A Weekend Split With Phantoms

The Hershey Bears played in Philly Friday night and at home in Hershey on Saturday night against the Philadelphia Phantoms. They managed to play good hockey Friday night in a 3-2 win and apparently no hockey on Saturday as they fell 5-3.

Friday's game was won by Josef Boumedienne with a goal about 4 minutes into the second period. After that no one else scored and the Bears won 3-2. Both teams had 24 shots in that game with Freddie Cassivi and Brian Boucher in net for the Bears and Phantoms respectively.

Saturday's game was a little different. The Bears came out determined in the first 20 minutes and were up 3-0 after the first period. But then they stopped playing, a problem that seems to be recurring. Kyle Wilson (18th of the year), Jay Beagle (13th), and Andrew Joudrey (8th) scored in the first and no Bears could score again. This time both teams had 32 shots with Scott Monroe making some important saves after allowing the 3 goals in the first. Freddie Cassivi once again got the start and couldn't quite get the job done.

It was a physical game that included 3 fights and 20 penalties overall, with each team getting called for 10. Boyd Kane was the difference maker for the Phantoms. Remember the name? Yes he was the Bear's captain when they won the Cup 2 years ago. And now he is back in Philly leading a solid Phantoms team towards a division crown. He had 2 goals and 2 assists to pace the Phantoms last night. Both of his goals, his 12th and 13th this season, came on Phantoms power plays in the second. He tied the game with 2 minutes to go in period number 2.

The Bears just couldn't get anything going. According to Coach Bob Woods, "It wasn't our young guys, it was our older guys playing stupid, taking bad penalties, being cute." He continues with "We've had that problem a lot of the year, where we've had guys that were on their own page. There are still guys there that want to continue to do that. If guys are going to do that, they're not going to be here. Plain and simple."

Woods was referring to the trade deadline on Tuesday and that playoff rosters need to be set on Thursday. I could probably guess some of the players that are not playing as part of the team but will not do so because I wasn't there. Some of the games I saw though are probably good indicators of who it is. They have been consistent in their inability to play as part of a team.

I said around midyear that I thought this team could make a run for the Calder Cup. I still believe that but certain things have to happen. And right now they are not happening. That is at least 3 games in the past 2 weeks that the Bears have blown at least a 2 goal lead in a game to lose. If it doesn't stop soon, the Bears may not make it through the first round.


News and Notes:

Grant Potulny was loaned to Springfield earlier this week for D Danny Syvret. I am not sure if this move was good or not. Syvret will provide needed depth and experience on the blueline but Potulny was the second leading scorer. Time will tell.....

Sami Lepisto and Eric Fehr were called back up to Washington on Friday. Lepisto saw action in last night's Caps game with Carolina.

Boumedienne has a 16 game point streak going and needs one more to be the definite top defenseman in that category. There are 5 forwards in Bears history who have gotten points in 17 straight games. Boomer can tie that mark tonight in Hershey.

The Bears play host to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton tonight in Hershey. The game is surely sold out. I tried to get tickets on Tuesday but there were very few left.

Outlook for '08

The Bears have enjoyed much success the past few years with deep playoff runs and one Calder Cup to their credit. I think the upcoming year will be a success as well.

This year's team does not have the scoring power as last seasons but it has a more physical style like in 05-06 when they one the cup. Can they win the cup again? Absolutely. In fact I would give them good odds to do so. A few things have to happen though:

1. Find another consistent scorer or two. The only player on the team that is even close to a point a game is Joe Motzko, who is only a big injury away from playing in Washington for the rest of the season. Grant Potulny leads the team in goals and some other guys are getting into things now, like Wilson. But the team needs guys like Chris Bourque, Jay Beagle, Ben Clymer, and Andrew Joudrey to step up and start scoring more.
2. Figure out the goaltending situation. I know this sounds crazy considering the Bears have Freddie Cassivi but the goaltending situation needs ironed out. Daren Machesney (nicknamed Cheese) is playing great between the pipes and deserves to at least get a look at being the #1 goalie. His numbers are outstanding, a 2.03 GAA, 9-2-1 record with 1 shutout, and a .930 save percentage. Compared to Freddie's 3.10 GAA, 10-10-1 record, and .900 save percentage and you can see that Cheese is outplaying Freddie right now.
3. Stay physical. The last two Calder Cup champions, the Hershey Bears and Hamilton Bulldogs had two things in common. A hot goaltender and a very physical game. This years Bears team is more like the Calder Cup team in their physicality. Last year's team was more finesse than muscle and they lost in the finals to Hamilton. This year's team needs to keep up the work along the boards and continue intimidating the other teams with physical play.
4. Get healthy. Obviously injuries play a big role in a teams success late in the season and the Bears will be no different. The hope here is that the team is getting all of their injuries out of the way now instead of later. Dean Arsene, Josef Bomedienne, Tyler Sloan, Jay Beagle, and others are out or have been out and hopefully get and stay healthy sooner than later.

If the Bears can do these things and play hard every game than there is no reason that they can't or won't get back to the playoffs and have another deep run into June.

LET'S GO BEARS!!! B-E-A-R-S Woooooooo!!!!