RW Francois Bouchard (22) - Has already doubled his scoring total from the first half with 4 goals since the midway point in the season.  Playing with Coiner should help get going again.
C Keith Aucoin (11) - Has at least one point in 12 straight games (3 goals, 16 assists in that time frame).  Has taken over the team points lead (50 points) despite missing 17 games.

Bruins:

C Jamie Arniel (11) - Leads the team in goals (14) and points (32) but the All-Star has not scored a goal since 2010!  He only has 7 assists in 19 games in 2011.
RW Kirk MacDonald (13) - Has 10 goals and 15 assists on the season.  He scored against Hershey back in December and has 2 goals and 4 assists in his last 7 games.
C Trent Whitfield (23) - Has only played in 17 games for the P-Bruins this season and has 4 goals and 5 assists to show for it including 3 goals and 2 assists in his last 7 games.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!

Hershey drops another

For the second straight night the Bears managed to score only 1 goal. And for the 2nd straight night the Bears lost to a last place team. Last night it was Adirondack, tonight it was Providence.

Tomorrow Hershey welcomes the Charlotte Checkers to town...they are a second place team. If the Bears can't score on the worst teams, will they score on a good team?

There are so many thing to discuss from tonight's game. Good things and bad things. Let's start with the good....

Braden Holtby

I know the first goal he let in was soft. It was bad. He knows it too. But the rest of the night he was on his game. He was in position for every shot and made damn near every save he could make.

He is kind of a mix between Varly and Neuvy. He is very sound positionally like Neuvy but he is also very athletic like Varly. Now he just needs to work on the consistency part and he could be a very good goaltender going forward.

The Defense

Tonight was pretty much the defense Hershey expected to have night in night out this past summer. Nycholat, Fahey, Wellar, McNeill, Miscovic, and Collins. That was going to be the top 6 before Souray entered the fray.

This was the first that they had all been in the lineup together. And I thought they played very well overall. A few sloppy handles at the blue line, a few missed assignments, but overall I thought a very good game. Lots of physicality, lots of blocked shots, and lots of broken up passes.

They were responsible for the 2nd goal but only that one. Not a bad game at all. I think if this group (and Souray) were to remain healthy (and in Hershey) they will be just fine.

That's it for the good. Definitely something to build on but Hershey didn't look good outside of those 2 items.

So what didn't go right....

Coaching

Were the coaches watching the same game as me? Were they paying attention to how the players on the ice were performing?

I understand wanting Keith Aucoin on the ice. I really do. You are missing 4 of your top 6/7 forwards to recall and/or injury so you really think you need him on the ice. But he is not ready. Unless he re-aggravated the knee injury in the first period I would say that Coiner is skating at about 60%. And that might be generous.

But I can see dressing him and playing him OCCASIONALLY. The power play...fine, let him set up and pass. 5 on 5...from time to time but not every shift. But the penalty kill?? HE COULDN'T SKATE! He coasted into the defensive zone regularly and even the offensive zone from time to time.

I think it's great that he is toughing it out for the team but you can't honestly look me in the eye and tell me that Trevor Bruess wouldn't have been better in most of those situations.

I acknowledge that Coiner is a better offensive player than 50% of the Bears team even when he is at only 50% but hockey is not exclusively played in the offensive zone. And right now, tonight, he is/was a hindrance at the other end.

As I said...dress him, play him in certain situations but please don't play him on the penalty kill. It didn't burn the team tonight but it sure didn't help.

The Lines

I understand that there are lots of players missing. 3 of the top 4 scorers are injured and/or on recall. 4 of the top 8. And if you count Aucoin it's 5 of 8.

But you can't keep changing the lines up. Now is the time to pick some lines and stick with them so the guys can adjust to who they are playing with.

Of the 12 forwards that dressed tonight only 5 were on this team full time at this time last year. Hell, only 8 of them were getting regular minutes 2 weeks ago!

So, needless to say, most of these guys haven't played alongside one another in a game or practice. What they need is to play together for a bit. Even just 2 straight games. Something so they can get some cohesiveness.

This week they practiced with unusual lines due to the call ups and injuries. Yet they abandoned them after last nights game to go to something different.

Obviously things aren't going to click right away. But you can't just dismantle everything after one bad game. Now there was a second bad game...so are we going to see new lines Sunday evening? Probably. I think you have to since Coiner just can not play tomorrow. There is no way.

So here I make some suggestions...

Lacroix - Willsie - Kugryshev
Pinner - Joudrey - Kashirsky
Bouchard - Bruess - Kane
GMac - Rome - Reclicz

Lacroix and Kashirsky should get a chance. Both were scoring in South Carolina and both play with energy. Kugryshev was a scorer before so give him the chance. Kane played great tonight but I think he would help to get more out of Bouch. And Rome took some faceoffs tonight so let him play center on the occasional 4th line.

You would have good hustle on each line and a better balance and use of talent.


There, those are my thoughts on this weekend.

Oh...one last thing...

the diving call on Aucoin was spot on. Maybe it was the injury, maybe he was tired. Either way he went down VERY EASILY and the correct call was made. I watched Coiner lean into the other guy and as soon as the player moved his elbow he went down.

Just thought I would share my thoughts as most of the arena didn't agree with the call.

Hershey welcomes Bruins to town

Well the weekend didn't start out the way anyone hoped it would. Dropping a game to the Phantoms definitely leaves a bad taste in your mouth. They now have 5 wins on the season and while they are definitely a better team than that record it is still tough to stomach.

So the Bears need to move on and be ready for tonight's game. After losing to the East division bottom dweller the Bears now welcome the Atlantic divisions worst team to town.

While the Bruins are in last place they don't seem to be as bad as other last place teams. In fact if they were in the East division they would actually be in 6th, 8 points behind Hershey.

In fact, Providence is actually a much better road team than home team. At home they are only 3-11-1-1 while on the road they are actually 8-2-1-0. Their .773 road winning percentage makes them the 2nd best road team in the league, trailing only the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Unfortunately, Hershey isn't as dominant a home team as they were last season. After 13 games they are 7-6 and those 7 wins have come against teams with a combined winning percentage of .399. 3 of those wins were over the Phantoms.

To make matters worse the road wins by the Bruins have come against good teams. 7 of their 8 wins were against teams that are .500 or better. And the 1 win over a team under .500 was against Albany who sits at .429.

But the numbers aren't all bad. Surprisingly the Bruins are still terrible at penalty killing on the road. They kill off only 73.1% of penalties on the road, good for 29th in the league. And Hershey scores on 22.9% of their power plays at home, good for 5th in the league.

So with any luck that will help Hershey tonight as they try to get back on track before the new year.

I am guessing here but I suspect we will see Braden Holtby in goal tonight for Hershey. And considering the injuries along the blue line right now I would expect to see some recalls from South Carolina. Haven't seen anything reported yet but I would imagine that Yohann Kroll and either Joe Finley or Josh Godfrey will be recalled to help the Hershey blue line.

With Souray and Yeo going down last night and Weller and Oreskovic already hurt the Bears have only 5 healthy defenseman and I don't think they were looking to play Patty McNeill in all 3 games this weekend.

We will surely see what happens. Looking forward to a good game tonight at the GC.


A little more on the game tonight....

Hershey Bears
record ~ 16-11-0-1 33 points
standings ~ 4th in East Division
most recent game ~ 3-1 Loss @ Adirondack, 12/17
last 5 games ~ 3-2-0-0
home record ~ 7-6-0-0
goals for ~ 98
goals against ~ 74
power play ~ 20.0% (8th)
penalty kill ~ 81.4% (21st)


Providence Bruins
record ~ 11-13-2-1 25 points
standings ~ Last in Atlantic Division
most recent game ~ 6-2 Loss vs Charlotte, 12/17
last 5 games ~ 2-3-0-0
home record ~ 8-2-1-0
goals for ~ 67
goals against ~ 93
power play ~ 12.7% (27th)
penalty kill ~ 78.7% (26th)

last time teams met - This is the first of 2 meetings between the teams this season. Hershey visits Providence in February.


Players to watch:

Hershey:

C Keith Aucoin (11) - Got an assist in his first game back in the lineup. Not sure if he will play again tonight but with all the injuries and call ups I would say it is probable that you will see him.
F Brian Willsie (18) - Scored Hershey's loan goal last night and will need to help out again tonight if the Bears are going to get the W.
C Andrew Joudrey (23) - The captain and defensive star is being asked to contribute more in the offensive end with all the recalls. Getting time on the 2nd line and on the power play. He has 4 goals already this season...adding to that number is critical for Hershey.

Bruins:

C Jamie Arniel (12) - Leading the team in goals with 11 and points with 19. Hasn't produced much in December with only 2 goals and 1 assist in 7 games this month.
C Joe Colborne (22) - The rookie is second on the team in goals with 7 and 2nd in points with 16. He is rated as the #2 prospect in the Bruins organization behind Tyler Seguin.
D Yury Alexandrov (4) - The defenseman in the #4 prospect for Boston and comes in tied for 6th on the team with 10 points (4 g, 6 a).

LET'S GO BEARS!!!

Okay start to 6 games in 10 days

Friday night in Binghamton the Bears continued their dominance in New York beating the Senators 5-2 for their third win in that building this season. Everything appeared to be going well as they started a 6 games in 10 days stretch with the Springfield Falcons coming to Hershey Saturday night.

But unfortunately Springfield goaltender Devan Dubnyk managed to control the game by making 29 saves during play and then another 5 in the shootout to give the Falcons a 3-2 shootout win.

It was Hershey's first shootout of the season and only the second game that even made it to overtime. Last season the Bears played in 17 overtime or shootout games and were 7-6 in 13 shootouts. Maybe it is just me but I never feel like Hershey (or Washington for that matter) is any good in the shootouts. Last season was better with Varlamov and Neuvirth in net but when Freddie or Cheese was in there I always felt the Bears were at a disadvantage.

Luckily though shootouts don't exist in the playoffs and eventually another shot would have gotten past Dubnyk. And it wasn't like the Springfield offense was bringing much as they only finished with 18 shots (1 for the shootout win).

Any way you look at it the Bears finished last weekend with 3 of 4 points and have the chance at 8 more points this weekend with 3 home games and a trip to Adirondack.

Tomorrow night in the lone Wednesday night home game of the season the Bears welcome in the (last place) Providence Bruins. Hershey beat the Bruins in Providence 5-1 an November 8th so the Bruins will be looking to get one back.

Hershey welcomes back defenseman John Carlson and forward Andrew Gordon from Washington as the Caps are finally starting to get healthy.

Looking forward to a nice 4-win holiday weekend.

Bears Score 4 in Third to Beat Bruins!

By a show of hands how many of you stopped listening after the Bruins went up 3-0? Well I paid $8 to see the game so I wasn't going to stop and I am glad I didn't.

I am still not sure that I actually saw what I saw. I would describe it as disbelief to a point...a kind of stunned feeling.

Down 3-0 three minutes into the second period and down 4-2 less then a minute into the third and the Bears did not give in. They put 4 pucks past Tuukka Rask in the THIRD PERIOD alone to win 6-4 in Providence.

I will be honest here...I was looking towards game 4 once the Bruins went up 3-0. Then Alexander Giroux scored his first of 2 goals and the Bears started playing again. 6 minutes later and it was 3-2 with over half the game to go.

Then another penalty call and yet another power play goal less then a minute into the game put the Bears down 4-2 and things looked bleak again. Little did anyone know at the time that Rask was going to lay an egg in the third period.

Give the Bears credit though...they never stopped playing and for the 3rd game in a row they dominated the Bruins late in the game. Not necessarily in shots as they only outshot the Bruins 12-8 in the third but more in effort and energy. You can see it in the way the teams are skating late in the game. The Bruins look tired while the Bears look like they just came out of the locker room to start the game.

Tonight the goalie looked tired too. To Rask's credit the defense definitely let him down and I would say 2 of the goals were just great plays and lucky bounces. But the other two, Giroux's second and Bryan Helmers goal with less then a minute to go, should have been stopped. Giroux deked Rask right out of the goal and Helmer just let one go from the point that just straight beat Rask.

I am thoroughly impressed in the way that Hershey stayed in this game. Going down 3-0 right after an intermission would destroy some teams energy but not this team. They kept going and were rewarded with a huge 6-4 victory and have at the very least guaranteed a return trip to Hershey if necessary.

Great game Bears....AWESOME effort!!


My Three Stars of the Game:

1. Alexander Giroux - 2 goals, the first Hershey goal and the tying goal
2. Jeff Penner - also 2 goals but it wasn't quite enough
3. Bryan Helmer - 1 goal and an assist on the game winning goal by Mink

Grading the Performance:

• Offense - A - I had no problem with their performance tonight. Good passing, good shots, and solid puck movement. Possession in the offensive zone has been solid this entire series to date and tonight was no different. All 4 lines were solid and all 4 had their chances.
• Defense - B - Okay performance. John Carlson was scratched which kind of confused me a bit but unsure if there is an injury or something. I still think some guys need to learn how to watch the players in front of the goalie. Even late in the third 2 Bruins were standing wide open right in front and beside Michal Neuvirth.
• Goaltending - C - I honestly was not impressed by Neuvy's performance tonight. He made 24 saves but I think he should have had more. I am sure he is unhappy with his performance as well though.
• Power Play - B - Okay job tonight. They went 1 for 4 with that 1 being the last goal of the game. Good chances...good movement. Just didn't get the bounces.
• Penalty Kill - F - The Bears gave the Bruins 4 power plays and allowed goals on 3 of them. A terrible job from this unit. I am not going to say it was any one players fault but Joudrey was on the ice for all 3 and Pinner was out there for 2. Again...NOT saying it was their fault but something doesn't seem to be clicking for this unit in this series.
• Overall - B - A GREAT job tonight to pick up the pieces by the offense. On a night when the defense and goaltending wasn't excellent the offense took the team on their shoulders and won this game. 2 wins away from a finals appearance with 4 games to go in the series.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!

Bears/Bruins Resume Series Tonight

All week the issue of team depth has come up regarding the Bears/Bruins series. Apparently the Bruins like to skate with 2 lines and 4 defensemen which is obviously not good for conserving energy late in games. Considering Hershey runs 4 lines all game long this news is definitely good for the Bears.

But how true is it? I can't give you average time on ice for these teams as the AHL.com stats page does not give that information. But I can tell you that 14 different Bruins have scored goals in the postseason. And 20 different players have recorded at least one point. Compare that to Hershey, who has 17 scorers and 23 point producers, and you see that the differences are not that defined.

Now that doesn't mean that the Bears don't have more depth than the Bruins, they absolutely do. But it does mean that the Bruins are obviously skating plenty with more than 2 lines. OR it means that the 3rd and 4th lines are dominant when they play. I am betting on the first part of that.

Sure Hershey's depth is a key to any series. There aren't many teams in the NHL that can run 4 lines all game and produce with all 4 let alone any teams in the AHL that can do it. The depth was the difference in the Philly series and most of the season. (Personally I feel that the defense and goalie play won the Wilkes Barre series) All year the Bears outplayed teams in the third period and it is happening again this series.

In both games so far Hershey has been the better offensive team in the 2nd and 3rd periods. Unfortunately the 1st period has presented the problems. If Providence can score a couple in the first period it doesn't matter how much depth the Bears have because Tuukka Rask is playing too good right now to give up many goals. How he has not been a top 3 star of the game in the first two games is beyond me.

All this talk about Hershey's depth and up to this point it has not included Quintin Laing. But that might change tonight. Reports out of Providence have him as a possible player tonight when the Bruins and Bears resume the series. The question is....who sits if Quintin plays? Pinizzotto? Bouchard? One of them will be sitting already. What about Osala? I know he scored 2 goals in game 1 but has he played well enough otherwise? Do you sit Beagle? Joudrey? How about Gordon, has he done enough to remain? Do you sit Perrault? Reid?

My money would be that Reid sits since they are similar players but Reid has played very good the past couple weeks. With the exception of the late penalty in game 2 I would say he has been one of the best players in recent games.

It sure will be nice to get Lainger back in the game and back killing penalties. Now if he could just get Tyler Sloan to stay in position.


Players to Watch:

Hershey:

C Jay Beagle (14) - It is only a matter of time until he puts 2 in the net in one game. One of the hardest working Bears all year.
LW - Chris Bourque (17) - Can he ignore the attention he will get playing in New England? He needs to step up his game and produce something other than losing his helmet.
C - Keith Aucoin (11) - Another New England born player but he has the extra motivation of wanting to win a cup. He needs to start shooting, stop trying to beat entire teams, and helping to produce.

Providence:

RW Brad Marchand (12) - He already has a goal and an assist in the series which gives him a team best 6 goals and 7 assists in the postseason.
C Martin St. Pierre (39) - He is leading the team in points this postseason with 14 in 13 games after leading them in points during the season with 66.
G Tuukka Rask (30) - If the Bruins win the series it will because Hershey couldn't solve the big Finnish goalie.


LET'S GO BEARS!!!

Bears Rise to the Challenge Against Bruins

Last time I wrote something I said something to the effect of having a preview of the series up...well obviously I didn't get around to doing that.

But I am back now so let's take a look at games 1 and 2 and maybe glance forward and see what this weeks games could look like.

If you were surprised by how the Bears came out Saturday then you haven't been paying attention. I said all day that I was worried because I didn't think they were going to be 'up' enough for the game. And unfortunately I was right. It should have been expected though.

Reasons:

Just finished a great 7 game series against public enemy #1
Got to hear all week how the East division is so good and always beats the Atlantic
Got to hear about how good Neuvirth has been playing and how he can win games for them
and Heard how they were supposed to win in 5 games.

Add to all that the Bruins had to listen to how good the East division, Hershey, and Neuvy are. They came in with a purpose and it was obvious from the start of the game.

And before anyone comments that the team shouldn't have a problem getting 'up' for a game let me remind you that in happens in every sport at every level....Caps/Rangers ring a bell with anyone?

I was actually pretty confident when they went down 2-0 in the first on Saturday. I honestly thought that would be the best thing for them. And it was...right after the second goal they started playing much better. Why? Because they could relax and just start playing again. They didn't have to worry about falling behind because they already had.

After that they controlled the game. I still think Providence played very well after the first period but the Bears at least evened out the game if they didn't win the last 2 periods.

Fast forward to Saturday night and I thought the Bears looked MUCH better in the entire game. Yes I know they didn't get a shot in the first like 16 minutes but that is because all the shots were just wide or were blocked. It wasn't like they weren't getting pressure on Rask. They were firing shots they just weren't hitting the goalie.

Personally I thought they played fine Sunday in the first period. Many of you in the stands would probably argue with me considering there were actually a few boos raining down but if you paid attention to the game and not the stats you would have seen that they actually played much of the period in the Bruins zone. AND don't forget that the Bruins didn't have many shots in that period either. In fact they only had 6 to the Bears 5. I would say the Bears chances were much better in that period too. Just a couple near misses.

After that period Hershey absolutely dominated the game. If not for a goal on a late power play Neuvy probably would have earned the shootout. Even still the game was not as close as the score indicated.

Now looking ahead I would say there is one thing that worries me...the Bruins power play. In 2 games they have scored 3 goals on 6 chances. That equals a 50% conversion rate. If they can continue at that clip the Bears are in BIG trouble. It isn't a vaunted power play and at even strength they can not compete but the Hershey penalty kill better step up big time.

Some random thoughts and observations:

• I thought Tyler Sloan played okay this weekend. He still pinches in to liberally and gets caught. And did anyone else notice that the PK was phenomenal in games 6/7 against the Pens with Collins and McNeill and when Sloan comes back it goes in the tank again? He has been on the ice for ALL 3 Bruin PP goals. Come on Tyler...I know you can play but start paying more attention on the PK!!
• Why was Pinner scratched Sunday? I thought he played very well Saturday night but he did take some big hits so maybe it was a injury thing. Either way I thought Bouchard played good on Sunday but I would sit him in favor of Pinner if he is healthy.
• Beagle has been fantastic since coming back down. He struggles some with the skill moves and play in the offensive end but that isn't his game anyhow. I love the Beags and Perrault together. They compliment each other nicely.
• This is for Keith Aucoin....SHOOT!! I know you want to pass and I commend you for that but at this stage in the season when your team is struggling to get pucks on Rask let alone passed him please SHOOT more. We all know you can shoot....show us again though.
• The Bears are going to have to get Rask moving side to side to beat him. That is one of this teams specialties though so it shouldn't be hard. He is a very big goalie and plays an upright style so beating him high isn't going to work much. And the low shots are all getting blocked so getting him going side to side is absolutely the best (and possibly only) way to beat him consistently.

Oh and just in case you wanted to know I WOULD have said Bears in 5 as well. I don't think that will happen now but that is what I would have said.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!

Hershey Outscores Providence

In the last 5 games the Bears have allowed 22 goals (not counting Bingo's goal for winning the shootout), which isn't usually followed by this statement: The Bears have gotten at least 1 point in 5 straight games. The reason this can be said now is because Hershey has scored 26 goals in those 5 games.

This past week didn't start off all that well. A trip up to Binghamton that saw the Sens erase a 3 goal Bears lead as Hershey fell in a shootout. But it ended pretty well for Hershey too. 2 straight wins and some solid goaltending to win both of the weekend home games.

There are obviously still some concerns moving forward with penalties and a couple other things but as long as the offense continues to crash the net and get the ugly goals this team should be fine for now.

Penalties, especially when you are already down one player, just can't happen with that frequency. At one point in the third period of last night's game the Bears were skating with 4 players for almost 8 full minutes and surprise...they let in a goal. And then at the end of the game after Alexandre Giroux got a major penalty Tyler Sloan took a high sticking penalty that almost cost Hershey their lead. Providence pulled the goalie and played 6 on 3 for the final minute and a half. They managed to score one goal and had another one go in as time expired. Had they had some more time there would have been major concerns.

But other than the penalties the other issues that have plagued this team through the past month plus have (for now) been solved. The physical play in front of their own net has improved this weekend and the physical play down low in the offensive zone was much improved on Saturday and Sunday. That type of play HAS to continue. If they slip back into their bad habits of playing cute they will struggle again.

It was a good weekend and another step to returning to the dominant team from early in the season. But if you are giving up 22 goals every 5 games you are RARELY going to get 8 points in those 5 games.


My Three Stars of the Game:

1. Chris Bourque - 2 goals and an assist and a lot of hustle all weekend
2. Mathieu Perrault - 3 assists and another guy that hustled all weekend
3. Martin St. Pierre - He also had 3 assists for the Bruins and kept them in the game

Grading the Performance:

• Offense - A - Easily the best performance in a few weeks. To get 6 goals on 33 shots is a big change from the past month when the team was only getting a goal or 2 on 40 shots. Tons of traffic in front of the net caused problems for Rask all game long. And cycling the puck consistently caused the Bruins to tire early.
• Defense - B - They did much better. The 4th goal was a 6 on 3 so there wasn't too much they could do. The one problem I STILL have is players getting stuck down low. And last night Sean Collins did it early (on Providence's 1st goal), he took the puck to the corner in the Bruins end and when it went the other way it was only Tyler Sloan back to stop it. A defenseman's first responsibility is to remain in position, if you get caught in deep which players (Lepisto, Collins, Sloan) continue to do it is going to lead to goals.
• Goaltending - B - Daren Machesney played very well especially in the third period again. He finished the night with 24 saves on 28 shots including 10 in the third period. Still some room for improvement but it is getting better from Cheese.
• Power Play - C - 0 for 4. Not good. They did get some pressure and managed to get some looks but it needs to be more consistent. Some games they get 2 or 3 power play goals while other games they get none. Not terrible but not good either.
• Penalty Kill - B - Better. They were out there for 10 total chances and only allowed 2 goals and one was a 6 on 3 which is not going to be stopped by too many teams.
• Overall - B+ - One of the better games since the calendar turned to 09. There are obviously still problems cause you can't continuously give up 4 or 5 goals and get wins BUT the offense has improved and the goals being scored on Hershey are more impressive then they were a few weeks ago. They are on the right track to getting back to the team they were.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!

Bears vs Providence preview, 3/1

Which Bears team will show up tonight? The one that finished the game last night or the one that started the game? Providence is a good team and they are in first in their own division and are fighting to stay there so they aren't going to come out slow. They lost last night in Philly and are going to be looking for a statement win tonight against the 1st place team in the Eastern Conference.

The Bears need to come out on all cylinders this evening or they could find themselves in a hole early. They have now won 2 straight home games and are going to look to make it three before heading out on the road for 2 games next weekend. They return to home ice on the 11th when they welcome Springfield to town.

Providence on the other hand is in the middle of an 8 game road trip. They have started out by earning 4 points (1 win, 2 shootout losses) in the first 3 games of the trip. They aren't nearly as good on the road as they are at home so hopefully the Bears can catch them tonight.

The Bruins are finishing up a 4 in 6 while the Bears are at the tail end of a 4 in 5 weekend so both teams might be a little tired.

Hopefully the Bears can come out and play with urgency for the entire game instead of just the third period like they have the past few games.


Hershey Bears
record ~ 38-17-1-5 82 points
standings ~ 1st in East Division
playoff positioning - 4 points ahead of 2nd place
most recent game ~ 6-4 Win vs Norfolk, 2/28
last 5 games ~ 2-1-1-1
home record ~ 21-8-0-2
goals for ~ 232
goals against ~187
power play ~ 18.6% (8th)
penalty kill ~ 79.4% (26th)


Providence Bruins
record ~ 34-21-2-3 73 points
standings ~ 1st in Atlantic Division
playoff positioning ~ 2 points ahead of 2nd
most recent game ~ 4-3 SO Loss @ Philly, 2/28
last 5 games ~ 3-0-0-2
road record ~ 13-11-2-3
goals for ~ 184
goals against ~ 172
power play ~ 18.0% (11th)
penalty kill ~ 82.6% (16th)

last time teams met - Providence won 7-2 in Providence on January 2.

Players to watch:

Hershey:

LW Oskar Osala (36)- After not recording a point in almost a month and a half he has an assists and a goal in his last 2 games. Played well last night with Mink and Aucoin...will we see that line again?
RW Graham Mink (21) - Went on a tear through February with 10 goals and 5 assists in the 12 games last month. That includes 4 goals and 3 assists in the last 3 games.
C Keith Aucoin (11) - He has quietly put together a 12 game point streak after tallying at least one point in every game in February. In those 12 games he had 4 goals and 16 assists.

Bruins:

RW Brad Marchand (12) - He is tied for second on the team with 47 points but has been on a tear lately. He has 5 goals and 10 assists in his last 10 games.
C Martin St. Pierre (39) - Also tied for second in points with 47 but his have come in only 42 games. He has 1 goal and 4 assists in his last 5 games.
D Johnny Boychuk (3) - The former Bear leads the team with 50 points this season. In his last 6 games he has 3 goals and 3 assists.


LET'S GO BEARS!!!

Beaten by the Bruins

The Bears played in Providence last night for the first time since 2006 and I am sure they don't want to go back anytime soon. The Bruins won the game 7-2 and were up 5-0 and 7-1 at times.

Michal Neuvirth played goal for the Bears last night and looked lost on many of the goals. He faced 36 shots but only stopped 29 of them. Not a very good game by any standards.

The defense did not help much last night though as multiple shots were unchallenged and Bruins were skating open in the offensive zone without anyone approaching them. The offense didn't help much either as they had numerous neutral zone turnovers that led to opportunities and goals.

The only bright spot in my opinion was the solid play from the rookie line. I thought they put pressure on the Bruins at even strength and were easily the best offensive line for the Bears last night. Francois Bouchard scored 2 goals (9th and 10th) for the Bears but alas it wasn't enough.


My Three Stars of the Game:

1. Brad Marchund - a goal and 2 primary assists
2. Tuukka Rask - 28 saves on 30 shots to earn the W
3. Francois Bouchard - 2 goals and led the team with 5 shots on goal

Grading the Performance:

• Offense - D - There was some consistent pressure in the offensive zone which is the only reason this isn't an F. 30 shots is solid but they need to score more. This is becoming a consistent problem without Giroux...not enough goals. Other players HAVE to step up. Facing hot goaltender after hot goaltender is tough but they have to over come soon.
• Defense - F - I didn't see any last night. Horrible job in Providence. It was like they didn't know who was on what team and just let whoever skate around in the zone.
• Goaltending - F - The defense didn't help but a goalie has to keep his team in the game with some big saves and Neuvirth didn't make any of those.
• Power Play - B - They only had 3 opportunities and I thought this was easily the brightest spot in the game. They sustained very good pressure and got many opportunities but couldn't get anything by Rask.
• Penalty Kill - B - Not terrible. They definitely played better defense when they were a man down but they did allow 2 goals on 9 chances.
• Overall - F - One of the worst performances this season. This was right up there with the Houston game and the Hamilton game. The Bears need to learn how to stay sharp and focused on the road against non divisional opponents.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!