Your Midweek Bears Update

Lots of different topics to discuss this week...a look at the standings, 2 games to play midweek, injuries, Aucoin's return, and a little NHL trade deadline talk.

Bears Sit in 3rd (or 5th depending on your preference)

The Bears were looking to make up some ground in the division this past weekend.  With 3 points in 3 games they failed to do that. 

As of this morning the Bears sit in 3rd place in the division, 2 points out of 1st (and 2nd).  They are also the 5th seed in the conference and would face Norfolk in the 1st round. 

The good news...the Bears have a game in hand.  The bad news...even if they win that extra game they would remain in third based on number of wins. 

The Bears playoff positioning is going to come down to how they play outside of the division.  Only 7 of their remaining 23 games are against teams in the division.  And only 3 of those are against the teams ahead of them (1 against the Pens, and 2 - this weekend and next week - against Norfolk).

That isn't exactly how you want to finish the season either.  In my eyes you would much rather play your division rivals at the end of the season. 

In addition, the Bears are better within the division.  Against the East Division the Bears are 18-7-2-2.  Against the Northeast and Atlantic, the Bears are a combined 8-7-2-3.  Over 50% of the remaining games are against teams from those divisions.  The Bears need to figure out how to beat them...quickly.

Two Mid-Week Games

First though the Bears will travel a little north and barely west for a couple games against Western Conference teams.

Tonight the Bears are in Rochester to take on the Americans before heading to Cleveland for a matchup against the Lake Erie Monsters tomorrow night.

Both teams reside in the North Division and currently sit in 2nd and 3rd in the division.  The Amerks have 55 points while the Monsters have 56.  Neither team is playing especially well or bad of late.  The Amerks are 1-3 in their last 4 and 2-4 in their last 6 but in those 2 wins they scored a combined 15 goals.  The Monsters are 1-2 in their last 3 but that comes on the heels of a 4 game winning streak.

This is the 2nd (and final) meeting with both teams for the Bears.  They beat the Amerks in a shootout in January, but lost to the Monsters just after Thanksgiving. 

4 points would be very helpful.

Hanson Out

On Saturday night Christian Hanson was cut on the wrist by the skate of a falling Monarchs player.  At the time it wasn't thought to be serious but word came down yesterday that a tendon was torn in that wrist and surgery is required. 

There is no precise timetable for his return, but he is officially listed as week to week.  Which more than likely means about a month. 

Aucoin is Back

The loss of Christian would hve been more significant if Keith Aucoin was still in Washington.  But he isn't.  He was returned to Hershey on Sunday and will be on the ice tonight and tomorrow...barring another recall obviously. 

When Coiner was recalled by the Caps he was leading the AHL in points with 70.  He had just finished a January in which he collected 3 goals and 14 assists in just 10 games.  He was on pace to shatter the AHL regular season assists record (89 is the record) and to challenge the Bears single season mark. 

Obviously Coiner wouldn't trade his time with the Caps for anything and we are all happy for him.  But it would have been cool to see him make a run at those marks.

Coiner missed 9 games.  He is now 2nd in the league in scoring behind teammate Chris Bourque (72 points) and is still 6 points ahead of T.J. Hensick in 3rd. 

As for the records.  Coiner would have to absolutely destroy the league to have any shot at the Bears season record for points.  He is on pace for 107 points which would leave him about 20 short of the record.  Probably not going to happen.

Assists are a different story.  His record setting pace pre-callup was so impressive that he is STILL on pace to break the record.  If he continues on the same pre-callup pace he would finish with 91 assists...2 more than the 89 record.

Impressive.

NHL Trade Deadline

The Caps suck right now.  Simple as that.  People can blame the injury to Nicholas Backstrom all they want but the fact is this team is not playing as a team right now. 

I can understand the Caps being 'buyers' at the deadline as they are only 2 points out of the playoffs as of today.  But a 5-0 loss to the Hurricanes on Monday when you are within range of the playoffs tells you everything you need to know about this team right now.

Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post thinks very similarly and says that the Caps should strongly consider being 'sellers' at the deadline.

The effects on the Bears could be interesting. 

If the Caps are buyers I don't see a large effect on Hershey as their aren't a ton of desirable prospects currently on the roster.  Braden Holtby might be the biggest loss for the Bears...which would be huge, but with Dany Sabourin also in town it wouldn't be insurmountable.

If the Caps are sellers though I think all of that could change.  Cody Eakin would likely spend the rest of the season in Washington and some other guys might get looks as well since the Caps would be trying for young prospects and draft picks. 

Tarik mentions Semin, Green, Wideman, and Knuble as possible pieces on the move.  That could mean that Patrick McNeill and Tomas Kundratek could spend time in Washington along with Eakin. 

Pay attention to the moves...it could get interesting. 

Keith Aucoin on Record Setting Pace

A few weeks ago, as I was perusing the AHL.com site, I noticed that Keith Aucoin was leading the AHL in assists and points.  And not only leading...destroying the competition.

Which got me thinking...I wonder what the record for most assists in a season is...

It is 89...by former Bear George "Red" Sullivan in 1953-54.

Coiner is on pace to SHATTER that mark.  If Keith can keep up his current pace he would finish the season with 109 assists!  20 more than the previous record which has been held for almost 60 years.

Impressive. 

Which got me thinking...if he is going to have that many assists, how many points will he have?

Assuming he keeps up his current pace of 1.68 points per game he will finish the season with 126 points.

Is that a record?

Yes and no.

The AHL record for points in a season is 138 by Binghamton's (and onetime Bear) Don Biggs in 1992-93.

But, the Bears all-time record for points in a season is Tim Tookey, who had 124 in 1986-87.

So, as it stands now you are watching the player that could set a new record for points in a season by a Hershey Bear. 

And if the right pieces fall into place he could make a run at the AHL all time mark...he is currently on pace to fall just 12 points short.

There is another record he is approaching...remember back in 2008-09, Alexandre Giroux recorded a goal in 15 straight games...an AHL record...Coiner is approaching something similar. 

The record for most consecutive games with an assist is 17 (owned by two players actually).  Currently, Aucoin has an assist in 13* straight games, leaving him 4 short of tying the mark and 5 short of setting a new one.

What a season for #11!!

And what a career.  As of today, Keith Aucoin sits at #16 (top active player) on the AHL's All-Time Scoring list with 771 points in 10+ seasons.  Of the 15 players above him, only one has averaged more points per season (through 2010-11) than Aucoin.  That player....Bruce Boudreau. 

If Aucoin continues on his current pace this season and records the aforementioned 126 points, he would climb all the way to #7 on the All-Time list...one spot behind Mike Nykoluk. 

Bears fans...we are watching one of the greatest players in the storied history of the AHL.  Enjoy it.


*(No, the healthy scratch status from the other night did not ruin this run based on the information I can find. If you remember back in 08-09 Giroux actually missed games during his streak while on recall to Washington. And, the AHL's daily report stat sheet still lists Aucoin's streak as current.)

HISTORICAL SEASON

What a season! From the first drop of the puck back in October until the Cup was raised on Monday night the Bears completed what is arguably the greatest season ever for an AHL team!

I didn't get down to Giant Center last night for the celebration but I found the below picture to be quite amusing. The goalie just looks out of place! (I borrowed this picture from Pennlive.com and Patriot News photographer Chris Knight)

It was definitely a championship season to celebrate! Hershey was picked to win before the season started and managed to follow through on all the hype and all the potential.

All season long they broke records and separated themselves from the other teams in the league.

Overall the Bears broke 11 club records and 6 AHL records.

Here are the records that were set this season (records with * are also AHL Records):

• 60 Wins*
• 123 Points
• 34 Home Wins*
• 26 Road Wins
• 12 Consecutive Wins
• 24 Consecutive Home Wins*
• 2 100+ point scorers (Alexandre Giroux and Keith Aucoin)
• 8 Overtime Wins in the Playoffs*
• 3 Overtime games in one playoff series (Albany and Manchester)
• 8 Consecutive playoff series won*
• 380,791 Regular Season Attendance

And...

the 11th Calder Cup in Franchise History...still more than any other franchise in AHL History!!

They also became the first team in AHL history to lose their first 2 games of the Calder Cup finals at home and still win the Cup!

AND they are the first team to repeat as Calder Cup Champs under the current playoff format which requires a team to win 4 series and 16 games.

Can Hershey become the first team since the 59-62 Springfield Indians to win 3 straight Calder Cups???

Who knows but one thing is certain...we will all be around to see them try next season!!

LET'S GO BEARS!!!

**Check back later this week as I promise to get all (or some) of the pictures I took on Monday night up on the site.

**And definitely keep checking in as our focus turns to the 2010-2011 season and what that team might look like. Lots will be happening in the coming weeks so stay tuned.

Bears can clinch tonight!

Let's start this off right...



Does that get you pumped up?

No...then consider this...

the Calder Cup WILL BE IN THE BUILDING TONIGHT!!

11,000 fans...many of which wrote the Bears off after game 2...will fill the Giant Center!

Just stop and think about what it will be like in just over 9 hours tonight. Hell it will probably start around 5 this evening!!

Personally I am getting chills just thinking about the atmosphere. I will be in section 105 tonight and I hope I can't talk by the end of the game!

THIS could happen again tonight...except this time in front of 11,000 screaming Bears fans....



Tonight we chant....




Tonight the Bears complete the single greatest season in AHL history!!

LET'S GO BEARS!!!!

Bears get record with 6-1 win

There wasn't much doubt in this game. Hershey jumped out to a 1-0 lead about one minute into the game and it was 2-0 after Jay Beagle's shorthanded goal with 7ish minutes left in the first. That proved to be the game winner for the Bears who set an AHL record with 58 wins in a season.

Alexandre Giroux, Boyd Kane, Zach Miscovic, Karl Alzner, and another from Beagle completed the scoring for the Bears.

Giroux now has 98 points with 4 games remaining. 2 points and Hershey will have its first ever 2 100 point scorers in the same season.

Michael Neuvirth got the start in net and made it through with no further injuries. The reigning playoff MVP had been dealing with injuries for a while now after suffering some in Washington and then again in Hershey a couple weeks ago.

With him healthy it presents an excellent problem to have this time of year...3 number 1 goalies on the roster. Every one of the 3, Bacashihua, Holtby, and Neuvy, have been spectacular this season. If one were to go down there is plenty of confidence in going with the next guy in line.

More than likely the job is Neuvy's to lose though with Holtby 2nd and Cash sitting in the stands most nights. It has to be a tough spot for Cash to be in but who saw Holtby's emergence happening this season? Cash is the most experienced netminder and can surely get the job done if called upon.

How many other teams can say that about their THIRD goalie??

Two other big things last night in Hershey:

• Hershey has clinched the overall regular season championship. They will have home ice advantage for as long as they play in the playoffs. In 06-07 the Bears also won the regular season before running into a hot goaltender against Hamilton and Carey Price in the Calder Cup Finals.
• The AHL announced that the 2011 AHL All Star game will be held in Hershey next January. It is the AHLs 75th anniversary season so they wanted to go somewhere to represent that history and Hershey is that choice. Next year the game will feature the Eastern Conference vs Western Conference for the first time in a while. The past few years has seen PlanetUSA vs Canada which many times pits teammates against each other which really doesn't make any sense.

And now a look around the rest of the Eastern Conference:

• Norfolk had their best chance to get a win last night against Binghamton but they couldn't get it done losing 5-3.
• Fortunately for the Admirals the Bridgeport Sound Tigers also lost at home against Portland. So it remains a 2 point Bridgeport lead for the final playoff spot in the East.
• Norfolk still has a game in hand against Bridgeport but they also play Hershey 3 times in their last 4 games including tonights game in Hershey.
  

No record yet

Former Bear Graham Mink made sure the Bears didn't set any records last night as he scored 2 goals in a 3-1 Rochester win.

The Bears return home for their final 2 regular season home games tonight and tomorrow. One win and Hershey will set an AHL record for wins in a season with 58.

There are 5 games remaining in the regular season and the Bears will see only 2 teams in those five games. Starting tonight with a visit from Syracuse and then a visit from Norfolk Sunday before heading on the road to face Syracuse on Tuesday and then 2 games in Norfolk Friday and Saturday.

Hershey needs only 2 points, one win, to clinch the #1 overall seed for the AHL playoffs. Hamilton trails the Bears by 8 points and each team has 5 games remaining.

Syracuse comes in having lost 6 of their last 8 games which includes 2 losses to the Bears by a combined score of 11-4.

The Bears have never had two 100 point players in the same season but that could change this year. Keith Aucoin has already reached the 100 point mark, his first, and Alexandre Giroux is sitting on 97 with 5 games to play. Considering both those players, and Chris Bourque, average over 1 point per game it seems likely that G should get to 100.

The playoff race in the Eastern Conference is still undecided as the final spot could come down to the final game of the season. Norfolk is chasing Bridgeport and Lowell for the final spot and a chance to play Hershey in the first round.

Wilkes Barre isn't out of the woods yet either as they are only 3 points ahead of Norfolk with 1 fewer game to play.

Hershey will likely play a huge role in determining who they play in the first round beginning April 14th. With 3 of Norfolk's final 5 games coming against the Bears, Hershey will likely help to decide the Admirals fate.

Norfolk's other 2 games are at Binghamton tonight and then home for Wilkes Barre on Wednesday.

Bridgeport has 4 games left. They get Portland, Lowell, Manchester, and Hartford. All but the Lowell game is at home. Definitely not an easy schedule as 2 of those teams (Portland and Manchester) have already clinched playoff spots while Lowell and Hartford are still fighting. Although, Hartford is likely eliminated just not mathematically yet.

Lowell also has 4 games remaining. Worcester, Bridgeport, Portland, and Providence and just like Bridgeport 3 of those are at home. A little easier than Bridgeport with Providence in there but the top 2 teams in the Atlantic are not going to be easy games.

The final week is going to be interesting. Much less stressful than last year when the division was yet to be decided but no less interesting throughout the rest of the Eastern Conference.

Check back Monday or Tuesday and I will have an opinion on each possible matchup and which we should be rooting for next weekend.

Bears home winning streak ends at 24

24 straight wins at Giant Center. Amazing!

The Adirondack Phantoms ended the run last night with a 4-3 win. Hershey was up 2-1 after 2 periods but the league's #1 penalty kill wasn't able to keep up as they allowed 3 third period power play goals by the Phantoms.

It was a great streak no matter what though. The Bears hadn't lost since the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Guess who that game was against...the Phantoms.

But the Bears are still in first place in the division, the conference, and the league while the Phantoms are 13th in the Eastern Conference and likely to miss the playoffs.

The weekend had actually gone very well for the Bears up to that point though. It started with a 8-2 win over Albany at home Friday night and continued with a 6-2 win in Syracuse Saturday night. So overall the weekend was a win.

Next weekend is another 3 in 3 with 2 big games. Friday the Bears welcome the Atlantic division leading Worcester Sharks to Giant Center looking to avenge the 6-2 beating the Sharks put on the Bears in Worcester a couple Sunday's ago.

Saturday sees the flightless water fowl from Wilkes Barre make their final visit to Hershey during the regular season. The Baby Pens are currently sitting in 9th place in the conference and are going to have to battle for the last playoff spot over the next 10 games. They do have a game in hand against 8th place Bridgeport as of now.

Sunday sees another home game. This time against the Senators of Binghamton. The Sens are not technically out of the playoffs yet and will absolutely be looking for a big win Sunday. Like the Pens this will be Bingo's last visit to Hershey this season.

After this weekend the Bears will have 7 games left, 5 on the road and 2 at home. And 6 of them are against Norfolk and Syracuse with a trip to Rochester thrown in for good measure. Not exactly a gauntlet but still some tough games against division rivals.

The conference standings see Hershey leading Worcester by 18 points right now. The Sharks have 11 games to go so with a possibility of 22 points they could conceivably win the conference but it would take an epic failure by the Bears.

As for the league standings, the Bears are 8 points ahead of the Hamilton Bulldogs and both teams have 10 games remaining. This race will quite possibly come down to the final few games.

Caps Weekly (2/2/10)

A look at the big club in Washington....

Winning Streak

The Caps will go for a franchise record 11th consecutive win tonight in Boston. The Caps haven't lost since a 7-4 defeat in Tampa on January 12th. The Caps have played 7 home games during the current 10 game run while only traveling away from the friendly confines in DC 3 times. During the 10 game stretch they have scored 48 goals while allowing only 21.

Wonderful January

Beyond the 10 game winning streak the Caps dominated the entire month of January. They played 15 games during the month going 13-2 with their only losses coming in LA and Tampa. The LA loss happened the first game of the month which makes the Caps 13-1 in their last 14. Not quite 20 in 21 like Hershey but definitely impressive none the less.

Goaltenders Getting Healthy?

Semyon Varlamov has resumed practicing this past week and is expected to play in Hershey on a conditioning stint at some point this week or next. Fortunately for the Caps having their (at the time) #1 goaltender go down did not affect the rest of the organization. Jose Theodore has been exceptional going 8-1 during January while Michal Neuvirth has also been solid going 5-1 during the month.

Trade News

It would appear as the Ilya Kovalchuk rumors are subsiding. The Kings and Flames are considered the top contenders for the winger but rumor has it the Flyers are throwing their name into the hat. Still plenty of time before the trade deadline and nothing will happen until after the Olympics.

Upcoming Games

The Caps again have 4 games this week including a nationally televised game vs Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon.

• Tuesday - @ Boston
• Thursday - @ NY Rangers
• Friday - vs Atlanta
• Sunday - vs Pittsburgh

Only 6 goals?? What happened?

Hershey won their 8th straight game last night 6-1 at home against bottom dwelling Binghamton. It was the first time in 5 games that Hershey scored less than 8 goals....so what happened?

Ok, obviously I am kidding. There is nothing wrong. Hershey has won 20 of their last 21 and has scored an obscene 59 goals in their last 8 games, all wins. That equals out to about 7.4 goals per game. 7 GOALS PER GAME!! Are you kidding?

The offensive force of this team is incredible. Looking for proof....here you go:

• Keith Aucoin had more points (35) in January than 9 AHL teams leading scorers have all season.
• Hershey occupies 11 of the top 16 spots in plus/minus.
• Hershey has averaged 4.40 goals per game this season, 2nd place Hamilton...3.28.
• Aucoin and Giroux have 16 game point streaks going and have combined for 72 points in that span.

How do you possibly compete with this offense? Well, most teams haven't been able to. I am guessing that the top competition to the Bears are just waiting for the team to slow down a little bit.

I mean no team can continue this stretch for too long...can they?

I don't know about that but this team is absolutely clicking on all cylinders right now. Hopefully, if they do stumble they do it over the next 2 months and not in the playoffs. Watching a team dominate this much during the season is obviously going to be favored to win in the playoffs which means EVERY team in the league will be looking to knock off the champs.

This week is a slightly slower week for Hershey after last weeks 4 in 5. A trip to Norfolk, the place Hershey last lost 3 weeks ago 4-3 (their only loss since 12/5), and then a visit from Wilkes Barre Scranton on Saturday before a 5 day layoff between games.

Bears at midseason

Hershey is on pace for all sorts of records including AHL records for wins, points, and winning percentage. Not too bad for a team that won the Calder Cup last year.

But all that winning means absolutely nothing when it comes to the playoffs. The team that owns most of those records didn't make it past the 2nd round of the playoffs. So maybe a little adversity is a good thing.

I doubt much adversity will be found from teams within the division this season. Currently the Bears are 16 points ahead of 2nd place Albany while 4 of the 7 division teams are either at .500 or below.

That is distinctly different from recent years where the East division dominated in not only the regular season but the playoffs as well. That will likely not be the case this season as the East is likely to only get 3 teams in the playoffs as the Atlantic division is positioned right now to get 5 teams in. Which means Hershey could be playing a team like Portland or Bridgeport in the first round come April.

The Bears are again one of the most balanced and talented offensive teams in the league. The difference between this years team and last years team is that the 09-10 Bears are great defensively as well.

We all remember the struggles during the season last year when Hershey was at the top in goals scored and power play success but at the bottom in goals allowed and penalty killing. But this year is different...while the same. Hershey is #1 in goals scored with 173, tied for #1 in goals allowed with 97, 1st in penalty killing, and 3rd in power play success.

Think about that for a minute....the Bears have a goal differential of 76. 76!! Last years club ended the season with a +56 goal differential. Who knows what this years club will finish with.

You want more?

The Bears 173 goals right now is 28 higher than the next closest team (Lowell has 145). The Bears have allowed only 3 more goals than the Phantoms have scored this entire season!

Hershey has won 6 games MORE than ANY OTHER TEAM in the AHL this season. And they haven't lost at home in 12 games. Which is a new franchise record...surprising huh?

This team is phenomenal. If you have the chance to see them play...TAKE IT! The likelihood of this team being together next season is highly unlikely. (although I did say that last year too)

One more great stat for you....

On the subject of getting the chance to see this team...I can see that many of you are. Hershey is again leading the league in attendance with 8,978 fans PER GAME. That is a full 1,418 MORE than second place Manitoba.

Of the other 28 teams in the AHL only 11 have averaged more than HALF of Hershey's average. Meaning only 11 teams in the AHL average more than 4,500 fans per game.

You should be very proud of those numbers. This will be the 4th straight season that Hershey will lead the league in attendance.

Very impressive indeed.

Enjoy the second half of the season!

Wilson makes it 12 straight

Kyle Wilson scored his 11th goal of the season with just over 3 minutes remaining in the 3rd period to give the Hershey Bears their 12th straight victory, a new franchise record.

Coming into the 3rd period the Bears were trailing 2-1 after 2 second period goals by the Moose. Chris Bourque scored his 9th on a nice play from Mathieu Perreault to tie the game at 2-2 before Wilson's heroics.

It wasn't easy after that though as referee Kyle Rehman started calling penalties on the Bears. With about a minute and a half left in the game he made a too many men call against the Bears and during the call he also dismissed Boyd Kane from the game. Not sure what Kane said or did but apparently he insulted Rehman in some fashion. And just to make it clear...the penalty for too many men was a good call. Beagle was damn near still in the offensive zone when his replacement jumped over the boards.

The penalties didn't end there though as John Carlson was called for a cross checking penalty with only 5 seconds remaining. Again it was the correct call. And just a note...another too many men call was missed by the officials at about the one minute mark. For a good 2-3 seconds the Bears were playing the penalty kill with 5 guys. So while Rehman might have made some questionable calls there were still others that he missed.

This game started the same way Friday nights game went, a defensive goaltending battle between Braden Holtby and Cory Schneider. Andrew Gordon scored his 18th of the season about halfway through the first period and then a Moose breakaway led to their first goal, scored by Sergei Shirokov shorthanded. The Bears had gone with 5 forwards during a 5 on 3 and they turned the puck over and Shirokov beat Holtby through the 5 hole.

After that the offenses seemed to pick up the pace a bit. Later in the 2nd Marco Rosa converted a beautiful feed by Guillaume Desbians for the Moose's second goal and first lead of the weekend.

They carried that lead into the 3rd before the Bears came back and won in the closing minutes. Hershey will return home tomorrow before heading down to Norfolk for a game Wednesday night. It was a successful weekend yet again and the 09-10 Bears are now franchise record holders with 12 straight wins.


My Three Stars of the Game:

1. Kyle Wilson - game winning goal on a nice individual play
2. Andrew Gordon - scored another goal this weekend
3. Braden Holtby - stopped 33 of 35 shots to pick up yet another win for the rookie

Grading the Performance:

• Offense | B | Actually took less shots than Friday night, 26, but I thought they were more meaningful. They got Schneider moving side to side and managed to get some good looks. I would like to see Perreault shoot a bit more as he was open a couple times and elected to make questionable passes instead. Lots of one-timers and solid movement in the offensive zone.
• Defense | B | There were some poor plays including John Carlson not tying up Rosa as he scored the 2nd goal of the game for the Moose. I thought Zach Miscovic and Sean Collins had very solid games at both ends although Collins did make a poor decision in the 3rd period when he made a pass towards the Hershey bench as they were making a line change...which resulted in the first of 2 too many men calls.
• Goaltending | B | I think Holtby's weakness is definitive now....5 hole. Fortunately this does not usually affect him during game play as breakaways are not super common (although the Moose had a few in 2 games) but Holtby needs to figure out how to block the huge opening he leaves when he goes side to side. Otherwise...how the hell can this guy not stay in Hershey this season??
• Power Play | F | That was one of the worst 5 on 3 power plays I have ever seen. From miscommunication to giving up a shortie that power play was piss poor. The Moose do a good job in front of their own net but you have to be able to get shots on net during power plays if you want to win.
• Penalty Kill | A | They killed off everything they needed to including a 6 on 4 for the final minute and a half in regulation. Just like they have done all season.
• Overall | B | Another solid performance that could have been better. Long road trip to face an out of conference opponent can take a lot out of a team but the Bears managed to win 2 in 2 nights against a formidable opponent.

Congrats Bears on a new franchise record....let's see you extend it Wednesday night.

Giroux Sets New Mark with 54!!

What a night in Hershey!!! Some many things happened and it is just a good time to be a Bears fan!

Let's start with this....54!!! Alexandre Giroux set a new Hershey Bears single season scoring record last night scoring twice to pass the previous record set by Tony Cassoloto in 1983. Unreal. Giroux's parents were in attendance and it was awesome to see him break the record at home.

The most amazing thing about the record is the consistency that he has shown all season. Most people would probably think that in order to get 54 in 62 you would have to have had multiple hat tricks. Not Giroux...he only has ONE hat trick all season. That is unbelievable consistency from a scorer on any level.

Congrats Giroux!!! Great season....but there is still work left to be done.

One thing that is getting overlooked is Keith Aucoin and his quest for 100 points. Coiner scored 2 goals last night AND assisted on 3 more. Giving him 94 points on the season with 7 games to go. His career best is 99 points which he achieved in Albany 2 years ago. Coiner is having just as impressive a season as Giroux and unfortunately for him it is getting overlooked somewhat.

You know what though...if the Bears keep producing like they have the past 2 nights Hershey could have TWO 100 point producers. Alexandre Giroux is at 89 right now. So he has a few more to get but it is surely doable right now.

We haven't even talked about what that win meant in the standings yet. Hershey now has a commanding lead over Bridgeport as they are 5 points up with 1 game against and a game in hand on the Sound Tigers. Add to that the Bears lead Wilkes Barre/Scranton by 7 points and have 3 games remaining head to head with the hate Penguins.

Wow...this team has just turned it on over the past few weeks and there is NOT a hotter team in the league right now. The Bears have won 5 in a row and 7 of 8 and are dominating the teams they will face in the playoffs.

And did I mention that Minker recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick?? Yeah, Minker had a goal, an assist, and a fight! Unfortunately that fight might have cost him as he injured his hand and was scheduled to get x-rays last night.

Oh and Simeon Varlamov returned to Hershey last night and played beautifully in goal stopping 38 of the 40 shots fired at him. Impressive for a guy who hadn't been involved in a real game for a couple of weeks. But Bears Nation don't get to excited, he will be heading back to Washington shortly. He was only down for the weekend cause the Caps don't have any games and he hasn't had much work.

More feel good stories from last night:

• Staffon Kronwall absolutely drilled a guy last night. His open ice hit was HUGE and knocked a Sound Tiger out of the game. I thought it was Colliton but Tim Leone wrote in his piece that it was Bentivoglio. Either way he didn't return.
• The power play unit was unstoppable last night as they scored on their first 4 chances. And they could have had more but Woods called off the dogs in the third and had guys like Brennan and Pinner playing with the extra man.
• Chris Bourque notched his 20th goal of the season. That gives the Bears 7 different 20+ goal scorers. That is amazing. And for any team the Bears face in the playoffs....who do you key on??

On to tonight's game. Last night was very emotional and energy charged from the Bears, now they need to duplicate that tonight against the visiting Penguins.


My Three Stars of the Game:

1. Keith Aucoin - 2 goals and 3 assists gets you the star even if a guy breaks a record
2. Alexandre Giroux - 2 goals and 2 assists is damn good
3. Simeon Varlamov - 38 saves AND an assist last night

Grading the Performance:

• Overall - A - I am not going to go into each unit and give specifics. This team just scored 7 goals on 26 shots! That is the absolute definition of efficiency as it relates to hockey. You can't ask for a better performance. I spent some time on here the past few games saying the power play needed to be better and WOW that is what I call better. Even the penalty kill was okay. I probably wouldn't have given them an A but they did pretty good.

A thought on the penalty killing:


Jay Beagle is a BEAST on the PK. A couple years ago Dave Steckel was basically a one man penalty killing machine in the postseason and right now I would say Jay Beagle is getting close to that point. Stecks had the advantage of the long reach but I don't think there is a tougher player on the Bears roster than Jay Beagle. He does whatever is asked of him night in night out and plays 100% full speed every shift. He is willing to drop the gloves and does the dirty work in the corners better than anyone else on the team. Last night he was doing it again on the PK by possessing the puck along the boards and fighting off 3 different Sound Tigers to keep possession. Good job Beagle, keep up the hard work.


Good Game Bears!!! Now let's do the same thing tonight against the Pens!

LET'S GO BEARS!!!

Giroux Scores 50....Chasing 54

Alexander Giroux scored his 50th goal of the season on Sunday evening and is now chasing the Hershey Bears single season record of 53 set in 1982-1983 by Tony Cassoloto.

Giroux is only the 5th Bear to score 50 in a season. Tim Tookey was the last to do it in 1986-1987, Cassoloto's 82-83 season, Ross Fitzpatrick did it in 1985-1986, and Roger DeJordy accomplished the feat in 1966-1967.

Think about that. The Bears have been playing since 1939 and there are only 5 players who have scored 50+ goals in a season. Impressive.

In case you were wondering....cause I know I was....the AHL single season record is 70 goals in a season. Stephan Lebeau set the record in 1988-1989 while playing for the Sherbrooke Canadiens. I don't think Giroux will quite get to that point but if he did that would be special.

The feat really is something special. There have only been 45 (including Giroux) players to ever get to the 50 goal mark. That isn't too many considering how many teams and players have been part of this league. Of those 45 only 4 players have ever done it twice.

There is a bleak side to him getting to 50 goals though.....out of the 45 players to accomplish the feat (a total of 49 seasons thanks to the two timers) only 4 were also Calder Cup champions that year. The most recent was Dan Currie in 1992-1993 (he also scored 50 in 91-92) while playing for the Cape Breton Oilers. Joining Currie as Calder Cup Champs with 50+ goals are Michel Picard for the 1990-1991 Springfield Indians, Camille Henry for the 1955-1956 Providence Reds, and Carl Liscombe for the 1942-1943 Providence Reds.

So Giroux will be looking to accomplish another hard to obtain goal when he looks to become only the 5th AHL player to ever win a Calder Cup and score 50+ in a season.

I think he can do it.


read more here.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!

A New Record!

Last night in Hershey the Bears set a new franchise record for consecutive wins in the regular season with 11. That's right the Bears, without most of their original defense and the 2 of their leading scorers, have managed to win 11 consecutive games this season. This coming after they had lost 5 of 7 in early November.

The streak started with a 3-2 win over Philadelphia on November 14. And since then they have won 2 more on the road and 8 at home by a combined score of 54-15! That includes 2 games where Hershey won 9-0. 54 goals in 11 games is ridiculous. It is almost 5 goals a game. 5 GOALS A GAME!!!

Some other impressive numbers, and these show how good the goalies have been, are 3 shutouts in those 11 games, only ONCE have the Bears allowed more than 2 goals during the streak, and the Bears goalies have awesome numbers during the streak.

Daren Machesney---- .250 gaa ---- .989 save %
Simeon Varlamov ---- 2.00 gaa ---- .925 save %

UNBELIEVABLE....and yes that is right, Cheese has played in 4 games during this streak and has given up 1 goal and has 3 shutouts. And Varlie has played in all 3 road games during the streak and has allowed only 6 goals on the road!

Amazing streak and hopefully it continues in Texas this weekend.


Onto last nights game:

My Three Stars of the Game:

1. Daren Machesney - 30 saves against a very good offensive team
2. Steve Pinnizzotto - a goal and a fight (an impressive fight)
3. Greg Amadio - 2 assists and a solid night on the blue line for the defensive leader

Grading the Performance:

• Offense - B - Still having some trouble getting out of their own end and into the offensive zone. Some of that is to be expected but they to adapt and get it done more effectively. There really weren't a ton of offensive chances but there were enough for a 3-0 win.
• Defense - A - Another shutout for Hershey and the rag tag group of defensemen should be proud of how they played last night. Norfolk is a very good offensive team and the Bears defense shut them down almost all night.
• Goaltending - A - And when they didn't shut down the defense Cheese came up huge for them. 30 saves on 30 shots is impressive. 4-0 during the 11 game win streak with 3 shutouts. Impressive!
• Power Play - C - The weak link right now this unit is missing Sami Lepisto and Keith Aucoin terribly. 0 for 4 last night makes them 1 for 15 in their last 3 games.
• Penalty Kill - A - Again they stepped up and killed off 6 opportunities for Norfolk. This was considered the weak link for the first month of the season but now they are possibly the best. They have not allowed a power play goal in 4 games on 18 chances.
• Overall - B - A solid game again but the offense is struggling to find the net lately. Missing your key defensemen is more of a strain on the offense than most would think it is. Lepisto and Bryan Helmer were critical parts of getting the puck moving the offensive zone and them being gone is hurting right now. But the Bears find a way to win as they have won 11 straight now!

LET'S GO BEARS!!! MAKE IT 12 IN TEXAS!!!