This was a relatively light weekend for the Bears in comparison to the other teams in the division. Both the Albany Devils and LeHigh Valley Phantoms played 3-in-3 (plus traveling) while the Hershey was at home for just two. Looking back, the road trip to start the season and how well the Bears played is now paying off with more home stands and a less rugged schedule. This combination can definitely be seen as favoring the Bears' climb into first place in the division.
Last night, Hershey rolled over LeHigh Valley 5-2 and outshot the Phantoms 37-30 including putting up 17 shots in the second period alone. In addition, while the penalty kill faltered a bit last night against Albany (allowing 3 PP goals in 5 chances), tonight the Bears killed off all 8 power plays for the Phantoms.
Another benefit of the lighter schedule is slowly getting Grubauer and Copley back into the consistency of play. With Grubauer being out injured and Copley on recall last weekend, neither goalie has played a game in about two weeks. In Tim Leone's Penn Live bullet points from the weekend and in the broadcasts, it was noted that at times both goalies struggled a bit to fight off shots.
Hershey will continue this schedule trend with a game in Allentown on Wednesday and one in Hershey on Saturday against the Binghamton Senators. I would expect Grubauer and Copley to each get a game. This takes the Bears into the final weekend of the month and February where they'll have a whole month of 3-in-3's. Getting both goalies back up to game speed and splitting time will be paramount for a successful February.
Showing posts with label Phantoms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Phantoms. Show all posts
Monday, January 19, 2015
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Lots Of Shots, But No Goals
Amid some controversy, Washington Capitals rookie Andrew Burakovsky has been assigned to Hershey for at least this weekend before the Christmas break. Some see the move as a way for Burakovsky to get more optimum playing time and aid the Bears offensive woes. Others think this is just a step towards his assignment to the Swedish team for the WJC over the holiday break. Either way, the fans in Hershey will be happy on Saturday night and packing Giant Center to see the Caps/Bears newest prospect.
My question is why they didn't use Burakovsky on a line with Tim Kennedy. I realize Troy Mann wants to put him on a top line so he'll get a lot of playing time, but playing with the Newbury, Casey Wellman and Dane Byers doesn't seem to be the wisest choice. There's a reason Kennedy has the most assists on the team and is second in the league. Although Burakovsky did play with Galiev at times, to spark Burakvosky's scoring prowess he should really be playing with Kennedy.
Anyway, the Bears came out on Friday night firing on all cylinders against LeHigh Valley. That translated into the Bears outshooting the Phantoms 16 to 1 in the first period. Unfortunately, they didn't plan on Phantoms' goalie Anthony Stolarz giving an outstanding performance for his second shutout of the season.
Except for not scoring, Hershey's offense was as good if not better than the wins over Binghamton and Bridgeport on the 13th and 5th of the month, respectively. Their passing was crisp and got shots on Stolarz from different areas of the ice. While the Bears only received two power play chances, they made the most of the opportunities with plenty of point shots and passes to the slot from out of the corner.
At the end of the night Burakovsky and Wellman recorded 4 shots a piece while Galiev and Byers had each.
Regarding goaltending, I've always liked the comparison to baseball. No matter how good a team is playing, if you run into a hot pitcher there's nothing you can do about it. The same with goaltending. When a goalie is on, he's on. Of course, I prefer it when that goalie is Philip Grubauer.
Not taking anything away from him, though he faced 18 total shots Grubauer played just as strong in keeping the score 1-0. The Phantoms had two power plays in the third period and could have gone up 2-0. But Grubauer came up with some big saves to keep Hershey in it.
My question is why they didn't use Burakovsky on a line with Tim Kennedy. I realize Troy Mann wants to put him on a top line so he'll get a lot of playing time, but playing with the Newbury, Casey Wellman and Dane Byers doesn't seem to be the wisest choice. There's a reason Kennedy has the most assists on the team and is second in the league. Although Burakovsky did play with Galiev at times, to spark Burakvosky's scoring prowess he should really be playing with Kennedy.
Anyway, the Bears came out on Friday night firing on all cylinders against LeHigh Valley. That translated into the Bears outshooting the Phantoms 16 to 1 in the first period. Unfortunately, they didn't plan on Phantoms' goalie Anthony Stolarz giving an outstanding performance for his second shutout of the season.
Except for not scoring, Hershey's offense was as good if not better than the wins over Binghamton and Bridgeport on the 13th and 5th of the month, respectively. Their passing was crisp and got shots on Stolarz from different areas of the ice. While the Bears only received two power play chances, they made the most of the opportunities with plenty of point shots and passes to the slot from out of the corner.
At the end of the night Burakovsky and Wellman recorded 4 shots a piece while Galiev and Byers had each.
Regarding goaltending, I've always liked the comparison to baseball. No matter how good a team is playing, if you run into a hot pitcher there's nothing you can do about it. The same with goaltending. When a goalie is on, he's on. Of course, I prefer it when that goalie is Philip Grubauer.
Not taking anything away from him, though he faced 18 total shots Grubauer played just as strong in keeping the score 1-0. The Phantoms had two power plays in the third period and could have gone up 2-0. But Grubauer came up with some big saves to keep Hershey in it.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Bears Lose in OT Despite Comeback
Wednesday night's game in Allentown against the Phantoms continued the current trend of the Bears inability to generate sustained pressure in the opponents end for any length of time. At least in the past few weeks. In Tim Leone's Penn Live Blog Post after last weekend's 3-2 win over Wilkes-Barre, Troy Mann perfectly sums up the Bears' current predicament:
If you lose one or two games in a row, that's one thing. But patterns have been emerging recently and this is Hershey's first taste of adversity in the 2014-15 season. The question is how they will dig themselves out of this current "rut".
The Bears certainly didn't start the game appearing as though they have an answer. In their worst first period so far, the Bears were outshot in the period 20-9 and down 2-0 within the first seven minutes. It took almost that long for Hershey to register it's first shot of the game.
Granted, the Bears were able to claw back into the game with a goal in each of the second and third periods while limiting the Phantoms to 5 and 7 shots per period, respectively. However, Hershey wasn't able to control the play in either the offensive or defensive zones. The main difference compared to earlier in the season that keeps coming up is the absence of the great passing and cycle game.
Perhaps it's in reaction to their struggles, but Hershey has been playing the dump and chase game while trying to get chances off the rush. Other than Dane Byers power play goal, the Bears' best opportunities and Newbury's goal came off the rush.
The game appeared to become equitable when both teams devolved into a run and gun style the last half of the third period. Chandler Stephenson had the best chance in the last 10 minutes when he blew down the left wing past the Phantom's defenseman for a partial breakaway. Stephenson made a nice deke for a backhand shot but Rob Zepp just got a piece of it with his glove.
At the start of the overtime, Connor Carrick somehow gets called for tripping that no one saw except for the referee. Despite the bad call, Joel Broda found himself on a breakaway right off the face-off and could have ended the game but unfortunately shot the puck wide and missed the net.
So now to the 3-on-3 overtime. You've no doubt read my previous post about this. And watching this extended 3-on-3, the following came to mind: this is pond hockey. During the NHL's Winter Classic they always make such a big to-do about playing outside on the frozen pond. Well, the 3-on-3 overtime is the perfect representation of that. So much for a structured and professional game.
Also, both teams attempted to hold back and play the zone to limit the 2-on-1 chances. The thing about the 3-on-3 overtime is that because there are so few players on the ice an abundance of offensive chances are inevitable.
Chris Conner had a breakaway and almost won the game with a Peter Forsberg move but Zepp made an outstanding left toe save. Likewise, Lehigh Valley forward Kevin Goumas had a breakaway in the final seconds of the overtime.
So apparently the AHL has shifted from 5 shooters to 3 in the shootout. After newcomer Blair Jones scored the Phantom's only shootout goal, Dustin Gazley stick handled himself out of a shot and the game was over. However, no one on the ice knew it; not even the refs. Everyone stood around for awhile until they figured it out. The only person who did know was the Phantom's broadcaster, Steve Degler. To quote, "The Phantoms have won the game. I might be an idiot, but at least I know the rule change and there are only 3 shooters instead of 5".
"We were wondering, Well, maybe did our team jell a little bit too early, because things came together so quickly those first three weeks. We were very good defensively. From a systems perspective, we were excellent. But then you start winning some games early. A rut and a groove, there's a fine line there."
If you lose one or two games in a row, that's one thing. But patterns have been emerging recently and this is Hershey's first taste of adversity in the 2014-15 season. The question is how they will dig themselves out of this current "rut".
The Bears certainly didn't start the game appearing as though they have an answer. In their worst first period so far, the Bears were outshot in the period 20-9 and down 2-0 within the first seven minutes. It took almost that long for Hershey to register it's first shot of the game.
Granted, the Bears were able to claw back into the game with a goal in each of the second and third periods while limiting the Phantoms to 5 and 7 shots per period, respectively. However, Hershey wasn't able to control the play in either the offensive or defensive zones. The main difference compared to earlier in the season that keeps coming up is the absence of the great passing and cycle game.
Perhaps it's in reaction to their struggles, but Hershey has been playing the dump and chase game while trying to get chances off the rush. Other than Dane Byers power play goal, the Bears' best opportunities and Newbury's goal came off the rush.
The game appeared to become equitable when both teams devolved into a run and gun style the last half of the third period. Chandler Stephenson had the best chance in the last 10 minutes when he blew down the left wing past the Phantom's defenseman for a partial breakaway. Stephenson made a nice deke for a backhand shot but Rob Zepp just got a piece of it with his glove.
At the start of the overtime, Connor Carrick somehow gets called for tripping that no one saw except for the referee. Despite the bad call, Joel Broda found himself on a breakaway right off the face-off and could have ended the game but unfortunately shot the puck wide and missed the net.
So now to the 3-on-3 overtime. You've no doubt read my previous post about this. And watching this extended 3-on-3, the following came to mind: this is pond hockey. During the NHL's Winter Classic they always make such a big to-do about playing outside on the frozen pond. Well, the 3-on-3 overtime is the perfect representation of that. So much for a structured and professional game.
Also, both teams attempted to hold back and play the zone to limit the 2-on-1 chances. The thing about the 3-on-3 overtime is that because there are so few players on the ice an abundance of offensive chances are inevitable.
Chris Conner had a breakaway and almost won the game with a Peter Forsberg move but Zepp made an outstanding left toe save. Likewise, Lehigh Valley forward Kevin Goumas had a breakaway in the final seconds of the overtime.
So apparently the AHL has shifted from 5 shooters to 3 in the shootout. After newcomer Blair Jones scored the Phantom's only shootout goal, Dustin Gazley stick handled himself out of a shot and the game was over. However, no one on the ice knew it; not even the refs. Everyone stood around for awhile until they figured it out. The only person who did know was the Phantom's broadcaster, Steve Degler. To quote, "The Phantoms have won the game. I might be an idiot, but at least I know the rule change and there are only 3 shooters instead of 5".
Friday, October 31, 2014
4 Thoughts on the Bears in the Early Going
Don has written nice postgame pieces of each Bears game so far (you can find this past weekends write-ups here here and here).
But I haven't given any thoughts on the matter yet as I was waiting to see the team in person (and then waiting to find the time to write it). So here it goes:
In watching the Bears live twice last weekend I think 4 things jumped out at me:
It isn't that the Bears are lightning fast and just skating circles around the opposition...they aren't that fast.
But the other teams aren't either.
In recent years you could sit down at Giant Center and immediately the speed discrepancy between the Bears and the opposition was apparent. It wasn't that the other teams were unusually fast...the Bears were just slow.
A lack of prospects in the system will do that as Hershey filled their roster with slightly older legs and hoped that the veteran positioning would counter the speedier teams.
It didn't.
But this year looks different so far. The Bears are just as fast as the other teams and a lack of speed will not be the problem it was for the Bears in recent years.
We kind of suspected this coming in to the season, but after seeing it live it is obvious.
What is the Bears best line? Go ahead, try and convince me of one.
You can't. Why? Because there is little difference between the 1st and 12th forward on this team. Seriously.
Sure, some players struggle with certain things and consistency for the young guys is sometimes lacking, but ultimately this team runs 4 very good lines that others have to account for.
The saying goes, you are only as good as your weakest link.
If that is the measurement model...these Bears are pretty darn good.
Last season was probably the worst for this. The Bears would score a goal and almost immediately the opposition would come down and score as well.
It happens. When one team allows a goal they are going to have new found motivation to get one of their own.
We saw during both games this weekend.
Hershey went up in both games. They scored 7 goals in the 2 home games and only gave up 1. And that one came at the start of a period...never right after a Bears goal.
I noticed it right away Saturday night. Wilkes-Barre came hard after the Bears scored 2 midway through the 1st, but the Bears were focused and ready for it.
This is a credit to the new coaching staff. They have them ready to play in situations where last years team seemed to be lacking.
I have noticed this both in Hershey and Washington and it brings memories to the Bruce Boudreau days.
Any time the puck is headed up the boards the Bears d-men were pinching in aggressively to keep it in.
The Phantoms and Penguins had few easy clears out of the zone.
Now, this style play can obviously lead to odd man breaks and while that didn't happen this weekend it surely will. BUT, in order to create opportunities for your forwards the defensemen have to be willing to step up and keep the puck in the zone.
These kinds of plays often go unnoticed on the scoresheet, but they are critical to winning games and the entire organization seems committed to this system.
Obviously there were other thoughts (including what seemed to be better success in the faceoff circle) but those 4 things really stuck out to me after seeing the Bears for one weekend.
Do you agree? Did you see anything else that stuck out to you? Share in the comments.
But I haven't given any thoughts on the matter yet as I was waiting to see the team in person (and then waiting to find the time to write it). So here it goes:
 |
| Bears vs Penguins, picture courtesy of Kyle Mace and Chocolate Hockey |
In watching the Bears live twice last weekend I think 4 things jumped out at me:
1. Team Speed
It isn't that the Bears are lightning fast and just skating circles around the opposition...they aren't that fast.
But the other teams aren't either.
In recent years you could sit down at Giant Center and immediately the speed discrepancy between the Bears and the opposition was apparent. It wasn't that the other teams were unusually fast...the Bears were just slow.
A lack of prospects in the system will do that as Hershey filled their roster with slightly older legs and hoped that the veteran positioning would counter the speedier teams.
It didn't.
But this year looks different so far. The Bears are just as fast as the other teams and a lack of speed will not be the problem it was for the Bears in recent years.
2. Depth
We kind of suspected this coming in to the season, but after seeing it live it is obvious.
What is the Bears best line? Go ahead, try and convince me of one.
You can't. Why? Because there is little difference between the 1st and 12th forward on this team. Seriously.
Sure, some players struggle with certain things and consistency for the young guys is sometimes lacking, but ultimately this team runs 4 very good lines that others have to account for.
The saying goes, you are only as good as your weakest link.
If that is the measurement model...these Bears are pretty darn good.
3. Focus in the Moment
Last season was probably the worst for this. The Bears would score a goal and almost immediately the opposition would come down and score as well.
It happens. When one team allows a goal they are going to have new found motivation to get one of their own.
We saw during both games this weekend.
Hershey went up in both games. They scored 7 goals in the 2 home games and only gave up 1. And that one came at the start of a period...never right after a Bears goal.
I noticed it right away Saturday night. Wilkes-Barre came hard after the Bears scored 2 midway through the 1st, but the Bears were focused and ready for it.
This is a credit to the new coaching staff. They have them ready to play in situations where last years team seemed to be lacking.
4. Aggressive Pinching by the D
I have noticed this both in Hershey and Washington and it brings memories to the Bruce Boudreau days.
Any time the puck is headed up the boards the Bears d-men were pinching in aggressively to keep it in.
The Phantoms and Penguins had few easy clears out of the zone.
Now, this style play can obviously lead to odd man breaks and while that didn't happen this weekend it surely will. BUT, in order to create opportunities for your forwards the defensemen have to be willing to step up and keep the puck in the zone.
These kinds of plays often go unnoticed on the scoresheet, but they are critical to winning games and the entire organization seems committed to this system.
Obviously there were other thoughts (including what seemed to be better success in the faceoff circle) but those 4 things really stuck out to me after seeing the Bears for one weekend.
Do you agree? Did you see anything else that stuck out to you? Share in the comments.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Copley's Second Consecutive Shutout Powers Bears
Sometimes I like the third game of these three game weekend stints. Usually you'll hear that the teams are extra tired, the play isn't as crisp and more mistakes are made. This all can be true. But occasionally that's a good thing.
The less structured play can allow players to be more creative against a team than say on Friday or Saturday night, when the opposition might be on its defensive game. And sometimes that additional creativity is rewarded more in a Sunday night game. Which can make for a more overall exciting game.
This is one of my biggest complaints about the current progression and state of the NHL. The systems employed by NHL teams in general are so structured (both offensively and defensively) that players are always in position and major errors rarely made. It has lost some of the "chaotic creativity" that comes from a looser system and play.
The tiredness was evident for both the Bears and Phantoms. But the Bears had one of their nicest goals of the young season when Kennedy skated into the left corner and threw a pass out to Philip Cornet in the slot. While a pass like that might have been intercepted on a Friday or Saturday night game, Cornet was able to handle the pass and, as he was being tripped up and falling to the ice, chipped the puck past Lehigh Valley goalie Anthony Stolarz. As Scott Stuccio mentioned during the broadcast, Cornet was falling and in the air when he knocked that puck in. Nice highlight reel goal.
However, it was Pheonix Copley who would end up being the star of the game with his second consecutive shutout. Copley wasn't overly tested as the Phantoms were once again held to only single digit shots in each period. But the Hershey goalie was sharp when Lehigh Valley had some good chances late in the third. Most notably the glove save on Darroll Powe's semi-breakaway and left pad save on Scott Laughton right in around the goal.
Overall, this was a fine ending to the up and down weekend for the Bears. And to get the first two wins at Giant Center this season is extra special in ushering in this new era of sorts to the hometown crowd. Hershey now heads back out on the road and won't be home until the weekend of November 8-9 when they'll face the Hartford Wolf Pack.
The less structured play can allow players to be more creative against a team than say on Friday or Saturday night, when the opposition might be on its defensive game. And sometimes that additional creativity is rewarded more in a Sunday night game. Which can make for a more overall exciting game.
This is one of my biggest complaints about the current progression and state of the NHL. The systems employed by NHL teams in general are so structured (both offensively and defensively) that players are always in position and major errors rarely made. It has lost some of the "chaotic creativity" that comes from a looser system and play.
The tiredness was evident for both the Bears and Phantoms. But the Bears had one of their nicest goals of the young season when Kennedy skated into the left corner and threw a pass out to Philip Cornet in the slot. While a pass like that might have been intercepted on a Friday or Saturday night game, Cornet was able to handle the pass and, as he was being tripped up and falling to the ice, chipped the puck past Lehigh Valley goalie Anthony Stolarz. As Scott Stuccio mentioned during the broadcast, Cornet was falling and in the air when he knocked that puck in. Nice highlight reel goal.
However, it was Pheonix Copley who would end up being the star of the game with his second consecutive shutout. Copley wasn't overly tested as the Phantoms were once again held to only single digit shots in each period. But the Hershey goalie was sharp when Lehigh Valley had some good chances late in the third. Most notably the glove save on Darroll Powe's semi-breakaway and left pad save on Scott Laughton right in around the goal.
Overall, this was a fine ending to the up and down weekend for the Bears. And to get the first two wins at Giant Center this season is extra special in ushering in this new era of sorts to the hometown crowd. Hershey now heads back out on the road and won't be home until the weekend of November 8-9 when they'll face the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Saturday, October 25, 2014
A Test In Holding A One Goal Lead
During the first half of the 3rd period, I thought to myself how this was a good early season test for the Bears in holding onto a one goal lead. By the time there was 5 minutes left in the game, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms were up 4-2 and would go on to win the game.
Hershey had the better overall play throughout the game up until that last half of the third period. Continuing to use their speed, cycle game and excellent passing, there were times when the Bears overwhelmed the Phantoms and pinned them in their own end. But the Phantoms kept hanging in there and just wouldn't go away. So how did the Bears let the game slip away?
As Coach Troy Mann is quoted in Tim Leone's post game Penn Live blog post, the Bears ended up playing too much in the neutral zone and there were too many turnovers. The worst turnover came on the Phantom's third goal when Andrew Gordon stripped the puck from the Hershey defender trying to skate out of the corner. Gordon then spun around, got a quick shot off and Darroll Powe put in the rebound for his second of the game. This was about a minute after Lehigh Valley had tied it 2-2.
Physicality and fights were also prevalent. The Phantoms used their size well and doled out some big hits. The most notable was Jay Rosehill lining up Patrick Wey along the far boards near the Phantom's blue line. Wey didn't return and no penalty was called on the hit. Now, while I saw the hit coming, it was difficult to tell to what degree Wey had his head down and how much control of the puck he had. So it could have been just a bit of a late hit. Either way, it lead to a fight between Rosehill and Tim Spencer.
The third period saw a huge fight between Garrett Mitchell and defenseman Steven Delisle. I got to hand it to Mitchell. He was outmatched in overall size and took a pounding in the process, but he really hung in there against Delisle. Mitchell is listed as 5'10", 188lbs. while Delisle goes 6'6", 209lbs. But Garrett seemed to be wound up and ready to go last night as he previously got a roughing penalty (basically an instigator) in the second for going after Rosehill before Spencer got involved in that fight.
This Phantoms team played a lot better than I expected and definitely had the backing of their boisterous hometown crowd. However, this loss is a good early lesson for the young Bears. As Mann further stated post game, "you've got to buckle down and play the right way." A tough lesson to be sure, but next time they'll be ready when another game like this arises.
Hershey had the better overall play throughout the game up until that last half of the third period. Continuing to use their speed, cycle game and excellent passing, there were times when the Bears overwhelmed the Phantoms and pinned them in their own end. But the Phantoms kept hanging in there and just wouldn't go away. So how did the Bears let the game slip away?
As Coach Troy Mann is quoted in Tim Leone's post game Penn Live blog post, the Bears ended up playing too much in the neutral zone and there were too many turnovers. The worst turnover came on the Phantom's third goal when Andrew Gordon stripped the puck from the Hershey defender trying to skate out of the corner. Gordon then spun around, got a quick shot off and Darroll Powe put in the rebound for his second of the game. This was about a minute after Lehigh Valley had tied it 2-2.
Physicality and fights were also prevalent. The Phantoms used their size well and doled out some big hits. The most notable was Jay Rosehill lining up Patrick Wey along the far boards near the Phantom's blue line. Wey didn't return and no penalty was called on the hit. Now, while I saw the hit coming, it was difficult to tell to what degree Wey had his head down and how much control of the puck he had. So it could have been just a bit of a late hit. Either way, it lead to a fight between Rosehill and Tim Spencer.
The third period saw a huge fight between Garrett Mitchell and defenseman Steven Delisle. I got to hand it to Mitchell. He was outmatched in overall size and took a pounding in the process, but he really hung in there against Delisle. Mitchell is listed as 5'10", 188lbs. while Delisle goes 6'6", 209lbs. But Garrett seemed to be wound up and ready to go last night as he previously got a roughing penalty (basically an instigator) in the second for going after Rosehill before Spencer got involved in that fight.
This Phantoms team played a lot better than I expected and definitely had the backing of their boisterous hometown crowd. However, this loss is a good early lesson for the young Bears. As Mann further stated post game, "you've got to buckle down and play the right way." A tough lesson to be sure, but next time they'll be ready when another game like this arises.
Sunday, October 5, 2014
East Division Preview - Part 1
With the preseason ending this weekend and rosters being finalized in the coming week, now is a good time to look at the other teams of the East Division and how the Bears can expect to matchup against them. With Syracuse moving to the Northeast Division and the Phantoms returning to eastern Pennsylvania, the division feels more "local" now. I really wish it was Norfolk that moved out and Syracuse that stayed. I like the sort of "I-81" rivalry between Hershey, Wilkes-Barre, Binghamton and Syracuse with a trip up to the War Memorial within just a 3 hours drive or so. Anyway, this will be a two part preview with Wilkes-Barre and Lehigh Valley first, being that they're from PA and the teams the Bears will play most this season. Binghamton and Norfolk will be previewed in Part 2.
To a certain extent, it appears that the days of East Division teams dominating the Eastern Conference are gone. If it wasn't a year in which the Bears were running away with the division and conference then one could almost expect one of their division rivals to be the top team. However, it appears that most of the East Division teams, right along with Hershey, are feeling the effects of the various stages of rebuilding or retooling by their respective NHL affiliates. That being said, with the exception of Syracuse the rest of the teams finished within 10 points of each other last season. Wins one way or another and any of those teams could have been bumped out of the playoffs. But that could be a good thing this year. With the teams pretty much on par with each other, the Bears have plenty of opportunity to define themselves under Troy Mann and reclaim the top spot in the East.
Because of the changes in Pittsburgh, Wilkes-Barre is in a bit of a youth movement right now. There were no notable free agent signings over the summer, besides Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, and most returning players are young draft picks that have been in the AHL for a couple of years now. So Hershey will get its fair share of seeing Jason Megna, Zach Sill, Simon Depres, Philip Samuelsson, and Matt Murray again. While this is certainly not the Pens that reached 117 points a few years ago, this stage of the team's development could be very dangerous for battling in the division.
The young players either continue to get better as players and learn how to win (leading to a tough fight at the top of the division) or they struggle to develop and middle out in the division like they have done the past 3 years. The key is whether that progress pays off with success. Another issue is call-ups. The past couple of years has seen a lot of forwards being called up to Pittsburgh to fill spots on the third and fourth lines. This year should be the defensemen's turn. With Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen now Capitals, the Pens could see Philip Samuelsson, Simon Depres and Brian Dumoulin called up to the big club quite a bit this year. This will make for a weaker back end in those close games the Bears and Pens inevitably find themselves in.
I cannot express enough how pleased I am that the Phantoms are back in PA as a rival for the Bears. If New York can have as many AHL teams as they do, why not Pennsylvania. Especially in the Allentown area. Big win for that area. Hopefully they'll be able to pull enough Philly fans up that way to make the rivalry games as contentious as when the Phantoms were located in Philadelphia.
That being said, it may be a long season for the first year Lehigh Valley Phantoms. It doesn't appear that the Flyers organization knows whether it's in a rebuilding mode or a retooling mode and this has trickled down to the Phantoms. Much like Wilkes-Barre, the Phantoms are stocked with younger guys who have been around for awhile now. Likewise, they have not made very few moves in the off-season except for Derek Whitmore (having a brief stint with the Bears), who has shown to be a good contributor, and Hershey favorite Andrew Gordon. Let's be honest, signing Gordon was a great move by the Phantoms. This will really bring something to the rivalry in the Phantom's first year back in PA.
The question is will the change of location and division make any difference? Most likely not. The Phantoms have struggled since leaving Philadelphia and there doesn't appear to be any improvement on the horizon. At best they're a middle division team although the most likely position is to replace Syracuse at the bottom. But here's hoping that the renewed State rivalry brings out the best between the Bears and Phantoms. And the Phantoms and Pens. With the Bears on top and the Pens and Phantoms battling for the second and third spots.
And now, a bit of a rant and point to be made. A lot of hype was made about the owners getting the stadium built in Allentown and bringing the Phantoms back to PA. As I said previously, great for the State and couldn't be happier. However, in all this build-up the management forgot one thing: THE TEAM! How can they go to this much trouble in bringing the team back to PA and forget the product in the marketing process? I'm specifically referring to the Phantom's website. Basically, it's terrible. The first thing one is faced with is the team's schedule and purchasing tickets. I get it, you need to sell tickets. But when clicking the link to the "Phantoms" website, it takes you to Adirondack Phantoms old site that hasn't been updated since before last year's playoffs.
If I'm a Phantoms fan, this is unacceptable. They should have Andrew Gordon's and the Flyers' prospects faces and videos plastered all over a new site exclaiming how good the team is going to be. But no news is had on any team developments. Just very poorly executed.
Anyway, next up we'll look at Binghamton and Norfolk.
To a certain extent, it appears that the days of East Division teams dominating the Eastern Conference are gone. If it wasn't a year in which the Bears were running away with the division and conference then one could almost expect one of their division rivals to be the top team. However, it appears that most of the East Division teams, right along with Hershey, are feeling the effects of the various stages of rebuilding or retooling by their respective NHL affiliates. That being said, with the exception of Syracuse the rest of the teams finished within 10 points of each other last season. Wins one way or another and any of those teams could have been bumped out of the playoffs. But that could be a good thing this year. With the teams pretty much on par with each other, the Bears have plenty of opportunity to define themselves under Troy Mann and reclaim the top spot in the East.
The young players either continue to get better as players and learn how to win (leading to a tough fight at the top of the division) or they struggle to develop and middle out in the division like they have done the past 3 years. The key is whether that progress pays off with success. Another issue is call-ups. The past couple of years has seen a lot of forwards being called up to Pittsburgh to fill spots on the third and fourth lines. This year should be the defensemen's turn. With Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen now Capitals, the Pens could see Philip Samuelsson, Simon Depres and Brian Dumoulin called up to the big club quite a bit this year. This will make for a weaker back end in those close games the Bears and Pens inevitably find themselves in.
That being said, it may be a long season for the first year Lehigh Valley Phantoms. It doesn't appear that the Flyers organization knows whether it's in a rebuilding mode or a retooling mode and this has trickled down to the Phantoms. Much like Wilkes-Barre, the Phantoms are stocked with younger guys who have been around for awhile now. Likewise, they have not made very few moves in the off-season except for Derek Whitmore (having a brief stint with the Bears), who has shown to be a good contributor, and Hershey favorite Andrew Gordon. Let's be honest, signing Gordon was a great move by the Phantoms. This will really bring something to the rivalry in the Phantom's first year back in PA.
The question is will the change of location and division make any difference? Most likely not. The Phantoms have struggled since leaving Philadelphia and there doesn't appear to be any improvement on the horizon. At best they're a middle division team although the most likely position is to replace Syracuse at the bottom. But here's hoping that the renewed State rivalry brings out the best between the Bears and Phantoms. And the Phantoms and Pens. With the Bears on top and the Pens and Phantoms battling for the second and third spots.
And now, a bit of a rant and point to be made. A lot of hype was made about the owners getting the stadium built in Allentown and bringing the Phantoms back to PA. As I said previously, great for the State and couldn't be happier. However, in all this build-up the management forgot one thing: THE TEAM! How can they go to this much trouble in bringing the team back to PA and forget the product in the marketing process? I'm specifically referring to the Phantom's website. Basically, it's terrible. The first thing one is faced with is the team's schedule and purchasing tickets. I get it, you need to sell tickets. But when clicking the link to the "Phantoms" website, it takes you to Adirondack Phantoms old site that hasn't been updated since before last year's playoffs.
If I'm a Phantoms fan, this is unacceptable. They should have Andrew Gordon's and the Flyers' prospects faces and videos plastered all over a new site exclaiming how good the team is going to be. But no news is had on any team developments. Just very poorly executed.
Anyway, next up we'll look at Binghamton and Norfolk.
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Bears Kick of 2013-14 Season
A summer filled with lots of exciting moves for the organization has erased the bad memories of early round playoff exits of recent years.
This years team has loads of potential and seems to be in good position from the forwards through the goaltending.
Add to that a new coach who will surely be a change from the emotion-less coaches Bears fans have been frustrated by the past few years.
But potential is something that every team has at this time a year. Optimism abounds in every locker room and building around the AHL and NHL. Each team and it's fan base believes that their team has a chance to be the last one standing.
Can Hershey be that team? We begin to find out tonight with a group that looks familiar in many ways and completely different in others.
Earlier this week I introduced you to some of the new faces on the roster, but that didn't necessarily do this team justice. I mentioned that players like Dane Byers, Nate Schmidt, and Michael Latta return for another year at the GC.
But I didn't really mention that those 3 players technically finished the season in Hershey, but combined they only played in 33 games with the Bears at the end of last year. Not exactly a large sample size.
And that was the story last year as Doug Yingst went out to completely remake the roster he had put together in the summer of 2012.
Looking at the lineup for the first game in Syracuse last year I see 7 names that are on the roster today. That's it. Of 20 guys dressed only 7 remain with the team. They are Cameron Schilling, Stanislav Galiev, Jeff Taffe, Ryan Stoa, Dmitry Orlov, Tomas Kundratek, and Garrett Mitchell.
Some guys might have been scratched for that game that are still there, but you get the picture. The 2013-14 version of the Hershey Bears is drastically different than the one that started 2012-13.
Midway through last season when Yingst started making moves I was of the belief that the team was much more talented than the one that started the season. And then in the offseason, allowing players like Boyd Kane and Patrick McNeill to move on to new hockey homes, I feel that the team continued to improve as the players tasked with replacing them appear to be at least equal to them.
Every year at this time I look at the roster and see promise. You see names that you know or names that you have researched and you find that they are good players.
For some reason the last few years has never gone quite as according to plan. The Bears have not seen the 2nd round of the playoffs since winning the Calder Cup in 2009-10. And they haven't impressed during the regular season either.
Will this year be more of the same? I don't think so, but in fairness to the teams that came before, I didn't think so about them either.
This year's team has a very good balance, including a defense that features multiple NHL prospects. The offense is still a little on the older side with 5 of Hershey's 6 veterans residing up front. They appear to be better than last years crop of forwards, but we were all excited about the prospects of guys like Jon Disalvatore last season too.
There is a lot of hockey to play and plenty of injuries, roster moves, and line adjustments before we can really know what kind of team this is.
The only thing I will say is this...
The last 3 Bears coaches won Calder Cups in their first year on the job. (and 4 of the last 6 by the way)
So that is something, right?
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
AHL Suspends Rechlicz
Absurd. That is the simplest way I can explain what the AHL did today. They suspended Phantoms Tom Sestito and Oliver Lauridsen 1 game each for grabbing Hershey's Joel Rechlicz while on the bench. Good for them.
1 game. Weak, but ok, I understand.
Wrecker got the same. A 1 game suspension. Wait...WHAT?
To help understand this, let's recap what took place on Saturday:
Player A is standing on the ice after getting checked, watching other players start to fight;
Player B, ON THE BENCH, grabs Player A and starts pounding on him;
Player C, ALSO ON THE BENCH, assists Player B in pounding on Player A.
So....
The player standing ON THE ICE, minding his own business gets the same suspension as the player who WHILE ON THE BENCH began punching him.
Oh, now I understand. Wait, no I don't.
Ok let's try again...you want to suspend Wrecker for pulling the linesman back to the melee...fine. But didn't you kind of do that on Sunday when he was suspended for accumulating 3 game misconducts (2 in this game) on the season? But fine. Suspend him again. 1 game. Done. Accepted.
But to hand out equal suspensions to Wrecker, Sestito, and Lauridsen is absurd.
This is a ruling that I just do not understand.
And apparently the other Phantoms didn't get noticed, but I can assure you that they were taking swings at Danny Richmond while he was pinned against the boards at the Adirondack bench. The AHL's video surveillance is obviously not up to par with the NHL so they likely didn't catch any of the punches, so no suspensions were handed down.
But I can assure you that the Bears know who the culprits were.
The Phantoms return to Giant Center on Friday, March 16. Get your tickets now.
1 game. Weak, but ok, I understand.
Wrecker got the same. A 1 game suspension. Wait...WHAT?
To help understand this, let's recap what took place on Saturday:
Player A is standing on the ice after getting checked, watching other players start to fight;
Player B, ON THE BENCH, grabs Player A and starts pounding on him;
Player C, ALSO ON THE BENCH, assists Player B in pounding on Player A.
So....
The player standing ON THE ICE, minding his own business gets the same suspension as the player who WHILE ON THE BENCH began punching him.
Oh, now I understand. Wait, no I don't.
Ok let's try again...you want to suspend Wrecker for pulling the linesman back to the melee...fine. But didn't you kind of do that on Sunday when he was suspended for accumulating 3 game misconducts (2 in this game) on the season? But fine. Suspend him again. 1 game. Done. Accepted.
But to hand out equal suspensions to Wrecker, Sestito, and Lauridsen is absurd.
This is a ruling that I just do not understand.
 |
| Pardon the language, but this pretty much summed up my feelings. |
And apparently the other Phantoms didn't get noticed, but I can assure you that they were taking swings at Danny Richmond while he was pinned against the boards at the Adirondack bench. The AHL's video surveillance is obviously not up to par with the NHL so they likely didn't catch any of the punches, so no suspensions were handed down.
But I can assure you that the Bears know who the culprits were.
The Phantoms return to Giant Center on Friday, March 16. Get your tickets now.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Rechlicz gets rare 3rd period shift...chaos ensues
First let’s get the scores and game outcomes out of the way…
The Bears lost the Outdoor Classic 4-3 in overtime on Friday night. Then they returned home for a 5-2 victory over the Phantoms Saturday night. And they finished the weekend with a 4-3 shootout victory last night.
For the weekend Hershey gained 5 of a possible 6 points and the Bears are now 4 points up in the East Division and are also 2 points up in the Eastern Conference (St. Johns has played 2 fewer games though).
Now, on to what happened during the game on Saturday night….
It was, simply put, one of the crazier things I have seen at a hockey game. The entire game was physical and the animosity was evident from the opening whistle. Despite not being division rivals and a further distance between them the Phantoms and Bears still don’t like each other very much.
The guy sitting next to me mentioned pretty early on that the game had a certain KHL feel to it.
And coming off a high emotion game like the Outdoor Classic made for some very intense hockey Saturday night.
If you weren’t there it can be explained as simply as this…
Keith Aucoin got into a scrap. And Jacob Micflikier tried to take down a guy a foot taller than him.
Aucoin’s scrap was crazy as it came against Phantoms captain Ben Holmstrom who was wearing a full cage. The general rule in hockey is that if you are going to wear a full cage you better just stay out of the action and not get into any scrums. Holmstrom didn’t follow this un-written rule throughout the game and in the 3rd period it boiled over and Aucoin went at him.
After the linesman got between the two players you could see Aucoin grabbing for the full cage on Holmstroms helmet. It also appeared that he was trying to get his leg across Holmstrom's throat, much like a WWE wrestler might do. He was upset. He didn’t quite get the facemask, but he made sure to let Holmstrom know what he thought the whole way to the penalty box as he kept signaling to Holmstrom about the full cage he was wearing.
Amazingly enough…that wasn’t the most exciting, enraging battle of the night.
With about 3 minutes to go Joel Rechlicz, getting a rare 3rd period shift, laid a solid hit on Phantoms tough guy Tom Sestito. Neither player went down but you could tell it was a big hit. The two talked all game long, including during pregame warmups, but Sestito wouldn’t drop the gloves with Wrecker…at least not in a legal, on the ice fashion (keep reading).
Sidenote...has anyone else noticed that when Wrecker comes off the bench he just seems to be out there skating around like an amped up lost puppy? I am curious if he understands the Bears system or if he even attends practice. Maybe when the team starts discussing and practicing strategy he just goes to the back and works on some boxing. He is great fun to watch play, don't get me wrong, but I understand completely why he doesn't play in the 3rd period. Anyways...back to the original story.
After the hit by Wrecker, Sestito went off for a line change. Shortly thereafter another Phantom, can’t recall who, came in and laid a nice check on Wrecker. Impressively and somewhat unnecessarily considering who it was, Andrew Carroll came to Wreckers defense and dropped the gloves with the Phantom (guessing it was Tyler Brown but I am not certain).
Then Zach Miscovic started throwing punches with a Phantom.
At this point it was still somewhat controlled. At least compared to what was about to happen.
During all of this Wrecker is standing about 3 feet from the Phantoms bench kind of in shock as there is fighting going on around him and yet he is not involved. And then Sestito grabs him from the bench and they start fighting.
Yes, Tom Sestito and Wrecker were fighting while Sestito was on the Phantoms bench. Unfortunately for Wrecker this was not a fair fight as other Phantoms, including Oliver Lauridsen, a 6-6 defenseman, joined in to help the apparently incapable and gutless Sestito.
Now, we have all seen Wrecker make gestures to the bench and lunge at them (when they jump back in fear it is unbelievably funny by the way), but this was a little out of hand for a hockey game.
Here...this is the best video I have seen from it. I originally saw the video over at The Chocolate and White.
Danny Richmond, who is no stranger to throwing punches himself, came over to try and help since there were now Phantoms on the ice and on the bench getting involved with Wrecker. Richmond squared off with Cullen Eddy (I assume anyway...based on the scoresheet), and the two started going at it.
This is where it got kind of disturbing and incredibly frustrating for Bears fans and players alike…
Eventually Richmond was pushed up against the boards at the Phantoms bench. The Phantom on the ice (again assuming Eddy) had him pinned with his face towards the bench while other members of the Phantoms were taking swings FROM THE BENCH.
The problem here was that the Miskovic and Carroll scraps had the ref and one of the linesman occupied and the other linesman had tried (unsuccessfully) to get Wrecker off the ice.
So Richmond is getting beaten upon by a handful of Phantoms while there is no one around to help him.
The Bears bench at this point was going absolutely nuts. They were slamming sticks and yelling at the officials for one of them to get over there and help out.
One Bear got close to helping out as he, there was a #2 on his jersey but I couldn’t see the other number (my guess either Kane or Hanson), did sit up on the boards, but managed to control himself and not jump off to go help.
In fact, I am thoroughly impressed with the control Coach French had over the guys on the bench. I think everyone in the building and surely every single player on the Bears bench, wanted someone to jump off and help Richmond. But that would have resulted in a suspension which, despite their depth, the Bears would not have wanted.
I think, and I said this to a couple people, that if Steve Pinizzotto would have been on the team he likely would be suspended right now. (At the time I didn’t know that Pinner was actually in attendance, which was kind of funny once I learned that. Gotta wonder how much he wanted to be out there right then.) I also think that if Wrecker or Carroll would have been on the bench then one of them might be suspended as well. Although if Wrecker was on the bench, none of this would have happened.
And what if Braden Holtby had been the goalie? We either would have had a goalie fight at center ice or Braden would have been in there helping Richmond. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your opinion, Dany Sabourin was the goalie standing in the crease for this game.
Enough of that discussion....back to the action:
Once Wrecker realized what was going on with Richmond, he literally dragged the linesman, seriously it was like watching a guy do sprints with a parachute on his back, down towards the Phantoms bench in an effort to help Richmond. He is strong on his skates, I will definitely give him that. There is a lot of drive in those legs.
By the time Wrecker got down there the Phantoms had mostly let Richmond up and he was able to get off the ice. It appeared he might have been a little banged up, but he played Sunday so apparently nothing to bad.
Finally things calmed down and everything was sorted out.
In the end, one 3rd period shift for Wrecker resulted in 108 penalty minutes and 5 game misconducts (Wrecker got 2. Seriously, Wrecker got kicked out of the game TWICE!!).
All told the game featured 154 penalty minutes. Wrecker was responsible for 45 of those.
Honestly, I am guessing Wrecker had 3 shifts (he got a 10 minute misconduct late in the first for something, not sure what) during the entire game. There is no way he was on the ice for more than 3 minutes in the game. And he got 45 penalty minutes and kicked out of the game TWICE.
15 penalty minutes per shift/minute on ice. Efficiency.
Apparently someone liked Wreckers performance so much that they paid $3,400 for his non-worn (during game play at least) Outdoor Classic jersey!! (Aucoin’s went for $4,000…other prices available at PAPuck.com).
See, I told you in the title…Wrecker gets 3rd period shift and chaos ensues.
I am expecting to see some Phantoms suspended by the AHL this week for the activities on the bench. Hockey lets a lot of things go, but leaving the bench during an altercation and getting into an altercation from the bench, are two things that aren’t taken lightly.
Rechlicz was suspended for Sunday’s game against Rochester, it was an automatic suspension handed down for accumulating 3 game misconduct penalties on the season. Otherwise I don’t think any Bears will be suspended. Wrecker would have been the lone option since he did fight a Phantom on the bench, but considering Sestito clearly started it, I can’t imagine the league penalizes him anymore.
The Bears lost the Outdoor Classic 4-3 in overtime on Friday night. Then they returned home for a 5-2 victory over the Phantoms Saturday night. And they finished the weekend with a 4-3 shootout victory last night.
For the weekend Hershey gained 5 of a possible 6 points and the Bears are now 4 points up in the East Division and are also 2 points up in the Eastern Conference (St. Johns has played 2 fewer games though).
Now, on to what happened during the game on Saturday night….
It was, simply put, one of the crazier things I have seen at a hockey game. The entire game was physical and the animosity was evident from the opening whistle. Despite not being division rivals and a further distance between them the Phantoms and Bears still don’t like each other very much.
The guy sitting next to me mentioned pretty early on that the game had a certain KHL feel to it.
And coming off a high emotion game like the Outdoor Classic made for some very intense hockey Saturday night.
If you weren’t there it can be explained as simply as this…
Keith Aucoin got into a scrap. And Jacob Micflikier tried to take down a guy a foot taller than him.
Aucoin’s scrap was crazy as it came against Phantoms captain Ben Holmstrom who was wearing a full cage. The general rule in hockey is that if you are going to wear a full cage you better just stay out of the action and not get into any scrums. Holmstrom didn’t follow this un-written rule throughout the game and in the 3rd period it boiled over and Aucoin went at him.
After the linesman got between the two players you could see Aucoin grabbing for the full cage on Holmstroms helmet. It also appeared that he was trying to get his leg across Holmstrom's throat, much like a WWE wrestler might do. He was upset. He didn’t quite get the facemask, but he made sure to let Holmstrom know what he thought the whole way to the penalty box as he kept signaling to Holmstrom about the full cage he was wearing.
Amazingly enough…that wasn’t the most exciting, enraging battle of the night.
With about 3 minutes to go Joel Rechlicz, getting a rare 3rd period shift, laid a solid hit on Phantoms tough guy Tom Sestito. Neither player went down but you could tell it was a big hit. The two talked all game long, including during pregame warmups, but Sestito wouldn’t drop the gloves with Wrecker…at least not in a legal, on the ice fashion (keep reading).
Sidenote...has anyone else noticed that when Wrecker comes off the bench he just seems to be out there skating around like an amped up lost puppy? I am curious if he understands the Bears system or if he even attends practice. Maybe when the team starts discussing and practicing strategy he just goes to the back and works on some boxing. He is great fun to watch play, don't get me wrong, but I understand completely why he doesn't play in the 3rd period. Anyways...back to the original story.
After the hit by Wrecker, Sestito went off for a line change. Shortly thereafter another Phantom, can’t recall who, came in and laid a nice check on Wrecker. Impressively and somewhat unnecessarily considering who it was, Andrew Carroll came to Wreckers defense and dropped the gloves with the Phantom (guessing it was Tyler Brown but I am not certain).
Then Zach Miscovic started throwing punches with a Phantom.
At this point it was still somewhat controlled. At least compared to what was about to happen.
During all of this Wrecker is standing about 3 feet from the Phantoms bench kind of in shock as there is fighting going on around him and yet he is not involved. And then Sestito grabs him from the bench and they start fighting.
Yes, Tom Sestito and Wrecker were fighting while Sestito was on the Phantoms bench. Unfortunately for Wrecker this was not a fair fight as other Phantoms, including Oliver Lauridsen, a 6-6 defenseman, joined in to help the apparently incapable and gutless Sestito.
Now, we have all seen Wrecker make gestures to the bench and lunge at them (when they jump back in fear it is unbelievably funny by the way), but this was a little out of hand for a hockey game.
Here...this is the best video I have seen from it. I originally saw the video over at The Chocolate and White.
Danny Richmond, who is no stranger to throwing punches himself, came over to try and help since there were now Phantoms on the ice and on the bench getting involved with Wrecker. Richmond squared off with Cullen Eddy (I assume anyway...based on the scoresheet), and the two started going at it.
This is where it got kind of disturbing and incredibly frustrating for Bears fans and players alike…
Eventually Richmond was pushed up against the boards at the Phantoms bench. The Phantom on the ice (again assuming Eddy) had him pinned with his face towards the bench while other members of the Phantoms were taking swings FROM THE BENCH.
The problem here was that the Miskovic and Carroll scraps had the ref and one of the linesman occupied and the other linesman had tried (unsuccessfully) to get Wrecker off the ice.
So Richmond is getting beaten upon by a handful of Phantoms while there is no one around to help him.
The Bears bench at this point was going absolutely nuts. They were slamming sticks and yelling at the officials for one of them to get over there and help out.
One Bear got close to helping out as he, there was a #2 on his jersey but I couldn’t see the other number (my guess either Kane or Hanson), did sit up on the boards, but managed to control himself and not jump off to go help.
In fact, I am thoroughly impressed with the control Coach French had over the guys on the bench. I think everyone in the building and surely every single player on the Bears bench, wanted someone to jump off and help Richmond. But that would have resulted in a suspension which, despite their depth, the Bears would not have wanted.
I think, and I said this to a couple people, that if Steve Pinizzotto would have been on the team he likely would be suspended right now. (At the time I didn’t know that Pinner was actually in attendance, which was kind of funny once I learned that. Gotta wonder how much he wanted to be out there right then.) I also think that if Wrecker or Carroll would have been on the bench then one of them might be suspended as well. Although if Wrecker was on the bench, none of this would have happened.
And what if Braden Holtby had been the goalie? We either would have had a goalie fight at center ice or Braden would have been in there helping Richmond. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your opinion, Dany Sabourin was the goalie standing in the crease for this game.
Enough of that discussion....back to the action:
Once Wrecker realized what was going on with Richmond, he literally dragged the linesman, seriously it was like watching a guy do sprints with a parachute on his back, down towards the Phantoms bench in an effort to help Richmond. He is strong on his skates, I will definitely give him that. There is a lot of drive in those legs.
By the time Wrecker got down there the Phantoms had mostly let Richmond up and he was able to get off the ice. It appeared he might have been a little banged up, but he played Sunday so apparently nothing to bad.
Finally things calmed down and everything was sorted out.
In the end, one 3rd period shift for Wrecker resulted in 108 penalty minutes and 5 game misconducts (Wrecker got 2. Seriously, Wrecker got kicked out of the game TWICE!!).
All told the game featured 154 penalty minutes. Wrecker was responsible for 45 of those.
Honestly, I am guessing Wrecker had 3 shifts (he got a 10 minute misconduct late in the first for something, not sure what) during the entire game. There is no way he was on the ice for more than 3 minutes in the game. And he got 45 penalty minutes and kicked out of the game TWICE.
15 penalty minutes per shift/minute on ice. Efficiency.
Apparently someone liked Wreckers performance so much that they paid $3,400 for his non-worn (during game play at least) Outdoor Classic jersey!! (Aucoin’s went for $4,000…other prices available at PAPuck.com).
See, I told you in the title…Wrecker gets 3rd period shift and chaos ensues.
I am expecting to see some Phantoms suspended by the AHL this week for the activities on the bench. Hockey lets a lot of things go, but leaving the bench during an altercation and getting into an altercation from the bench, are two things that aren’t taken lightly.
Rechlicz was suspended for Sunday’s game against Rochester, it was an automatic suspension handed down for accumulating 3 game misconduct penalties on the season. Otherwise I don’t think any Bears will be suspended. Wrecker would have been the lone option since he did fight a Phantom on the bench, but considering Sestito clearly started it, I can’t imagine the league penalizes him anymore.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Bears head to Philly to play outside
Tonight the Bears will take on the Adirondack Phantoms in Philadelphia. In a baseball stadium. Seriously. The Bears are visiting a team in a city that they don't play in anymore and playing in a stadium for a sport that is currently hibernating.
Which is quite awesome actually.
This past Monday the NHL put on the annual Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park in Philly. In the interest of giving more fans and players the opportunity to experience the spectacle (translation...make more money) they have hosted multiple other games at the venue since then.
A couple college games, the Flyers/Rangers alumni game, and a game with police officers were all held there throughout the week.
Tonight it is the AHL's turn and it honestly will be a cool event.
It's an important opening game to a 3 in 3 weekend. The teams will follow up the game tonight with a game at Giant Center tomorrow before the Bears host Rochester on Sunday.
The Phantoms have lost 4 of their last 6 games, but are currently sitting in 2nd in the Northeast Division. Unfortunately for them, that also translates to 9th in the conference and out of the playoffs.
The Phantoms beat the Bears back on October 29, 2011 in Glens Falls, New York...their actual home. Not much can be drawn from that game though since it was so long ago. That was at the beginning of the Bears low point this season when they couldn't win back to back games and couldn't beat anyone except for Binghamton.
The Bears come into this game having won 10 of their last 13 and haven't lost to team from outside of Norfolk or Wilkes-Barre since November. They outscored their opponents a combined 58-33 in the 13 games. (Thats an average of 4.5 goals for and 2.5 against in the month).
Keith Aucoin had 4 goals and 19 assists in December. Chris Bourque had 7 and 13. Jacob Micflikier had 4 and 12. Ryan Potulny had 7 and 12. Graham Mink had 5 and 6...in only 9 games. Matthew Ford had 6 and 10.
That's pretty impressive.
Did you realize, cause I hadn't, that the Bears have 5 players...FIVE...averaging more than 1 pt per game? Aucoin, Bourque, Micflikier, Potulny, and Mink. And Ford, Kyle Greentree, and Cody Eakin are averaging at least .79 per game.
Unreal.
Now if the defense and goaltending could just catch up to the offense. Get this....they are!
Braden Holtby had his best month of the season going 6-2 with a 2.36gaa and a .918 save %. Dany Sabourin went 4-0-1 with a .217gaa and a .928 in December. In October he had a .935 save % in 4 games so that was technically better in that category.
Overall the offense is dominating right now and the goaltending is getting there. The second half of the season could be really fun.
Which is quite awesome actually.
This past Monday the NHL put on the annual Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park in Philly. In the interest of giving more fans and players the opportunity to experience the spectacle (translation...make more money) they have hosted multiple other games at the venue since then.
A couple college games, the Flyers/Rangers alumni game, and a game with police officers were all held there throughout the week.
Tonight it is the AHL's turn and it honestly will be a cool event.
It's an important opening game to a 3 in 3 weekend. The teams will follow up the game tonight with a game at Giant Center tomorrow before the Bears host Rochester on Sunday.
The Phantoms have lost 4 of their last 6 games, but are currently sitting in 2nd in the Northeast Division. Unfortunately for them, that also translates to 9th in the conference and out of the playoffs.
The Phantoms beat the Bears back on October 29, 2011 in Glens Falls, New York...their actual home. Not much can be drawn from that game though since it was so long ago. That was at the beginning of the Bears low point this season when they couldn't win back to back games and couldn't beat anyone except for Binghamton.
The Bears come into this game having won 10 of their last 13 and haven't lost to team from outside of Norfolk or Wilkes-Barre since November. They outscored their opponents a combined 58-33 in the 13 games. (Thats an average of 4.5 goals for and 2.5 against in the month).
Keith Aucoin had 4 goals and 19 assists in December. Chris Bourque had 7 and 13. Jacob Micflikier had 4 and 12. Ryan Potulny had 7 and 12. Graham Mink had 5 and 6...in only 9 games. Matthew Ford had 6 and 10.
That's pretty impressive.
Did you realize, cause I hadn't, that the Bears have 5 players...FIVE...averaging more than 1 pt per game? Aucoin, Bourque, Micflikier, Potulny, and Mink. And Ford, Kyle Greentree, and Cody Eakin are averaging at least .79 per game.
Unreal.
Now if the defense and goaltending could just catch up to the offense. Get this....they are!
Braden Holtby had his best month of the season going 6-2 with a 2.36gaa and a .918 save %. Dany Sabourin went 4-0-1 with a .217gaa and a .928 in December. In October he had a .935 save % in 4 games so that was technically better in that category.
Overall the offense is dominating right now and the goaltending is getting there. The second half of the season could be really fun.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Last week I was playing roller hockey and our team went up 7-2 or something like that just after halftime. As expected, we let our guard down and started goofing around too much only to see the other team come back and get 3 goals to make it 7-5. Luckily we steadied out and finished off with an 8-5 win.
It would appear last night that the Bears fell into a similar situation. Midway through the 2nd period the Bears found themselves up 3-0 after goals by Chris Bourque, Garrett Mitchell, and Jacob Micflikier.
And then they apparently stopped playing their game. I am sure they weren't goofing around like we were, but over the next 30 minutes they gave up 3 power play goals and eventually lost in overtime 4-3 against the Springfield Falcons.
Obviously the Falcons had a plan and stuck with it. I didn't see the game or listen to it but based on the game sheet you can gather that the Falcons were likely running Braden Holtby throughout the game. He ended up with 2 roughing calls in the 3rd period. The tying goal came on the 2nd one.
Overall the Falcons took advantage of the Bears miscues. Hershey gave them 5 power plays (all after they opened up a 3-0 lead) and Springfield took advantage.
Now its on to Glens Falls to face off against the Adirondack Phantoms.
The Phantoms are coming off consecutive home losses (to Norfolk and Connecticut) and are finishing up a brief 3 game home stand against the Bears tonight.
The baby Flyers are 5-3-0-1 on the season and are currently sitting in 2nd place in the Northeast Division with 11 points.
Tonight is the first of 4 meetings between the recent division rivals with the next game coming outside at Citizens Bank Park on January 6th. It will be different not seeing the Phantoms so much each season now that the clubs are in different divisions.
So far this season the Phantoms boast a solid offensive team. They have scored the same number of goals as Hershey, 33, albeit in one additional game. 33 goals puts the teams tied for second in the AHL, behind only Norfolk's 40 goals.
Denis Hamel leads the team in goals, 7, and points, 11. 2 other players, Eric Wellwood, and rookie Harry Zolnierczyk (how the hell do you pronounce that) are averaging over a point per game as well. Braydon Schenn was averaging 2 points a game but has since been recalled to Philadelphia.
Unfortunately for the Phantoms they have also allowed 28 goals on the season. And that is somewhat surprising considering they have Michael Leighton and Jason Bacashihua in net. Leighton has seen the majority of the action, playing in 7 games compared to 3 for Cash, but both guys are solid veterans. Leighton got the start last night so I wouldn't be surprised if Cash is in net tonight to face the Bears.
At the opposite end, Dany Sabourin, will get his 4th start of the season, looking to go 4-0 on the young season.
The Bears will surely be looking to return to Hershey with a win tonight. Hopefully they can make it 3 straight home losses for the Phantoms.
It would appear last night that the Bears fell into a similar situation. Midway through the 2nd period the Bears found themselves up 3-0 after goals by Chris Bourque, Garrett Mitchell, and Jacob Micflikier.
And then they apparently stopped playing their game. I am sure they weren't goofing around like we were, but over the next 30 minutes they gave up 3 power play goals and eventually lost in overtime 4-3 against the Springfield Falcons.
Overall the Falcons took advantage of the Bears miscues. Hershey gave them 5 power plays (all after they opened up a 3-0 lead) and Springfield took advantage.
Now its on to Glens Falls to face off against the Adirondack Phantoms.
The Phantoms are coming off consecutive home losses (to Norfolk and Connecticut) and are finishing up a brief 3 game home stand against the Bears tonight.
The baby Flyers are 5-3-0-1 on the season and are currently sitting in 2nd place in the Northeast Division with 11 points.
Tonight is the first of 4 meetings between the recent division rivals with the next game coming outside at Citizens Bank Park on January 6th. It will be different not seeing the Phantoms so much each season now that the clubs are in different divisions.
So far this season the Phantoms boast a solid offensive team. They have scored the same number of goals as Hershey, 33, albeit in one additional game. 33 goals puts the teams tied for second in the AHL, behind only Norfolk's 40 goals.
Denis Hamel leads the team in goals, 7, and points, 11. 2 other players, Eric Wellwood, and rookie Harry Zolnierczyk (how the hell do you pronounce that) are averaging over a point per game as well. Braydon Schenn was averaging 2 points a game but has since been recalled to Philadelphia.
Unfortunately for the Phantoms they have also allowed 28 goals on the season. And that is somewhat surprising considering they have Michael Leighton and Jason Bacashihua in net. Leighton has seen the majority of the action, playing in 7 games compared to 3 for Cash, but both guys are solid veterans. Leighton got the start last night so I wouldn't be surprised if Cash is in net tonight to face the Bears.
At the opposite end, Dany Sabourin, will get his 4th start of the season, looking to go 4-0 on the young season.
The Bears will surely be looking to return to Hershey with a win tonight. Hopefully they can make it 3 straight home losses for the Phantoms.
LET'S GO BEARS!!!!
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 |
Friday, March 25, 2011
Bears getting closer to full health
A few players remain out of the Hershey lineup as of tonight...and that list will not include Keith Aucoin.
The former league MVP is scheduled to return from a suspected concussion tonight in Adirondack as the Bears look to maintain their edge on 3rd place Norfolk.
Coiner hasn't played since taking a cheap shot to the head on March 5 against Norfolk. Norfolk captain Chris Durno was suspended 3 games for the shot which happened well behind the play and could not have even been mistaken for game action.
Hershey, much like they were when Gordon was out, has been average since Coiner left the lineup. The Bears have gone 3-3-1-2 and have scored 22 to the opponents 26 in those 9 games since March 5.
Not exactly setting the world on fire.
You honestly have to go back to the end of December and first half of January to find a period where Hershey was "dominating" their competition. From November 26 (the day after Thanksgiving) until February 4 (the game before Gordon got hurt) the Bears went 20-5-1-1 while outscoring their opponents 134-55. Not too bad.
Coincidentally that time period also had the Bears playing at (almost) full strength. Gordon, Aucoin, Fahey, and surely some others played some games in Washington and Lawrence Ncyholat and Sheldon Souray surely missed some games but overall Hershey was healthy during that span.
They are almost healthy again. Nycholat and Souray are really the only "regulars" still missing from the lineup. Other players, like Trevor Bruess, David de Kastrozza, and Johan Kroll, are still out but they weren't every night players when they were healthy so their loss is less impactful.
This is not to say that Hershey will return to their dominant play during that period but getting a healthy team (and keeping the goalies in Hershey and healthy) will definitely get them closer to that level.
Getting Coiner back with games to play in the regular season definitely helps because that first round series is going to be a difficult one. At this point in time the Bears will be facing off against Durno and the Norfolk Admirals to kick off the Calder Cup playoffs. Whether or not Hershey will have home ice will likely come down to the 2 games in Norfolk next weekend.
There won't be a "rollover" first round opponent this year like the last 2 years. Norfolk is a very good team and that series could legitimately go 7 games.
But getting your injured players back in time for a few "warmup" games during the regular season is definitely a plus. Coiner returns to tonight while Souray could be back in the lineup next weekend sometime. Nycholat is still probably a little further but he is skating which is definitely a good sign.
They haven't shown it over the past month plus but this team is as talented as any in the league and will compete for the Cup in the playoffs.
As long as they are healthy.
Hershey Bears
record ~ 42-23-2-5 | 91 points
standings ~ 2nd in East Division
most recent game ~ 5-2 Loss vs Syracuse, 3/20
last 5 games ~ 2-1-1-1
road record ~ 22-11-1-2
goals for ~ 229
goals against ~ 189
road power play ~ 16.1% (18th)
road penalty kill ~ 82.5% (17th)
Adirondack Phantoms
record ~ 24-35-4-6 | 58 points
standings ~ Last in East Division
most recent game ~ 2-1 Loss @ Norfolk, 3/23
last 5 games ~ 3-2-0-0
home record ~ 13-15-3-3
goals for ~162
goals against ~221
road power play ~13.7% (25th)
home penalty kill ~ 78.9% (27th)
The former league MVP is scheduled to return from a suspected concussion tonight in Adirondack as the Bears look to maintain their edge on 3rd place Norfolk.
Coiner hasn't played since taking a cheap shot to the head on March 5 against Norfolk. Norfolk captain Chris Durno was suspended 3 games for the shot which happened well behind the play and could not have even been mistaken for game action.
Hershey, much like they were when Gordon was out, has been average since Coiner left the lineup. The Bears have gone 3-3-1-2 and have scored 22 to the opponents 26 in those 9 games since March 5.
Not exactly setting the world on fire.
You honestly have to go back to the end of December and first half of January to find a period where Hershey was "dominating" their competition. From November 26 (the day after Thanksgiving) until February 4 (the game before Gordon got hurt) the Bears went 20-5-1-1 while outscoring their opponents 134-55. Not too bad.
Coincidentally that time period also had the Bears playing at (almost) full strength. Gordon, Aucoin, Fahey, and surely some others played some games in Washington and Lawrence Ncyholat and Sheldon Souray surely missed some games but overall Hershey was healthy during that span.
They are almost healthy again. Nycholat and Souray are really the only "regulars" still missing from the lineup. Other players, like Trevor Bruess, David de Kastrozza, and Johan Kroll, are still out but they weren't every night players when they were healthy so their loss is less impactful.
This is not to say that Hershey will return to their dominant play during that period but getting a healthy team (and keeping the goalies in Hershey and healthy) will definitely get them closer to that level.
Getting Coiner back with games to play in the regular season definitely helps because that first round series is going to be a difficult one. At this point in time the Bears will be facing off against Durno and the Norfolk Admirals to kick off the Calder Cup playoffs. Whether or not Hershey will have home ice will likely come down to the 2 games in Norfolk next weekend.
There won't be a "rollover" first round opponent this year like the last 2 years. Norfolk is a very good team and that series could legitimately go 7 games.
But getting your injured players back in time for a few "warmup" games during the regular season is definitely a plus. Coiner returns to tonight while Souray could be back in the lineup next weekend sometime. Nycholat is still probably a little further but he is skating which is definitely a good sign.
They haven't shown it over the past month plus but this team is as talented as any in the league and will compete for the Cup in the playoffs.
As long as they are healthy.
Hershey Bears
record ~ 42-23-2-5 | 91 points
standings ~ 2nd in East Division
most recent game ~ 5-2 Loss vs Syracuse, 3/20
last 5 games ~ 2-1-1-1
road record ~ 22-11-1-2
goals for ~ 229
goals against ~ 189
road power play ~ 16.1% (18th)
road penalty kill ~ 82.5% (17th)
Adirondack Phantoms
record ~ 24-35-4-6 | 58 points
standings ~ Last in East Division
most recent game ~ 2-1 Loss @ Norfolk, 3/23
last 5 games ~ 3-2-0-0
home record ~ 13-15-3-3
goals for ~162
goals against ~221
road power play ~13.7% (25th)
home penalty kill ~ 78.9% (27th)
last time teams met - This is the 8th and final meeting between the Bears and Phantoms for 2010-11. Hershey has gone 6-1-0-0 against the Phantoms.
Players to watch:
Hershey:
C Keith Aucoin (11) - leads the Bears in assists with 48 and remains in 2nd in points despite playing in 25 fewer games than points leader Brian Willsie. Coiner is expected to return to the lineup tonight.
RW Andrew Gordon (10) - obviously one of Hershey's premier scorers, he made his return from a concussion last weekend and has 1 goal and 2 assists in 3 games so far. Should be reunited with linemate Aucoin this weekend.
C Mathieu Perreault (24) - he can stick handle in a phone booth but he hasn't been producing as much as his talent dictates. My argument is that his linemates are dropping the ball but with Aucoin's return this weekend he should gain some more talented scorers as linemates.
RW Andrew Gordon (10) - obviously one of Hershey's premier scorers, he made his return from a concussion last weekend and has 1 goal and 2 assists in 3 games so far. Should be reunited with linemate Aucoin this weekend.
C Mathieu Perreault (24) - he can stick handle in a phone booth but he hasn't been producing as much as his talent dictates. My argument is that his linemates are dropping the ball but with Aucoin's return this weekend he should gain some more talented scorers as linemates.
Phantoms:
LW Eric Wellwood (22) - the #3 prospect in the Flyers organization has 15 goals and 12 assists on the year.
D Erik Gustafsson (36) - the #4 prospect for the Flyers, he leads the team in assists with 32 and is second in points with 37.
LW Denis Hamel (17) - the veteran is leading the team in goals with 21 and in points with 40.
LW Denis Hamel (17) - the veteran is leading the team in goals with 21 and in points with 40.
LET'S GO BEARS!!!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Bears looking to complete weekend sweep
Tonight wraps up the toughest travel stretch of the year for the Bears. After playing 6 games in 5 different cities over the last 8 games the Bears return to Hershey to bring the trip full circle and face off against the team that started this stretch, the Norfolk Admirals.
But plenty happened the last couple of days so let's start there.
French gets win #100 (and 101 the next night)
Coach Mark French became the fastest in AHL history to reach 100 wins in his career. He did it in only 147 games and has an overall winning percentage of .707.
He is the 10th Hershey coach to reach the milestone and with a win tonight would tie Bruce Boudreau for 9th on the Hershey list with 102 wins.
Congrats Coach French!!
Greentree and Willsie step up
On Friday in my players to watch section I basically said the whole team needed to step up. But I specifically mentioned Brian Willsie and Kyle Greentree. The duo had not been scoring of late and it was hurting the Bears as they really are the only true goal-scorers active right now.
On Friday night they both scored and Saturday Greentree added his 24th of the year in overtime to lift Hershey over Adirondack.
While the two weren't stuck in a long scoring drought it is (was) becoming apparent that when one or both of them fail to score Hershey really struggles to get wins. When your team is missing 3 players that has scored 15+ goals you are bound to struggle a bit. Willsie and Greentree, fair or not, are the players that need to pick up the slack and carry the team.
I think they can do it.
Bears comfortably in 2nd place
Hershey has found a cozy little for themselves in the East Division right now. They remain in 2nd place and are 6 points behind Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and 7 points ahead of 3rd place Charlotte.
While that can obviously change over the course of 2/3 games it is nice to have a bit of a place at this point in the season.
The Baby Pens have not been playing that well of late, picking up their first shootout loss of the season last night in Abbotsford. They have only won 4 of their last 8 games which has allowed the Bears to remain within range of them for 1st in the division.
Charlotte has been even worse. Since their 5-0 maiming of the Bears back on the 20th of February they have played 9 games and have won only 4. During those 9 games they have scored only 20 goals (that includes 5 in one game). Do you think they miss Jerome Samson???
Either way Hershey begins the final stretch (12 games - 7 home, 5 road) in very good position. They have a cushion to 3rd place and are a full 15 points from missing the playoffs. Definite wiggle room.
----------------------------
Now onto tonight's game. The last time they met, last Saturday in Hershey, there was a little bit of controversy.
To refresh your memory:
Norfolk captain Chris Durno was suspended for 3 games for the hit. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on which side you are on) he will miss tonight's game as he serves the 3rd and final game of the penalty.
Obviously Hershey fans and likely some of the players were looking for a little retribution against the Admirals captain. But that will have to wait. (Hershey visits Norfolk on April 2 and 3).
Still there was plenty of other activities that will surely be fresh in the minds of the Bears players when they take the ice tonight.
This game will likely have a distinct playoff feel to it with plenty of physicality.
The way hockey should be played.
Hershey Bears
record ~ 41-22-1-4 | 87 points
standings ~ 2nd in East Division
most recent game ~ 3-2 OT Win @ Adirondack, 3/12
last 5 games ~ 2-2-0-1
home record ~ 20-11-0-2
goals for ~ 217
goals against ~ 176
home power play ~ 21.9% (4th)
home penalty kill ~ 86.7% (3rd)
Norfolk Admirals
record ~ 33-19-8-5 | 79 points
standings ~ 4th in East Division
most recent game ~ 8-3 Win vs Binghamton, 3/11
last 5 games ~ 3-2-0-0
road record ~ 17-12-3-1
goals for ~218
goals against ~ 175
road power play ~18.8% (10th)
road penalty kill ~ 83.0% (16th)
last time teams met - 6th meeting between the teams this season with Hershey leading the season series 4-1-0-0. This is Norfolk's final regular season game in Hershey. The Bears visits Norfolk twice more this season in April.
Players to watch:
LW Boyd Kane (12) - You know that Boyd is going to be focused tonight as he will want to make the Admirals pay for the Aucoin hit. He has only scored 1 goal (and no assists) in his 8 games so hopefully he can help out on the scoreboard tonight.
LW Andrew Kozek (21) - The newest Bear has played 2 games and already has an assists for Hershey. He will likely get more opportunities than he had in Chicago and hopefully he can capitalize and help Hershey win again.
Norfolk:
C Marc-Antoine Pouliot (78) - Leads the team in assists (36) and points (51) while also sitting tied for third in goals with 20. He has 2 goals and 2 assists in the 3 games since they played Hershey.
LW Johan Harju (90) - The team leader in goals with 21 he also sits second on the team in points with 45. In the 3 games since Hershey he has 2 goals and 3 assists.
RW Matt Fornataro (39) - One of 10 Admirals with double digit goals (16) he scored against Hershey last time they met and has 5 assists in the 3 games since then.
But plenty happened the last couple of days so let's start there.
French gets win #100 (and 101 the next night)
He is the 10th Hershey coach to reach the milestone and with a win tonight would tie Bruce Boudreau for 9th on the Hershey list with 102 wins.
Congrats Coach French!!
Greentree and Willsie step up
On Friday in my players to watch section I basically said the whole team needed to step up. But I specifically mentioned Brian Willsie and Kyle Greentree. The duo had not been scoring of late and it was hurting the Bears as they really are the only true goal-scorers active right now.
On Friday night they both scored and Saturday Greentree added his 24th of the year in overtime to lift Hershey over Adirondack.
While the two weren't stuck in a long scoring drought it is (was) becoming apparent that when one or both of them fail to score Hershey really struggles to get wins. When your team is missing 3 players that has scored 15+ goals you are bound to struggle a bit. Willsie and Greentree, fair or not, are the players that need to pick up the slack and carry the team.
I think they can do it.
Bears comfortably in 2nd place
Hershey has found a cozy little for themselves in the East Division right now. They remain in 2nd place and are 6 points behind Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and 7 points ahead of 3rd place Charlotte.
While that can obviously change over the course of 2/3 games it is nice to have a bit of a place at this point in the season.
The Baby Pens have not been playing that well of late, picking up their first shootout loss of the season last night in Abbotsford. They have only won 4 of their last 8 games which has allowed the Bears to remain within range of them for 1st in the division.
Charlotte has been even worse. Since their 5-0 maiming of the Bears back on the 20th of February they have played 9 games and have won only 4. During those 9 games they have scored only 20 goals (that includes 5 in one game). Do you think they miss Jerome Samson???
Either way Hershey begins the final stretch (12 games - 7 home, 5 road) in very good position. They have a cushion to 3rd place and are a full 15 points from missing the playoffs. Definite wiggle room.
----------------------------
Now onto tonight's game. The last time they met, last Saturday in Hershey, there was a little bit of controversy.
To refresh your memory:
- Odd goal call at the end of the 2nd
- Cheap shot on Aucoin in the 3rd
- Questionable officiating for much of the game.
Norfolk captain Chris Durno was suspended for 3 games for the hit. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on which side you are on) he will miss tonight's game as he serves the 3rd and final game of the penalty.
Obviously Hershey fans and likely some of the players were looking for a little retribution against the Admirals captain. But that will have to wait. (Hershey visits Norfolk on April 2 and 3).
Still there was plenty of other activities that will surely be fresh in the minds of the Bears players when they take the ice tonight.
This game will likely have a distinct playoff feel to it with plenty of physicality.
The way hockey should be played.
Hershey Bears
record ~ 41-22-1-4 | 87 points
standings ~ 2nd in East Division
most recent game ~ 3-2 OT Win @ Adirondack, 3/12
last 5 games ~ 2-2-0-1
home record ~ 20-11-0-2
goals for ~ 217
goals against ~ 176
home power play ~ 21.9% (4th)
home penalty kill ~ 86.7% (3rd)
Norfolk Admirals
record ~ 33-19-8-5 | 79 points
standings ~ 4th in East Division
most recent game ~ 8-3 Win vs Binghamton, 3/11
last 5 games ~ 3-2-0-0
road record ~ 17-12-3-1
goals for ~218
goals against ~ 175
road power play ~18.8% (10th)
road penalty kill ~ 83.0% (16th)
last time teams met - 6th meeting between the teams this season with Hershey leading the season series 4-1-0-0. This is Norfolk's final regular season game in Hershey. The Bears visits Norfolk twice more this season in April.
Hershey:
C Mathieu Perreault (24) - Not exactly producing at the same rate prior to his Washington call-up but he did score the game winner against the Admirals last Saturday and added another goal and an assist since then.LW Boyd Kane (12) - You know that Boyd is going to be focused tonight as he will want to make the Admirals pay for the Aucoin hit. He has only scored 1 goal (and no assists) in his 8 games so hopefully he can help out on the scoreboard tonight.
LW Andrew Kozek (21) - The newest Bear has played 2 games and already has an assists for Hershey. He will likely get more opportunities than he had in Chicago and hopefully he can capitalize and help Hershey win again.
Norfolk:
C Marc-Antoine Pouliot (78) - Leads the team in assists (36) and points (51) while also sitting tied for third in goals with 20. He has 2 goals and 2 assists in the 3 games since they played Hershey.
LW Johan Harju (90) - The team leader in goals with 21 he also sits second on the team in points with 45. In the 3 games since Hershey he has 2 goals and 3 assists.
RW Matt Fornataro (39) - One of 10 Admirals with double digit goals (16) he scored against Hershey last time they met and has 5 assists in the 3 games since then.
LET'S GO BEARS!!!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Bears finish strong
3 games. 18 goals scored. 5 goals allowed. 3 wins. 6 points.
And the Bears go from 4th in the East division to only 2 points behind 2nd place Norfolk.
That's a good weekend. Hershey took care of Albany on Friday and Rochester Saturday before taking care of Adirondack yesterday evening.
Last night saw a much slower start than the other 2 games this weekend. The Bears didn't score their first goal until 2 minutes into the 2nd period when Francois Bouchard (6) put a puck in the top corner.
From there Hershey pretty much dominated play despite having only 5 second period shots and 8 third period shots. Of those 13 shots the Bears scored 5 times on Michael Leighton and the Phantoms.
Andrew Gordon (20) continued his offensive production, as did Brian Willsie (17), while Patrick Wellar (3) and Sheldon Souray (2) also contributed some goals.
Souray made it into the lineup a few days ahead of schedule and played his first game since December 17th. He wasn't expected to play until Wednesday night but with some other players missing the game to injury (Fahey and Nycholat) the Bears needed another defenseman to go.
Dany Sabourin started for the 3rd time in 3 nights and looked exceptional again. Overall for the weekend he went 3-0, allowed 5 goals, and stopped 94% of the shots he faced. Not too bad.
Overall I would say it was likely the most complete weekend the Bears have played all season. A week after scoring only 3 goals in losses to Lake Erie and Binghamton the Bears responded with 18 in 3 games. 12 different players scored a goal for the Bears this weekend. 12. In 3 games.
Some players took it to another level as well.
The Bears can't lose this momentum though. On Wednesday the Bears welcome Kyle Wilson and the Springfield Falcons to Giant Center. Kyle had spent the entire season with Columbus in the NHL until this past weekend when he joined the Falcons for 2 games. He had a goal and 3 assists in those 2 games. Not a bad start.
Norfolk currently resides in 2nd place in the East division, 2 points ahead of Hershey. They have 4 games to the Bears 3 this week with an extra game on Tuesday night.
Hershey needs to be ready for their games this week. They can not afford to have a let down after 3 great wins. They need to at least keep pace with Norfolk and Charlotte heading into the All-Star break.
And the Bears go from 4th in the East division to only 2 points behind 2nd place Norfolk.
That's a good weekend. Hershey took care of Albany on Friday and Rochester Saturday before taking care of Adirondack yesterday evening.
Last night saw a much slower start than the other 2 games this weekend. The Bears didn't score their first goal until 2 minutes into the 2nd period when Francois Bouchard (6) put a puck in the top corner.
From there Hershey pretty much dominated play despite having only 5 second period shots and 8 third period shots. Of those 13 shots the Bears scored 5 times on Michael Leighton and the Phantoms.
Andrew Gordon (20) continued his offensive production, as did Brian Willsie (17), while Patrick Wellar (3) and Sheldon Souray (2) also contributed some goals.
Souray made it into the lineup a few days ahead of schedule and played his first game since December 17th. He wasn't expected to play until Wednesday night but with some other players missing the game to injury (Fahey and Nycholat) the Bears needed another defenseman to go.
Dany Sabourin started for the 3rd time in 3 nights and looked exceptional again. Overall for the weekend he went 3-0, allowed 5 goals, and stopped 94% of the shots he faced. Not too bad.
Overall I would say it was likely the most complete weekend the Bears have played all season. A week after scoring only 3 goals in losses to Lake Erie and Binghamton the Bears responded with 18 in 3 games. 12 different players scored a goal for the Bears this weekend. 12. In 3 games.
Some players took it to another level as well.
- Brian Willsie - 4 goals and 2 assists this weekend
- Andrew Gordon - 2 goals and 3 assists
- Keith Aucoin - 1 goal 5 assists
- Francois Bouchard - 2 goals 1 assist
- Patrick Wellar - 2 goals 3 assists
- Steve Pinizzotto - 1 goal 3 assists
The Bears can't lose this momentum though. On Wednesday the Bears welcome Kyle Wilson and the Springfield Falcons to Giant Center. Kyle had spent the entire season with Columbus in the NHL until this past weekend when he joined the Falcons for 2 games. He had a goal and 3 assists in those 2 games. Not a bad start.
Norfolk currently resides in 2nd place in the East division, 2 points ahead of Hershey. They have 4 games to the Bears 3 this week with an extra game on Tuesday night.
Charlotte sits in 4th, tied in points with the Bears as of today. They have 3 games this week including a visit to Hershey on Saturday afternoon.
Hershey needs to be ready for their games this week. They can not afford to have a let down after 3 great wins. They need to at least keep pace with Norfolk and Charlotte heading into the All-Star break.
LET'S GO BEARS!!!!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Bears shut down Rochester to win 2nd this weekend
A back and forth game for the first two periods turned into a dominant performance for the Bears in the third last night as Hershey beat the Rochester Americans 5-1 at Giant Center.
For the first 40 minutes it seemed that neither team could get the puck out of their own zone. One minute it is in the Hershey zone, the next in the Rochester zone. The majority of many games are played in the neutral zone but the first two periods seemed like the teams barely stepped foot in the middle section of the rink.
And then the 3rd period hit and Hershey took over. They were controlling the puck more in the first 2 periods as well but couldn't get anything in the net and Rochester had plenty of possession then as well.
In the 3rd though Hershey had 5 more shots than Rochester and scored 3 of their 5 goals to put the game away.
Andrew Gordon (19), Keith Aucoin (12), Brian Willsie (16), Patrick McNeill (1), and Ashton Rome (7) picked up the goals for the Bears while Dany Sabourin made 25 saves on 26 shots to pick up the win.
The Bears are now tied for 3rd place in the East division as the Charlotte Checkers were off last night. Hershey sits only 4 points behind Norfolk for the 2nd spot in the East.
------
Next up is the Adirondack Phantoms who are definitely still improving. While they remain in last place in the East division they are only 6 points behind Syracuse and Albany, who are tied for 6th.
The Phantoms and Bears played as recently as last Friday with the Bears winning 3-0 in Glens Falls.
Adirondack has played a tough schedule over the past week. They had the Bears last Friday, Wilkes-Barre on Saturday before getting a slight break with Syracuse on Sunday. They they played the Pens again this Friday, welcomed Hamilton last night and now visit Hershey tonight.
10 days, 6 games, 3 against division leaders, 2 against the back to back Calder Cup Champs, and one against the team you are chasing in the Standings.
Definitely a test kind of week. So how have they done? Not bad...2-2-0-1 with wins over the Pens and Syracuse, losses to the Pens and Bears, and a shootout loss last night vs Hamilton.
They are a team that will likely play spoiler the rest of the way and could, if everything falls right, challenge for a playoff spot.
Over this past stretch they have scored 14 goals in 5 games while allowing only 13. Definitely not bad considering the competition.
Tonight the Bears welcome them to Giant Center for the 4th and final time this season. Hershey visits Glens Falls twice in March. Things have not gone well for the Phantoms in Hershey this season. The Bears have won all 3 and have outscored them 13-3 in those games.
But those games took place back in October and November when the Phantoms were a much different team. Since the last game in Hershey between the two, November 27, the Phantoms are 10-10-0-2. Much better than their season record of 13-27-2-3.
This is another big game for the Bears in the standings. Norfolk has the night off while Charlotte visits Wilkes-Barre. If Hershey can win they will be only 2 points behind the Admirals for 2nd in the division and will have either extended their lead over Charlotte or gained ground on the Pens. Important game tonight.
A few more notes on the game tonight:
Hershey Bears
record ~ 25-14-1-2 53 points
standings ~ 3rd in East Division
most recent game ~ 5-1 Win vs Rochester, 1/22
last 5 games ~ 3-1-0-1
home record ~ 13-8-0-1
goals for ~ 145
goals against ~ 101
power play ~ 21.6% (5th)
penalty kill ~ 84.2% (10th)
Adirondack Phantoms
record ~ 13-27-2-3 37 points
standings ~ Last in East Division
most recent game ~ 4-3 SO Loss vs Hamilton, 1/22
last 5 games ~ 2-2-0-1
road record ~ 6-15-1-2
goals for ~ 101
goals against ~ 157
power play ~ 14.7% (24th)
penalty kill ~ 82.5% (18th)
last time teams met - The Bears won 3-0 on the road last weekend (Friday the 14th) over the host Phantoms. Overall Hershey is 4-1 against the Phantoms this season.
Players to watch:
Hershey:
C Keith Aucoin (11) - He has been as consistent a scorer for the Bears as anyone. He leads the team in assists (26) and in points per game (1.52) despite missing 16 games this season due to injury or recall.
RW Andrew Gordon (10) - Showing you why he is a highly regarded player in the organization. The scoring hasn't been as prolific but the passing the last 2 nights was impressive. Two passes the past two nights were works of genius.
F Brian Willsie (16) - Has recorded a point in each of the 5 games against the Phantoms this season. 3 goals and 2 assists in those games.
Phantoms:
LW Michael Ryan (14) - Tied for 2nd on the team with 10 goals. He has 7 goals and an assist in his last 10 games.
F Eric Wellwood (22) - Also tied for 2nd with 10 goals he has 2 goals and an assist in his last 2 games.
RW Stefan Lequin (9) - Has only played in 23 games this season and has 4 goals and 7 assists in those games. Has played in only 4 games since November (the most recent 4) and has 2 goals and an assist in those games.
LET'S GO BEARS!!!
For the first 40 minutes it seemed that neither team could get the puck out of their own zone. One minute it is in the Hershey zone, the next in the Rochester zone. The majority of many games are played in the neutral zone but the first two periods seemed like the teams barely stepped foot in the middle section of the rink.
And then the 3rd period hit and Hershey took over. They were controlling the puck more in the first 2 periods as well but couldn't get anything in the net and Rochester had plenty of possession then as well.
In the 3rd though Hershey had 5 more shots than Rochester and scored 3 of their 5 goals to put the game away.
Andrew Gordon (19), Keith Aucoin (12), Brian Willsie (16), Patrick McNeill (1), and Ashton Rome (7) picked up the goals for the Bears while Dany Sabourin made 25 saves on 26 shots to pick up the win.
The Bears are now tied for 3rd place in the East division as the Charlotte Checkers were off last night. Hershey sits only 4 points behind Norfolk for the 2nd spot in the East.
------
Next up is the Adirondack Phantoms who are definitely still improving. While they remain in last place in the East division they are only 6 points behind Syracuse and Albany, who are tied for 6th.
The Phantoms and Bears played as recently as last Friday with the Bears winning 3-0 in Glens Falls.
Adirondack has played a tough schedule over the past week. They had the Bears last Friday, Wilkes-Barre on Saturday before getting a slight break with Syracuse on Sunday. They they played the Pens again this Friday, welcomed Hamilton last night and now visit Hershey tonight.
10 days, 6 games, 3 against division leaders, 2 against the back to back Calder Cup Champs, and one against the team you are chasing in the Standings.
Definitely a test kind of week. So how have they done? Not bad...2-2-0-1 with wins over the Pens and Syracuse, losses to the Pens and Bears, and a shootout loss last night vs Hamilton.
They are a team that will likely play spoiler the rest of the way and could, if everything falls right, challenge for a playoff spot.
Over this past stretch they have scored 14 goals in 5 games while allowing only 13. Definitely not bad considering the competition.
Tonight the Bears welcome them to Giant Center for the 4th and final time this season. Hershey visits Glens Falls twice in March. Things have not gone well for the Phantoms in Hershey this season. The Bears have won all 3 and have outscored them 13-3 in those games.
But those games took place back in October and November when the Phantoms were a much different team. Since the last game in Hershey between the two, November 27, the Phantoms are 10-10-0-2. Much better than their season record of 13-27-2-3.
This is another big game for the Bears in the standings. Norfolk has the night off while Charlotte visits Wilkes-Barre. If Hershey can win they will be only 2 points behind the Admirals for 2nd in the division and will have either extended their lead over Charlotte or gained ground on the Pens. Important game tonight.
A few more notes on the game tonight:
Hershey Bears
record ~ 25-14-1-2 53 points
standings ~ 3rd in East Division
most recent game ~ 5-1 Win vs Rochester, 1/22
last 5 games ~ 3-1-0-1
home record ~ 13-8-0-1
goals for ~ 145
goals against ~ 101
power play ~ 21.6% (5th)
penalty kill ~ 84.2% (10th)
Adirondack Phantoms
record ~ 13-27-2-3 37 points
standings ~ Last in East Division
most recent game ~ 4-3 SO Loss vs Hamilton, 1/22
last 5 games ~ 2-2-0-1
road record ~ 6-15-1-2
goals for ~ 101
goals against ~ 157
power play ~ 14.7% (24th)
penalty kill ~ 82.5% (18th)
last time teams met - The Bears won 3-0 on the road last weekend (Friday the 14th) over the host Phantoms. Overall Hershey is 4-1 against the Phantoms this season.
Players to watch:
Hershey:
C Keith Aucoin (11) - He has been as consistent a scorer for the Bears as anyone. He leads the team in assists (26) and in points per game (1.52) despite missing 16 games this season due to injury or recall.
RW Andrew Gordon (10) - Showing you why he is a highly regarded player in the organization. The scoring hasn't been as prolific but the passing the last 2 nights was impressive. Two passes the past two nights were works of genius.
F Brian Willsie (16) - Has recorded a point in each of the 5 games against the Phantoms this season. 3 goals and 2 assists in those games.
Phantoms:
LW Michael Ryan (14) - Tied for 2nd on the team with 10 goals. He has 7 goals and an assist in his last 10 games.
F Eric Wellwood (22) - Also tied for 2nd with 10 goals he has 2 goals and an assist in his last 2 games.
RW Stefan Lequin (9) - Has only played in 23 games this season and has 4 goals and 7 assists in those games. Has played in only 4 games since November (the most recent 4) and has 2 goals and an assist in those games.
LET'S GO BEARS!!!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Sabourin and the Bears pick up win over Phantoms
Dany Sabourin was in goal on the 17th of December when the Bears lost to the lowly Phantoms in Adirondack. That game did not go well for Hershey and was the middle game of 3 straight losses.
Last night though Sabs got a bit of redemption. 25 shots faced, 25 saves. His second shutout of the season. It hasn't exactly been the year Sabs thought it would be. He struggled early this season losing 7 of his first 11 games and not winning a home game until the middle of December.
But things have turned around recently. He is 6-2 in his last 8 starts with a 2.57 goals against average and a .904 save percentage. Those numbers are on the uptick after starting the season 4-7 with a 3.87 goals against average and a .865 save percentage. Definitely an improvement.
And the Bears are playing better over that time as well. Hershey still sits in 4th place in the East division but they are only 3 points behind second place Charlotte, with 4 games in hand on the Checkers, and 1 point behind Norfolk, with 1 game in hand there.
So they are in pretty good shape to be honest. If Wilkes-Barre continues at even close to their current pace then the race for the division will be over. But we aren't even at the official halfway point of the season yet so anything is possible.
Hershey has registered at least one standings point in 7 of their last 8 games since that 3 game losing streak in mid-December.
Last night they picked up 2 with a 3-0 shutout over Adirondack. Brian Willsie (13th), Zach Miscovic (6th), and Steve Pinizzotto (9th) all scored last night and Dany picked up his 10th win of the season over the host Phantoms.
Tonight Hershey welcomes the Lake Erie Monsters to Hershey for the first of 2 meetings between the teams this season.
Lake Erie is in the midst of a 7 game road streak that ends after this weekend. They are 2-3-0-0 on the road trip so far. Last night they played in Rochester and there is probably a good chance that the Hershey and Lake Erie players were traveling down I-81 at the same time. Hell, they might have been racing to Hershey.
The Monsters are having an okay season this year. They currently sit in 6th in the very competitive North Division. They are 2nd from last in the division but only 10 points out of first place as of now.
To put that in perspective, the 6th place team in the East division is Albany and they are 13 points behind 4th place Hershey and 27 points out of first.
A few more notes on the game tonight:
Hershey Bears
record ~ 23-13-1-1 48 points
standings ~ 4th in East Division
most recent game ~ 3-0 Win @ Adirondack, 1/14
last 5 games ~ 3-1-1-0
home record ~ 11-8-0-0
goals for ~ 129
goals against ~ 92
power play ~ 20.9% (5th)
penalty kill ~ 84.2% (12th)
Lake Erie Monsters
record ~ 17-19-3-4 41 points
standings ~ 6th in North Division
most recent game ~ 3-1 Win @ Rochester, 1/14
last 5 games ~ 2-3-0-0
road record ~ 7-14-1-2
goals for ~ 109
goals against ~ 122
power play ~ 14.7% (26th)
penalty kill ~ 83.7% (14th)
last time teams met - First meeting this season. Hershey won both meetings in 2009-10. Hershey visits the Monsters on a Thursday in February.
Players to watch:
Hershey:
RW Steve Pinizzotto (13) - Has been on an offensive tear over the last 3 games. Goals in 3 straight and 2 assists as well. 5 points in 3 games is 25% of his points for the entire season.
LW Kyle Greentree (37) - Has a point in 5 straight games after picking up an assist last night. 2 goals and 4 assists in those 5 games.
D Lawrence Nycholat (28) - One of the most consistent players according to the scoresheet. The All-Star has 5 goals and 22 assists on the year including 2 goals and 5 assists in his last 7 games.
Monsters:
LW Greg Mauldin (20) - Not certain he is playing but he shows up on the active roster for the first time since November after a 20+ game recall to Colorado. Has 5 goals and 7 assists on the season in only 14 games.
C Ryan Stoa (29) - Leads the team in goals (14) and is second in points (26). Has 4 goals and 3 assists in his last 7 games.
C Julian Talbot (48) - The team leader in assists with 19 also has 6 goals on the season and sits 3rd on the team in points with 25. He has an assist in 3 straight games.
LET'S GO BEARS!!!
Last night though Sabs got a bit of redemption. 25 shots faced, 25 saves. His second shutout of the season. It hasn't exactly been the year Sabs thought it would be. He struggled early this season losing 7 of his first 11 games and not winning a home game until the middle of December.
But things have turned around recently. He is 6-2 in his last 8 starts with a 2.57 goals against average and a .904 save percentage. Those numbers are on the uptick after starting the season 4-7 with a 3.87 goals against average and a .865 save percentage. Definitely an improvement.
And the Bears are playing better over that time as well. Hershey still sits in 4th place in the East division but they are only 3 points behind second place Charlotte, with 4 games in hand on the Checkers, and 1 point behind Norfolk, with 1 game in hand there.
So they are in pretty good shape to be honest. If Wilkes-Barre continues at even close to their current pace then the race for the division will be over. But we aren't even at the official halfway point of the season yet so anything is possible.
Hershey has registered at least one standings point in 7 of their last 8 games since that 3 game losing streak in mid-December.
Last night they picked up 2 with a 3-0 shutout over Adirondack. Brian Willsie (13th), Zach Miscovic (6th), and Steve Pinizzotto (9th) all scored last night and Dany picked up his 10th win of the season over the host Phantoms.
Tonight Hershey welcomes the Lake Erie Monsters to Hershey for the first of 2 meetings between the teams this season.
Lake Erie is in the midst of a 7 game road streak that ends after this weekend. They are 2-3-0-0 on the road trip so far. Last night they played in Rochester and there is probably a good chance that the Hershey and Lake Erie players were traveling down I-81 at the same time. Hell, they might have been racing to Hershey.
The Monsters are having an okay season this year. They currently sit in 6th in the very competitive North Division. They are 2nd from last in the division but only 10 points out of first place as of now.
To put that in perspective, the 6th place team in the East division is Albany and they are 13 points behind 4th place Hershey and 27 points out of first.
A few more notes on the game tonight:
Hershey Bears
record ~ 23-13-1-1 48 points
standings ~ 4th in East Division
most recent game ~ 3-0 Win @ Adirondack, 1/14
last 5 games ~ 3-1-1-0
home record ~ 11-8-0-0
goals for ~ 129
goals against ~ 92
power play ~ 20.9% (5th)
penalty kill ~ 84.2% (12th)
Lake Erie Monsters
record ~ 17-19-3-4 41 points
standings ~ 6th in North Division
most recent game ~ 3-1 Win @ Rochester, 1/14
last 5 games ~ 2-3-0-0
road record ~ 7-14-1-2
goals for ~ 109
goals against ~ 122
power play ~ 14.7% (26th)
penalty kill ~ 83.7% (14th)
last time teams met - First meeting this season. Hershey won both meetings in 2009-10. Hershey visits the Monsters on a Thursday in February.
Players to watch:
Hershey:
RW Steve Pinizzotto (13) - Has been on an offensive tear over the last 3 games. Goals in 3 straight and 2 assists as well. 5 points in 3 games is 25% of his points for the entire season.
LW Kyle Greentree (37) - Has a point in 5 straight games after picking up an assist last night. 2 goals and 4 assists in those 5 games.
D Lawrence Nycholat (28) - One of the most consistent players according to the scoresheet. The All-Star has 5 goals and 22 assists on the year including 2 goals and 5 assists in his last 7 games.
Monsters:
LW Greg Mauldin (20) - Not certain he is playing but he shows up on the active roster for the first time since November after a 20+ game recall to Colorado. Has 5 goals and 7 assists on the season in only 14 games.
C Ryan Stoa (29) - Leads the team in goals (14) and is second in points (26). Has 4 goals and 3 assists in his last 7 games.
C Julian Talbot (48) - The team leader in assists with 19 also has 6 goals on the season and sits 3rd on the team in points with 25. He has an assist in 3 straight games.
LET'S GO BEARS!!!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Bears head to New York to face the Phantoms
This is not the same Phantoms team that everyone has seen all year. Since Hershey lost to them on December 17 they have gone 6-2-0-2. That stretch has actually more than doubled their win total from when they beat Hershey.
The youth on the team, 5 of their top 9 scorers are rookies, is beginning to play together as a team and the results are starting to come.
Add to that a couple of good goaltenders who were both expected to compete in Philadelphia before the season started (Michael Leighton and Johan Backlund) and you have a pretty good team developing.
The addition of Denis Hamel has definitely helped as the veteran winger has scored 12 goals in only 26 games. And he is the leading scorer so it was definitely needed.
Trades have also helped their cause. Michael Ryan came over from Springfield 14 games ago and has since scored 8 goals for the team including a goal in each of the teams 5 2011 contests.
Danny Syvret also returned to the club via a trade and he has produced 5 goals and 7 assists in his 19 games with the team.
As the young players, including team points leader and AHL All Star Erik Gustafsson, continue to develop and learn each others tendencies and styles this team will become increasingly difficult to beat. They remain 20 points behind Hershey in the division so if they hope to make the playoffs they need to keep the pace they have generated the past 10 games.
Their games are almost always close. 5 of their last 6 have gone to a shootout. And only 2 of their last 10 games have been decided by more than 2 goals, both losses.
So expect a close game tomorrow night in New York.
Hershey comes into the game having only played 2 games over the past 11 days, which is good because now they have back to back 3 in 3 weekends leading into a 3 in 4 stretch before the All Star break.
Not an easy travel situation for Hershey this weekend either. Not terribly difficult either but a trip today up to Glens Falls for Friday's game, with a trip home after the game for Lake Erie on Saturday, and then back up I-81 for a game in Binghamton on Sunday at 5.
Not the worst trip they will make this season but definitely a tough stretch considering that they haven't played in a while and haven't ridden a bus since 2010.
Some good news though as Hershey will have forward Brian Willsie for the weekend as he was reassigned by Washington after the Caps game last night and is on the trip to New York.
Curious to see who the Bears get to face in goal tomorrow night as Michael Leighton settles into his 2nd go around with the Phantoms. Leighton last played regularly in the AHL during the 07-08 season in Albany where he put up some pretty good numbers, 28-25-4, 2.10 gaa, and a .931 save percentage.
He cleared waivers and was reassigned to the Phantoms this past week and made a start last Friday in Abbotsford, picking up a shootout loss to the Heat.
He is a good goalie that played well for the Flyers last year but was expendable due to the depth they have in Philly right now.
It should be a good game.
Hershey Bears
record ~ 22-13-1-1 46 points
standings ~ 4th in East Division
most recent game ~ 4-3 OT Loss @ Manitoba, 1/8
last 5 games ~ 3-1-1-0
road record ~ 11-5-1-1
goals for ~ 126
goals against ~ 92
power play ~ 20.8% (6th)
penalty kill ~ 83.6% (13th)
Adirondack Phantoms
record ~ 11-25-2-2 26 points
standings ~ Last in East Division
most recent game ~ 3-2 SO Loss @ Abbotsford, 1/8
last 5 games ~ 3-0-0-2
home record ~ 6-10-1-0
goals for ~ 87
goals against ~ 142
power play ~ 15.7% (21st)
penalty kill ~ 81.8% (18th)
last time teams met - Adirondack won 3-1 at home on December 17. This will be the 5th meeting between the teams this season (Hershey has 3-1 record) but only the 2nd in New York.
Players to watch:
Hershey:
RW Andrew Gordon (10) - Hershey's leading scorer has 2 goals and 3 assists in his last 4 games.
C Keith Aucoin (11) - He had no points last game, breaking his point per game streak. Overall he has been playing well though with 5 goals and 8 assists in his 9 games since coming back from an injury.
RW Dmitri Kugryshev (15) - Starting to get some quality time both at full strength and on the power play. Has 4 goals and 7 assists on the season. 2 goals and 2 assists in his last 6 games.
Phantoms:
LW Michael Ryan (14) - Has only played 14 games for the Phantoms this season but has 8 goals and 2 assists in those games. That includes goals in 5 straight games to start 2011. 6 goals in those 5 games.
F Eric Wellwood (22) - The rookie currently sits at 3rd on the team in goals with 8. He has 3 assists in his last 5 games.
LW Denis Hamel (17) - The team leader in goals with 12 he has a point in 4 straight games. 1 goal and 3 assists in those games. He scored twice in the Phantoms win over Hershey last month.
LET'S GO BEARS!!!
The youth on the team, 5 of their top 9 scorers are rookies, is beginning to play together as a team and the results are starting to come.
Add to that a couple of good goaltenders who were both expected to compete in Philadelphia before the season started (Michael Leighton and Johan Backlund) and you have a pretty good team developing.
The addition of Denis Hamel has definitely helped as the veteran winger has scored 12 goals in only 26 games. And he is the leading scorer so it was definitely needed.
Trades have also helped their cause. Michael Ryan came over from Springfield 14 games ago and has since scored 8 goals for the team including a goal in each of the teams 5 2011 contests.
Danny Syvret also returned to the club via a trade and he has produced 5 goals and 7 assists in his 19 games with the team.
As the young players, including team points leader and AHL All Star Erik Gustafsson, continue to develop and learn each others tendencies and styles this team will become increasingly difficult to beat. They remain 20 points behind Hershey in the division so if they hope to make the playoffs they need to keep the pace they have generated the past 10 games.
Their games are almost always close. 5 of their last 6 have gone to a shootout. And only 2 of their last 10 games have been decided by more than 2 goals, both losses.
So expect a close game tomorrow night in New York.
Hershey comes into the game having only played 2 games over the past 11 days, which is good because now they have back to back 3 in 3 weekends leading into a 3 in 4 stretch before the All Star break.
Not an easy travel situation for Hershey this weekend either. Not terribly difficult either but a trip today up to Glens Falls for Friday's game, with a trip home after the game for Lake Erie on Saturday, and then back up I-81 for a game in Binghamton on Sunday at 5.
Not the worst trip they will make this season but definitely a tough stretch considering that they haven't played in a while and haven't ridden a bus since 2010.
Some good news though as Hershey will have forward Brian Willsie for the weekend as he was reassigned by Washington after the Caps game last night and is on the trip to New York.
Curious to see who the Bears get to face in goal tomorrow night as Michael Leighton settles into his 2nd go around with the Phantoms. Leighton last played regularly in the AHL during the 07-08 season in Albany where he put up some pretty good numbers, 28-25-4, 2.10 gaa, and a .931 save percentage.
He cleared waivers and was reassigned to the Phantoms this past week and made a start last Friday in Abbotsford, picking up a shootout loss to the Heat.
He is a good goalie that played well for the Flyers last year but was expendable due to the depth they have in Philly right now.
It should be a good game.
Hershey Bears
record ~ 22-13-1-1 46 points
standings ~ 4th in East Division
most recent game ~ 4-3 OT Loss @ Manitoba, 1/8
last 5 games ~ 3-1-1-0
road record ~ 11-5-1-1
goals for ~ 126
goals against ~ 92
power play ~ 20.8% (6th)
penalty kill ~ 83.6% (13th)
Adirondack Phantoms
record ~ 11-25-2-2 26 points
standings ~ Last in East Division
most recent game ~ 3-2 SO Loss @ Abbotsford, 1/8
last 5 games ~ 3-0-0-2
home record ~ 6-10-1-0
goals for ~ 87
goals against ~ 142
power play ~ 15.7% (21st)
penalty kill ~ 81.8% (18th)
last time teams met - Adirondack won 3-1 at home on December 17. This will be the 5th meeting between the teams this season (Hershey has 3-1 record) but only the 2nd in New York.
Players to watch:
Hershey:
RW Andrew Gordon (10) - Hershey's leading scorer has 2 goals and 3 assists in his last 4 games.
C Keith Aucoin (11) - He had no points last game, breaking his point per game streak. Overall he has been playing well though with 5 goals and 8 assists in his 9 games since coming back from an injury.
RW Dmitri Kugryshev (15) - Starting to get some quality time both at full strength and on the power play. Has 4 goals and 7 assists on the season. 2 goals and 2 assists in his last 6 games.
Phantoms:
LW Michael Ryan (14) - Has only played 14 games for the Phantoms this season but has 8 goals and 2 assists in those games. That includes goals in 5 straight games to start 2011. 6 goals in those 5 games.
F Eric Wellwood (22) - The rookie currently sits at 3rd on the team in goals with 8. He has 3 assists in his last 5 games.
LW Denis Hamel (17) - The team leader in goals with 12 he has a point in 4 straight games. 1 goal and 3 assists in those games. He scored twice in the Phantoms win over Hershey last month.
LET'S GO BEARS!!!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Hershey drops game to Phantoms
Well that is not exactly the way you want to start off a 3 in 3 weekend. Despite the return to action of both Patrick McNeill and Keith Aucoin, the Bears couldn't get enough offensive support to pick up the W.
Dany Sabourin gave up 3 goals while Brian Willsie scored Hershey's loan goal, his 11th of the season, as Hershey lost 3-1.
The win was just the Phantoms fifth of the season which makes the loss that much harder to take. And Hershey didn't just lose in the standings either. Already missing Patrick Wellar and Phil Oreskovic due to injuries, the Bears lost Sheldon Souray and Dylan Yeo during the game.
Add that to Mathieu Perreault, Jay Beagle, and Andrew Gordon on recall to Hershey and you have a pretty good line not currently active.
Luckily Hershey dressed 7 defenseman to keep the pressure off McNeill a bit which allowed for a relatively normal defensive rotation. But it wasn't enough.
Hershey's depth is being tested here of late and that will continue through this weekend. After Sunday's game the Bears get a full 6 days with no game action which will hopefully help them get healthy.
Expect some call ups overnight. If Yeo and/or Souray can't go the Bears would be short 1 or 2 defenseman and that includes Patty McNeill, who I doubt they were looking to play more than 1 or 2 games this weekend.
Offensively there isn't much more the team can do right now. When 3 of your top 8 scorers are on recall to the NHL and another of the 8 is just coming back after missing a month, you are probably going to have some problems.
Shifting lines, lack of familiarity, young guys getting a chance...all of comes into play this weekend. Heck, Steve Pinizzotto and Andrew Joudrey were playing on the top 2 lines and on the power play units tonight. While I am sure both players have the ability to play in those positions and contribute, how much practice have they had in those positions this season?
Coiner just came back...and he got to play with Pinner and Bouch. How many times over the past couple years have those players practiced together? Probably not much.
And nothing against Joudrey but he is used to playing a very defensive, high energy, grind it out kind of game. Turning on the offensive switch is not as easy as it sounds. Given the time to practice with certain players and in certain roles I am certain the Captain can fill any role asked of him...but with only a few days to practice it has to be tough.
Hopefully a return home will help the Bears. Providence visits Saturday with Charlotte coming to town on Sunday. With any luck the injuries currently being dealt with will heal and/or players will return from Washington.
Dany Sabourin gave up 3 goals while Brian Willsie scored Hershey's loan goal, his 11th of the season, as Hershey lost 3-1.
The win was just the Phantoms fifth of the season which makes the loss that much harder to take. And Hershey didn't just lose in the standings either. Already missing Patrick Wellar and Phil Oreskovic due to injuries, the Bears lost Sheldon Souray and Dylan Yeo during the game.
Add that to Mathieu Perreault, Jay Beagle, and Andrew Gordon on recall to Hershey and you have a pretty good line not currently active.
Luckily Hershey dressed 7 defenseman to keep the pressure off McNeill a bit which allowed for a relatively normal defensive rotation. But it wasn't enough.
Hershey's depth is being tested here of late and that will continue through this weekend. After Sunday's game the Bears get a full 6 days with no game action which will hopefully help them get healthy.
Expect some call ups overnight. If Yeo and/or Souray can't go the Bears would be short 1 or 2 defenseman and that includes Patty McNeill, who I doubt they were looking to play more than 1 or 2 games this weekend.
Offensively there isn't much more the team can do right now. When 3 of your top 8 scorers are on recall to the NHL and another of the 8 is just coming back after missing a month, you are probably going to have some problems.
Shifting lines, lack of familiarity, young guys getting a chance...all of comes into play this weekend. Heck, Steve Pinizzotto and Andrew Joudrey were playing on the top 2 lines and on the power play units tonight. While I am sure both players have the ability to play in those positions and contribute, how much practice have they had in those positions this season?
Coiner just came back...and he got to play with Pinner and Bouch. How many times over the past couple years have those players practiced together? Probably not much.
And nothing against Joudrey but he is used to playing a very defensive, high energy, grind it out kind of game. Turning on the offensive switch is not as easy as it sounds. Given the time to practice with certain players and in certain roles I am certain the Captain can fill any role asked of him...but with only a few days to practice it has to be tough.
Hopefully a return home will help the Bears. Providence visits Saturday with Charlotte coming to town on Sunday. With any luck the injuries currently being dealt with will heal and/or players will return from Washington.
LET'S GO BEARS!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)