Heading into overtime last night against the Albany Devils, the Bears achieved the one point minimum they needed to take over first place in the East Division. With Stan Galiev's game winning goal on the power play (his second of the game), the Bears got the full 2 points from the win and are now one point ahead of Wilkes-Barre for the division lead.
In hindsight, this one seemed primed to be a barn burner. What with Casey Wellman scoring 10 seconds into the game and Tomas Kundratek making it 2-0 a couple minutes later. The rest of the way would see Albany always climbing back to tie the game every time Hershey would take the lead.
Special teams were on display though it was rough time for the penalty killers of both teams. Overall, the Bears ended up 3 for 7 on the power and play and the Devils 3 for 5. Hershey has now dropped to 5th overall in the league with an 86.9 penalty kill percentage. Despite this slip they're still first overall in the Eastern Conference.
A few games/posts ago I mentioned the need for the Bears to better learn "timeliness" and "strategy". Last night's third period was another one of those situations. With Albany's Dan Kelly's elbowing (though I'd considered it boarding) of Garrett Mitchell head first in the boards along the benches, the Bears found themselves with a 5 minute power play with about 9 minutes left in the game.
Going into the third period tied 4-4, this was the key moment of the game and the Bears needed to come through and score at least once on this power play. Unfortunately, even though they had plenty of great chances, Hershey wasn't able to succeed in scoring on the power play.
With anything happening in overtime, especially on the three-on-three, the Bears have to recognize the timeliness of opportunities. And they would come through on the second opportunity. Just as the OT was going to 3-on-3, Albany took a slashing call and Hershey got a 4-on-3 power play.
Unlike the 5-on-3 in the third, on this power play Stan Galiev was not to be denied. Right before the game winner, Galiev had two or three shot attempts from the point area; first from the right side of the ice and then cycling to the left face-off dot.
The Bears play LeHigh Valley tonight at Giant Center. Hershey is two points up on the Phantoms but overall LeHigh Valley has one game in hand.
Showing posts with label Albany. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Albany. Show all posts
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Justin Peters Leads Bears In Shutout
Well, the setup to the first game between the Bears and Devils ended up being more interesting than usual. The Albany fans were treated to not one but two NHL goaltenders as the starters last night. I don't follow either Albany or New Jersey but I was surprised to see Scott Clemmensen starting and that he's played more games in the AHL this season than the NHL. A perennial backup, I figured Clemmensen would be past this point in his career. Especially with the opportunity he had in Florida the past couple of years to take on more responsibility.
For Hershey, it was rumored earlier in the week that Justin Peters might be sent down to get some games in since he hadn't played since November and Holtby has taken over as an iron man starter in Washington. It was announced Thursday night that Peters would indeed join the Bears in Albany and start in goal Friday and Sunday. I also think the push to get Peters in goal Friday was because of the years he spent playing in Albany. This was a treat not only for the fans but for him as well.
This turn of events makes an interesting scenario for Pheonix Copley. He's played great in his 11 starts so far but has seen limited action recently because of how well Grubauer has been performing. But with Grubauer out with a lower body injury, now would be the time for Copley to show what he can do with the starting position. Much the way Holtby did in 2009-10 when Neuvirth went down with injury late in the season.
Indeed, before the announcement was official, it was figured that Copley would start two games this weekend and Peters might play Saturday night. Now, Peters is slated for Friday/Sunday and Copley is recalled to backup Holtby in Washington. The question now is, who's going to start in goal for Hershey on Saturday night?
This makes you wonder about the timing of opportunities. Copley went from finally getting the chance to get some consistent starts to sitting on the bench in Washington where he most likely won't see any ice time.
As for the game, Scott Stuccio's Penn Live post game blog post sums up the main highlights perfectly. Neither team played particularly aggressive and there was limited physicality. But they both played an open style last night which lead to great end to end play, especially in the third period.
The first period goals by Brown and Galiev less than a minute apart were both NHL caliber plays and the second period shorthanded disallowed goal by Stephenson was the main turning point of the game. The Bears lose the chance to go up 3-0 and then have to kill a 5-on-3 for almost a minute. If the Devils score there, it's a one goal game or maybe tied and the game goes in a different direction.
Hershey would it make 3-0 early in the third period on the power play as Brown would get his second goal of the game. That power play goal really highlighted the Bears' excellent ability for passing and cycling the puck in the corner and along the wall. The play perfectly setup Brown in the slot.
The Bears are back in Hershey Saturday and Sunday in back to back games against the Norfolk Admirals.
For Hershey, it was rumored earlier in the week that Justin Peters might be sent down to get some games in since he hadn't played since November and Holtby has taken over as an iron man starter in Washington. It was announced Thursday night that Peters would indeed join the Bears in Albany and start in goal Friday and Sunday. I also think the push to get Peters in goal Friday was because of the years he spent playing in Albany. This was a treat not only for the fans but for him as well.
This turn of events makes an interesting scenario for Pheonix Copley. He's played great in his 11 starts so far but has seen limited action recently because of how well Grubauer has been performing. But with Grubauer out with a lower body injury, now would be the time for Copley to show what he can do with the starting position. Much the way Holtby did in 2009-10 when Neuvirth went down with injury late in the season.
Indeed, before the announcement was official, it was figured that Copley would start two games this weekend and Peters might play Saturday night. Now, Peters is slated for Friday/Sunday and Copley is recalled to backup Holtby in Washington. The question now is, who's going to start in goal for Hershey on Saturday night?
This makes you wonder about the timing of opportunities. Copley went from finally getting the chance to get some consistent starts to sitting on the bench in Washington where he most likely won't see any ice time.
As for the game, Scott Stuccio's Penn Live post game blog post sums up the main highlights perfectly. Neither team played particularly aggressive and there was limited physicality. But they both played an open style last night which lead to great end to end play, especially in the third period.
The first period goals by Brown and Galiev less than a minute apart were both NHL caliber plays and the second period shorthanded disallowed goal by Stephenson was the main turning point of the game. The Bears lose the chance to go up 3-0 and then have to kill a 5-on-3 for almost a minute. If the Devils score there, it's a one goal game or maybe tied and the game goes in a different direction.
Hershey would it make 3-0 early in the third period on the power play as Brown would get his second goal of the game. That power play goal really highlighted the Bears' excellent ability for passing and cycling the puck in the corner and along the wall. The play perfectly setup Brown in the slot.
The Bears are back in Hershey Saturday and Sunday in back to back games against the Norfolk Admirals.
Monday, April 1, 2013
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.
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.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Bears Drop 2 in Shootouts
The Bears entered this weekend having not participated in a shootout in the 2011-12 season to date. They left the weekend 0-2 in shootouts.
Friday they lost to Syracuse in Syracuse. Wasn't there, didn't watch, didn't listen. Here are a couple links if you want more on that game:
Tim Leone
Sweetest Hockey on Earth
Saturdays game was back at Giant Center and I was unlucky enough to attend. Just so we start this out right let me give you the facts:
By the end of the game the crowd was "cheering" every time Braden made a save and yelling as soon as he touched the puck or, in some cases, even started to leave the crease.
For those of you not in attendance let me recap the 3 plays:
The last play was just unlucky. Should he have cleared the puck faster? Yes, I will agree with that. But it wasn't like his defensemen were giving him anywhere to go with it. They were standing damn near right beside him the entire time. It was a bad play, but it did not decide the game.
From that point on it seemed the crowd was against Mr. Holtby. The three goals that followed that sure didn't help.
But let's explore those for a second:
And the last goal...unbelievable. It wasn't even a penalty kill...nope this was 5 on 5 (read: everyone should be covered) hockey and the 2 defenseman on the ice at the time (McNeill and Wellar according to the score sheet) were honestly just standing on either side of Sestito. Both could have touched him if they reached over there and yet neither did.
To blame Holtby for any of those goals is ludicrous. Two of them were impossible to stop tip ins that probably shouldn't have happened, but in truth they were both nice plays by Albany. The last one...that was just plain poor defense.
So while I know it is easy to blame a goalie when a team gives up 5 goals it was surely not all Braden's fault in this one.
I have much more I want to say about the goaltending situation (among other things) in Hershey this season but I will save it for another day when I have more time. Obviously the situation is lacking right now, but I have a theory that I want to look into before I offer an opinion.
In addition to that...there is a Wednesday game this week. Preview coming soon.
Friday they lost to Syracuse in Syracuse. Wasn't there, didn't watch, didn't listen. Here are a couple links if you want more on that game:
Tim Leone
Sweetest Hockey on Earth
Saturdays game was back at Giant Center and I was unlucky enough to attend. Just so we start this out right let me give you the facts:
- Hershey lost 6-5 in the shootout to Albany,
- Hershey took a 2-0 lead in the first 12 minutes,
- Hershey came back from 1 goal deficits 3 times,
- Hershey went 3 for 5 on the power play,
- Hershey killed off 3 of 4 penalty kills,
- Hershey finished with 33 shots...same as Albany.
By the end of the game the crowd was "cheering" every time Braden made a save and yelling as soon as he touched the puck or, in some cases, even started to leave the crease.
For those of you not in attendance let me recap the 3 plays:
- Braden makes an ill-advised pass from the end line across his crease to a defenseman on the opposite side...no goal resulted,
- Braden makes an ill-advised attempted clear up the middle and hits a Devil player in the chest...no goal resulted,
- Braden plays the puck behind the Bears net and gets trapped by two Devils forwards before turning it over...and the Devils scored.
The last play was just unlucky. Should he have cleared the puck faster? Yes, I will agree with that. But it wasn't like his defensemen were giving him anywhere to go with it. They were standing damn near right beside him the entire time. It was a bad play, but it did not decide the game.
From that point on it seemed the crowd was against Mr. Holtby. The three goals that followed that sure didn't help.
But let's explore those for a second:
- Albany player skates down the wing throws a pass to the front and it is deflected in by a Devil's forward (Gelinas according to the score sheet),
- Albany player skates down the wing (sound familiar yet) throws a pass to the front and it is deflected in by a Devil's forward (Bernier according to the score sheet),
- Albany player gets the puck beyond the end line and passes to a WIDE OPEN Tim Sestito standing at the tip of the goal crease.
And the last goal...unbelievable. It wasn't even a penalty kill...nope this was 5 on 5 (read: everyone should be covered) hockey and the 2 defenseman on the ice at the time (McNeill and Wellar according to the score sheet) were honestly just standing on either side of Sestito. Both could have touched him if they reached over there and yet neither did.
To blame Holtby for any of those goals is ludicrous. Two of them were impossible to stop tip ins that probably shouldn't have happened, but in truth they were both nice plays by Albany. The last one...that was just plain poor defense.
So while I know it is easy to blame a goalie when a team gives up 5 goals it was surely not all Braden's fault in this one.
I have much more I want to say about the goaltending situation (among other things) in Hershey this season but I will save it for another day when I have more time. Obviously the situation is lacking right now, but I have a theory that I want to look into before I offer an opinion.
In addition to that...there is a Wednesday game this week. Preview coming soon.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Weekend Preview...Bears visit Crunch, host Devils
Last weekend was not a good one for the Bears as they dropped both games (one in OT) and looked a little lost on the ice.
This weekend sees two more games in an attempt to right the ship and get the W-L record tilting in the right direction again.
The Bears started the season 5-1-1-0. That was almost a month ago now. A increasingly distant memory. In the 7 games since the Bears are only 2-3-2 and currently reside in 3rd place in the East Division. Not exactly what many anticipated.
But that's ok. You don't win championships in November. There is plenty of time to make up points and move back towards the top of the standings.
This weekend is a good chance to begin that move.
Friday night brings a trip up to Syracuse to face the 4th place Crunch. Syracuse will be looking for some retribution after getting embarrassed 7-0 at Giant Center last month. In fact, the Syracuse game was the 7th game of the season and the 5th win before things started to unravel for the Bears.
Like the Bears, the Crunch has struggled since that game going 3-4-1-0 in their 8 games since their visit to Hershey. At this point in the season neither team is where they want, or expected, to be in the standings. The Crunch were thought to be a strong contender in the East Division, but have so far failed to meet expectations.
There is plenty of talent on the team though. Four players are averaging over a point per game including Kyle Palmieri who has 9 goals in 9 games and Patrick Maroon who leads the team with 15 points in 13 games.
Goaltender Iiro Tarkki seems to have found his game since getting pulled in Hershey back in October. Since then he has posted a 2.13 goals against average and a .931 save percentage while going 3-3-0 since then. While it is no guarantee that Tarkki starts against the Bears it would seem to make sense to me to give the kid a chance to redeem himself.
The Bears will have to work hard for a victory against the Crunch. Something they have struggled to do consistently of late.
Saturday night welcomes the Bears back to Giant Center against the Northeast Division leading Albany Devils. This will be the 2nd of 4 meetings between the former East Division rivals in 2011-12. Hershey won in Albany 4-1 back on October 21.
While the Crunch has struggled since the Bears beat them, the Devils have gone the opposite route. They went into the first game against Hershey with a 1-4-0-0 record and pretty much played like that record against the Bears.
However, since that game the Devils are 7-1-1-1. Surprisingly their only regulation loss during that stretch came against the bottom-dwelling Binghamton Senators. Otherwise they have either won or at least gotten a point in every game they have played since losing at home to the Bears in October.
Now, while that is impressive let me rain on Albany's parade a bit...5 of those wins came on home ice. Only 3 of their 10 games (and only 4 of their 16 overall) have been played on the road this season. In those games they are only 2-2-0-0 with one of the wins coming in overtime. On the road they have been outscored 12-7.
So this isn't an experienced road team at this point in the season. Whether that means they are a bad road team or not remains to be seen since it is such a small sample size, but it is the perfect chance for Hershey to take advantage.
The Devils will not have played since last Sunday at game time Saturday night. So, on one side of the argument they will be well rested and won't have traveled the night before...like the Bears will have to do. However, on the other side of the argument...they will possibly be a little reserved and a little rusty for the beginning of the game.
Either way the Bears need to be ready to play. The Devils don't appear to have a "go-to" scorer, but they seem to have some decent balance. Rookie Joe Whitney leads the team in goals, 5, and points, 10. After that you have 10 guys with 2 or more goals and another 5 with 1.
Back in October Jeff Frazee got the start in goal against the Bears. His numbers on the season aren't exactly wonderful (3.10 gaa, .882 save %) and it would appear that the Devils are currently looking for someone else to step up. Recently rookie Keith Kincaid has been the option in net. He has started 4 of the last 6 games including 2 last weekend. And he has been impressive in those games...going 3-1-0-0 with a 1.74 gaa and a .945 save percentage.
For the Bears....
Dany Sabourin is expected to start in Syracuse with Braden Holtby getting the start Saturday at home. Neither goalie has stood out at this point in the season, but neither has looked dreadful either. One of them needs to step up and become the "number 1" option.
Defensively, it appears that Sean Collins is still injured and will not play this weekend. Tomas Kundratek made his Hershey debut last weekend and looked pretty good for a guy who just joined the team and learned the system. Expect to see familiar faces on the blue-line for the games this weekend.
Offensively we all know who the big scorers are and they know that they need to do more. But there are a couple of names that haven't been thought of in the offensive light so far this season that need to become more of a scoring threat.
Mattias Sjogren has shown flashes of offensive brilliance but his 3rd/4th line role has prevented him from making that more consistent. Similarly, Andrew Carroll has shown offensive flashes this year and in previous years, but his role as agitator and pest (which he does very well) has limited his offensive upside. (Very similar to former Bear Steve Pinizzotto actually.) And Matt Pope, just signed to a pro tryout contract (25 game deal that doesn't commit the Bears for any length of time), has been solid for South Carolina in the ECHL this season with 6 goals and 11 assists in only 13 games.
Typically when scorers get recalled from South Carolina there is some hesitation to give them too big a role in Hershey due to possible defensive limitations (do the names Travis Morin or Michael Dubuc ring any bells) so the jury is still out on how this will work. However, Pope has played in the AHL before and has been featured in a more defensive role with those AHL teams. In fact, he hasn't played regularly at the ECHL level since 08-09 and has been an AHL regular since then.
Those 3 players, Carroll, Pope, and Sjogren now make up Hershey's third line and are expecting to bring a more offensive mindset to the game this weekend.
I for one am excited to see a 3rd offensive line because the top two aren't exactly lighting up the scoreboard of late.
Should be two tough games this weekend for the Bears. But two games that they should (I repeat...SHOULD) win. We shall see if they can.
This weekend sees two more games in an attempt to right the ship and get the W-L record tilting in the right direction again.
The Bears started the season 5-1-1-0. That was almost a month ago now. A increasingly distant memory. In the 7 games since the Bears are only 2-3-2 and currently reside in 3rd place in the East Division. Not exactly what many anticipated.
But that's ok. You don't win championships in November. There is plenty of time to make up points and move back towards the top of the standings.
This weekend is a good chance to begin that move.
Friday night brings a trip up to Syracuse to face the 4th place Crunch. Syracuse will be looking for some retribution after getting embarrassed 7-0 at Giant Center last month. In fact, the Syracuse game was the 7th game of the season and the 5th win before things started to unravel for the Bears.
Like the Bears, the Crunch has struggled since that game going 3-4-1-0 in their 8 games since their visit to Hershey. At this point in the season neither team is where they want, or expected, to be in the standings. The Crunch were thought to be a strong contender in the East Division, but have so far failed to meet expectations.
There is plenty of talent on the team though. Four players are averaging over a point per game including Kyle Palmieri who has 9 goals in 9 games and Patrick Maroon who leads the team with 15 points in 13 games.
Goaltender Iiro Tarkki seems to have found his game since getting pulled in Hershey back in October. Since then he has posted a 2.13 goals against average and a .931 save percentage while going 3-3-0 since then. While it is no guarantee that Tarkki starts against the Bears it would seem to make sense to me to give the kid a chance to redeem himself.
The Bears will have to work hard for a victory against the Crunch. Something they have struggled to do consistently of late.
Saturday night welcomes the Bears back to Giant Center against the Northeast Division leading Albany Devils. This will be the 2nd of 4 meetings between the former East Division rivals in 2011-12. Hershey won in Albany 4-1 back on October 21.
While the Crunch has struggled since the Bears beat them, the Devils have gone the opposite route. They went into the first game against Hershey with a 1-4-0-0 record and pretty much played like that record against the Bears.
However, since that game the Devils are 7-1-1-1. Surprisingly their only regulation loss during that stretch came against the bottom-dwelling Binghamton Senators. Otherwise they have either won or at least gotten a point in every game they have played since losing at home to the Bears in October.
Now, while that is impressive let me rain on Albany's parade a bit...5 of those wins came on home ice. Only 3 of their 10 games (and only 4 of their 16 overall) have been played on the road this season. In those games they are only 2-2-0-0 with one of the wins coming in overtime. On the road they have been outscored 12-7.
So this isn't an experienced road team at this point in the season. Whether that means they are a bad road team or not remains to be seen since it is such a small sample size, but it is the perfect chance for Hershey to take advantage.
The Devils will not have played since last Sunday at game time Saturday night. So, on one side of the argument they will be well rested and won't have traveled the night before...like the Bears will have to do. However, on the other side of the argument...they will possibly be a little reserved and a little rusty for the beginning of the game.
Either way the Bears need to be ready to play. The Devils don't appear to have a "go-to" scorer, but they seem to have some decent balance. Rookie Joe Whitney leads the team in goals, 5, and points, 10. After that you have 10 guys with 2 or more goals and another 5 with 1.
Back in October Jeff Frazee got the start in goal against the Bears. His numbers on the season aren't exactly wonderful (3.10 gaa, .882 save %) and it would appear that the Devils are currently looking for someone else to step up. Recently rookie Keith Kincaid has been the option in net. He has started 4 of the last 6 games including 2 last weekend. And he has been impressive in those games...going 3-1-0-0 with a 1.74 gaa and a .945 save percentage.
For the Bears....
Dany Sabourin is expected to start in Syracuse with Braden Holtby getting the start Saturday at home. Neither goalie has stood out at this point in the season, but neither has looked dreadful either. One of them needs to step up and become the "number 1" option.
Defensively, it appears that Sean Collins is still injured and will not play this weekend. Tomas Kundratek made his Hershey debut last weekend and looked pretty good for a guy who just joined the team and learned the system. Expect to see familiar faces on the blue-line for the games this weekend.
Offensively we all know who the big scorers are and they know that they need to do more. But there are a couple of names that haven't been thought of in the offensive light so far this season that need to become more of a scoring threat.
Mattias Sjogren has shown flashes of offensive brilliance but his 3rd/4th line role has prevented him from making that more consistent. Similarly, Andrew Carroll has shown offensive flashes this year and in previous years, but his role as agitator and pest (which he does very well) has limited his offensive upside. (Very similar to former Bear Steve Pinizzotto actually.) And Matt Pope, just signed to a pro tryout contract (25 game deal that doesn't commit the Bears for any length of time), has been solid for South Carolina in the ECHL this season with 6 goals and 11 assists in only 13 games.
Typically when scorers get recalled from South Carolina there is some hesitation to give them too big a role in Hershey due to possible defensive limitations (do the names Travis Morin or Michael Dubuc ring any bells) so the jury is still out on how this will work. However, Pope has played in the AHL before and has been featured in a more defensive role with those AHL teams. In fact, he hasn't played regularly at the ECHL level since 08-09 and has been an AHL regular since then.
Those 3 players, Carroll, Pope, and Sjogren now make up Hershey's third line and are expecting to bring a more offensive mindset to the game this weekend.
I for one am excited to see a 3rd offensive line because the top two aren't exactly lighting up the scoreboard of late.
Should be two tough games this weekend for the Bears. But two games that they should (I repeat...SHOULD) win. We shall see if they can.
LET'S GO BEARS!!!
Saturday, October 22, 2011
GameDay Preview: Bears vs Pens
Last night in Albany the Bears came away with a 4-1 victory over a team they have dominated for the past year or so. Braden Holtby made 18 saves while the Bears managed 23 shots and got goals from Cody Eakin (3rd), Matt Ford (3), Christian Hanson (2), and Boyd Kane (1).
That's a win when you are expected to win. Exactly what good teams are supposed to do...win the games you are supposed to win.
Now the Bears return home to face a team that dominated them for the past year or so, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
These teams have already met once this year when Hershey won 3-2 two weeks ago up in Wilkes-Barre Township. This is the second of 12 meetings this season.
Like the Bears, and most AHL teams, this Baby Pens team will look a little different than they did last year. Last season they finished as the #1 seed in the AHL and were considered a top contender for the Calder Cup. As we all know, they came up short losing to Charlotte in the East Division Finals (2nd round), but they had a good campaign leading up to that.
But some things changed up in Northeast PA.
Gone are leading scorer Brett Sterling and 20 goal scorers Tim Wallace and Nick Johnson. Dustin Jeffrey and his 17 goals also left Wilkes-Barre, but he didn't go far and could return depending on Pittsburgh's health (he has only dressed for 1 NHL game this season).
Otherwise many of the top names return. Ryan Craig, Keven Veilleux, Eric Tangradi, Bryan Lerg, Geoff Walker, Zach Sill, and Ben Street were all double digit goal scorers for the Baby Pens last year and all are back with the team this season. Veilleux hasn't played yet this season due to injury though.
The offense also gets some help in the form of Colin McDonald, rookie Brian Gibbons, and NHL veterans Jason Williams and Niko Dimitrakos. McDonald scored 42 goals last season playing alongside Alexandre Giroux in Oklahoma City. Jason Williams played in his first game of the season last night while the other 3 have combined for 4 goals and 6 assists in 6 games.
The defense will look similar as well. Gone are Andrew Hutchinson, Robert Bortuzzo, and Corey Potter. Bortuzzo, like Jeffrey, is up in Pittsburgh, but he hasn't seen any game action to date so he could return in the future.
Joining the club on the blueline are NHLer Alexandre Picard (played for Montreal last season) and rookies Philip Samuelsson and Simon Despres. Picard hadn't played in the AHL since 2007-08 before this season started.
They lost some veteran players on the blueline, but kept a talented bunch in place. The likely won't allow a ton of easy goals this season.
The strength of the 2010-11 Baby Pens team was the goaltending. John Curry and Brad Thiessen both had great seasons for the Baby Pens. Thiessen was particularly stellar posting a record of 35-8-1 with a goals against average below 2 (1.94) and a save percentage of .922.
Curry moved on but Thiessen returns. So far he isn't having as much success this season as he has a save percentage under .900 and a gaa over 2.50. But he is always a threat to steal a game away. He will be joined this season by AHL veteran Scott Munroe who spent last season in the KHL.
In many of the previews I have read it mentions the Baby Pens as one of the teams moving downward in the division. Much of that talk has to do with teams in Norfolk and Syracuse getting that much better, but until I see it I have a hard time believing it. This is a very talented team that could easily make a run for another division crown.
The Pens will still be in every game they play and once the big Penguins get healthy the Baby Pens could see a return of some very talented players. Considering all the callups they had last year that team could have been even better. I remember the game they destroyed Hershey (7-1 I believe), the top 7 scorers on their team were ALL recalled to Pittsburgh.
Tangradi only played 42 games for Wilkes-Barre while Jeffrey (40), Johnson (48), and Street (36) didn't play full seasons in the AHL either. The Pittsburgh Penguins were decimated by injuries last year...making what the Baby Pens did (with a recall depleted lineup many nights) even more impressive.
So far the Pens have recorded 6 points in 6 games. They are 2-2-1-1 (they didn't lose in OT, the third # in that record, a single time last year) and have scored 18 while giving up 17.
Tonight they visit Giant Center for the first time in 2011-12. Fresh off a road win in Springfield. They have been better on the road than at home in the early going. 2 road games, 2 road wins, outscoring their opponents 8-1 in those games.
Should be a good one tonight at the GC.
Hershey Bears
record ~ 4-0-1-0 | 9 points
standings ~ 1st in East Division
most recent game ~ 4-1 Win @ Albany, 10/21
last 5 games ~ 4-0-1-0
home record ~ 0-0-1-0
goals for ~ 22
goals against ~ 16
power play ~ 30.8% (3rd)
road penalty kill ~ 87.0% (8th)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
record ~ 2-2-1-1 | 6 points
standings ~ 4th in East Division
most recent game ~ 3-0 Win @ Springfield, 10/21
last 5 games ~ 2-1-1-1
road record ~ 2-0-0-0
goals for ~18
goals against ~17
road power play ~13.8% (23rd)
home penalty kill ~ 85.2% (10th)
That's a win when you are expected to win. Exactly what good teams are supposed to do...win the games you are supposed to win.
Now the Bears return home to face a team that dominated them for the past year or so, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
These teams have already met once this year when Hershey won 3-2 two weeks ago up in Wilkes-Barre Township. This is the second of 12 meetings this season.
Like the Bears, and most AHL teams, this Baby Pens team will look a little different than they did last year. Last season they finished as the #1 seed in the AHL and were considered a top contender for the Calder Cup. As we all know, they came up short losing to Charlotte in the East Division Finals (2nd round), but they had a good campaign leading up to that.
But some things changed up in Northeast PA.
Gone are leading scorer Brett Sterling and 20 goal scorers Tim Wallace and Nick Johnson. Dustin Jeffrey and his 17 goals also left Wilkes-Barre, but he didn't go far and could return depending on Pittsburgh's health (he has only dressed for 1 NHL game this season).
Otherwise many of the top names return. Ryan Craig, Keven Veilleux, Eric Tangradi, Bryan Lerg, Geoff Walker, Zach Sill, and Ben Street were all double digit goal scorers for the Baby Pens last year and all are back with the team this season. Veilleux hasn't played yet this season due to injury though.
The offense also gets some help in the form of Colin McDonald, rookie Brian Gibbons, and NHL veterans Jason Williams and Niko Dimitrakos. McDonald scored 42 goals last season playing alongside Alexandre Giroux in Oklahoma City. Jason Williams played in his first game of the season last night while the other 3 have combined for 4 goals and 6 assists in 6 games.
The defense will look similar as well. Gone are Andrew Hutchinson, Robert Bortuzzo, and Corey Potter. Bortuzzo, like Jeffrey, is up in Pittsburgh, but he hasn't seen any game action to date so he could return in the future.
Joining the club on the blueline are NHLer Alexandre Picard (played for Montreal last season) and rookies Philip Samuelsson and Simon Despres. Picard hadn't played in the AHL since 2007-08 before this season started.
They lost some veteran players on the blueline, but kept a talented bunch in place. The likely won't allow a ton of easy goals this season.
The strength of the 2010-11 Baby Pens team was the goaltending. John Curry and Brad Thiessen both had great seasons for the Baby Pens. Thiessen was particularly stellar posting a record of 35-8-1 with a goals against average below 2 (1.94) and a save percentage of .922.
Curry moved on but Thiessen returns. So far he isn't having as much success this season as he has a save percentage under .900 and a gaa over 2.50. But he is always a threat to steal a game away. He will be joined this season by AHL veteran Scott Munroe who spent last season in the KHL.
In many of the previews I have read it mentions the Baby Pens as one of the teams moving downward in the division. Much of that talk has to do with teams in Norfolk and Syracuse getting that much better, but until I see it I have a hard time believing it. This is a very talented team that could easily make a run for another division crown.
The Pens will still be in every game they play and once the big Penguins get healthy the Baby Pens could see a return of some very talented players. Considering all the callups they had last year that team could have been even better. I remember the game they destroyed Hershey (7-1 I believe), the top 7 scorers on their team were ALL recalled to Pittsburgh.
Tangradi only played 42 games for Wilkes-Barre while Jeffrey (40), Johnson (48), and Street (36) didn't play full seasons in the AHL either. The Pittsburgh Penguins were decimated by injuries last year...making what the Baby Pens did (with a recall depleted lineup many nights) even more impressive.
So far the Pens have recorded 6 points in 6 games. They are 2-2-1-1 (they didn't lose in OT, the third # in that record, a single time last year) and have scored 18 while giving up 17.
Tonight they visit Giant Center for the first time in 2011-12. Fresh off a road win in Springfield. They have been better on the road than at home in the early going. 2 road games, 2 road wins, outscoring their opponents 8-1 in those games.
Should be a good one tonight at the GC.
Hershey Bears
record ~ 4-0-1-0 | 9 points
standings ~ 1st in East Division
most recent game ~ 4-1 Win @ Albany, 10/21
last 5 games ~ 4-0-1-0
home record ~ 0-0-1-0
goals for ~ 22
goals against ~ 16
power play ~ 30.8% (3rd)
road penalty kill ~ 87.0% (8th)
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
record ~ 2-2-1-1 | 6 points
standings ~ 4th in East Division
most recent game ~ 3-0 Win @ Springfield, 10/21
last 5 games ~ 2-1-1-1
road record ~ 2-0-0-0
goals for ~18
goals against ~17
road power play ~13.8% (23rd)
home penalty kill ~ 85.2% (10th)
last time teams met - The Bears won 3-2 in Wilkes-Barre on October 8th. It was Wilkes-Barre's first game of the season and home opener.
Players to watch:
Hershey:
C Cody Eakin (14)
- took pretty well to the line shuffle as he had a goal (on the power play) and an assist last night in Albany.
RW Matthew Ford (23) - also scored (and assisted) last night and is tied for 2nd on the team with 3 goals already this year.
C Keith Aucoin (11) - always the engine that makes this team go he had an assist last night giving up 7 on the young season to go with 2 goals.
RW Matthew Ford (23) - also scored (and assisted) last night and is tied for 2nd on the team with 3 goals already this year.
C Keith Aucoin (11) - always the engine that makes this team go he had an assist last night giving up 7 on the young season to go with 2 goals.
Penguins:
F Bryan Lerg (19) - leading the Pens in goals and points in the early going with 5 and 8 as he picked up a goal and an assist last night.
F Eric Tangradi (25) - second on the team in goals (3) and leading the team in assists (4), he picked up goal #3 last night.
RW Geoff Walker (17) - tied with Tangradi for 2nd with 3 goals, he also scored in the win last night.
RW Geoff Walker (17) - tied with Tangradi for 2nd with 3 goals, he also scored in the win last night.
LET'S GO BEARS!!!
Friday, October 21, 2011
GameDay Preview: Bears @ Devils
Hershey comes into the season's first 3 in 3 with a few injury concerns. Kyle Greentree has a broken wrist and is listed as week to week although it seems as though he will miss at least a month. Ryan Potulny still isn't practicing either. In addition to that, Michal Neuvirth remains injured for the Capitals meaning that Dany Sabourin (as of now) remains in Washington to back up Tomas Vokoun. If Neuvy misses much more time I would expect Braden Holtby to get recalled for a game sometime sooner than later.
In response to those injuries forwards Maxime Lacroix and Garrett Mitchell were recalled from South Carolina this week and Philipp Grubauer remained in Hershey. All three could see the ice this weekend.
Otherwise the Bears season has started out very well. They are 3-0-1-0 and have scored 18 goals compared to only 15 against. 10 different players have scored at least one goal including Chris Bourque who has 4 goals in his return.
Considering that Hershey has so many "new" faces this year it is impressive how quickly they have come together and started the season. Sure the goals allowed should be lower (almost 4 per game right now) but the defense will gel as the season progresses.
This weekend features 2 games against division opponents and one road game (tonight) against a former division rival.
The Albany Devils finished last in the East Division last season and no reside in the newly formed Northeast Division. Their new "home" in the standings has not affected their position in the standings as of yet as they are still in last place with a 1-4-0-0 record. They have allowed a league worst 22 goals so far while only scoring 11.
5 of their top 6 scorers from last season return. Honestly, the roster isn't that much different than it was a year ago. A couple young forwards are expected to make the next step in their progression while one veteran, Stephane Veilleux, was brought in forth depth.
The defense is also fairly similar to last season's unit. They did bring in Peter Harrold who hasn't played in the AHL since 2007-08 when he played for the Manchester Monarchs. In fact, Harrold was a member of the Monarchs team that was swept by the Bears in the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals.
The goaltending isn't much better. Jeff Frazee returns after he went 11-15-3 last season. As of right now he joins forces with rookie Maxime Clermont who hasn't played a professional game yet. He did go 28-10-5 in the QMJHL last season though. Keith Kinkaid is identified as having played 3 games for the Devils this season going 1-2-0, however, he is not currently listed on their roster.
Last year the Bears and Devils played 6 times while East Division "rivals". Hershey won all 6 games.
Players to watch:
Hershey:
LW Chris Bourque (17) - 4 goals in 4 games will raise the expectations a little bit. He also has 4 assists on the season.
LW Cody Eakin (14) - The rookie is being promoted from 4th line center to 2nd line left wing to take Kyle Greentree's spot in the lineup (at least for now). Great opportunity for him.
C Keith Aucoin (11) - Bourque's numbers are impressive enough but Aucoin also has 8 (2 goals 6 assists) points in 4 games. 2 players on the team averaging 2 points per game...not too bad.
Devils:
RW Matt Anderson (29) - Led the team in scoring last season with 55 points (23, 32) and is doing it again after 5 games with 2 goals and an assist.
RW Joe Whitney (9) - The rookie had 40 goals and 102 assists during 4 years of college hockey. And he is listed at only 5'6"...which actually makes him smaller than any Bears player. That won't happen often this season.
D Alexander Urbom (33) - The big defenseman is a top prospect for the NJ Devils and has started off the season with 3 assists in 5 games.
In response to those injuries forwards Maxime Lacroix and Garrett Mitchell were recalled from South Carolina this week and Philipp Grubauer remained in Hershey. All three could see the ice this weekend.
Otherwise the Bears season has started out very well. They are 3-0-1-0 and have scored 18 goals compared to only 15 against. 10 different players have scored at least one goal including Chris Bourque who has 4 goals in his return.
Considering that Hershey has so many "new" faces this year it is impressive how quickly they have come together and started the season. Sure the goals allowed should be lower (almost 4 per game right now) but the defense will gel as the season progresses.
This weekend features 2 games against division opponents and one road game (tonight) against a former division rival.
The Albany Devils finished last in the East Division last season and no reside in the newly formed Northeast Division. Their new "home" in the standings has not affected their position in the standings as of yet as they are still in last place with a 1-4-0-0 record. They have allowed a league worst 22 goals so far while only scoring 11.
5 of their top 6 scorers from last season return. Honestly, the roster isn't that much different than it was a year ago. A couple young forwards are expected to make the next step in their progression while one veteran, Stephane Veilleux, was brought in forth depth.
The defense is also fairly similar to last season's unit. They did bring in Peter Harrold who hasn't played in the AHL since 2007-08 when he played for the Manchester Monarchs. In fact, Harrold was a member of the Monarchs team that was swept by the Bears in the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals.
The goaltending isn't much better. Jeff Frazee returns after he went 11-15-3 last season. As of right now he joins forces with rookie Maxime Clermont who hasn't played a professional game yet. He did go 28-10-5 in the QMJHL last season though. Keith Kinkaid is identified as having played 3 games for the Devils this season going 1-2-0, however, he is not currently listed on their roster.
Last year the Bears and Devils played 6 times while East Division "rivals". Hershey won all 6 games.
Players to watch:
Hershey:
LW Chris Bourque (17) - 4 goals in 4 games will raise the expectations a little bit. He also has 4 assists on the season.
LW Cody Eakin (14) - The rookie is being promoted from 4th line center to 2nd line left wing to take Kyle Greentree's spot in the lineup (at least for now). Great opportunity for him.
C Keith Aucoin (11) - Bourque's numbers are impressive enough but Aucoin also has 8 (2 goals 6 assists) points in 4 games. 2 players on the team averaging 2 points per game...not too bad.
Devils:
RW Matt Anderson (29) - Led the team in scoring last season with 55 points (23, 32) and is doing it again after 5 games with 2 goals and an assist.
RW Joe Whitney (9) - The rookie had 40 goals and 102 assists during 4 years of college hockey. And he is listed at only 5'6"...which actually makes him smaller than any Bears player. That won't happen often this season.
D Alexander Urbom (33) - The big defenseman is a top prospect for the NJ Devils and has started off the season with 3 assists in 5 games.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Bears pick up 3 points this weekend
Hershey managed to get 3 points in 3 games this past weekend. Not exactly what they were hoping for but it is definitely not the worst thing that could have happened either.
Friday night was probably the most disappointing. Despite taking 34 shots the Bears could only beat Adirondack goaltender 1 time as Hershey lost 2-1 against the 8th place (also known as last) team in the East Division.
That result was even more disappointing when you remember Hershey had just lost to the then 7th place team in the Division, Syracuse.
But Hershey would redeem themselves...kind of.
The now 7th place Albany Devils came to town Saturday night and despite their inability to score goals this season, 2.69 per game (23rd in the league), and Hershey's ability to keep teams off the scoreboard, 2.64 goals allowed per game (8th in the league), the Devils managed to score 4 goals and leave this game in question until midway through the 3rd period.
If you remember, which I am sure everyone who was there does, this game was marred by an ice problem in the Albany crease during the 3rd period. Multiple attempts to correct the problem (some might call it a "phantom" problem) proved mostly ineffective as Albany goalie Jeff Frazee did not want to finish the game. To the officials credit they told him too bad and the game resumed.
You could just tell that he was uncomfortable in the crease throughout the 3rd period. Once the game got going Hershey showered him with shots and ended up getting the game winning goal with a little under 9 minutes to go before adding an insurance marker and empty netter latter in the game.
Then came Sunday and a showdown with the league leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. This season has not been kind to the Bears in this rivalry as Hershey has beaten the Baby Pens once. And that game was played in Pittsburgh just before the new year.
As we all know by now the Pens won....in overtime...on a short handed goal.
It was a very unexpected and unsatisfying way to lose a game. Hershey had just killed off a penalty of their own and were just starting the power play when Wilkes-Barre scored on an odd man rush.
But let's be honest about one thing...Hershey lost that game prior to overtime. The Bears registered a whopping 4 shots on goal during the 2nd period. And many of the shots they did take, in all 4 periods, were under-whelming. They had little to no traffic in front of Pens goalie John Curry and didn't seem interested in getting in there.
For much of the game the Bears seemed almost reluctant to shoot. And that is fine to a point. You can't just shoot each time you have the puck as many times there aren't open lanes or you don't have the time. But Hershey seemed to be waiting for the perfect shot instead of getting pucks on net. Neither of Hershey's goals were because of "perfect shots" and not many goals from here out will be. The key is to get players to the net and then get pucks on net. Goalies at this level...no matter how good they are...will leave rebounds from time to time.
So after the weekend Hershey remains entrenched in 2nd place in the East Division. But they are perilously close to falling to 3rd, 4th or even 5th in the race for the playoffs. And I am sincerely hoping for a 2nd, 3rd or 5th place finish. Because I would rather see Hershey play the Atlantic Division champ than the East Division champ considering the recent history.
Below you will see a chart that shows the current standings with games left and possible points. Should Hershey win their remaining games they would clinch the 2nd spot in the East. But considering the 2 games against Norfolk and Norfolk's 3 games in hand things could get ugly quick this weekend.
Friday night was probably the most disappointing. Despite taking 34 shots the Bears could only beat Adirondack goaltender 1 time as Hershey lost 2-1 against the 8th place (also known as last) team in the East Division.
That result was even more disappointing when you remember Hershey had just lost to the then 7th place team in the Division, Syracuse.
But Hershey would redeem themselves...kind of.
The now 7th place Albany Devils came to town Saturday night and despite their inability to score goals this season, 2.69 per game (23rd in the league), and Hershey's ability to keep teams off the scoreboard, 2.64 goals allowed per game (8th in the league), the Devils managed to score 4 goals and leave this game in question until midway through the 3rd period.
If you remember, which I am sure everyone who was there does, this game was marred by an ice problem in the Albany crease during the 3rd period. Multiple attempts to correct the problem (some might call it a "phantom" problem) proved mostly ineffective as Albany goalie Jeff Frazee did not want to finish the game. To the officials credit they told him too bad and the game resumed.
You could just tell that he was uncomfortable in the crease throughout the 3rd period. Once the game got going Hershey showered him with shots and ended up getting the game winning goal with a little under 9 minutes to go before adding an insurance marker and empty netter latter in the game.
Then came Sunday and a showdown with the league leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. This season has not been kind to the Bears in this rivalry as Hershey has beaten the Baby Pens once. And that game was played in Pittsburgh just before the new year.
As we all know by now the Pens won....in overtime...on a short handed goal.
It was a very unexpected and unsatisfying way to lose a game. Hershey had just killed off a penalty of their own and were just starting the power play when Wilkes-Barre scored on an odd man rush.
But let's be honest about one thing...Hershey lost that game prior to overtime. The Bears registered a whopping 4 shots on goal during the 2nd period. And many of the shots they did take, in all 4 periods, were under-whelming. They had little to no traffic in front of Pens goalie John Curry and didn't seem interested in getting in there.
For much of the game the Bears seemed almost reluctant to shoot. And that is fine to a point. You can't just shoot each time you have the puck as many times there aren't open lanes or you don't have the time. But Hershey seemed to be waiting for the perfect shot instead of getting pucks on net. Neither of Hershey's goals were because of "perfect shots" and not many goals from here out will be. The key is to get players to the net and then get pucks on net. Goalies at this level...no matter how good they are...will leave rebounds from time to time.
So after the weekend Hershey remains entrenched in 2nd place in the East Division. But they are perilously close to falling to 3rd, 4th or even 5th in the race for the playoffs. And I am sincerely hoping for a 2nd, 3rd or 5th place finish. Because I would rather see Hershey play the Atlantic Division champ than the East Division champ considering the recent history.
Below you will see a chart that shows the current standings with games left and possible points. Should Hershey win their remaining games they would clinch the 2nd spot in the East. But considering the 2 games against Norfolk and Norfolk's 3 games in hand things could get ugly quick this weekend.
| Team | Games Left | Current Pts | Possible Pts |
| Penguins | |||
| Bears | |||
| Charlotte | |||
| Norfolk | |||
| Binghamton |
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Bears play well, beat Devils for 5th time
The main reason to take a player that was your 2nd line center a couple games ago and put him on the bench (or in the minors) and stipulate that he won't play is because you don't want him to get hurt. And that means they want to move him.
Perry is talented, no one will deny that. On another team in another system maybe he sticks in the NHL but there are too many centers in the Capitals system to allow him to sit and wait. It would make more sense for the organization to include him in a deal for a more consistent and more proven player.
My guess...watch what the Florida Panthers do. I think Stephen Weiss is one of the best players available and I think the Caps COULD be interested. But it might cost too much.
If the Caps make a trade I would definitely expect Perreault to be a part of it.
---------
No on to the game last night.
Best effort I have seen from the Bears since the January 29th game against Charlotte. The score was 4-3 but it wasn't really that close in my opinion.
Hershey controlled the play from the beginning of the game. They registered 19 shots in the first period and tried to put the pressure on the Albany Devils from the opening whistle.
Albany did get the first goal of the game and I will be honest...I was worried at that point. But Hershey picked up only their 6th win of the season when they allow the first goal thanks to goals by Boyd Kane (2 of them), Francois Bouchard, and Steve Pinizzotto.
Personally I didn't think the offense was lights out amazing last night. They did enough to get the job done. The area where I saw the most improvement was the physical side.
And by physical I don't mean huge hits that knock a guy down...those are rare. But lately the Bears weren't even touching the other team.
Last night there was few if any times where a Devil went for a loose puck in the corner that a Bear wasn't punishing him for it. And that makes a HUGE difference in a game.
The effort level all over the ice was better for Hershey. Keith Aucoin at one point dropped to block a shot. The defense was solid after a shaky start. Jared DeMichiel struggled at times but still picked up the win in only his 2nd career AHL start. Dmitri Orlov showed great poise and looked very controlled all game long...he is definitely a player to keep an eye on.
The power play scored twice. The 5 on 4 power play goal was their first since February 6th (they scored a 5 on 3 on Wednesday night).
The penalty kill shut down the Devils opportunities.
To put it simply the Bears played like they can and have during most of the season. Instead of caving after they fell behind and instead of giving in when the fluke 2nd goal occurred at the end of the second they came out in the 3rd and played like they wanted to win.
For the first time in a while the Bears played like they wanted the win more than the opponent.
Now they have to show that they can string together a few good games. That begins this afternoon as they visit the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
It is a tough turn around. Last night's game finished at about 9:30 and Hershey faces off today at 3:00. 17.5 hours in between with a 4 hour bus ride incorporated.
Fortunately for the Bears they are playing Bridgeport. They currently reside in 27th of the 30 AHL teams with only 49 points.
Last week Hershey beat them 6-4 at Giant Center in a game that Hershey didn't play that well in despite the score.
After that game Bridgeport won 2 straight before losing their most recent two games including a 5-0 loss to division leading Manchester last night.
Overall the Sound Tigers are 2-12-0-1 in their last 15 games.
This is the type of game that the Bears HAVE to win. You can't show up flat against a team at the bottom of the standings.
The Charlotte Checkers have closed the gap on the Bears to only 2 points. 1 game currently separates the 2nd place Bears and 3rd place Checkers. And it isn't much further to 4th place Binghamton (7 points).
Games against bottom dwelling teams are games you can not lose this late in the season.
LET'S GO BEARS!!!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Caps make moves; Bears welcome Devils
The Caps have made a couple moves today. No trades yet but some moves that do affect Hershey. The Caps claimed winger Marco Sturm off waivers from the Kings while waiving D.J. King. That could have an effect on Hershey in two ways.
1. It gives the Caps more forward depth which could mean players returning to Hershey.
2. If King clears waivers he would likely report to Hershey.
But that isn't all the Caps did today. They recalled Jay Beagle yet again. He is expected to play tonight in place of Mathieu Perreault who has been falling out of favor quickly due to a lack of production and consistency.
This could also signal that a deal is close involving Perry. It has been mentioned often that if the Caps were to trade for a 2nd line center than Perreault could be a piece to move. He likely isn't in the Capitals long term plans with other players like Cody Eakin and Marcus Johansson more likely to fill the 2nd and 3rd line center positions moving forward. Yet he still has ability and could benefit from a fresh start and more consistent linemates.
There is no word on anything at this point but the benching of Perreault does raise some flags at least.
That is all of the moves as of now but if anything else happens you will be sure to find a response here.
-------------------
The Bears are back at it this weekend with 2 games. Tonight the Albany Devils visit Giant Center and then tomorrow at 3pm the Bears will play the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on the road.
That is a tough travel schedule. Bridgeport is about a 4 hour bus ride from Hershey.
But first things first the Bears need to get back to their winning ways. They have alternated wins and losses over their 7 games. Based on that pattern the Bears should win tonight.
The Devils come in playing well of late. They have won 4 of their last 7 games and only 1 of the losses was by more than a goal. They have scored 23 goals in the 7 game stretch and have allowed 22. So 7 games and the majority of them have been close.
They are surely hoping that some of that success translates into a win tonight as they will be looking for their first win of the season against the Bears. In 4 matchups so far the Bears have won them all.
But we all know that Hershey hasn't been playing as well of late and yet again their starting goalie, Braden Holtby, is out with an injury.
Todd Ford and Jared DeMichiel will be the goalies for the coming weeks and I would expect DeMichiel to make his Giant Center debut tonight after Ford's rough first period on Thursday. But then again maybe Coach French decides to put Ford back in to show confidence in him.
Either way I think we will see more of DeMichiel over the next couple weeks than his previous stay in Hershey where he made only 1 start.
Hershey Bears
record ~ 36-19-1-3 76 points
standings ~ 2nd in East Division
most recent game ~ 4-1 Loss @ Lake Erie, 2/24
last 5 games ~ 2-3-0-0
home record ~ 18-10-0-2
goals for ~ 196
goals against ~ 150
home power play ~ 22.0% (6th)
home penalty kill ~ 85.6% (5th)
Albany Devils
record ~ 22-30-1-3 48 points
standings ~ 6th in East Division
most recent game ~ 5-2 Loss @ Springfield, 2/25
last 5 games ~ 3-1-1-0
road record ~ 13-11-1-1
goals for ~ 144
goals against ~ 199
road power play ~15.2% (22nd)
road penalty kill ~ 78.3% (25th)
last time teams met - Fifth meeting between the teams this season with Hershey controlling the season series 4-0-0-0. So far Hershey has won by a combined 19-10 but 3 of the games were by a combined 4 goals.
Players to watch:
RW Francois Bouchard (22) - He has only 8 goals and 18 points on the season but he started out the second half great scoring 4 times in 8 games (including 2 against Albany). But since then he has 0 zero goals and only 2 assists in his last 11 games. The team needs more production from him.
LW Boyd Kane (12) - One of the few Bears carrying his weight over the recent stretch. He has 3 goals and 4 assists in the last 5 games. Unfortunately 3 of those games were losses.
Albany:
C Steve Zalewski (15) - Came over from Worcester earlier this month. Has played only 7 games for the Devils but has 5 goals and 1 assist in those game. Only had 4 goals for the Sharks prior to the move.
C Adam Henrique (17) - Tied for the team lead in goals with 17 and second on the team in points with 34. He has 4 goals and 3 assists in his last 7 games.
C Matt Anderson (22) - Leads the team in points with 39 and assists with 22. Also tied for the team lead in goals with 17. He has 1 goal and 6 assists in his last 7 games.
1. It gives the Caps more forward depth which could mean players returning to Hershey.
2. If King clears waivers he would likely report to Hershey.
But that isn't all the Caps did today. They recalled Jay Beagle yet again. He is expected to play tonight in place of Mathieu Perreault who has been falling out of favor quickly due to a lack of production and consistency.
This could also signal that a deal is close involving Perry. It has been mentioned often that if the Caps were to trade for a 2nd line center than Perreault could be a piece to move. He likely isn't in the Capitals long term plans with other players like Cody Eakin and Marcus Johansson more likely to fill the 2nd and 3rd line center positions moving forward. Yet he still has ability and could benefit from a fresh start and more consistent linemates.
There is no word on anything at this point but the benching of Perreault does raise some flags at least.
That is all of the moves as of now but if anything else happens you will be sure to find a response here.
-------------------
The Bears are back at it this weekend with 2 games. Tonight the Albany Devils visit Giant Center and then tomorrow at 3pm the Bears will play the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on the road.
That is a tough travel schedule. Bridgeport is about a 4 hour bus ride from Hershey.
But first things first the Bears need to get back to their winning ways. They have alternated wins and losses over their 7 games. Based on that pattern the Bears should win tonight.
The Devils come in playing well of late. They have won 4 of their last 7 games and only 1 of the losses was by more than a goal. They have scored 23 goals in the 7 game stretch and have allowed 22. So 7 games and the majority of them have been close.
They are surely hoping that some of that success translates into a win tonight as they will be looking for their first win of the season against the Bears. In 4 matchups so far the Bears have won them all.
But we all know that Hershey hasn't been playing as well of late and yet again their starting goalie, Braden Holtby, is out with an injury.
Todd Ford and Jared DeMichiel will be the goalies for the coming weeks and I would expect DeMichiel to make his Giant Center debut tonight after Ford's rough first period on Thursday. But then again maybe Coach French decides to put Ford back in to show confidence in him.
Either way I think we will see more of DeMichiel over the next couple weeks than his previous stay in Hershey where he made only 1 start.
Hershey Bears
record ~ 36-19-1-3 76 points
standings ~ 2nd in East Division
most recent game ~ 4-1 Loss @ Lake Erie, 2/24
last 5 games ~ 2-3-0-0
home record ~ 18-10-0-2
goals for ~ 196
goals against ~ 150
home power play ~ 22.0% (6th)
home penalty kill ~ 85.6% (5th)
Albany Devils
record ~ 22-30-1-3 48 points
standings ~ 6th in East Division
most recent game ~ 5-2 Loss @ Springfield, 2/25
last 5 games ~ 3-1-1-0
road record ~ 13-11-1-1
goals for ~ 144
goals against ~ 199
road power play ~15.2% (22nd)
road penalty kill ~ 78.3% (25th)
last time teams met - Fifth meeting between the teams this season with Hershey controlling the season series 4-0-0-0. So far Hershey has won by a combined 19-10 but 3 of the games were by a combined 4 goals.
Hershey:
C Keith Aucoin (11) - He leads the team in points with 56 but his points per game has dipped from about 1.5 points per game a couple weeks ago to only 1.33 points per game now. He has failed to record a point in the 5 games Hershey has lost over the past 8 games. RW Francois Bouchard (22) - He has only 8 goals and 18 points on the season but he started out the second half great scoring 4 times in 8 games (including 2 against Albany). But since then he has 0 zero goals and only 2 assists in his last 11 games. The team needs more production from him.
LW Boyd Kane (12) - One of the few Bears carrying his weight over the recent stretch. He has 3 goals and 4 assists in the last 5 games. Unfortunately 3 of those games were losses.
Albany:
C Steve Zalewski (15) - Came over from Worcester earlier this month. Has played only 7 games for the Devils but has 5 goals and 1 assist in those game. Only had 4 goals for the Sharks prior to the move.
C Adam Henrique (17) - Tied for the team lead in goals with 17 and second on the team in points with 34. He has 4 goals and 3 assists in his last 7 games.
C Matt Anderson (22) - Leads the team in points with 39 and assists with 22. Also tied for the team lead in goals with 17. He has 1 goal and 6 assists in his last 7 games.
LET'S GO BEARS!!!
Friday, February 4, 2011
Bears visit New Jersey to play the Devils
Tonight the Bears begin their quest towards the playoffs. Hershey sits 11 points behind the division (and league) leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
But we have already talked about that.
Tonight Hershey will play in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Wait...what? Yeah the Albany Devils will play a home game tonight in Atlantic City.
The Devils are having enough problems this year winning at home (only 7 wins, fewest in the league) let alone having to now travel almost 5 hours for a HOME game.
I guess this is so all the New Jersey Devil fans in South Jersey can see the future of the organization. Expect most of the 'future' is currently struggling with the 'present' NJ Devils as they reside in the bottom of the NHL standings. Of the top 10 prospects in the NJ organization according to HockeysFuture.com only 3 currently play for Albany.
Tough break for the Devils. The game will be a truly neutral site and might even favor the Bears a bit considering AC is only about 3 hours from Hershey.
And the Devils could use a break of late. They have lost 5 of their last 6 and have allowed 4+ goals in 4 of those losses. They have been outscored 27-13 in that stretch and 6 of their goals came in their one win over Bridgeport.
That means that in 5 of their last 6 games they have scored a grand total of 7 goals. That won't get the job done.
Things for Hershey couldn't be going much better. They have won 6 straight by a combined 26-10. They rank near the top in most AHL categories including goals per game, goals allowed per game, and power play and they have a team as deep as any in the league.
Just a little while ago they sat 4th in the East division only 2 points ahead of 5th place Binghamton. Now they are 2nd, 3 points ahead of 3rd and 8 points in front of Binghamton.
Tonight's game in New Jersey is definitely a game that could surprise the Bears. They just beat them handily 8-3 2 weeks ago and are playing great. But these are the classic let down games that teams talk about. Saturday and Sunday welcome a visit from the Manitoba Moose who reside in 2nd place in the North division. Could Hershey be looking forward to those games?
This is the type of game the Bears HAVE to win if they are going to give the Pens a run for the division title.
Hershey Bears
record ~ 29-14-1-2 59 points
standings ~ 2nd in East Division
most recent game ~ 1-0 Win vs Charlotte, 1/29
last 5 games ~ 5-0-0-0
road record ~ 13-6-1-1
goals for ~ 158
goals against ~ 107
power play ~ 22.2% (3rd)
penalty kill ~ 84.3% (10th)
Albany Devils
record ~ 18-25-0-3 39 points
standings ~ 6th in East Division
most recent game ~ 6-1 Loss vs Rochester, 1/29
last 5 games ~ 1-4-0-0
home record ~ 7-16-0-2
goals for ~ 118
goals against ~ 164
power play ~ 12.1% (29th)
penalty kill ~ 77.4% (28th)
last time teams met - 4th of 6 meetings this season and the final one in Albany (or on the road at least). Hershey won 8-3 on January 21 and is 3-0 against the Devils this season.
Players to watch:
Hershey:
RW Steve Pinizzotto (13) - He is having a career year offensively with 11 goals and 14 assists through 41 games. His career high in goals is 13, set last year. He has scored in each game against the Devils this season and has 3 goals and 2 assists in the 3 games to date.
F Brian Willsie (18) - His 5 game goal scoring streak was snapped last week but he picked up an assist to extend his scoring streak to 6 games. He had 2 goals and an assist against the Devils 2 weeks ago.
C Keith Aucoin (11) - Has at least one point in 8 straight games (2 goals, 10 assists in that timeframe). Has only played in 1 of the 3 games against Albany this season and had 2 assists 2 weeks ago.
C Matt Anderson (29) - Leading the team in goals (16), assists (16), and points (32) the AHL All Star has 1 goal and 4 assists in the 4 games since playing Hershey.
C Michael Swift (23) - Tied for the team lead in goals with 16 and second in points (28) he has a goal and an assists against the Bears this season. He hasn't scored in 6 games, his second longest streak of the season.
C Adam Henrique (17) - The rookie is 3rd on the team in goals (13) and points (27). He is a top prospect in the organization and has 2 goals and an assists since playing Hershey 2 weeks ago.
But we have already talked about that.
Tonight Hershey will play in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Wait...what? Yeah the Albany Devils will play a home game tonight in Atlantic City.
The Devils are having enough problems this year winning at home (only 7 wins, fewest in the league) let alone having to now travel almost 5 hours for a HOME game.
I guess this is so all the New Jersey Devil fans in South Jersey can see the future of the organization. Expect most of the 'future' is currently struggling with the 'present' NJ Devils as they reside in the bottom of the NHL standings. Of the top 10 prospects in the NJ organization according to HockeysFuture.com only 3 currently play for Albany.
Tough break for the Devils. The game will be a truly neutral site and might even favor the Bears a bit considering AC is only about 3 hours from Hershey.
And the Devils could use a break of late. They have lost 5 of their last 6 and have allowed 4+ goals in 4 of those losses. They have been outscored 27-13 in that stretch and 6 of their goals came in their one win over Bridgeport.
That means that in 5 of their last 6 games they have scored a grand total of 7 goals. That won't get the job done.
Things for Hershey couldn't be going much better. They have won 6 straight by a combined 26-10. They rank near the top in most AHL categories including goals per game, goals allowed per game, and power play and they have a team as deep as any in the league.
Just a little while ago they sat 4th in the East division only 2 points ahead of 5th place Binghamton. Now they are 2nd, 3 points ahead of 3rd and 8 points in front of Binghamton.
Tonight's game in New Jersey is definitely a game that could surprise the Bears. They just beat them handily 8-3 2 weeks ago and are playing great. But these are the classic let down games that teams talk about. Saturday and Sunday welcome a visit from the Manitoba Moose who reside in 2nd place in the North division. Could Hershey be looking forward to those games?
This is the type of game the Bears HAVE to win if they are going to give the Pens a run for the division title.
Hershey Bears
record ~ 29-14-1-2 59 points
standings ~ 2nd in East Division
most recent game ~ 1-0 Win vs Charlotte, 1/29
last 5 games ~ 5-0-0-0
road record ~ 13-6-1-1
goals for ~ 158
goals against ~ 107
power play ~ 22.2% (3rd)
penalty kill ~ 84.3% (10th)
Albany Devils
record ~ 18-25-0-3 39 points
standings ~ 6th in East Division
most recent game ~ 6-1 Loss vs Rochester, 1/29
last 5 games ~ 1-4-0-0
home record ~ 7-16-0-2
goals for ~ 118
goals against ~ 164
power play ~ 12.1% (29th)
penalty kill ~ 77.4% (28th)
last time teams met - 4th of 6 meetings this season and the final one in Albany (or on the road at least). Hershey won 8-3 on January 21 and is 3-0 against the Devils this season.
Players to watch:
Hershey:
RW Steve Pinizzotto (13) - He is having a career year offensively with 11 goals and 14 assists through 41 games. His career high in goals is 13, set last year. He has scored in each game against the Devils this season and has 3 goals and 2 assists in the 3 games to date.
F Brian Willsie (18) - His 5 game goal scoring streak was snapped last week but he picked up an assist to extend his scoring streak to 6 games. He had 2 goals and an assist against the Devils 2 weeks ago.
C Keith Aucoin (11) - Has at least one point in 8 straight games (2 goals, 10 assists in that timeframe). Has only played in 1 of the 3 games against Albany this season and had 2 assists 2 weeks ago.
Devils
C Matt Anderson (29) - Leading the team in goals (16), assists (16), and points (32) the AHL All Star has 1 goal and 4 assists in the 4 games since playing Hershey.
C Michael Swift (23) - Tied for the team lead in goals with 16 and second in points (28) he has a goal and an assists against the Bears this season. He hasn't scored in 6 games, his second longest streak of the season.
C Adam Henrique (17) - The rookie is 3rd on the team in goals (13) and points (27). He is a top prospect in the organization and has 2 goals and an assists since playing Hershey 2 weeks ago.
LET'S GO BEARS!!!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Bears and Devils rack up 173 penalty minutes; Robitaille watches from section 112
Referee Ian Croft apparently didn't feel like calling minor penalties last night. He let just about everything go and instead waited until the players took matters into their own hands and then he dished out misconduct penalties like they were candy and it was Trick or Treat night.
32 penalties total, only 9 of them 2 minute minors, 5 game misconducts, 3 10 minute misconducts, 14 fighting majors, and a 5 minute major for charging the goalie.
That's an impressive stat line. It's like he had a game misconduct quota that he had to hit this weekend. If he would have just called a few minor penalties at the right time most of this would have been avoided.
But when Keith Aucoin is dropping the gloves to defend himself you know that the referee has officially lost the game.
Trevor Bruess and Sean Collins got game misconducts for the Bears. Louis Robitaille, Harry Young, and Brad Mills picked up the ejections for the Devils.
Robitaille's kid was there and after he was ejected Louis joined him in section 112 and watched the remainder of the game from the stands. I replayed the charging call on Louis when he ran Sabourin and it was definitely intentional. I had thought last night that maybe...maybe he made incidental contact but it wasn't. Louis ran the goalie and got tossed for it.
And then he spent the game in the stands with his kid on his birthday. So it worked out for him.
That set the tone for the game though. The teams just went at it from then on.
Joel Rechlicz and Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond went toe to toe twice with each getting a decision. Leblond landed some pretty good shots in the first bout and Joel getting the upper hand the second time around.
It was a crazy night at Giant Center.
Oh and the Bears won 8-3. Almost forgot that minor detail. Brian Willsie (14, 15), Steve Pinizzotto (10), Patrick Wellar (2), Brian Fahey (3), Francois Bouchard (5), Collins (2), and Greentree (16) picked up the goals for the Bears.
Sabourin played very well as he made 34 saves on 37 Albany shots to pick up his 3rd victory of the season over the Devils. He had some tough saves to make and honestly I don't think Martin Brodeur would have stopped a couple of the goals.
Some other key points:
My Three Stars of the Game:
Grading the Performance:
32 penalties total, only 9 of them 2 minute minors, 5 game misconducts, 3 10 minute misconducts, 14 fighting majors, and a 5 minute major for charging the goalie.
That's an impressive stat line. It's like he had a game misconduct quota that he had to hit this weekend. If he would have just called a few minor penalties at the right time most of this would have been avoided.
But when Keith Aucoin is dropping the gloves to defend himself you know that the referee has officially lost the game.
Trevor Bruess and Sean Collins got game misconducts for the Bears. Louis Robitaille, Harry Young, and Brad Mills picked up the ejections for the Devils.
Robitaille's kid was there and after he was ejected Louis joined him in section 112 and watched the remainder of the game from the stands. I replayed the charging call on Louis when he ran Sabourin and it was definitely intentional. I had thought last night that maybe...maybe he made incidental contact but it wasn't. Louis ran the goalie and got tossed for it.
And then he spent the game in the stands with his kid on his birthday. So it worked out for him.
That set the tone for the game though. The teams just went at it from then on.
Joel Rechlicz and Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond went toe to toe twice with each getting a decision. Leblond landed some pretty good shots in the first bout and Joel getting the upper hand the second time around.
It was a crazy night at Giant Center.
Oh and the Bears won 8-3. Almost forgot that minor detail. Brian Willsie (14, 15), Steve Pinizzotto (10), Patrick Wellar (2), Brian Fahey (3), Francois Bouchard (5), Collins (2), and Greentree (16) picked up the goals for the Bears.
Sabourin played very well as he made 34 saves on 37 Albany shots to pick up his 3rd victory of the season over the Devils. He had some tough saves to make and honestly I don't think Martin Brodeur would have stopped a couple of the goals.
Some other key points:
- The second goal (Pinner's) on the power play was the direct result of players getting in front of the goalie. For a good bit of that shift neither Pinner, Kane, Willsie, or Bouch would go to the front of the net. They insisted on playing along the perimeter but once Pinner and Kane went to the front they scored.
- Andrew Gordon's pass to Fahey on the 4th Bears goal was a thing of beauty. From behind the net he looked up for one second and saw Fahey slowly creeping in and then made a perfect pass for one of the easiest goals Fahey has ever scored. That is one example of why Gordo keeps getting recalled to Washington. It isn't just the goal scoring from him.
- The first goal allowed by Hershey was actually played pretty well by Zach Miscovic. He was in good position but Alexander Vasyunov pulled some pretty sweet moves to beat him and then put the puck in the top corner when no one would have gotten it. Just one of those times.
- And maybe the best thing I saw last night. On the 8th and final goal Kyle Greentree finally connected on a one-timer from Coiner on the power play. Alexandre Giroux made his living scoring on those cross ice one timers from Aucoin but up until last night I hadn't seen Greentree do it. If he can get that down and connect with regularity he could score 30 goals over the 2nd half of the season.
My Three Stars of the Game:
- Dany Sabourin - 34 saves after getting run by Louis definitely helped the cause
- Brian Willsie - right place right time on the first goal and then picked up a 2nd later
- Francois Bouchard - great effort last night. Physical play in both ends and picking up a goal and an assist
Grading the Performance:
- Offense | A | If you score 8 goals you have to be doing something right. The defense was jumping in at the right time and the forwards were working hard for the entire 60 minutes despite the lead.
- Defense | B+ | Really there was only one lapse in judgement and I believe it came on the 3rd goal when the blueline got caught and the Devils took a 2 on none and scored.
- Goaltending | A | Like I said...2 of the goals were probably unstoppable and he made tons of key saves to make sure that even without 8 goals the Bears would have won.
- Power Play | B | Can't say they were dominant as they didn't seem to know what they were doing some of the time. During the 5 minute major for Robitaille's play they couldn't get set up for the first 2.5 minutes. They did score 2 power play goals though.
- Penalty Kill | B | They killed off 6 of the 7 penalties but they have allowed a power play goal in all 3 games against the Devils this season. And Albany is one of the worst power play teams in the league.
- Overall | B+ | Hard to get a real rhythm when you have 173 penalty minutes but that was probably as complete a game as you can play in that situation. Hopefully it didn't take too much out of them as Rochester comes to town tonight.
LET'S GO BEARS!!!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Hershey welcomes first of 3 New York teams this weekend
Tonight the Bears welcome the Albany Devils to Hershey for the first time this season. They are the first of 3 New York teams to visit the mid-state this weekend as Rochester and Binghamton will be here Saturday and Sunday.
This is a rare 3 in 3 home weekend for the Bears. In fact it is the only 3 in 3 weekend this season where all 3 games are in Hershey.
This also marks the beginning of a 4 game home stand as Hershey welcomes Springfield on Wednesday night. Actually, only 2 of the next 9 games are on the road.
So this makes a perfect time for the Bears to make a mini run at the 3 teams ahead of them in the standings.
But they will likely have to do it without Braden Holtby who remains in Washington and isn't expected back this weekend. He played last night and won against the Islanders for the Caps. He faced 25 shots and stopped all but 1 as the Caps won 2-1.
So that is the bad news heading into the weekend. Although to address the comment left on the previous post I definitely think Dany Sabourin is playing better and will do fine for Hershey this weekend.
Now the good news headed into the weekend. Andrew Gordon is back in Hershey, as is Brian Fahey but many of you might not even have known he was gone. Gordo returns after missing 2 of last weekend's games due to a recall to Washington. In those 2 games Hershey scored a combined 3 goals and lost both games.
Gordon will definitely help on that front.
Albany comes in at an interesting time. They sit in 6th place in the East division but are playing better of late and are flat out a better team on the road. They have 17 wins on the season and 10 of those were on the road. And of the 7 home wins, 3 of them have come in the last 2 weeks.
They lost on Wednesday night but had won 4 straight prior to that. That win streak was on the heels of a 4 game losing streak in which they only scored 8 goals. During the 4 game winning streak that followed they scored 13.
They also just wrapped up a stretch of 7 home games in their last 8. So for a team that has played much better on the road (only giving up 2.9 goals per game on the road compared to 3.6 at home) they are surely looking forward to this mini 3 game road trip they start tonight before heading home for more home dates.
The Bears can't afford to take any team lightly this year as they are in a fight for their playoff lives whether or not they want to believe it. Binghamton sits only 1 point back of the Bears for the 4th spot in the East division and Worcester sits at 47 points in 4th place in the Atlantic.
(I mention the Atlantic because with the East division having 8 teams this season the 5th place team could get into the playoff IF they finish with more points than the 4th place team in the Atlantic division)
Hershey starts the second half of the season with a nice home stand but also fighting for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Every game counts.
A few more notes on the game tonight:
Hershey Bearsrecord ~ 23-14-1-2 49 points
standings ~ 4th in East Division
most recent game ~ 2-1 Loss @ Binghamton, 1/16
last 5 games ~ 2-1-1-1
home record ~ 11-8-0-1
goals for ~ 132
goals against ~ 97
power play ~ 20.6% (6th)
penalty kill ~ 84.4% (11th)
Albany Devils
record ~ 17-21-0-3 37 points
standings ~ 6th in East Division
most recent game ~ 3-0 Loss vs Binghamton, 1/19
last 5 games ~ 4-1-0-0
road record ~ 10-7-0-1
goals for ~ 105
goals against ~ 136
power play ~ 12.4% (28th)
penalty kill ~ 78.9% (26th)
last time teams met - Hershey won 3-2 in Albany on December 8. The Bears also won 3-2 in Albany on December 3. This is the Devils first trip to Hershey this season.
Players to watch:
Hershey:
RW Steve Pinizzotto (13) - He hasn't scored (or recorded a point) in the last 2 games but has 9 goals and 11 assists on the season. In 2 games against the Devils he has 2 goals, 2 shots, and 20 penalty minutes.
RW Andrew Gordon (10) - Spent last weekend in D.C. with the Caps but is back in Hershey for the 3 in 3. He has a team high 10 shots against the Devils this season but no points.
G Dany Sabourin (35) - With Braden Holtby in Washington Dany will get at least 2 games this weekend and very well might play in all 3. He is 2-0 with a 2.00 gaa and a .915 save percentage against the Devils this year.
Devils:
C Matt Anderson (29) - Leads the team in points (27) and is second in goals (15). Has 4 goals in his last 6 games. Also scored a goal in the 2nd game against Hershey in December.
C Michael Swift (23) - Leads the team in goals (16) and is second in points (26). Has not gone more than 2 games without a goal since November. Has 7 goals in his last 10 games and 13 in his last 21 games including 1 against Hershey.
C Adam Henrique (17) - #9 prospect in organization according to Hockey's Future. He is third on the team in goals (11) and points (24). Has 3 goals and 3 assists in his last 5 games.
C Jacob Josefson (27) - #2 prospect in organization according to Hockey's Future. He has only played 7 games with Albany this season but 6 of those are in 2011. He has 1 goal and 5 assists on the season which puts him #1 on the team in points per game (.86).
LET'S GO BEARS!!!
This is a rare 3 in 3 home weekend for the Bears. In fact it is the only 3 in 3 weekend this season where all 3 games are in Hershey.
This also marks the beginning of a 4 game home stand as Hershey welcomes Springfield on Wednesday night. Actually, only 2 of the next 9 games are on the road.
So this makes a perfect time for the Bears to make a mini run at the 3 teams ahead of them in the standings.
But they will likely have to do it without Braden Holtby who remains in Washington and isn't expected back this weekend. He played last night and won against the Islanders for the Caps. He faced 25 shots and stopped all but 1 as the Caps won 2-1.
So that is the bad news heading into the weekend. Although to address the comment left on the previous post I definitely think Dany Sabourin is playing better and will do fine for Hershey this weekend.
Now the good news headed into the weekend. Andrew Gordon is back in Hershey, as is Brian Fahey but many of you might not even have known he was gone. Gordo returns after missing 2 of last weekend's games due to a recall to Washington. In those 2 games Hershey scored a combined 3 goals and lost both games.
Gordon will definitely help on that front.
Albany comes in at an interesting time. They sit in 6th place in the East division but are playing better of late and are flat out a better team on the road. They have 17 wins on the season and 10 of those were on the road. And of the 7 home wins, 3 of them have come in the last 2 weeks.
They lost on Wednesday night but had won 4 straight prior to that. That win streak was on the heels of a 4 game losing streak in which they only scored 8 goals. During the 4 game winning streak that followed they scored 13.
They also just wrapped up a stretch of 7 home games in their last 8. So for a team that has played much better on the road (only giving up 2.9 goals per game on the road compared to 3.6 at home) they are surely looking forward to this mini 3 game road trip they start tonight before heading home for more home dates.
The Bears can't afford to take any team lightly this year as they are in a fight for their playoff lives whether or not they want to believe it. Binghamton sits only 1 point back of the Bears for the 4th spot in the East division and Worcester sits at 47 points in 4th place in the Atlantic.
(I mention the Atlantic because with the East division having 8 teams this season the 5th place team could get into the playoff IF they finish with more points than the 4th place team in the Atlantic division)
Hershey starts the second half of the season with a nice home stand but also fighting for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Every game counts.
A few more notes on the game tonight:
Hershey Bearsrecord ~ 23-14-1-2 49 points
standings ~ 4th in East Division
most recent game ~ 2-1 Loss @ Binghamton, 1/16
last 5 games ~ 2-1-1-1
home record ~ 11-8-0-1
goals for ~ 132
goals against ~ 97
power play ~ 20.6% (6th)
penalty kill ~ 84.4% (11th)
Albany Devils
record ~ 17-21-0-3 37 points
standings ~ 6th in East Division
most recent game ~ 3-0 Loss vs Binghamton, 1/19
last 5 games ~ 4-1-0-0
road record ~ 10-7-0-1
goals for ~ 105
goals against ~ 136
power play ~ 12.4% (28th)
penalty kill ~ 78.9% (26th)
last time teams met - Hershey won 3-2 in Albany on December 8. The Bears also won 3-2 in Albany on December 3. This is the Devils first trip to Hershey this season.
Players to watch:
Hershey:
RW Steve Pinizzotto (13) - He hasn't scored (or recorded a point) in the last 2 games but has 9 goals and 11 assists on the season. In 2 games against the Devils he has 2 goals, 2 shots, and 20 penalty minutes.
RW Andrew Gordon (10) - Spent last weekend in D.C. with the Caps but is back in Hershey for the 3 in 3. He has a team high 10 shots against the Devils this season but no points.
G Dany Sabourin (35) - With Braden Holtby in Washington Dany will get at least 2 games this weekend and very well might play in all 3. He is 2-0 with a 2.00 gaa and a .915 save percentage against the Devils this year.
Devils:
C Matt Anderson (29) - Leads the team in points (27) and is second in goals (15). Has 4 goals in his last 6 games. Also scored a goal in the 2nd game against Hershey in December.
C Michael Swift (23) - Leads the team in goals (16) and is second in points (26). Has not gone more than 2 games without a goal since November. Has 7 goals in his last 10 games and 13 in his last 21 games including 1 against Hershey.
C Adam Henrique (17) - #9 prospect in organization according to Hockey's Future. He is third on the team in goals (11) and points (24). Has 3 goals and 3 assists in his last 5 games.
C Jacob Josefson (27) - #2 prospect in organization according to Hockey's Future. He has only played 7 games with Albany this season but 6 of those are in 2011. He has 1 goal and 5 assists on the season which puts him #1 on the team in points per game (.86).
LET'S GO BEARS!!!
Friday, April 30, 2010
Bears sweep Rats to end a franchise
(Before reading on take a minute and read this piece on Brooks Laich...it will give you a reason to like the Caps again after they choked this past week)
The Albany River Rats skated off their home ice for the final time last night. A final time for both the season and forever as the team will be relocating to Charlotte next season.
And they sure tried to extend their playoff stay last night in game 4 with the Hershey Bears. For the 4th time in as many games the Rats had a third period lead only to Hershey rally for the victory.
3 of the 4 games went to overtime where Hershey's depth appeared to make a difference as none of the game winners came from a top line player. Even though Giroux now has 1o goals in 9 playoff games and Gordon has 9 in that same time frame neither of them scored in overtime against the Rats.
Justin Peters will be seeing Hershey in his nightmares for a long time to come. Overall this season he was 26-18-2 with a 2.54 gaa and a .917 save percentage. But against the Bears he was 2-4 with almost a 4.00 gaa and a .870 save percentage and that included 2 games early in the season when he held the Bears to one goal in 2 games.
Then in the playoffs he was good in the first round (about 2.5 gaa and .927 save %) collecting a 4 game sweep over the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins. But then Hershey came calling and he earned 4 straight losses and posted a 5.00 gaa and a .873 save %.
He will be seeing Bears all summer long!
Hershey's depth is proving to be an insurmountable challenge for teams this postseason. They have trailed at some point in the third period in 7 of their 9 playoff games to date. And they have won 6 of those.
And now their defense is better. Both Karl Alzner and John Carlson were in the lineup last night, one night after playing for the Caps in their game 7 defeat. Hershey went from having severely limited depth after Tuesday's game to having quite possibly the 2 best defensemen in the AHL right now.
Not a bad way to finish a week.
But if there is one problem for the Bears it is that they will now have to wait at least a week to play again. The Worcester vs Manchester series is tied at one game a piece and game 5 isn't until Wednesday.
So the soonest Hershey will know its Eastern Conference finals opponent will be late Wednesday night. So it is likely that the Bears will not play a meaningful game until next Friday at the earliest.
Out in the Western Conference they are even further behind. The Chicago vs Texas series hasn't even started yet while the Abbotsford Heat are up 1-0 on the Hamilton Bulldogs with game 2 coming Sunday.
It is going to be a long couple of weeks coming up. If the Atlantic Finals go 7 then Hershey likely wouldn't play again until about the 10th or 11th.
There is appeal to an extended layoff to get guys rested and healed but there will surely be some rust by the time they play again.
Either way the Bears are yet again East Division Champs! And will be playing in the Eastern Conference Finals for the 4th time in the last 5 years!
Way to go Bears!!!!
The Albany River Rats skated off their home ice for the final time last night. A final time for both the season and forever as the team will be relocating to Charlotte next season.
And they sure tried to extend their playoff stay last night in game 4 with the Hershey Bears. For the 4th time in as many games the Rats had a third period lead only to Hershey rally for the victory.
3 of the 4 games went to overtime where Hershey's depth appeared to make a difference as none of the game winners came from a top line player. Even though Giroux now has 1o goals in 9 playoff games and Gordon has 9 in that same time frame neither of them scored in overtime against the Rats.
Justin Peters will be seeing Hershey in his nightmares for a long time to come. Overall this season he was 26-18-2 with a 2.54 gaa and a .917 save percentage. But against the Bears he was 2-4 with almost a 4.00 gaa and a .870 save percentage and that included 2 games early in the season when he held the Bears to one goal in 2 games.
Then in the playoffs he was good in the first round (about 2.5 gaa and .927 save %) collecting a 4 game sweep over the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins. But then Hershey came calling and he earned 4 straight losses and posted a 5.00 gaa and a .873 save %.
He will be seeing Bears all summer long!
Hershey's depth is proving to be an insurmountable challenge for teams this postseason. They have trailed at some point in the third period in 7 of their 9 playoff games to date. And they have won 6 of those.
And now their defense is better. Both Karl Alzner and John Carlson were in the lineup last night, one night after playing for the Caps in their game 7 defeat. Hershey went from having severely limited depth after Tuesday's game to having quite possibly the 2 best defensemen in the AHL right now.
Not a bad way to finish a week.
But if there is one problem for the Bears it is that they will now have to wait at least a week to play again. The Worcester vs Manchester series is tied at one game a piece and game 5 isn't until Wednesday.
So the soonest Hershey will know its Eastern Conference finals opponent will be late Wednesday night. So it is likely that the Bears will not play a meaningful game until next Friday at the earliest.
Out in the Western Conference they are even further behind. The Chicago vs Texas series hasn't even started yet while the Abbotsford Heat are up 1-0 on the Hamilton Bulldogs with game 2 coming Sunday.
It is going to be a long couple of weeks coming up. If the Atlantic Finals go 7 then Hershey likely wouldn't play again until about the 10th or 11th.
There is appeal to an extended layoff to get guys rested and healed but there will surely be some rust by the time they play again.
Either way the Bears are yet again East Division Champs! And will be playing in the Eastern Conference Finals for the 4th time in the last 5 years!
Way to go Bears!!!!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Bears/Rats game 3
Well, Hershey's depth is again proving to be a force. In the first two games against the Albany River Rats the Hershey Bears have scored 6 goals in the third period or overtime. Compared to only 2 for the Rats.
In the Bridgeport series the Bears scored 7 goals in the 3rd period or overtime. So looking at the 7 playoff games to date Hershey has outscored the opposition 13-4 in the third period or overtime.
That is pretty good. It makes it very hard for the Rats or any other team for that matter to win.
You look at the Hershey roster compared to the Albany roster and you see that Albany has a similar level of talent...on their first 2 lines. But I am not sure there is a team in this league that compete with what Hershey rolls out on their 3rd and 4th lines.
8 goals in 7 playoff games...impressive for a player. Now consider that Hershey has TWO such players in Alexandre Giroux and Andrew Gordon. The next closest player is Abbotsford's Jon Rheault with 5.
Hershey has 3 of the top 4 scorers in the playoffs to date with Keith Aucoin and his 9 assists (and 1 goal) joining Giroux and Gordon.
Add to that scoring Michal Neuvirth's solid goaltending and you have a team that can go a long way assuming they stay both healthy and focused.
Elsewhere around the league:
Not sure how many of you are paying attention but the Texas Stars absolutely rocked the Rockford IceHogs in the first round, sweeping the series in 4 games. Texas goaltender Brent Krahn gave up 5 goals in 4 games while making 122 saves.
They are a balanced team that could cause serious trouble for the big 2 out west (Chicago and Hamilton) if Krahn can continue his stellar play.
The interesting thing about the Western Conference is that they are well behind the Eastern Conference in games played. Neither of those divisional finals have started yet and both are scheduled to have game 2 on Sunday. If Hershey was to sweep Albany or win in 5 games they would be done with their series before either of those series got to 2 games.
Heck in the other Western conference matchup...there isn't one yet. Abbotsford and Rochester are playing a game 7 tonight to see who gets to head to Hamilton this Thursday.
As for the other Eastern Conference series, Worcester vs Manchester, the Sharks lead 1 game to none. That series is more closely aligned with Hershey's with game 4 coming Saturday night.
Lots happening around the league the next few days but the only thing we in Central PA care about is how the Hershey Bears do tonight and Thursday.
LET'S GO BEARS!!!
In the Bridgeport series the Bears scored 7 goals in the 3rd period or overtime. So looking at the 7 playoff games to date Hershey has outscored the opposition 13-4 in the third period or overtime.
That is pretty good. It makes it very hard for the Rats or any other team for that matter to win.
You look at the Hershey roster compared to the Albany roster and you see that Albany has a similar level of talent...on their first 2 lines. But I am not sure there is a team in this league that compete with what Hershey rolls out on their 3rd and 4th lines.
8 goals in 7 playoff games...impressive for a player. Now consider that Hershey has TWO such players in Alexandre Giroux and Andrew Gordon. The next closest player is Abbotsford's Jon Rheault with 5.
Hershey has 3 of the top 4 scorers in the playoffs to date with Keith Aucoin and his 9 assists (and 1 goal) joining Giroux and Gordon.
Add to that scoring Michal Neuvirth's solid goaltending and you have a team that can go a long way assuming they stay both healthy and focused.
Elsewhere around the league:
Not sure how many of you are paying attention but the Texas Stars absolutely rocked the Rockford IceHogs in the first round, sweeping the series in 4 games. Texas goaltender Brent Krahn gave up 5 goals in 4 games while making 122 saves.
They are a balanced team that could cause serious trouble for the big 2 out west (Chicago and Hamilton) if Krahn can continue his stellar play.
The interesting thing about the Western Conference is that they are well behind the Eastern Conference in games played. Neither of those divisional finals have started yet and both are scheduled to have game 2 on Sunday. If Hershey was to sweep Albany or win in 5 games they would be done with their series before either of those series got to 2 games.
Heck in the other Western conference matchup...there isn't one yet. Abbotsford and Rochester are playing a game 7 tonight to see who gets to head to Hamilton this Thursday.
As for the other Eastern Conference series, Worcester vs Manchester, the Sharks lead 1 game to none. That series is more closely aligned with Hershey's with game 4 coming Saturday night.
Lots happening around the league the next few days but the only thing we in Central PA care about is how the Hershey Bears do tonight and Thursday.
LET'S GO BEARS!!!
Friday, February 12, 2010
Bears back to work this weekend
Now that we are all dug out of the snow it is time to get back to our regularly scheduled programming.
A busy weekend for the Bears as they have a 3 in 3 with two road games before heading home on Sunday.
The Bears are visiting Albany tonight in an attempt to extend their division lead to 22 points over the second place Rats. This will be the Bears last visit to Albany this season and maybe for a while longer as news has come down this week that the franchise is moving to Charlotte next season. While the AHL wants to have a team in Albany it remains to be seen if there will be a team there next year.
Hershey comes into this game having won 10 in a row and 22 of 23. They have also won 17 straight home games which is 2 short of the AHL record. If Hershey can win all three games this weekend they will break the long standing franchise record for consecutive wins of 12. It was set way back at the beginning of January!
Albany is just looking to stay ahead of 3rd place Norfolk as they have surely written off a division championship. They are 6 points up on Norfolk with a game in hand.
Recently the Rats have struggled going 1-3-0-1 in their last 5 games including an 8-3 beating at the hands of the Bears a couple weeks ago. They have not kept a team below 4 goals in that stretch while scoring more than 3 only once.
Hershey lost a couple players to the Caps yesterday, Chris Bourque and Karl Alzner, due to injuries with the big club. Michael Dubuc was recalled from South Carolina to help fill the void on the Hershey roster.
The goaltending situation in Hershey has worked itself out again with Semyon Varlamov heading back to Washington. Michael Neuvirth remains in Washington as he was injured in a game there last week but Braden Holtby and Jason Bacashihua are still healthy and still in Hershey. Expect to see both this weekend with Holtby likely getting 2 starts to Cash's 1.
Hershey Bears
record ~ 39-9-0-2 80 points
standings ~ 1st in East Division
most recent game ~ 5-4 Win vs Wilkes Barre, 2/7
last 5 games ~ 5-0-0-0
road record ~ 17-6-0-0
goals for ~ 219
goals against ~118
power play ~ 22.2% (1st)
penalty kill ~ 90.3% (1st)
Albany River Rats
record ~ 27-19-3-3 60 points
standings ~ 2nd in East Division
most recent game ~ 4-3 SO Loss @ Binghamton, 2/10
last 5 games ~ 1-3-0-1
home record ~ 17-8-2-1
goals for ~ 149
goals against ~ 150
power play ~ 14.4% (23rd)
penalty kill ~ 81.6% (18th)
last time teams met - Hershey won 8-3 in Hershey on January 30th.
Players to watch:
Hershey:
LW Michael Dubuc (15)- Replacing Bourque can't be easy but Dubuc gets his chance this weekend. So far this season Dubuc has played 7 games for the Bears scoring 3 goals and 2 assists. In SC he has 13 goals and 14 assists in 34 games.
C Mathieu Perreault (24) - Fresh off his hat trick against the Pens the diminutive center will be looking to continue his scoring ways. He has 5 goals and 4 assists in his last 5 games.
LW Alexander Giroux and C Keith Aucoin (12,11) - After scoring in EVERY SINGLE JANUARY game the duo has failed to record a point in a February game. This surely won't last so keep your eye on both these guys this weekend.
River Rats:
D Jamie McBain (2) - The rookie is tied for the team lead in assists with 21 and is 4th in points. In his last 4 games he has 1 goal and 6 assists.
LW Jacob MicFlikier (18) - Second on the team in goals with 13. In his last 4 games he has scored 3 goals and added 2 assists. He has 4 assists against the Bears this season.
LW Drayson Bowman (9) - Another rookie producing for the Rats this season. He has 2 goals and an assist in the last game.
LET'S GO BEARS!!!
A busy weekend for the Bears as they have a 3 in 3 with two road games before heading home on Sunday.
The Bears are visiting Albany tonight in an attempt to extend their division lead to 22 points over the second place Rats. This will be the Bears last visit to Albany this season and maybe for a while longer as news has come down this week that the franchise is moving to Charlotte next season. While the AHL wants to have a team in Albany it remains to be seen if there will be a team there next year.
Hershey comes into this game having won 10 in a row and 22 of 23. They have also won 17 straight home games which is 2 short of the AHL record. If Hershey can win all three games this weekend they will break the long standing franchise record for consecutive wins of 12. It was set way back at the beginning of January!
Albany is just looking to stay ahead of 3rd place Norfolk as they have surely written off a division championship. They are 6 points up on Norfolk with a game in hand.
Recently the Rats have struggled going 1-3-0-1 in their last 5 games including an 8-3 beating at the hands of the Bears a couple weeks ago. They have not kept a team below 4 goals in that stretch while scoring more than 3 only once.
Hershey lost a couple players to the Caps yesterday, Chris Bourque and Karl Alzner, due to injuries with the big club. Michael Dubuc was recalled from South Carolina to help fill the void on the Hershey roster.
The goaltending situation in Hershey has worked itself out again with Semyon Varlamov heading back to Washington. Michael Neuvirth remains in Washington as he was injured in a game there last week but Braden Holtby and Jason Bacashihua are still healthy and still in Hershey. Expect to see both this weekend with Holtby likely getting 2 starts to Cash's 1.
Hershey Bears
record ~ 39-9-0-2 80 points
standings ~ 1st in East Division
most recent game ~ 5-4 Win vs Wilkes Barre, 2/7
last 5 games ~ 5-0-0-0
road record ~ 17-6-0-0
goals for ~ 219
goals against ~118
power play ~ 22.2% (1st)
penalty kill ~ 90.3% (1st)
Albany River Rats
record ~ 27-19-3-3 60 points
standings ~ 2nd in East Division
most recent game ~ 4-3 SO Loss @ Binghamton, 2/10
last 5 games ~ 1-3-0-1
home record ~ 17-8-2-1
goals for ~ 149
goals against ~ 150
power play ~ 14.4% (23rd)
penalty kill ~ 81.6% (18th)
last time teams met - Hershey won 8-3 in Hershey on January 30th.
Players to watch:
Hershey:
LW Michael Dubuc (15)- Replacing Bourque can't be easy but Dubuc gets his chance this weekend. So far this season Dubuc has played 7 games for the Bears scoring 3 goals and 2 assists. In SC he has 13 goals and 14 assists in 34 games.
C Mathieu Perreault (24) - Fresh off his hat trick against the Pens the diminutive center will be looking to continue his scoring ways. He has 5 goals and 4 assists in his last 5 games.
LW Alexander Giroux and C Keith Aucoin (12,11) - After scoring in EVERY SINGLE JANUARY game the duo has failed to record a point in a February game. This surely won't last so keep your eye on both these guys this weekend.
River Rats:
D Jamie McBain (2) - The rookie is tied for the team lead in assists with 21 and is 4th in points. In his last 4 games he has 1 goal and 6 assists.
LW Jacob MicFlikier (18) - Second on the team in goals with 13. In his last 4 games he has scored 3 goals and added 2 assists. He has 4 assists against the Bears this season.
LW Drayson Bowman (9) - Another rookie producing for the Rats this season. He has 2 goals and an assist in the last game.
LET'S GO BEARS!!!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Bears score 8 more last night while Albany visits tonight
Last night in Wilkes Barre the Bears continued their offensive assault on the rest of the AHL. Needing just about every one of those goals to win Hershey won their 6th in row and 18th out of the past 19 as the Pens scored 6 on Braden Holtby to stay in the game.
That was only the second time this season that Hershey has given up 6 goals. The first time was in Wilkes Barre as well back in October when the Pens won 6-4.
I didn't get to see the game but from reading some of the quotes and recap in the paper this morning it seems that the Bears defensive game (as well as the Pens) was nonexistent. Holtby faced 32 shots and was personally not all that upset about 5 of the 6 he allowed.
"Actually, I didn't feel too bad," Holtby said. "The only goal that I really want back is the 5th goal, I believe. It's just one of those nights where every bounce didn't go our way defensively."
Considering how the entire team had been playing of late they were surely due for a slight let down. Fortunately for the Bears the offense didn't have a letdown and managed to carry the team to victory yet again.
The 8 goal game means in the last 6 games Hershey has scored 45 goals while giving up only 20. Considering 6 of those 20 came last night I would say that they are doing okay.
Tonight the Albany River Rats come to Hershey for the first time since Halloween night. That night Hershey beat the Rats 4-1. Since then Albany has won 2 and Hershey won the most recent as the season series stands at 2-2.
Albany currently sits in 2nd place in the East division, 15 points behind Hershey and 10 points ahead of 3rd place Adirondack.
This will be the Rats 4th straight road game and 5th in the last 6 games. They are playing well right now (on the road at least) as they have won all 4 of those games including 3 straight.
That was only the second time this season that Hershey has given up 6 goals. The first time was in Wilkes Barre as well back in October when the Pens won 6-4.
I didn't get to see the game but from reading some of the quotes and recap in the paper this morning it seems that the Bears defensive game (as well as the Pens) was nonexistent. Holtby faced 32 shots and was personally not all that upset about 5 of the 6 he allowed.
"Actually, I didn't feel too bad," Holtby said. "The only goal that I really want back is the 5th goal, I believe. It's just one of those nights where every bounce didn't go our way defensively."
Considering how the entire team had been playing of late they were surely due for a slight let down. Fortunately for the Bears the offense didn't have a letdown and managed to carry the team to victory yet again.
The 8 goal game means in the last 6 games Hershey has scored 45 goals while giving up only 20. Considering 6 of those 20 came last night I would say that they are doing okay.
Tonight the Albany River Rats come to Hershey for the first time since Halloween night. That night Hershey beat the Rats 4-1. Since then Albany has won 2 and Hershey won the most recent as the season series stands at 2-2.
Albany currently sits in 2nd place in the East division, 15 points behind Hershey and 10 points ahead of 3rd place Adirondack.
This will be the Rats 4th straight road game and 5th in the last 6 games. They are playing well right now (on the road at least) as they have won all 4 of those games including 3 straight.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Bears score 10 in Albany
Well I mentioned yesterday that maybe the Bears were caught looking ahead to last night's game this past Wednesday. I would say that is a fair estimation after the complete and utter domination that happened to the River Rats last night.
Albany was NEVER in that game and the Bears controlled play from the opening faceoff on their way to a 10-4 win. Considering the Bears went into the game last night having been outscored 6-1 in two previous games in that building a 10-4 win is awfully impressive. Even more impressive is that the Bears actually led the game 10-1 before allowing a few garbage time goals late in the 3rd period.
Surely not the way Hershey wanted to end the game but I would imagine most teams and most people would let up a bit when you are up 9 goals after 2.5 periods.
Jason Bacashihua got the start and made 19 saves to pick up his 8th win of the season. At the other end Justin Peters had what can only be described as a horrible night. The goalie who had stopped 75 of Hershey's 76 stops in the previous 2 games in Albany allowed 4 goals in the first period before getting pulled for backup Mike Murphy. But then Murphy got hurt so Peters had to come BACK in to the game.
Imagine that for a second...you get pulled because 1. you can't stop anything and 2. your defense is non existent...BUT you end up having to go back in to the game a little later!! Ouch. And it didn't get easier for him. He ended up giving up 9 goals on 35 shots to earn the loss.
Alexander Giroux ended the night with 3 goals (15,16,17) and 2 assists while Kyle Wilson (13), Jay Beagle (7), Andrew Gordon (19), Keith Aucoin (20), Chris Bourque (10), Boyd Kane (15), and Mathieu Perreault (5) also scored for the Bears. Other than the goalies only Patty McNeill, Karl Alzner, and Patrick Wellar did NOT record a point in last nights game.
That is what you would call depth.
To be honest the Rats just didn't seem to be in the game at all. They were standing around while Hershey was flying to the puck. Whether that was a result of the shock of being down so much so quickly or just from being drained I don't know. They hadn't played in a week and we have seen the Bears come out flat after a long layoff like that so who knows. One thing I am sure of...the Rats come to Hershey on January 30th and I guarantee they will be fired up.
Tonight Hershey returns home and welcomes (sort of) the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to the Giant Center. Hopefully the Bears have something left for the flightless birds.
My 3 Stars of the Game:
Grading the Performance:
Albany was NEVER in that game and the Bears controlled play from the opening faceoff on their way to a 10-4 win. Considering the Bears went into the game last night having been outscored 6-1 in two previous games in that building a 10-4 win is awfully impressive. Even more impressive is that the Bears actually led the game 10-1 before allowing a few garbage time goals late in the 3rd period.
Surely not the way Hershey wanted to end the game but I would imagine most teams and most people would let up a bit when you are up 9 goals after 2.5 periods.
Jason Bacashihua got the start and made 19 saves to pick up his 8th win of the season. At the other end Justin Peters had what can only be described as a horrible night. The goalie who had stopped 75 of Hershey's 76 stops in the previous 2 games in Albany allowed 4 goals in the first period before getting pulled for backup Mike Murphy. But then Murphy got hurt so Peters had to come BACK in to the game.
Imagine that for a second...you get pulled because 1. you can't stop anything and 2. your defense is non existent...BUT you end up having to go back in to the game a little later!! Ouch. And it didn't get easier for him. He ended up giving up 9 goals on 35 shots to earn the loss.
Alexander Giroux ended the night with 3 goals (15,16,17) and 2 assists while Kyle Wilson (13), Jay Beagle (7), Andrew Gordon (19), Keith Aucoin (20), Chris Bourque (10), Boyd Kane (15), and Mathieu Perreault (5) also scored for the Bears. Other than the goalies only Patty McNeill, Karl Alzner, and Patrick Wellar did NOT record a point in last nights game.
That is what you would call depth.
To be honest the Rats just didn't seem to be in the game at all. They were standing around while Hershey was flying to the puck. Whether that was a result of the shock of being down so much so quickly or just from being drained I don't know. They hadn't played in a week and we have seen the Bears come out flat after a long layoff like that so who knows. One thing I am sure of...the Rats come to Hershey on January 30th and I guarantee they will be fired up.
Tonight Hershey returns home and welcomes (sort of) the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to the Giant Center. Hopefully the Bears have something left for the flightless birds.
My 3 Stars of the Game:
- Alexander Giroux - 3 goals and 2 assists gives him the #1 spot in almost any game
- Francois Bouchard - 2 assists were excellent passes and perfectly placed
- Andrew Gordon - a goal and an assist and LOTS of hustle all night long
Grading the Performance:
- Offense | A+ | You can't ask for a better performance than that. Whether it was due to their outstanding hustle or to the Rats lack of effort it doesn't matter. The Bears converted on their chances and made the Rats pay for mistakes. That is what a championship team does. The hustle to the puck was outstanding as the Rats rarely won the battle for loose pucks.
- Defense | B | Not sure what exactly happened late in the game as I had already turned the game off but for the first 2/3 of the game the defense did what they needed to. They weren't excellent though as Bacashihua had to make some sprawling saves from time to time but it was obviously enough.
- Goaltending | B | Again I am not sure what the 3 goals late were about but Cash played very well for the first parts of the game. Albany had a few chances and he snuffed them all out.
- Power Play | A | 3 of 5 were the final numbers. That is a pretty good night by any teams standards. Would loved to have seen 5 for 5 but now I am just being greedy. Lots of great passing (Bouchard...excellent job on Perry's goal) from everyone and solid movement and positioning.
- Penalty Kill | A | Killed off all 3 Albany chances and even added a short handed goal (Kane's goal). Albany wasn't too into the game but even still killing off 3 chances and scoring a shortie is a good performance.
- Overall | A | Great performance against the only team in the East division that has given the Bears trouble this season. Some might call last night a Statement Game and I would agree BUT like I mentioned above the Rats were dealing with multiple injuries and call ups and were coming off a week long break. This team will look drastically different come playoff time when all the players get sent back from a horrible Carolina team. BUT either way it was a good game and a great effort.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Bears visit Albany looking to start new streak
Were the Bears looking ahead towards this game a little on Wednesday? Not sure but I could understand why. Hershey had beaten the Admirals 5 times this season and hadn't struggled too much but the trip up to Albany has cost the Bears 2 straight this season. Were they looking towards the Rats while in Norfolk?
Hopefully. That should get them ready to play and they should come out strong. Previously against the Rats the Bears faced goaltender Justin Peters who has stopped 75 of 76 shots against the Bears. When a goalie is playing like that it doesn't matter how good the other team is.
Hershey is looking to get back in the win column and to gain another 2 points on the Rats. A win and the Bears lead the division by 16. A loss and the lead is only 12. So it is truly a four point game tonight. But a 12 point lead is still pretty good no matter when in the season it is.
Jason Bacashihua is expected to get the start tonight in Albany. It will be his first start since December 29th when he got the win at Norfolk. He will continue to be the backup in Hershey for the 2nd half of the season but I would expect him to be a little closer to a 50/50 split over the 2nd half so that the #1, whether its Braden Holtby or Michal Neuvirth, gets some rest. Cash's numbers are solid this season too, he is 7-2-1 with a 2.69 goals against average and a .907 save percentage.
Albany is coming into this game a little shorthanded at forward. Pat Dwyer, Zach Boychuk, Jiri Tlusty and Jerome Samson all remain on recall with the Carolina Hurricanes. In addition to those moves they are suffering from multiple injuries. Rob Hennigar is out indefinitely with a broken hand, Michael Ryan is curbed with a lower-body injury and Matthew Pistilli is sidelined with a concussion sustained last Saturday.
Former Bear Jonathon Paiement has been playing forward recently and is expected to do so again but even with him the Rats might only have 11 forwards dressed tonight.
With all those injuries and call ups the Bears depth should give Hershey a distinct advantage over the Rats tonight.
But if Peters can play like he has the last two meetings it won't matter how many forwards the Rats have.
Hershey Bears
record ~ 29-9-0-2 60 points
standings ~ 1st in East Division
most recent game ~ 4-3 Loss @ Norfolk, 1/13
last 5 games ~ 4-1-0-0
road record ~ 14-6-0-0
goals for ~ 152
goals against ~88
power play ~ 18.5% (10th)
penalty kill ~ 91.6% (1st)
Albany River Rats
record ~ 21-15-2-2 46 points
standings ~ 2nd in East Division
most recent game ~ 3-1 Win vs Hartford, 1/9
last 5 games ~ 3-1-1-0
home record ~ 15-6-1-1
goals for ~ 108
goals against ~ 101
power play ~ 12.5% (28th)
penalty kill ~ 85.2% (11th)
last time teams met - Hershey lost 3-0 in Albany on December 11. That was one week after losing 3-1 in Albany as well.
Players to watch:
Hershey:
RW Andrew Gordon (10)- Second on the team with 18 goals and 3rd in points with 39 he has been one of the most consistent players early. A little light on production of late but is working on a 5 game point streak.
C Keith Aucoin (11) - Hershey's leading scorer with 19 goals and 46 points currently has an 8 game point streak in which he has 5 goals and 9 assists.
C Kyle Wilson (18) - Heading into the second half it would be nice to see Kyle get more opportunities as he has never disappointed in Hershey. He has scored in back to back games and has 12 goals this season.
Albany:
LW Jacob Micflikier (18) - Has only played 19 games this season in Albany and has 6 goals and 8 assists in those games including 4 assists against Hershey.
LW Drayson Bowman (9) - Has scored in back to back games and has 8 goals and 7 assists this season for the Rats.
C Stefan Chaput (15) - With all the injuries and callups he is the active leader in points with 21 but he has not registered a point in his last 7 games.
LET'S GO BEARS!!!
Hopefully. That should get them ready to play and they should come out strong. Previously against the Rats the Bears faced goaltender Justin Peters who has stopped 75 of 76 shots against the Bears. When a goalie is playing like that it doesn't matter how good the other team is.
Hershey is looking to get back in the win column and to gain another 2 points on the Rats. A win and the Bears lead the division by 16. A loss and the lead is only 12. So it is truly a four point game tonight. But a 12 point lead is still pretty good no matter when in the season it is.
Jason Bacashihua is expected to get the start tonight in Albany. It will be his first start since December 29th when he got the win at Norfolk. He will continue to be the backup in Hershey for the 2nd half of the season but I would expect him to be a little closer to a 50/50 split over the 2nd half so that the #1, whether its Braden Holtby or Michal Neuvirth, gets some rest. Cash's numbers are solid this season too, he is 7-2-1 with a 2.69 goals against average and a .907 save percentage.
Albany is coming into this game a little shorthanded at forward. Pat Dwyer, Zach Boychuk, Jiri Tlusty and Jerome Samson all remain on recall with the Carolina Hurricanes. In addition to those moves they are suffering from multiple injuries. Rob Hennigar is out indefinitely with a broken hand, Michael Ryan is curbed with a lower-body injury and Matthew Pistilli is sidelined with a concussion sustained last Saturday.
Former Bear Jonathon Paiement has been playing forward recently and is expected to do so again but even with him the Rats might only have 11 forwards dressed tonight.
With all those injuries and call ups the Bears depth should give Hershey a distinct advantage over the Rats tonight.
But if Peters can play like he has the last two meetings it won't matter how many forwards the Rats have.
Hershey Bears
record ~ 29-9-0-2 60 points
standings ~ 1st in East Division
most recent game ~ 4-3 Loss @ Norfolk, 1/13
last 5 games ~ 4-1-0-0
road record ~ 14-6-0-0
goals for ~ 152
goals against ~88
power play ~ 18.5% (10th)
penalty kill ~ 91.6% (1st)
Albany River Rats
record ~ 21-15-2-2 46 points
standings ~ 2nd in East Division
most recent game ~ 3-1 Win vs Hartford, 1/9
last 5 games ~ 3-1-1-0
home record ~ 15-6-1-1
goals for ~ 108
goals against ~ 101
power play ~ 12.5% (28th)
penalty kill ~ 85.2% (11th)
last time teams met - Hershey lost 3-0 in Albany on December 11. That was one week after losing 3-1 in Albany as well.
Players to watch:
Hershey:
RW Andrew Gordon (10)- Second on the team with 18 goals and 3rd in points with 39 he has been one of the most consistent players early. A little light on production of late but is working on a 5 game point streak.
C Keith Aucoin (11) - Hershey's leading scorer with 19 goals and 46 points currently has an 8 game point streak in which he has 5 goals and 9 assists.
C Kyle Wilson (18) - Heading into the second half it would be nice to see Kyle get more opportunities as he has never disappointed in Hershey. He has scored in back to back games and has 12 goals this season.
Albany:
LW Jacob Micflikier (18) - Has only played 19 games this season in Albany and has 6 goals and 8 assists in those games including 4 assists against Hershey.
LW Drayson Bowman (9) - Has scored in back to back games and has 8 goals and 7 assists this season for the Rats.
C Stefan Chaput (15) - With all the injuries and callups he is the active leader in points with 21 but he has not registered a point in his last 7 games.
LET'S GO BEARS!!!
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Damn you Justin Peters
For the second time in a week Justin Peters and the Albany River Rats completely shut down the AHL's highest scoring team. 36 shots by the Bears last night and 36 saves by Peters to earn the shutout.
Even with the additions of Alexander Giroux and Chris Bourque the Bears could not muster enough offense to beat the Albany goalie. Honestly though I thought the offense was average at best. The stats say 36 shots but I don't think half of those even got to the goalie. Although in the third period Peters made a few spectacular saves.
Hershey's goaltender, Jason Bacashihua, didn't do too much worse. He made two phenomenal saves early in the 2nd period to keep the Bears in the game but in the end he wasn't as good as his counterpart.
Even without a few good players the Rats still came up with enough offense to cut the Bears division lead to only 3 points. Albany got goals from Chris Terry, Nick Dodge, and an empty netter from Mike Angelidis to send the Bears back to Hershey on a sour note.
It was just the second time this season that the Bears have been shutout. And while Peters definitely played great the Bears didn't exactly help themselves. They only registered 5 shots in the first period to Albany's 15 and 2 goals. You can't give a goalie like Peters a period off and then start playing down 2 goals in the 2nd period.
And the power play...I shouldn't even get started....7 chances and not too much coming from them. Referee Frederic L'Ecuyer gave the Bears numerous opportunities but the Bears found ways to fumble the puck around in the offensive zone. But you do have to give the Rats some credit as they clogged passing lanes and took away what the Bears wanted to do.
These two don't meet again til mid January (15th) again in Albany. Maybe by then the Bears will have figured out a way to beat the Rats.
My Three Stars of the Game:
Grading the Performance:
Even with the additions of Alexander Giroux and Chris Bourque the Bears could not muster enough offense to beat the Albany goalie. Honestly though I thought the offense was average at best. The stats say 36 shots but I don't think half of those even got to the goalie. Although in the third period Peters made a few spectacular saves.
Hershey's goaltender, Jason Bacashihua, didn't do too much worse. He made two phenomenal saves early in the 2nd period to keep the Bears in the game but in the end he wasn't as good as his counterpart.
Even without a few good players the Rats still came up with enough offense to cut the Bears division lead to only 3 points. Albany got goals from Chris Terry, Nick Dodge, and an empty netter from Mike Angelidis to send the Bears back to Hershey on a sour note.
It was just the second time this season that the Bears have been shutout. And while Peters definitely played great the Bears didn't exactly help themselves. They only registered 5 shots in the first period to Albany's 15 and 2 goals. You can't give a goalie like Peters a period off and then start playing down 2 goals in the 2nd period.
And the power play...I shouldn't even get started....7 chances and not too much coming from them. Referee Frederic L'Ecuyer gave the Bears numerous opportunities but the Bears found ways to fumble the puck around in the offensive zone. But you do have to give the Rats some credit as they clogged passing lanes and took away what the Bears wanted to do.
These two don't meet again til mid January (15th) again in Albany. Maybe by then the Bears will have figured out a way to beat the Rats.
My Three Stars of the Game:
- Justin Peters - 36 saves and his second straight A+ against the Bears
- Jacob Micflikier - primary assist on all 3 goals
- Chris Terry - first goal of game, game winning goal as it turns out and an assist
Grading the Performance:
- Offense | B | The first period was pathetic but they got their game going in the 2nd and 3rd but couldn't beat the Rats. Seemed to wait too long to shoot sometimes....always looking for that perfect pass. A hot goaltender will do that to a team...they think they need to make the perfect play to beat them.
- Defense | B | The blueline units seemed to do okay. No major gaffes, not too many problems. 2 goals allowed but that's okay in most cases. Has been a consistent source of steady play this year in my opinion.
- Goaltending | B | Not bad. Cash played well...some big saves and a couple goals allowed. Definitely not his fault they couldn't score at the other end.
- Power Play | F | Horrible in my opinion. Not shooting 5 on 5 is a little more understandable cause you don't have time but there was WAY too much passing on the power play last night. Instead of getting pucks at the net they were looking for the perfect pass all night long.
- Penalty Kill | A | The only goal they allowed was the empty netter at the end and that really can't be held against them.
- Overall | B | Not a bad game honestly. I thought they had their chances and played well in their own end. Sometimes you just run into a hot goaltender. Unfortunately they have run into the same hot goaltender twice in a week.
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