Bears Welcome Hartford Wolf Pack in 2015-16 Home Opener

After 3 road games in the first two weekends and another one tonight, the Bears FINALLY open the home slate against the team that ended their season back in May, the Hartford Wolf Pack. 

Opening night throwback jerseys.
 Image courtesy of
Kyle Maceand Chocolate Hockey.

In that series the dynamic Chris Bourque served as catalyst for the Wolf Pack.

In 2015-16 he hopes to serve as the catalyst for the Hershey Bears offense!  

It will be good to have Chris back in Chocolate and White this season, but he isn't the only new addition.  

Some other new faces you might not be familiar with...

• Zach Sill
• Carter Camper
• Riley Barber
• Sean Collins
• Paul Carey
• Madison Bowey
• Ryan Stanton
• Aaron Ness
• Dan Ellis

Each of those players comes to the Bears after having played elsewhere in 2014-15.  

Plus some others that you might have heard of or seen for a few games last year...

• Jacub Vrana
• Travis Boyd
• Caleb Herbert
• Christian Djoos
• Justin Peters

Each of those spent at least a portion of the 2014-15 season (mostly late in the season) in Hershey.  But none were used often or played a major role.

That's 15 new players on a 23 man roster.  Quite a bit of turnover.  

Gone are the likes of Casey Wellman, Tyler Kennedy, Chris Conner, Kris Newbury, Jim O'Brien, Stanislav Galiev, Steve Oleksy, Nate Schmidt, Jon Landry, Cameron Schilling, Philip Grubauer, Pheonix Coley, and Dane Byers.

Man, that's a lot of good players.  Quite honestly...I don't know if the replacements are nearly as good.  But we will soon find out.

Ultimately, I have 3 rather large concerns as we enter the 2015-16 season.  

Size and Physicality

I think most of us expected Dane to be back as the captain of our Bears.  Maybe something happens and he comes back midseason, but he surely isn't here now.  And that hurts.  

One of the reason the Bears struggled so much in the postseason last year was a lack of physicality.  I for one believe that a healthy Dane would have made a huge difference in the postseason.  

So without Dane, who is going to pick up the slack in the physical play?

One look at the roster and you would be hard pressed to find someone capable based on their size.  Liam O'Brien seems like the heir, but he wasn't real good at doing it last spring.  

Other than him there is exactly ONE forward that is at least 200 lbs, Zach Sill.  He weighs in at 202.

The problem is made worse when you realize the Bears field a much smaller than average lineup.  Only 6 of the 13 forwards stands even 6'0" tall.  4 of the 13 are 5/9" or smaller!!

We have seen Hershey Miniatures before (Aucoin, Perreault, Bouchard, Bourque, among others), but they were generally accompanied by larger players around them.

That isn't the case in 2015-16.  

Sure, there is some size (SOME) on the blueline.  But those guys won't be able to help in the corners when the Bears are trying to dig out loose pucks.  Nor will it help when you are looking to screen the goalie on shots from the point.

Guys like Nathan Walker, Garrett Mitchell, and even Bourque do know how to throw their weight around a bit, but it isn't exactly going to strike fear into an opponent the way a Dane Byers or Steve Pinnizzotto hit ever did.  

Depth

Problem number 2 is a rarer in one Hershey.

Typically when the Bears break camp and start the season there are about 25-27 guys left on the roster as things shake out in the first couple of weeks.

2015-16 didn't see that happen.  

When they announced their opening night rosters there were 23 players on it.  

In theory, that is fine.  You have your best lineup and you go with it.  

But I also think it raises questions about the level of the guys that weren't kept and were sent to South Carolina.  I am sure they are all skilled and will be adequate for a fill-in game or two.

However, if a key Bear suffers an injury (which one likely will) then Hershey might be in big trouble.

Experience and Familiarity

Last season was a struggle at the beginning.  Guys were new to the system and new to the team and it took a couple of months to really gel.  

Expect the same thing this year.  As mentioned above, there are 15 new(er) skaters to the team and the system.

And for the first time in a while there are a number of rookies!  

That's exciting as rookie's generally bring more speed and skill then some of the veteran players in the league.

And it's also terrifying as most of these kids have never played in a league this skilled before, so no one knows how they will acclimate themselves.

Ultimately, I would rather have loads of rookies than veterans, but it will likely make for a slow start with frustrating losses early.  

Hopefully that all turns around like it did last year and this team can dominate once Christmas rolls around.

Goaltending

Alright, so this is a 4th concern, but it needs mentioned especially considering the inauspicious start to the season by the Bears 2 veteran netminders.

Last season it was Gruby and Copley in net.  

Everyone was well aware that Gruby would likely be headed to Washington full time this year and that did end up happening.  

But we also all assumed Copley would make a fine #1 in Hershey.  I know I was excited as I thought he was better than Gruby for much of last year.

And then the Caps traded him.  Don't get me wrong...I LOVED the deal for the Caps.  LOVED IT.  But it hurt the Bears.

Within days the Bears/Caps had signed Dan Ellis to bridge the organization between Gruby and prospect Vitek Vanecek.  

Having two goalies in Hershey, Ellis and Peters, with NHL pedigree's is fantastic.  But at the same time, both are old (younger than me, but still...old for hockey players) and at some point the body breaks down and reflexes slow.

Hopefully that isn't the case as I know the organization doesn't want to rush Vanecek, who is playing in South Carolina this year, but after the start to the season I am at least slightly concerned.  It's only 3 games, with little chance to build a rythym, but still...something to monitor.

Regardless of any of these concerns I am HYPED for the home slate to get started.  

• Can't wait to see the new scoreboard in action.
• Looking forward to welcoming Bourque back to Hershey.
• Excited to see the young talent in Hershey.

But mostly, just excited to get back to my seat at the GC for some LIVE HOCKEY!!

LET'S GO BEARS!!!!

Bears Hang Tough Despite Loss

Some overarching issues from this past weekend's games can be seen as insufficient passing and problematic breakouts, thus leading to a multitude of turnovers. But despite being mostly outplayed and outshot in all three games, the Bears were able to hang around in them all and accrue 3 out of a possible 6 points.

The loss to the Hartford Wolf Pack on Sunday 3-2 wasn't as disappointing as Friday night's game and Sunday appeared to be the Bears' better overall, albeit subdued, effort even though they were outshot 13-2 in the first period. Down 3-2 late in the third period Hershey pushed hard, with even a 6-on-4 in the final minute, to try and tie the game. But these late in the game heroics didn't work like in Saturday night's game.

In Tim Leone's "Morning Takeaways" blog post, Coach Troy Mann referred to Sunday's game as a "trap game" since the Bears were playing 3 in 3 while Hartford only had the two games in Hershey. Granted, the extra game should be taken into consideration but there seems to be larger trends at play here.

The main characteristic of all three games has been that the Bears are not playing a full 60 minutes. In each game the Bears struggled in at least 2 if not all 3 periods. For all three games combined, Hershey was outshot in five of the nine periods (the overtime wasn't included since it only lasted a minute). In addition, the Bears were 1 for 12 on the power play with six of them coming in the third game. If there was any time where the power play needed to succeed it was Sunday.

Considering all that, the Bears were still able to hang around in all three games with each being tied 2-2 at some point in the third periods. The forwards and defense should thank both Philip Grubauer and Pheonix Copley for keeping the team competitive as they had to come up with some big saves to keep the games close. Grubauer was especially the Bears' best player.

The question is how Troy Mann is going to get things turned around. It's not like the Bears are facing adversity with injuries and/or call-ups. Passing and the cycle game has to get back to the way it was at the start of the season. The Bears had been dominate in their cycle game in the opponent's zone and this generated a lot of their offense.

And as mentioned previously, the power play has to start clicking again. Through the first 6 games, the power play was 7 for 34. Since then in the next 7 games (including Sunday night), it has been 2 for 24. The passing on the power play has been good but there needs to be more player movement and shots.

Or perhaps the overall play of this past weekend has been just an aberration that is typically seen at the end of a long road trip. It's a good thing that in the last 8 games in November, 6 of them are at Giant Center.

Amazing Comeback in 3rd Period

Saturday night's game at Giant Center against the Hartford Wolf Pack was definitely a "tale of two games" for the Bears. The first 50 minutes saw the Wolf Pack dominate the Bears both in overall play and on the score sheet as the Bears found themselves down 2-0. However, at the 10 minute mark of the 3rd period Hershey would overtake Hartford and score 4 unanswered goals in route to a 4-2 win.

While Hershey came out skating better than they did Friday night, the team continued to struggle with passing and break outs of the defensive zone as was also apparent in the Wilkes-Barre game. This breakdown in the basics of the game is a bit disconcerting as passing and the cycle game in all zones of the ice has been one of the Bears strongest points so far this season.

Despite being outshot in the first period, it appeared like we might be in for a goaltenders battle as both Grubauer and Desjardins had to come up with some big saves early on. Most notable was on a Wolf Pack power play when both Ryan Bourque and Chris Mueller found themselves alone in front of Grubauer who had to make two quick saves (the one on Mueller with a lunging right pad and blocker) to keep the game scoreless.

Hartford would make it 1-0 in the back end of the first period and 2-0 about midway through the second. At that point the energy seemed to be gone from the Bears in much the same way it was in the prior night's game against the Pens. The tension with the fans in attendance was noticeable.

A bright spot came towards the end of the second when Conner Carrick plastered Ryan Potulny in the right corner behind Grubauer. This would prove to be one of the turning points in the game as it got the Bears more physically engaged in the game and put some energy back in the crowd. Tim Leone has a good write-up on Penn Live about the hit and the overall play of Conner Carrick last night. I actually thought the Carrick hit would be the Crunch of the Game but that honor went to Steve Olesky who lined up Ryan Bourque who had his head down as he had just crossed the Bears blue line along the boards.

The Bears struggled on the power play all game long going 0-4 until around the 10 minute mark of the third when Casey Wellman would notch a power play goal to get the Bears on the board. It should be noted that the Bears' fifth power play opportunity is owed to Dustin Gazley who blew by Wolf Pack defender Dallas Jackson and then was blatantly hooked down. Gazley was clearly far enough ahead of Jackson that it should have been a penalty shot. Either way, Hershey was back in the game now only down 2-1.

At that point the whole game turned on a dime and the Bears controlled the play. A little more than a minute later Conner Carrick, while cutting to the middle of the ice just above the hash marks, would put a long wrist shot between the pads of Desjardins to tie the game at 2. Then with about 4 minutes left Kris Newbury would tip in a huge slap shot from Wellman standing along far side wall and to make it 3-2 Hershey. Upon replay, it was tough to tell if anyone touched that shot or if Wellman just blew it right by the Wolf Pack goalie.

Newbury would add an empty netter to seal the win 4-2 and the Bears' comeback was complete. Watching the first and second periods of last night's game I don't think anyone expected Hershey to pull off that win in the last 10 minutes. However, going into the third Scott Stuccio kept commenting on how the Bears could spark a comeback like the Pens did the night before.

The two games the Bears have played against the Wolf Pack this season have been Hershey's most exciting so far. The 1-0 overtime victory for Pheonix Copely's first career shutout and last night's comeback have provided the kind of action a fan likes to see in a hockey game. Let's hope that the third game against Hartford tonight at Giant Center continues that trend.

Bears over Hartford 1-0 in OT

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bears win 1 of 3

Not a great weekend for the Hershey Bears. They managed to record 44 shots in Friday's game at Binghamton but the Senators goalie, Barry Brust, stopped 42 of them and the Sens offense scored 4 times against Hershey goalie, Dany Sabourin, to pick up their first win over the Bears this season.

Saturday night saw a 4-3 loss at home at the hands of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. That makes it 4 straight losses against the Pens to start the season. 3 of the 4 games have been goal affairs. On bright spot in the loss was the Hershey power play which converted on all 3 of their chances.

Then came Sunday against the soon to be defunct Hartford Wolfpack. (Seriously in one week they will no longer exist...they will be the Connecticut Whale)

A strong but scattered first period led to a 0-0 tie after the 1st. The Bears took control with 4 second period goals and they took a 4-1 lead into the 3rd period. And then they tried to blow it late by allowing 2 goals midway through the 3rd period.

You could definitely see some tired legs out there. Andrew Gordon was one player that definitely looked like he could use a few days rest. He looked sluggish and just a little off his game all night.

In the end Hershey got 2 points out of a weekend in which they were not playing at full strength. But, surprisingly, they are healthier after the weekend then they were going into it. Brian Willsie and Sheldon Souray both played in games this weekend. Keith Aucoin, Francois Bouchard, and Steve Pinizzotto remain sidelined.

Semyon Varlamov played in 2 games and appears to have regained his mobility but I am not sure he is ready for the NHL. He didn't look great in any of the 3 games he has appeared in. But Braden Holtby didn't look good in his start Friday night for Washington.

I would expect to see Braden return to Hershey for the weekend games but who knows. Varly doesn't look ready to significantly contribute but I am not sure playing in the AHL will get him ready for the NHL anyhow.

**UPDATE - shortly after posting this I read on Capitals Insider that Holtby is expected to make another start for the Caps this week. So it would appear that Varly will still be in Hershey for at least the Wednesday night game and possibly longer.**

**UPDATE #2 - Varly was recalled to Washington as Neuvirth suffered a minor lower body injury in practice. Holtby started last night and Varly was the backup. No word on when/if one of the two will be reassigned to Hershey. They say Neuvy can probably play Wednesday so hopefully one of the 2 is back soon.**

Next up for Hershey...a 4 in 5! Not exactly what they need right now but all you can do is play the games that are scheduled.

3 of the 4 games are in Hershey starting with Worcester on Wednesday night.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!!

A 4 point weekend

For most weekends of the AHL season when there are generally 3 games a 4 point weekend wouldn't be anything to write home about. But when you only play 2 games and travel 10 hours then it is more impressive.

The Bears started the weekend in Hartford on Friday night where they absolutely embarrassed the Wolfpack 6-0. To me the game felt dominated by the Bears but according to the score sheet the Wolfpack actually outshot the Bears 26-24.

Hershey continued the weekend into Saturday when they hosted the Albany River Rats. After allowing the first goal (shorthanded) they scored the next 4 goals to win 4-1. For the second straight night it felt as though Hershey dominated but again the score sheet says they were outshot 24-23.

So what was different about this weekend compared to previous ones? Two things.

1. Goaltending. Jason Bacashihua started both games after Michal Neuvirth got injured during pregame warmups in Hartford. And Cash looked great in both games. Allowing 1 goal on 50 shots and making several big saves in both games. Cash has played in 4 games, has won all 4, and has only allowed 4 goals.

2. Converting Chances. There were numerous attempts for the Bears in their earlier games that they let golden opportunities slip through their fingers...missing open nets, too much passing....but the past two games have been different. The passing has been spot on and the shots have been going in. Alexandre Giroux returned for Friday night which definitely helped the club as he scored 2 goals but he was missing Saturday night and the offense still showed up.

Francois Bouchard has been a big reason why. He started off the season getting bumped around between the third and fourth lines and everyone started to question his future. I got an email from someone interested to know what kind of player he was and why he wasn't performing. They asked if he was going to be another dominant junior player that doesn't put it all together at the pro level.

Honestly I said I didn't know. Anyone watching can see that he has tremendous skill and this past week proves that (5g, 5a in last 5 games). But what then has his problem been? It would seem that maturity and focus might have been his issues last season and while Oskar Osala, Mathieu Perreault, and others made noise at Caps camp it was quiet on the Bouchard front. He was one of the first players reassigned to Hershey and not many thought twice about it.

But don't forget that Bouch did this last season too. He and Osala scored plenty in the first 3 months of the season and then both trailed off to barely showing up by the end of the season. Bouch didn't even play much at the end. So is this season different? Will he be able to keep it up? Hopefully.

Beyond Bouch though multiple players stepped up this weekend. Mathieu Perreault, Boyd Kane, Andrew Joudrey, Andrew Gordon, and Oskar Osala also scored this weekend. That means 7 players scored 10 goals in 2 games for the Bears....not too bad.


My Three Stars of the Weekend:

1. Jason Bacashihua - not sure if it is his play or the defense stepping up in front of him more than Neuvy but he has been better when he has played.
2. Francois Bouchard - 2 goals and 5 assists in the two games....awesome weekend for the young right wing. Now consistency needs to develop.
3. Mathieu Perreault - might be the best playmaker on the team. Had a goal and 2 assists this weekend but looked great in both games.

Grading the (Weekend) Performance:

• Offense | A | The fact that they were outshot in both games makes the dominance even more impressive. Converted their chances and spread the scoring out to all 4 lines. Considering the 4th line on Saturday included Gavin Morgan (hadn't played in Hershey since 04-05) and Greg Amadio that is saying something.
• Defense | A | I can't think of any particular play when the defense was bad. They seemed to settle in and play a little bit better this past weekend. It helps when your goalie saves you a couple times though.
• Goaltending | A+ | Outstanding. Bacashihua played as well as any goaltender in Hershey this season. Bears have won 3 straight and guess what....Cash has played in 3 straight. Anyone else see a pattern?
• Power Play | B | Not bad. 2 for 8. Allowed a shortie on Saturday. Had plenty of chances late in Hartford but didn't push too much since they were already up big.
• Penalty Kill | A | Killed off all 8 chances for the opposition. Cash came up big on more than one occasion but the overall positioning was definitely better.
• Overall | A | The best 2 games I have seen from Hershey this season. Excellent at both ends of the ice. Plenty of hustle and balance. This is they way they need to play if a repeat is in the cards. Teams are gunning for them and they can't outscore everyone this year.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!!

Giroux Brings Goals

Alexander Giroux returned to the Bears lineup for the first time since December 6th and it was quite a return. Giroux finished the night with a goal and 3 assists to spark the Bears in a 6-2 victory in Hartford.

The MAG line was reunited and accounted for 4 goals and 5 assists with Graham Mink scoring 2 goals and Keith Aucoin adding a goal and 2 assists.

The performance by Hershey was dominant but the score could have been worse. Twice the Bears had 5 minute major power plays and during both there was a 2 minute minor called on Hartford. Meaning the Bears had 4 total minutes of 5 on 3 and didn't score during any of it.

Hartford stopped playing hockey pretty early on and started playing a very physical and aggressive game that landed 3 ejections and 82 penalty minutes. All told the Bears had 7 power plays and scored on 1 of them.

Simeon Varlamov got the start in net and was sensational again. He allowed 2 goals on 34 shots and destroyed any real chance of a comeback by the Wolf Pack with save after save. Overall Varly is now 5th in save percentage and 2nd in goals against in the AHL.

I am serious when I say this....enjoy Varly this season because he will NOT be in Hershey next season.


My Three Stars of the Game:

1. Alexander Giroux - 1 goal and 3 PRIMARY assists. Incredible return.
2. Graham Mink - 2 goals for a solid night.
3. Steve Pinnizzotto - 1 goal and 1 assist and he was all over the ice making plays

Grading the Performance:

• Offense - A - 6 goals....5 of which were even strength gives this unit a good showing. Giroux sparked something in that line that had been missing and they erupted. Everyone seemed to be playing with more urgency and intensity after the previous night's debacle.
• Defense - B - Solid performance. Hartford got 2 goals which might not have gone in if the defense was playing perfect but it wasn't too big of a deal. Hartford also got 34 shots in on Varly and that number should be lowered by the defense. They have to get into more shooting lanes.
• Goaltending - B+ - If I remember it correctly I think he could have stopped the first goal but that is really nit picking a little. He was tremendous again.
• Power Play - F - Sorry but this unit is a disgrace right now. Something needs to change. All they do is pass the puck around by the blue line and take shots and hope for rebounds.
• Penalty Kill - C - They allowed 1 goal on 3 attempts which isn't very good. They weren't really called upon to be too big for most of the game as the offense had the game in hand.
• Overall - B - A good offensive performance but can it be sustained. If everyone expects Alexander to do this every night the team will be in trouble. Everyone needs to keep up the pace and intensity to avoid any letdowns.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!

Bears @ Wolf Pack Preview, 1/3

Hershey Bears
record ~ 24-9-0-1 49 points
standings ~ 1st in East Division
most recent game ~ 7-2 Loss @ Providence, 1/2
last 5 games ~ 3-2-0-0
road record ~ 10-6-0-1
goals for ~ 132
goals against ~93
power play ~ 16.6% (15th)
penalty kill ~ 82.5% (16th)


Hartford Wolf Pack
record ~ 17-14-1-3 38 points
standings ~ 3rd in Atlantic Division
most recent game ~ 3-1 Win vs Grand Rapids, 1/2
last 5 games ~ 3-2-0-0
home record ~ 12-5-0-2
goals for ~ 99
goals against ~ 105
power play ~ 17.3% (13th)
penalty kill ~ 81.0% (23rd)

last time teams met - Hershey won 4-2 on December 6th in Hershey.

Players to watch:

Hershey:

LW Chris Bourque (17)- He is really the player that makes this team go. When he is playing good the team is usually playing good and the opposite is also true. He isn't scoring as much as last season and right now this team needs him to produce.
LW Oskar Osala (36) - He leads the team with 17 goals but only 2 of them have come in his last 10 games. Another player that needs to produce now when things aren't going well.
RW Andrew Gordon (10) - 11 goals and 11 assists on the season is okay but in the last 15 games he only has 2 goals and 5 assists. More is needed from him as well.

Hartford:

RW Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau (17) - Tied for the team lead in points with 34. Leads the team with 15 goals and is second with 19 assists. 4 goals and 4 assists in the last 6 games including goals in 3 straight.
C Artem Anisimov (42) - Second on the team with 14 goals. Leads the team with 20 assists and is tied for the points lead with 34. 3 goals and 5 assists in the last 5 games.
C Mike Ouellette (44) - Not a tremendous offensive threat with only 4 goals and 7 assists this season but he has goals in the last 2 games and is the team leader with a +9. Whoever he is matched up against they will have a hard time scoring.


News and notes:

• Simeon Varlamov will get the start in goal tonight for Hershey.
• Not word on who will start Sunday in Worcester but it could be Daren Machesney who returned from the Spengler Cup to join the team yesterday but the long travel may make him unavailable.
• Tyler Sloan and Chris Bourque returned to the lineup last night after stints in Washington. It was Sloan's first game in the lineup since November 2.
• Good sign for Hershey...Hartford has not won back to back games on consecutive nights since the end of October and they won last night.

10 In A Row

10 in a row ties a regular season record for the Hershey Bears. I believe the overall record for longest streak is 14 games which included 12 in a row in the playoffs. Even still the record for a team this beat up with call ups and injuries deserves a ton of credit.

Last night the defensive roster looked like this, Johann Kroll (previous AHL experience = 4 games), Patrick Wellar (49 games), Josh Godfrey (9 games), Sasha Pokulok (49 games), Patrick McNeill (64 games), and Greg Amadio (231 games). Missing from the defensive lineup is Tyler Sloan, Bryan Helmer, Sami Lepisto, Karl Alzner, Sean Collins, and Dean Arsene is out with injury. Combined those 5 players and they have 1687 games on AHL experience under their belts. That is 1687 to 406 games of AHL experience between last nights roster compared to the opening night roster. That's a lot of games.

The defense did have some problems last night. A couple players had trouble getting the puck out their end and there were some missed assignments and missed passes. But all in all considering the patchwork defense that was put together they played very well.

They got some help from goaltender Simeon Varlamov who made 26 saves, many of them of the spectacular variety. The young Russian goalie covered up for any defensive miscues to win his 10th game of the season and 7th in a row.

The offense also stepped up a bit and managed to score 4 times against a solid effort from goalie Matt Zaba of Hartford. Maxime Lacroix (1st of the year), Francois Bouchard (8th), Patrick McNeill (1st), and Alexandre Giroux (18th) all scored for Hershey in their 4-2 win over the Wolf Pack last night in Hershey.

It was a full team effort. No one group out played another last night and it showed that this team is a team and they don't need their best players on the ice to beat anyone.


My Three Stars of the Game:

1. Andrew Gordon - 2 assists and exceptional defensive zone play
2. Simeon Varlamov - 26 great saves to save his young inexperienced defense
3. Chris Bourque - filled in well for Aucoin and played well in his role at a position he hasn't played at recently

Grading the Performance:

• Offense - B - There were plenty of chances for the offense to score and they converted on 4 of them. But there were lots of chances left on the ice too. The Bears seemed to have trouble setting up in the zone regularly and needed breakaways to score 3 of the 4 goals.
• Defense - C + - Many miscues almost cost the team some goals but didn't. A solid performance from the unit as a whole but some almost costly mistakes from some individuals. Patty McNeill might have had his worst game this season in his own end with multiple turnovers.
• Goaltending - A - An excellent game from the young Russian in net. He saved his defensemen on multiple occasions. He continues to impress and prove that he is the number 1 goaltender on this team.
• Power Play - C+ - 7 chances, no goals. The units had trouble getting pucks on net while on the power play. They managed to get set up but couldn't get much on goal.
• Penalty Kill - A - A great game from this unit. 4 opportunities including a major and a 5 on 3 and they didn't allow a goal. Excellent job by the forwards on the PK units.
• Overall - B - A win is a win and that is all that matters but they better improve their play in their own zone if they want to extend this streak past 10 games.

News and Notes:

• Eric Fehr was injured in last night's Capitals game and is listed as day to day. He may not play tonight which means a right wing, likely Minker, will be called up today.
• Amadio took a puck to the head while blocking a shot last night but did not miss much time on the ice.
• Karl Alzner scored his first NHL goal last night in Toronto.
  

Hartford @ Bears Preview, 12/6

Hershey Bears
record ~ 18-5-0-1 37 points
standings ~ 1st in East Division
most recent game ~ 3-2 Win vs Norfolk, 12/1
last 5 games ~ 5-0-0-0
home record ~ 9-2-0-0
goals for ~ 107
goals against ~64
power play ~ 19.7% (6th)
penalty kill ~ 81.0% (23rd)


Hartford Wolf Pack
record ~ 10-9-1-2 23 points
standings ~ 5th in Atlantic Division
most recent game ~ 4-3 OT Win @ Bridgeport, 12/3
last 5 games ~ 2-3-0-0
road record ~ 3-5-1-1
goals for ~ 62
goals against ~ 66
power play ~ 15.7% (17th)
penalty kill ~ 78.9% (25th)

last time teams met - This is the first meeting this season. Last season the Bears won in Hartford and the Wolf Pack won in Hershey.

Players to watch:

Hershey:

LW Chris Bourque (17)- He is probably going to be playing center on the number 1 line since Keith Aucoin probably won't be back for this weekends games. He needs to do a good job in faceoffs and get the puck to Minker and Giroux.
C Kyle Wilson (18) - He needs to keep up the scoring now that we have moved into another month. With Coiner up in Washington the Bears need other players to step up.
D Greg Amadio (32) - With the defensive players still up with the Caps, Amadio needs to have a solid weekend. It could be a while before Alzner, Lepisto, or Sloan come back.

Hartford:

RW Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau (17) - Leading the team in points and goals with 11 goals and 11 assists in 22 games this season. A bit of a slump lately now though as he only has 1 goal in the last 4 games.
C Artem Anisimov (42) - 2nd on the team in points and goals with 8 goals and 12 assists in 22 games. He has 6 goals in the last 7 games.
LW Patrick Rissmiller (18) - He has only played 7 games this season for the Pack but he has 8 assists in those games.


News and Notes:

• After being reassigned to Reading earlier this week Patrick Wellar will be back in Hershey for this weekend. No defensemen are expected to return to Hershey before next week.
• Keith Aucoin is likely to be in Washington for the weekend as well.
• When Coiner went up, Minker came back.
• Johann Kroll was called up from South Carolina yesterday, fueling speculation that another defenseman could get called up to Washington.
  

LET'S GO BEARS!!! MAKE IT 10 IN A ROW!!

Decent Weekend for the Bears

The Hershey Bears split their two weekend games by beating Lake Erie Saturday night 6-4 and losing Sunday night to Hartford 3-1.

Saturday's game was a good rebound effort from a poor performance last Wednesday night. Andrew Gordon scored 3 goals, Stephen Werner, Sami Lepisto, and Jason Morgan all scored for Hershey as they chased Tyler Weiman from net in the 2nd period. At the end of the 1st period it was 4-1 and after the second it was 6-3 before finalizing the scoring at 6-4.

Sunday nights game was not as good a performance. After chasing Hartford goalie Al Montoya in their game in Hartford on January 4 the Bears got to go against Miika Wiikman on Sunday. They weren't able to chase him from net though. That may have been due to the fact that they had only 23 shots all game. Gordon scored the lone goal for the Bears. Freddie Cassivi made his return from Washington and played well, making 33 saves on 35 shots. Hartford added an empty net goal with under a minute to play.

Louis Robitaille returned to the lineup both nights and Josef Boumedienne also played in both games for the Bears.

Tyler Sloan, Dean Arsene, and Jay Beagle could possibly return to lineup this weekend. Which would help a depleted defensive corps get some depth. Ben Clymer played defense Sunday night due to injuries on defense.