Hershey welcomes Bruins to town

Well the weekend didn't start out the way anyone hoped it would. Dropping a game to the Phantoms definitely leaves a bad taste in your mouth. They now have 5 wins on the season and while they are definitely a better team than that record it is still tough to stomach.

So the Bears need to move on and be ready for tonight's game. After losing to the East division bottom dweller the Bears now welcome the Atlantic divisions worst team to town.

While the Bruins are in last place they don't seem to be as bad as other last place teams. In fact if they were in the East division they would actually be in 6th, 8 points behind Hershey.

In fact, Providence is actually a much better road team than home team. At home they are only 3-11-1-1 while on the road they are actually 8-2-1-0. Their .773 road winning percentage makes them the 2nd best road team in the league, trailing only the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Unfortunately, Hershey isn't as dominant a home team as they were last season. After 13 games they are 7-6 and those 7 wins have come against teams with a combined winning percentage of .399. 3 of those wins were over the Phantoms.

To make matters worse the road wins by the Bruins have come against good teams. 7 of their 8 wins were against teams that are .500 or better. And the 1 win over a team under .500 was against Albany who sits at .429.

But the numbers aren't all bad. Surprisingly the Bruins are still terrible at penalty killing on the road. They kill off only 73.1% of penalties on the road, good for 29th in the league. And Hershey scores on 22.9% of their power plays at home, good for 5th in the league.

So with any luck that will help Hershey tonight as they try to get back on track before the new year.

I am guessing here but I suspect we will see Braden Holtby in goal tonight for Hershey. And considering the injuries along the blue line right now I would expect to see some recalls from South Carolina. Haven't seen anything reported yet but I would imagine that Yohann Kroll and either Joe Finley or Josh Godfrey will be recalled to help the Hershey blue line.

With Souray and Yeo going down last night and Weller and Oreskovic already hurt the Bears have only 5 healthy defenseman and I don't think they were looking to play Patty McNeill in all 3 games this weekend.

We will surely see what happens. Looking forward to a good game tonight at the GC.


A little more on the game tonight....

Hershey Bears
record ~ 16-11-0-1 33 points
standings ~ 4th in East Division
most recent game ~ 3-1 Loss @ Adirondack, 12/17
last 5 games ~ 3-2-0-0
home record ~ 7-6-0-0
goals for ~ 98
goals against ~ 74
power play ~ 20.0% (8th)
penalty kill ~ 81.4% (21st)


Providence Bruins
record ~ 11-13-2-1 25 points
standings ~ Last in Atlantic Division
most recent game ~ 6-2 Loss vs Charlotte, 12/17
last 5 games ~ 2-3-0-0
home record ~ 8-2-1-0
goals for ~ 67
goals against ~ 93
power play ~ 12.7% (27th)
penalty kill ~ 78.7% (26th)

last time teams met - This is the first of 2 meetings between the teams this season. Hershey visits Providence in February.


Players to watch:

Hershey:

C Keith Aucoin (11) - Got an assist in his first game back in the lineup. Not sure if he will play again tonight but with all the injuries and call ups I would say it is probable that you will see him.
F Brian Willsie (18) - Scored Hershey's loan goal last night and will need to help out again tonight if the Bears are going to get the W.
C Andrew Joudrey (23) - The captain and defensive star is being asked to contribute more in the offensive end with all the recalls. Getting time on the 2nd line and on the power play. He has 4 goals already this season...adding to that number is critical for Hershey.

Bruins:

C Jamie Arniel (12) - Leading the team in goals with 11 and points with 19. Hasn't produced much in December with only 2 goals and 1 assist in 7 games this month.
C Joe Colborne (22) - The rookie is second on the team in goals with 7 and 2nd in points with 16. He is rated as the #2 prospect in the Bruins organization behind Tyler Seguin.
D Yury Alexandrov (4) - The defenseman in the #4 prospect for Boston and comes in tied for 6th on the team with 10 points (4 g, 6 a).

LET'S GO BEARS!!!

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.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!

Hershey visits Phantoms

Hershey will visit the Adirondack Phantoms tonight in the first of 3 games in 3 nights that includes home games Saturday and Sunday night.

The Bears have been dealing with roster turmoil this week. Andrew Gordon and Jay Beagle were recalled to Washington while Brian Fahey returned to Hershey. Kyle Greentree and Phil Oreskovic are both still out with injuries. In addition to that Patrick McNeill and Keith Aucoin are both slated to make their returns this weekend and are on trip to New York.

It will be McNeill's first game of the season after offseason surgery. He figures to be one of the top 4 d-men for the remainder of the season.

Aucoin will play for the first time since taking a shot off the knee back on November 7 in Charlotte. Amazingly enough he is still 6th on the team in points even though he has only played in 11 games while others have played in 25 or more.

No word on if/when any of the players currently on recall to Washington, including Mathieu Perreault, will be back in Hershey. The Caps are dealing with multiple injuries, some illness, and a 7 game losing streak. I would imagine that one or both of Gordon and Beagle will be back sometime this weekend but nothing is a guarantee.

But most of us already know about what is going on with Hershey...how about the Phantoms?

Well, to answer that easily...nothing.

The Phantoms are, by far, the worst team in the AHL as far as record goes. They have played 29 games this season and they have 4 wins. No, that is not a mistype. Seriously, they only have 4 wins. They also have 2 overtime losses which gives them 10 points on the season.

10 points! In 29 games. They are 4-23-2-0 on the season and have been outscored by 52 goals on the season. They have scored the fewest goals in the league, 62, and have given up the most, 114. If you have one or the other it is bad enough but if you are the worst in both categories then you are in trouble.

1 of those wins came last Friday night in Syracuse. Prior to that the Phantoms hadn't won in a month, losing 10 straight between victories.

To put it in perspective...the Phantoms are 15 points behind the next team! They would have to more than double their current point total just to equal the next worst team.


A little more on the game tonight....

Hershey Bears
record ~ 16-10-0-1 33 points
standings ~ 4th in East Division
most recent game ~ 5-3 Loss @ Charlotte, 12/5
last 5 games ~ 4-1-0-0
road record ~ 9-4-0-1
goals for ~ 97
goals against ~ 71
power play ~ 20.0% (6th)
penalty kill ~ 81.5% (20th)


Adirondack Phantoms
record ~ 4-23-1-0 10 points
standings ~ Last in East Division
most recent game ~ 6-4 Loss vs Connecticut, 12/15
last 5 games ~ 1-4-0-0
home record ~ 2-9-1-0
goals for ~ 62
goals against ~ 114
power play ~ 16.4% (21st)
penalty kill ~ 80.1% (23rd)

last time teams met - This is the 4th meeting of the season between the teams. Hershey has won all 3 by a combined 13-3.


Players to watch:

Hershey:

C Keith Aucoin (11) - Assuming he plays he is going to be counted on to carry a large load that will include power play work and on the top line. He is still 6th on team with 18 points in only 11 games.
F Brian Willsie (18) - Playing all 3 forward spots at times this season he is second on the team in goals with 10 and points with 25.
RW Francois Bouchard (22) - Gets a shot on the top line tonight alongside Aucoin. He has only 4 goals and 4 assists this season and needs to start producing to help the shorthanded Bears.

Phantoms:

D Erik Gustafsson (36) - The defenseman leads the team in assists, 20, and points, 24. He is the only Phantom with double digit assists this year.
LW Denis Hamel (17) - Joined the team at the beginning of November and has collected 8 goals and 7 assists in 18 games. Leads the team in goals. Has 2 goals and 6 assists in last 6 games.
D Danny Syvret (25) - The former Bear came over from Syracuse in a trade earlier this season. On the year he has 18 games played, 5 goals and 7 assists. All the goals and 3 of the assists have come during his 10 games with the Phantoms.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!

News, Updates, Thoughts...

This post is kind of just going to be thrown together here.

Some Housekeeping...

Due to some computer issues this year I have been unable to watch the away games which is why you haven't seen as many game reviews here this year. That should be getting resolved this week so hopefully I will have more updates/preview/reviews going into the new calendar year.

Last week...

Hershey managed to win 2 of 3 despite missing Mathieu Perreault, Andrew Gordon, Kyle Greentree, Keith Aucoin, and Brian Fahey in some of the games. Not too bad considering.

Greentree and Aucoin were out with injuries while the other 3 were on recall to Washington. Gordon is back in Hershey already so that is good. No telling when Perry and Fahey could return. Another player could be recalled as Washington is dealing with multiple injuries and illnesses currently.

Pens struggle...

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have dropped 2 straight decisions for the first time this season. Both losses came at the hands of their closest competition in the East division, the Norfolk Admirals.

The Pens still lead the AHL in overall points with 42 and are 3 points in front of Norfolk in the East division.

The Ads have won 10 of their last 13 games and lead the league in goals. They have 15 more goals then the next closest team.

AHL All Star Game News....

First let's say this...Alexandre Giroux will be returning to Hershey this season. As the captain of the Western Conference squad for the All Star game. It will be a great chance for the former Bear to enjoy a warm reception in the building where he set or helped set many records.

Another former Bear, Mark Wotton, will captain the Eastern Conference.

So I think we should keep the reunion idea going. Head over to the AHL.com page for voting and cast some votes for former Bears Dean Arsene and Graham Mink. Both players currently play in the Western Conference so go vote for your favorite Bears on the East side and Arsene/Mink on the West side.

Upcoming this week...

Hershey has a 3 in 3 this weekend as they visit the lowly Adirondack Phantoms on Friday before welcoming Providence and Charlotte on Saturday and Sunday.

I hope to have my personal computer back up and running by Thursday so hopefully you will see game previews and recaps here all weekend.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!

Perreault to Caps; Bears win 2 with balanced scoring

Let's start with the news of the day. Mathieu Perreault was recalled by the Washington Capitals today. He will replace an unknown player in the lineup.

At this time it has not been announced which player will be placed on IR with an injury but one will be soon.

This is not good news in my opinion. With the departure of Tomas Fleischmann last week we knew that a call up could happen at any time. All it would take is a minor injury and someone from Hershey (likely Gordon, Beagle, or Perry) would be called up to Washington.

The reason this particular call up is bad news is that Washington is auditioning for an everyday 2nd line center. Marcus Johansson has been filling the role of late and while he has played well there is some thought that he might not be ready for the role full time.

For a team that is expected to compete for a Stanley Cup a 2nd line center is going to be a vital piece of the puzzle. So expect different players to get extended looks.

Including Perreault. I am a big Perreault fan and think this could be the beginning of the end of his days in Hershey. His offensive skill is undeniable and his defensive game is improving. The Caps aren't looking for a defensive center though. MoJo, Steckel, Gordon, and Laich can all fill that role. And Beagle would be the main call up for that position.

No, the Caps are looking for an offensive minded center that can help keep the scoring balanced on the team. I think Perry has as good a shot as anyone in the organization right now.

This wouldn't be such a big loss if Aucoin was healthy but he isn't. As of right now the Bears center situation looks like Willsie, Beagle, Joudrey, and Bruess. Not saying those players can't get the job done but they aren't as nearly the pivots that Aucoin or Perry are.

Hopefully Coiner returns to the lineup soon and good luck to Perry in Washington. As a Bears fan I hope to see him back in Hershey soon.

Bruce Boudreau won't commit to how long Perry will be in Washington, saying that he is there for one game as of now, but he is going to be given a chance to win the 2nd line center job and I think he can.


Now let's discuss this past weekend's games....

On Friday there was an article in the paper about Hershey's desire to balance the scoring out over the four lines. Willsie was being moved to the 2nd line to allow Bouchard to move up and play with Perry and Gordon on the 1st line.

The thought is to spread out the scorers and hopefully some of the touch would rub off on other players.

So far it has worked.

7 goals this weekend. None from Gordon, Perry, or Willsie. The only goal scored by the top line was by Bouchard on Satruday night.

The goals were scored by Kugryshev, Pinner, Lacroix, Rome, Bouchard, and 2 from Beagle. That spans all 4 lines. That is the definition of scoring balance and depth.

It is good to see Kugryshev get in on the scoring again. He had some success at the offensive end in juniors scoring 63 goals over 2 seasons in the QMJHL. Getting him involved offensively and giving him ample time on the top lines and power plays will only pay dividends for the Bears this spring.

The Bears looking for more scoring is kind of a joke though considering that even with all the pieces from last year missing and Aucoin missing the last 10+ games they are still #2 in the AHL in scoring with 89 goals. Only Norfolk has more with 99.

But you can never have too much depth. When the playoffs come and top lines start seeing top defensive pairings and start having trouble scoring with consistency it will be good to know that your 3rd and 4th line players can score if called upon.

Caps trade Flash

The Washington Capitals today traded Tomas Fleischmann to Colorado for defenseman Scott Hannon.

While this move does not actually impact the Hershey Bears directly it does affect them indirectly.

First let's consider the good news of the situation...this gives the Caps another defenseman, 8 total. That means call ups of Brian Fahey will be much less common. While that definitely isn't what Fahey was looking for it does help the Hershey Bears as a team.

Now let's consider the bad news of the situation...Flash was one of the players keeping guys like Gordon, Perreault, and Beagle in Hershey. Washington still has 13 forwards so while a call up is not going to happen immediately it does make forward call ups much more likely going forward. One or two injuries to forwards in Washington will result in fewer players in Hershey.

Surely the players I mentioned above (Gordon, Perry, Beags) are happy about this. They were kind of stuck until now as the Caps had 2 extra forwards so call ups were rare. But this will surely make call ups more likely as we move forward.

The likelihood of a Bear forward getting a long term recall is still unlikely (barring a bad injury) it is much more likely that Hershey will be without players for a few games here or there.

So while the trade is actually good news for the short term as Fahey will no longer be getting called up regularly it will hurt down the road IF Caps forwards start getting hurt.

Welcome Back Braden

It was good to see Braden Holtby back in goal for the Bears last night. He played a fantastic game and recorded his first shutout of the season as Hershey beat the Adirondack Phantoms 4-0.

I think Dany Sabourin is a solid goaltender but the difference in rebound control between the goalies is substantial. On Wednesday night every shot seemed to create a scoring opportunity for Worcester while last night I can only remember one or two rebounds that did that.

Although it does help when you are playing the Phantoms. They are embarrassingly bad this year. They have played 22 games and have won only 3. They sit in last place in the league with only 8 points on the season. They average about 2 goals a game and allow about 4 a game. And they already changed coaches this year!

Outside of the goaltending I would say that the closed door team meeting that was called after Wednesday night's game had an effect. In the 2 games since the Bears have scored 9 and allowed only 1.

Again though, let's keep in mind who the opposition was for those 2 games. We already talked about Adirondack but Syracuse isn't much better. They reside in 2nd to last in the league with 16 points in 20 games. Definitely more competitive but still lacking in overall talent.

The communication definitely seemed better. They seemed to play with more cohesiveness. And they appeared to be playing better as a team instead of the lone wolf style they showed on Wednesday night.

There still needs to be more hitting but that will likely come as the playoffs get closer and games start to matter more.

This team has the talent to be a force in the league. What they need most is some continuity. Injuries and call ups are taking their toll on the teams overall development. It is hard to learn the tendencies of your new players when everyone isn't on the ice at the same time.

Keith Aucoin's injury hurts as he was developing a nice rhythm with Willsie before getting hurt. Now Perry is doing that but when Coiner comes back they will likely go back to their previous lines.

And the blue line is having those problems too. Souray, Collins, Kroll, and Fahey have all missed time due to injury or recall and Patty McNeill has yet to play a game this season. Knowing what your defensive partner is going to do is critical when the opposition is bearing down on the rush. And the only way to develop that knowledge is to play together constantly.

As the season rolls along this team will likely come together and become a legitimate contender. Right now though they are still finding their way. Some games are good like last night while others are a struggle like Wednesday.


Tonight the Charlotte Checkers make their first visit to Giant Center this season. They currently reside in 3rd place in the East division, two points ahead of Hershey. The Checkers started out the season slowly but have really picked it up in November. So far in November they are 9-2-0-2. They have lost only twice in regulation this month including once to Hershey.

The Checkers played in Worcester last night and Norfolk on Wednesday night. A busy travel weekend for them concludes with tonight's game in Hershey. Coming from Worcester overnight for a 5pm start in Hershey is not an easy travel day.

The Bears can make it a clean 3 in 3 sweep with a win tonight. After his performance last night I would expect to see Braden Holtby get the start again tonight.

A little more on the game tonight....

Hershey Bears
record ~ 12-8-0-1 25 points
standings ~ 4th in East Division
most recent game ~ 4-0 Win vs Adirondack, 11/27
last 5 games ~ 3-2-0-0
home record ~ 6-5-0-0
goals for ~ 80
goals against ~ 56
power play ~ 22.7% (3rd)
penalty kill ~ 82.8% (15th)


Charlotte Checkers
record ~ 12-8-1-2 27 points
standings ~ 3rd in East Division
most recent game ~ 4-2 Win @ Worcester, 11/27
last 5 games ~ 4-1-0-0
road record ~ 6-4-1-0
goals for ~ 73
goals against ~ 70
power play ~ 20.2% (6th)
penalty kill ~ 88.5% (3rd)

last time teams met - This is the 3rd meeting of the season but the first in Hershey. The teams split the 2 games in Charlotte earlier this month.


Players to watch:

Hershey:

RW Andrew Gordon (10) - Leads the league in goals with 15 and in points with 29. Has 8 goals in his last 8 games including 3 in his last 2. Also has 6 assists in that 8 game span.
C Mathieu Perreault (24) - Centering the top line in place of Keith Aucoin the diminutive pivot is 5th in the league in assists with 16 (tied with Nycholat). Also adding some goals with 4 in his last 4 games.
G Braden Holtby (1) - Probably the biggest key to Hershey's season he returned after a month in Washington to shut out the Phantoms last night. 6 games this year, 5-0-1 record with a ridiculous 1.65 goals against and a .944 save percentage.

Charlotte:

C Zach Boychuk (11) - Leads the team in assists with 15 and is currently in the midst of a 5 game point streak. He has 2 goals and 6 assists in those 5 games.
RW Jerome Samson (17) - Leads the team in goals, 12, and points, 24. Has recorded a goal and 6 assists over the last 4 games including 3 assists last night.
C Zac Dalpe (19) - The rookie is tied for 2nd on the team with 9 goals but leads the team with an average of 1.08 points per game. 3 goals and 2 assists in last 3 games.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!

Bears drop another game

Before I get into the team and their problems last night I want to say how awesome it was to see the reaction and reception for the soldiers that were welcomed home last night. If you weren't there it was something special. Not only did they get a standing ovation from the crowd but even the players on the ice were saluting them by hitting their sticks on the boards and the ice. And this wasn't before the game or between periods but during a timeout in play.

Sometimes we get a little caught up in the sport and the outcomes and forget that it is, quite simply, just a game. Whether a team wins or loses it really doesn't matter in the grander scheme of things. Watching the players acknowledge that last night was amazing.

As someone who has relatives and friends serving our amazing country (as many of us do) it was definitely something I will always remember.



Now onto the game....

Not exactly the way Hershey wanted to kick off the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Worcester came into Hershey and played well enough to get a 3-2 win against a sluggish Bears team.

I have some thoughts on wait ails this team but first I want to say this...it is still early. There are many new pieces and due to call-ups and injuries they have had limited time to play together. I still contend that this team is very talented at the offensive end and can score with anyone.

But goaltending and defense are 2 different issues altogether.


Dany Sabourin and the Defense

First let me say this...Dany is having a hard time controlling rebounds this year. Last night was horrible as he kept directing rebounds right out to the circles and the center of the ice. You just can't do that and expect to win many games.

BUT I don't blame Dany (entirely) for the goals last night. The first goal was a poorly controlled rebound that dropped at the stick of a Shark. My problem here is that whichever defenseman was following him through the zone didn't tie him up. Not sure which defenseman it was but Miscovic and Nycholat were on the ice.

A very similar play happened at the other end but the Sharks defenseman tied Perreault and kept him from making a play.

The 2nd goal was quite simply a horrible play by Souray and Miscovic. The puck was in the neutral zone and yet they still got caught flat footed by the play and Wingels skated in all alone on Sabourin.

And the 3rd goal...you CAN NOT allow a guy to take a one timer from the faceoff circle. Especially at even strength. That is simply unacceptable. If I remember correctly Andrew Joudrey's guy is the one that scored and Joudrey did make an attempt to block the shot but it was already too late.

Sure, Dany could have made some more saves but he did keep Hershey in the game too. I thought he played OK. Unfortunately I don't think he is capable of winning games by himself and that is what Hershey is asking him to do right now. The defense isn't showing up with any consistency.


Communication

It doesn't appear that anyone on this team is communicating with each other. And that might have something to do with the constant line changing due to injuries and call-ups but it should be a simple and easy thing to correct.

It appeared to me that right now there are 5 guys on the ice playing as individuals instead of as a a team. Clever passes where no one is there, one on one moves when they are unnecessary, and (most importantly) NO ONE GOING TO THE NET!

This is always a problem for teams but this Hershey team is really struggling. There were numerous rebounds left by the Worcester goalie last night but there were no Bears around to take advantage. They were all standing on the outside near the boards.

This team has some big guys too. Greentree, Rome, Pinner, GMac, Rechlicz, and Beagle can all get down low and stir up some chances. But most of them don't want to do that.

Last night there were 2 players that seemed to be okay getting their nose dirty...Beagle and Perreault. And Perry is the smallest player on the ice many games but he was in there going after rebounds and trying to make something happen.

No one else.


Line Makeup

With all the injuries and call ups it has been hard to get any lines any continuity but the lines they are running right now are too scattered and inconsistent.

There is no telling when Aucoin will be back so let's make some changes now.

Kyle Greentree is a scorer in the Giroux mold. Not as good a shot and not as quick a skater (never thought I would say that) but a similar player. Why is he on a line with 2 muckers (Beagle and Rome)?

Put Greentree with Perreault and Gordon and move Willsie down to play with Beagle. Willsie is a great player but he is more of the grinder/mucker type than a scorer. Putting Greentree on the top line with open Gordon up for him to perform.

High energy, grinder lines are what this team needs. Maxime Lacroix and Trevor Bruess are playing great right now and that is what they are doing. I actually think Rome should move to this line with Kugryshev moving to the Beagle/Willsie line.

What all these lines need is balance. A scorer, a grinder and a playmaker. Hershey has some of each but not like last years team.

Putting Greentree with a terrific playmaker like Perreault and allowing Gordon to get to the net and score the 'ugly' goals will definitely help that line.

Beagle has a little playmaker in him but will also get in the corners and muck it up. Putting him with Kugryshev and Willsie will result in hustle goals.

Rome, Lacroix, and Bruess aren't going to score a lot but they will control the puck with the cycle and get a few chances while frustrating the opposition. They will draw penalties and do the dirty work down low.

The last line of Pinner, Kane, and Joudrey is much like the Bruess line. I think Pinner could offer more in the way of offense but I don't see the energy on this line as I do the Bruess line. They don't seem interested in cycling and possessing the puck. Which is what they are all built to do.

With some continuity and communication all of these lines could cause problems for any opposition.


Power Play

One more thing and this is for French.

Why the hell is Souray not on the #1 power play unit? I don't care if you have to put Willsie on the wing or the bench if you don't Souray as your only defenseman but he should absolutely be out there firing away.

Put Willsie, Perry and Gordon out as forwards with Nycholat and Souray on the blue line. I guarantee that goals will be scored.

Then the 2nd line could be Beagle, Greentree and Kurgryshev with Collins/Fahey and Miscovic on the point.

TWO solid lines that can score and produce some consistent pressure.



That's it for today. Hopefully Friday and the weekend go better than the last 4 have gone. Getting 40+ shots a game is good IF they are quality chances which most of Hershey's 40+ weren't last night.

Everyone have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

Bears win 1 of 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LET'S GO BEARS!!!!

Bears depleted as tough stretch begins

It is not a great time for Hershey to be facing all the injury issues they are having. Starting tonight Hershey plays 7 games over the next 10 days. They get Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday off. That's it.

Hershey's injury list looks like a pretty damn good power play unit...

Brian Willsie
Keith Aucoin
Francois Bouchard
Steve Pinizzotto
Sheldon Souray

That's a solid group of players to be missing.

Some good news though...Joel Rechlicz is cleared to return to the lineup. Probably not going to help much on the offensive end but healthy bodies are going to be important over the next 10 days.

Keeping with the healthy bodies theory, Nikita Kashirsky was recalled by the Bears as well. He will surely get into some games this weekend.

The goaltending situation is in better shape. Semyon Varlamov remains in Hershey as he tries to get back into game shape. He is expected to play in 2 games this weekend and then could be recalled to Washington.

As soon as he is recalled, Braden Holtby will surely be reassigned to the Bears. Braden is expected to make his 3rd start for the Caps this weekend but hasn't played much since being called up.

Dany Sabourin will also get a start this weekend.

Tonight Hershey visits Binghamton. And all who were in Hershey on Sunday evening recall what the Bears can do to the Senators. In 2 games this season Hershey has a 15-4 edge in goals and obviously a 2-0 record.

Sunday's game was somewhat lacking in the suspense area as Hershey scored their first goal 70 seconds into the game and finished the 1st period with a 6-0 lead. Included in that 1st period were 4 fights including 3 that came within about 30 seconds of each other. GMac (twice), Wellar, and Oreskovic all threw down with the Senators.

When you go up 6-0 in the first period it is kind of hard to critique the rest of the game as Hershey took their foot off the gas and the defense let up a bit as well. Varly also had the opportunity to relax a bit in net. Not saying any player wasn't trying but I think most players in most sports, on any level, would struggle to keep giving 110% effort when they are up 6 scores. (Just ask Mike Vick and the Eagles)

I have a funny feeling tonight's game is going to go differently against the Senators. They have been embarrassed twice against the Bears and are going to come out with something to prove.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!

Bears playing well this weekend

2 down 1 to go for this 3 in 3 weekend. Personally I think the team has played very well this weekend. Obviously the 3-0 win in Syracuse last night shows that. But the 3-2 loss on Friday doesn't.

You know that feeling when you are trying to say something and you just can't figure out the word you are looking for. Or when you are watching a movie or tv show and an actor comes on and you know you have seen them before but you can't quite remember it. The answer is just at the tip of your tongue....

That's how the Bears played on Friday night. The plays were there, partially made. And then something would go wrong. Either an errant pass, an unlucky bounce, or just a good play from Toronto.

Things just didn't work out for 2.5 periods. You could feel the change though. Just before they scored I felt like bounces had started going their way, the Toronto goalie had started to give up some rebounds, and Hershey was making the passes.

Then the first goal...then the second goal.

And then...ouch. A play that goes fine 99 out of 100 times didn't work out. The bounce went Toronto's way. Sabourin played the puck behind the Hershey net but feeling pressure from behind he rushed the pass and it went directly to a Marlie who put it in the net before Sabs could get back in position.

But don't blame Dany for the loss. If anything you can celebrate him for keeping Hershey in the game. The first 2 goals would have been scored on damn near any goalie in hockey. Great plays by the Marlies and poor defensive positioning led to both.

Sabs kept Hershey in the game with 2 other great 1 on 1 saves in the 2nd and 3rd periods. Without those saves it would have 4-0 before Hershey got on the board.

If you want to blame someone for the loss...blame the defense. They didn't play with any consistency that game.

Or blame the centers...they were dominated in the faceoff circle for much of that game. Whether in the offensive or defensive zone it seemed that the Marlies won all the big faceoffs. Hershey has a 5 on 3 power play...can't win a draw to keep the puck in the zone. Hershey has a big draw when on the penalty kill...the Marlies win and keep possession.

In my opinion Hershey didn't play great on Friday but they did outplay the Marlies. Those games will even themselves out over the course of the season as Hershey will get all the bounces in some games.

The fact that Hershey overcame the tough luck and miscues to tie the game up with a legitimate chance to win says how good this team is.

They rebounded nicely on Saturday night as they out shot the Crunch 40 to 24 and outscored them 3-0. Sabourin made all the saves to pick up Hershey's first shutout of the season. Willsie and Gordon continued their good play picking up their 7th and 8th on the season respectively. And Ashton Rome scored his 4th after being a healthy scratch on Friday.

Tonight Hershey is back home at Giant Center serving host to the Binghamton Senators. In one game against Bingo this year, October 15th in Bingo, Hershey won 7-1 as 6 different Bears scored in that game.

Semyon Varlamov is expected to get the start for Hershey as he prepares to return to the Washington lineup. Varly hasn't played in Hershey since last February 28th in another conditioning assignment. And he hasn't played at all since October 21 when he got the start and the loss in a 4-1 loss in Boston. He has only appeared in 2 games for the Caps this year so rust could be an issue tonight.

Binghamton comes to town at the tail end of a 4 in 5 weekend. They beat Wilkes-Barre on Friday on the road before losing last night to Toronto at home. They haven't scored fewer than 3 goals in their last 5 games but have dropped 2 of those games.

Rookie Bobby Butler is leading the league in goals this season as he has 12 goals in 15 games. 7 of those have come in the last 5 games. And Corey Locke leads the league with 22 points this season as well.

Bingo currently resides in 5th place in the East division, one point behind the Bears. They are 3-2-0-1 on the road this year and 7-6-1-1 overall. Their power play on the road is 24th in the league while their penalty kill is #2 on the road. To compare, Hershey has the 10th best power play at home and the 16th ranked penalty kill at home.

Should be a good one at the GC tonight.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!

MoJo joins Hershey in Charlotte

With the Capitals playing so well at this moment, winners of 3 straight, and all the forwards seemingly healthy (quick...knock on wood) the Caps sent rookie pivot Marcus Johansson to Hershey yesterday. He is expected to play tonight as Hershey goes up against the Charlotte Checkers for the first time.

MoJo had one goal in 6 games with the Caps while playing on the 3rd line alongside Jason Chimera and Eric Fehr.

The adjustment from the Swedish Elite League to a more aggressive North American style has been slower than the organization was looking for. He has played well defensively but has been largely ineffective in the offensive end.

Watching him skate you can see the amazing natural skill that he possesses, very fluid and definitely fast. He obviously has tremendous upside.

But the Caps are looking to win this year and with the team getting off to a slow start they don't have time to wait for a rookie to get up to speed. So while his reassignment to Hershey might be for just a short while, don't be surprised if he doesn't hang out with the Bears for the foreseeable future.

All of that will depend on what injuries Washington will have to deal with. I would say that until someone gets hurt all of the 'call-ups' will remain in Hershey. The organization would rather see Johansson play in Hershey then sit on the bench in Washington.


In other roster news, Dmitry Kugryshev and Johann Kroll were assigned to South Carolina for the weekend. Due to the longer trip the Bears were traveling with a smaller team and instead of leaving the two in Washington they sent them to help the Stingrays in their 3 in 3 this weekend.

Both are expected back in Hershey after the 2 game trip to Charlotte.


Now onto tonight's game.

Let's talk about the Charlotte Checkers. They are the new/old affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes. Last season they were the Albany River Rats in the AHL. But the Charlotte Checkers were an ECHL team last year too. So it is kind of a new/old affiliate.

Either way most of the players on the roster were Albany River Rats last year...minus one big name...Justin Peters. Their top goalie from last year is now in the NHL backing up Cam Ward in Carolina. That has apparently hurt this team a little bit. Last year they challenged Hershey for much of the year and finished 2nd in the East division. This year, with many of the same players, they are in 5th place after 14 games with only 5 wins.

But you have to expect that at some point the big players will get the team together. 9 of the top 10 scorers from last year are still there including former Bear Oskar Osala. Joining him are Stefan Chaput, Zach Boychuk, Jacob Micflikier, Chris Terry, Drayson Bowman, Nick Dodge, Jerome Samson, and Bryan Rodney.

Add to that mix a few college players, Zac Dalpe (played 9 AHL games last year and scored 6 goals in them) and Riley Nash. As well as some guys who made the move from juniors to the A, Matt Kennedy, Jared Staal (yes another Staal brother), and Michal Jordan.

And a few veterans joined the team as well. C Jonathan Matsumoto comes over from Adirondack where he scored 30 goals and added 32 assists last season. (Matsumoto is currently playing in the NHL) D Ethan Graham joins the team after spending 09-10 with Texas, Norfolk, Milwaukee, and the ECHL version of the Checkers. Also coming over is D Bobby Sanguinetti who served on Hartford's blueline the past 2 years.

Expect this team to gel and find their legs going forward. Lots of talent and scoring depth returns from last year and plenty of new faces, young and old, team up with them.

So far this season they have struggled to keep the puck out of their own net more so than scoring it themselves. They have allowed the 3rd most goals against, 41, in the AHL so far. Justin Pogge and Mike Murphy have each played 7 games and neither has much to show for it.

This will be the Checkers 3rd game in as many nights (actually this is an afternoon tilt with a 3:00 start time) and then a 4th in 5 nights as the Bears and Checkers play again on Tuesday.

Those kind of schedules will be a common thing for the Checkers as teams have to travel further than usual to play them. That usually means a couple games back to back instead of traveling all that way just to play one game. Something they will likely adjust to as the season moves along.

Helping them get their legs this afternoon will be a Hershey team that hasn't played since last Sunday. That's a substantial amount of time between games for a team so it will be interesting to see how the Bears come out today.


Hershey Bears
record ~ 6-3-0-1 13 points
standings ~ 3rd in East Division
most recent game ~ 7-3 Win vs Manchester, 10/31
last 5 games ~ 4-1-0-0
road record ~ 3-1-0-1
goals for ~ 40
goals against ~29
power play ~ 19.6% (9th)
penalty kill ~ 79.7% (21st)


Charlotte Checkers
record ~ 5-6-1-2 13 points
standings ~ 5th in East Division
most recent game ~ 3-1 Win @ Norfolk, 11/6
last 5 games ~ 3-0-0-2
home record ~ 1-2-0-2
goals for ~ 38
goals against ~ 41
power play ~ 17.3% (15th)
penalty kill ~ 87.5% (7th)

last time teams met - First of 8 meetings this season. Hershey went 6-2 against the Rats last season including 2-2 in Albany. Hershey outscored Albany 41-21 over the course of the season and none of the games were really close as only 2 of the 8 games were with 2 goals and neither were 1 goal games.


Players to watch:

Hershey:

C Marcus Johansson (17) - Making his Hershey debut today. Hasn't played in a while and was more of a defensive center when he did play. How will Hershey use him today?
RW Andrew Gordon (10) - Leads the Bears in goals with 7, and is 2nd on the team in points with 15.
RW Brian Willsie (18) - Promoted to the top line for the Manchester game, he has 5 goals and 6 assists on the season.

Charlotte:

C Zach Boychuk (11) - Leading the team in points with 13 and second on the team in goals with 6 through 14 games.
RW Jerome Samson (17) - Last years top scorer is leading the team again in goals with 7 and is 2nd on the team in points with 11.
LW Oscar Osala (32) - Finished 2nd on Rats with 24 goals last season (16 of those were in Hershey), he has 2 goals and 6 assists to start this season.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!

Pens getting best of Bears early

Are the Pens going to dominate the East division like Hershey did last year?

That is a question being asked by a few people lately.

The typical answer is...its too early to know.

But the honest answer is....hell no.

Sure the Pens are 8-0-0-0 and all of those have come against the division. That definitely gives them a good start on the East division race but it isn't necessarily indicative of how good a team they really are.

In fact I would say that they are actually weak offensively at this point in the season. Defense has carried them so far. 15 goals allowed in 8 games is impressive...especially considering that 5 of their game were against teams that average 3 or more goals per game (Hershey averages 4, Charlotte 3).

But outside of Hershey they haven't played anyone with a winning record. Okay...technically Binghamton has a winning record, 4-3-1-1, but in reality it is 4-5. They have played the Phantoms twice, Charlotte twice, and Bingo once. 3 teams that are not in the top 8 in the conference at this point including 2 (Adir and Char) that have a combined 5 wins in 22 games (5 wins!! ouch).

And their dominance of Hershey is not exactly unheard of...in 08-09 they won 5 straight against Hershey, outscoring the Bears 23-15. But outside of one game, a 6-2 Pens win, all the games were one goal games including 2 shootout wins.

This year...through 3 games...the Pens have a 6-2 win and 2 other one goal games..including a shootout victory.

See any similarities?

Remind me how that season turned out....oh yeah...the 10th Calder Cup in franchise history!

It is way too early in the season to worry about anything let alone the Pens dominance in 3 games against the Bears this season. Hershey will be fine, both against the Pens and in the division.

Another successful 3 in 3

What an interesting weekend we just witnessed. 3 different games, 3 different opponents, and 3 different Bears teams. Or so it seemed.

Friday started off poorly as Hershey fell behind 2-0 early in the 2nd before springing to life to pick up a 4-3 overtime win in Syracuse.

Saturday was one that we would all love to forget. A 6-2 handling on home ice at the hands of the Baby Pens.

Sunday was an exciting game to see as goals came fast and furious throughout the first as Hershey skated to a 7-3 win over Manchester.

It was an interesting weekend for Hershey goaltenders as well. Braden Holtby remained on recall to Washington which meant Todd Ford and Dany Sabourin would be in goal for Hershey.

Neither goalie looked great and both finished with a win, Sabourin's on Friday and Ford's on Sunday, with an ugly performance stuck in the middle. Sabourin got the start against the Pens but was pulled early in the 1st period after giving up 3 goals on 7 shots. Ford played a little better allowing 3 goals on 16 shots. Overall it was a poor performance across the board for the Bears Saturday night.

But they returned the favor on Sunday to the Monarchs. Manchester's starting goalie, Jeff Zartoff, managed to hang in for about 15 minutes but that was only because Hershey didn't get many shots on him up to that point. At one point Hershey had 3 goals on 3 shots. Zartoff ended up giving up 4 goals on 5 shots before being pulled in favor of youngster Martin Jones. Jones played much better as he allowed only 1 more goal on 14 shots.

It wasn't enough though as Hershey held Manchester to 3 goals and picked up 2 empty netters in the closing minutes.

The weekend ended up a success as the Bears went 2-1 for the second weekend in a row. If they could just find a way to beat those damn Penguins...(more on that coming in a couple days).


One thing I wanted to say though is this....it is still early. I saw a comment somewhere that this team is mediocre at best and another asking if the Pens were that good or is Hershey just bad.

It's EARLY!

Hershey has only played 10 games....only 70 to go!

They have dealt with injuries (Souray, McNeill, Rechlicz)....
They have had a fair share of callups (Perreault, Beagle, Holtby, Fahey)....
And they are still breaking in a relatively new lineup (Greentree, Willsie, Nycholat).

And please keep this in mind too...last season was incredible. It was a once in a lifetime kind of season. All the pieces fell into place as Hershey set record after record on their way to the Cup.

Add to that 3 Finals appearances in the previous 4 years (4 in 5 total) and I think we could all say that we are kind of spoiled. Most teams don't see the Calder Cup Finals at all and we have been watching hockey into mid June for a while.

This years Bears team is good. I said to start the year that I think offensively they could compete with last years team (assuming call ups don't kill the team) but defensively and in goal there are serious concerns. They can no longer rely on Alzner and Carlson on the blueline or Neuvirth in net. And considering the durability of a certain goalie in Washington I am not sure Holtby will be around too often either.

This team is skilled and can play with anyone. Yes they have lost to Wilkes Barre 3 times to start the season. And yes the Pens are undefeated after 8 games. And yes they have come out slow multiple times already.

But all of those things happened in the past 2 years as well....and guess what happened come Spring...

Hershey was celebrating with the Calder Cup in mid June.

There is lots of hockey to play yet in 2010-11.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!

Bears visit Crunch to kick off 3 in 3

Well it has been an interesting week in regards to call ups and injuries for Hershey. Braden Holtby, Brian Fahey, and Mathieu Perreault are on recall to Washington while Sheldon Souray and Joel Rechlicz are out with injuries.

Rechlicz had his nose broken in a fight while Souray broke his hand in a fight. Hopefully it heals quickly as he broke his right hand last December and then proceeded to miss the remainder of the season due to an infection in that hand. Rechlicz has begun skating on his own again so a return is expected sooner than later. Souray is expected to remain sidelined for a couple of weeks.

Who knows what will happen in Washington. Semyon Varlamov is injured again so Holtby is getting a chance. He is expected to get a start on the Caps current 3 game road trip.

The Caps were having enough problems on defense this week that Lawrence Nycholat was down practicing with the team. He is not under contract with the Caps so it was likely more of a tryout than anything. But that shows that the Caps are struggling with injuries on the blueline right now and might be in need of more bodies soon.

Perreault has played well since his call up with 2 assists in 2 games played so far. (As of this moment he has no points in 2 periods of the game against the Wild). I know the team would love to keep him up there but once Marcus Johansson is healthy it is expected that Perry will return to Hershey.

Dylan Yeo was recalled from South Carolina and Todd Ford remains in Hershey to help the Bears fill out their roster. Expect both to get in some time this weekend. Dany Sabourin will likely start 2 of the 3 games this weekend with Ford getting the other start. And Yeo will likely rotate through the defensive lineup this weekend.

This will be Hershey's second 3 in 3 in as many weeks and many of the guys were feeling some aches and pains after a rough back to back against the Phantoms. The week off was surely welcome to rest before this weekends games.

First up is Syracuse. Last year Hershey went 5-1 against the Crunch but that was a completely different team. Thanks to the AHL going to 30 teams the Crunch are now affiliated with the Anaheim Ducks. Last year the Ducks did not have an official affiliate as they sent players to multiple teams.

And they have surely stocked the Crunch will some young talent. Let's put it in perspective...Syracuse has 25 players listed on their AHL.com roster. 14 of those players were born in 1988 or later. Hershey also has 25 players on their roster...only 2 of them (Francois Bouchard and Dmitry Kugryshev) were born in 1988 or later.

Of those 14 Crunch players that are 22 or younger, 10 of them are forwards and 4 of them are in the top 6 on the team in scoring. The other 2 in the top 6 are defensemen and 1 of them is younger than 22. The only player over the age of 22 in the top 6 in scoring on the team is D Brett Festerling and he is 24. Festerling is still younger than 19 Bears!

So it is young vs veteran Friday night in Syracuse. Should be a good one!


Hershey Bears
record ~ 4-2-0-1 9 points
standings ~ 3rd in East Division
most recent game ~ 4-2 Win vs Adirondack, 10/24
last 5 games ~ 3-2-0-0
road record ~ 2-2-0-0
goals for ~ 27
goals against ~17
power play ~ 26.3% (4th)
penalty kill ~ 81.1% (19th)


Syracuse Crunch
record ~ 3-3-0-1 7 points
standings ~ 5th in East Division
most recent game ~ 5-4 Loss @ Hamilton, 10/27
last 5 games ~ 3-2-0-0
home record ~ 2-0-0-1
goals for ~ 16
goals against ~ 16
power play ~ 16.7% (14th)
penalty kill ~ 93.9% (2nd)

last time teams met - First of six meetings this season. Hershey went 5-1 against the Crunch last year including 2-1 on the road. Hershey outscored Syracuse 26-12 in those games.


Players to watch:

Hershey:

RW Andrew Gordon (10) - Leads Hershey and is tied for 2nd in the league with 6 goals this season. Also tied for 4th in the league in scoring with 11 points.
C Keith Aucoin (11) - Leads the Bears and the league in scoring with 13 points this season. He has 3 goals and 10 assists.
RW Ashton Rome (26) - 3 goals and an assist in the last 2 games.

Syracuse:

RW Kyle Palmieri (26) - 2009 1st round draft pick is leading team in goals with 5 and in points with 6. Had a hat trick Wednesday night against Hamilton.
LW Nicolas Deschamps (16) - Second on the team in points with 5 and goals with 3. Currently on a 4 game point streak with all of his points (3g, 2a) coming in those 4 games.
LW Brandon McMillan (15) - The 3rd rookie on this list he is also second on the team in goals with 3 but unlike Deschamps he has no assists this season.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!

Solid weekend for Bears

I didn't get to see any of the Friday game in Wilkes-Barre and I only saw a few minutes of the Saturday game in Hershey. But I was in Hershey for the Sunday game and I have to be honest...I thought Hershey played great.

Even though it appeared that they started slowly, giving up 2 goals in the first 10 minutes, I thought they were actually the better team from start to finish. They just didn't get the bounces early and the Phantoms did. They were out-hitting, out-hustling, and simply out-playing the Phantoms damn near all game.

In the end Hershey responded with 4 unanswered goals to beat the Phantoms for the 2nd straight night. I never really felt that the outcome was in doubt either. It just seemed like Hershey was the better team playing better hockey while getting a few unlucky bounces.

So the weekend ended up pretty good as Hershey scored 11, allowed 5 and went 2-1.

But it didn't start out as well as Washington recalled the Bears #2 and #3 centers, Perreault and Beagle, before the game Friday night.

It isn't easy to replace 2 very good centers on any notice let alone short notice. Having no time to work with other combinations is not easy but Hershey still managed 32 shots against Wilkes-Barre. Not sure the quality of those shots but getting 32 isn't bad.

Saturday and Sunday were different games though. Hershey, who had some trouble with Adirondack last year, came out and played as physical as they have all season. Guys like Grant McNeill, Steve Pinizzotto, and Boyd Kane were on top of their game all weekend.

Those games also featured 4 fights and 31 penalties over the two evenings. Sheldon Souray, Trevor Bruess, Ashton Rome, and GMac all threw down against the Phantoms. I saw GMac's bout, very impressive, and I have heard that Souray looked pretty good on Saturday night too.

But playing physical doesn't get the job done by itself...you still have to score goals. Rome and Andrew Gordon did that okay as both scored 3 times over the 3 games. They accounted for over half of the Bears 11 goals during their 3 in 3. Other goal scorers were Willsie, Joudrey, Greentree, Pinner, and Kane.

Braden Holtby, who just got recalled to Washington, won both games against the Phantoms while Dany Sabourin, who was on recall Sunday but returned today, picked up the loss against the Pens.

Hopefully Holtby will be back before Hershey plays again on Friday but if not Todd Ford might see some time in net this weekend as the Bears have another 3 in 3 this upcoming weekend.

In the end what started out as a poor weekend with callups and a loss turned into an solid 2-1, 4 point showing. Sure, losing to the Baby Pens for the second time this year was disappointing but if you go 2-1 during every 3 in 3 you will end up in pretty good position come April.

Bears visit Pens....some random thoughts as well

With the season only 4 games old for Hershey there is little to discuss as the Bears head up 81 to Wilkes Barre for tonight's game against the Baby Pens. For the most part the same players to play in the game a couple weeks ago will play tonight.

While Hershey has gone 2-1-0-1 in their first 4 the Pens have gone 4-0 in their opening 4. Tim Wallace is leading the team in goals with 3 while Jeffrey, Vitale and Wagner are tied at 2.

Tonight will kick off Hershey's first 3 in 3 of the season as Adirondack visits Saturday and Sunday.


But since there is little to discuss between the teams this early in the year I have some random thoughts I would like to share...

Sheldon Souray

I think Souray spends the entire 10-11 season in Hershey. I might have touched on this previously but I can't remember. The reason is that no team is going to want his salary for 11-12. The Oilers can place him on re-entry waivers at any point which would allow another NHL team to add him to their roster while only paying half of his 10-11 salary which would be about 2.5ish million. BUT that would still leave that team on the hook for his 2011-12 salary of 5.4 million...and not too many teams want that.

Honestly I think one team that could (and might...read the next point) be willing to add his salary could be the Caps. If he proves he can stay healthy the Capitals could move some players to get him. I can assure you he will come cheaper than most in terms of prospects/picks as the Oilers just want to get rid of him.

Washington Trades

I think Washington will trade some prospects this year, whether at the deadline or before. The development of players like Patrick McNeill and Sean Collins will go a long way in determining that. There is not a lot of NHL ready defensive depth in the organization this year compared to last year when Karl Alzner and John Carlson were in Hershey.

Currently Tyler Sloan is the #7 defenseman in the organization and the drop to #8 is pretty big I think. McNeill, Collins, and Fahey (already called up once) are the top contenders but are any capable of playing in the NHL for extended periods? That is an unknown. I could see a situation where an injury forces Washington to trade for a defenseman to fill in.

As mentioned above that could mean Hershey trades some of their prospects/picks to the Oilers for Souray. How bad would that be...losing Souray and others midseason? Not a good situation if it happens.

Chris Bourque

I wouldn't be surprised to see Bourque back in Hershey this season. 2 reasons...1, he is already unhappy overseas and 2, his rights are still owned by the Caps/Bears which means if he comes back he is likely to end up here first. He left his Russian team already and is playing professionally in Switzerland (he has 2g 1a in 3 games so far).

European players have until December (I think) to return to the US to play. Not saying it will happen but don't be surprised if he shows up in Hershey.

LET'S GO BEARS!!
BEAT THE PENS!!

Links and Photos

Here are some interesting links that I found about the Bears this week and below those you will find some pictures I took and I found from the Calder Cup ring ceremony last weekend...

Hershey Trio Working Toward Return Trip - Corey Masisak, CSN Washington

Jersey Auction Results - RocktheRed.net

Gustafsson Hangs Up His Skates - Ravings of a Rink Rebel

More on Gustafsson - RocktheRed.net

Championship Rings - Sweetest Hockey on Earth - I borrowed some of these photos (see below)

Amerks spoil celebration

The video presentation...awesome.

The player introductions...great.

The ring ceremony...amazing.

The banner drop...fantastic.

The game itself...not so much.

After an amazing pregame ceremony celebrating (for the last time) the 2009-10 Calder Cup Championship the Amerks silenced the crowd and left Hershey with a road win...something not many teams can say they have recently.

Hershey started out great. Skating hard, getting to loose pucks, taking the body, and jumped out to a 1-0 league on Brian Willsie's (2nd of year) power play tally 6 minutes in.

But after about 10 minutes Hershey seemed to disappear while Rochester found their legs. Some of that is to be expected. Lots of emotion on the ice before the game, lots of standing around waiting, and lots of guys that weren't a part of it that were stuck watching. All of that has an effect on teams. Hershey came out firing and then tailed off while Rochester, who were stuck in the lock room for an extra 15-20 minutes, came out slow and then turned it on.

For the middle 40 minutes Rochester controlled the play. They were more physical, they were getting to the loose pucks, and they took control on the scoreboard, taking a 3-1 after 2 periods.

Hershey did make it interesting late after Andrew Gordon scored his 3rd of the year on another power play. They pushed hard over the last 10 minutes and on multiple occasions almost got the puck past the Rochester goalie, Jacob Markstrom. Even in the closing seconds they had chances...one or two more ticks on the clock and Hershey might have scored.

But they didn't. It's only one game and with all the extracurricular activities taking place before the game I think we can chalk this up to a team just not as focused as their opponent. Nothing to worry about.

Dany Sabourin got his first start of the season after being reassigned by Washington on Friday. Honestly, he looked bad to start the game. Coach French said that he probably didn't have a chance at any of the goals, but I would tend to disagree with that. Sure the Amerks played well but Dany could have gotten some of them.

But remember he hadn't played in a while. He served as the backup to Neuvirth in Washington since the season started on the 8th. And he hadn't played in an actual game since a preseason game on October 3rd when he played about 25 minutes. So while Dany (and French) won't use rust as an excuse I think it is a legitimate argument for his play early on. As the game went on he made some great saves so I think it was just a matter of getting his feet under him and seeing some real game action.

It didn't help that his defense was letting guys crash the net and stand in front of him either. Overall it was a great game for about 20 minutes and a terrible game for the middle 40.

I am pretty confident the real Bears were the ones playing at the beginning and the end of the game.


My Three Stars of the Game:

1. Michal Repik - a goal and an assist for the Amerks
2. Joe Callahan - 2 assists, both the primary assists
3. Andrew Gordon - 1 goal and played hard the whole game

What Went Right:

• The Power Play - they had 5 chances and scored twice which is pretty good overall. At times they were a little to 'cute' and looking for the extra and/or perfect pass but overall they had consistent good pressure.
• The Penalty Kill - on 7 opportunities the Amerks managed only 1 goal and that came with 1 second left on Kroll's penalty in the first period. There were some tense moments as Rochester did get set up a couple times but overall, like the power play, a very good performance.
• The Pre-Game - the celebration was great. Seeing the 79-80 Bears team handing out rings to last years players was pretty cool, even though I wasn't born when that team won. Lots of people around me seemed to really enjoy seeing the players. The announcement that Mitch Lamoureux will be inducted into the Hall of Fame was pretty cool too. And how about that video presentation...great too see the highlights and I thought the scenes of the players getting dressed in the locker room were pretty cool too. Great job on that!
• Souray's shot - how about that slapshot. He let it rip a couple of times in the 1st and it was quite impressive...a definite weapon that will surely play dividends for the Bears this season.

What Didn't Go So Well:

• Too Many Penalties - Hershey gave Rochester 7 power plays and took 9 penalties in all. And a lot of those were the of the lazy skating variety, hooking, tripping, and slashing...all signs that Hershey was being outworked. Yes there were some questionable calls by referee Ryan Fraser but I think the only 'bad' call was the Boyd Kane slash at the end of the 2nd. Most of the others were the right call...the problem was that there were calls that should have been made against Rochester that weren't.
• The Middle 40 Minutes - the overall play, from the goalie to the forwards, was seriously lacking for most of the game. They were sharp early and corrected it late but the middle was bad. Not totally unexpected but bad nonetheless.

Bears welcome Amerks in 10-11 home opener

Tonight the Bears will put the final touches on the 2009-10 season as they receive their championship rings and drop the 11th Calder Cup Championship banner. Festivities kick off at 6:15 so make sure you get to your seat early to see it all. Surely there will be an awesome video on the big board as well.

It should be fun.

But after that we get a special treat as well. Sheldon Souray and Michael Nylander are both expected to suit up for the game tonight. And they are making a ton of money this season!

Just for some perspective (and some fun) I ran some numbers. I looked at all the AHL salaries (according to capgeek.com) for the Bears and Americans. Obviously there are some players not included as they are on AHL only deals, players such as Nycholat, Wellar, and Kane. So this is not a perfect calculation but I think there is still some wiggle room for my findings.

Here is the finding (and what I assumed going in):

Both Souray and Nylander will make more this season then all the players on both teams playing tonight.

Souray is scheduled to make 5.4 million and Nylander 4.875 million.

The Bears are scheduled to make about 2.5 million. And that includes Sean Collins, who many don't know is actually on a 1-way contract and will make $675,000 this season, Dany Sabourin who is scheduled to make $250,000, and Keith Aucoin's $300,000. You eliminate those 3 salaries and the numbers are even more impressive.

The Americans are scheduled to make 1.645 million this year. And that includes Clay Wilson's 1-way deal for $500,000.

Rochester + Hershey = 4.1 million!

That is ridiculous. And awesome at the same time. There are some players missing (5 for Rochester and 7 for Hershey) that are on AHL/ECHL deals so there numbers don't appear on the site. Assuming they all make $50k a year they still come up short of Nyles and Souray.

Okay...enough of that. Let's talk hockey now.


The Bears come into this game on an offensive high as they dominated the Binghamton Senators last night 7-1 up in New York.

Rochester is coming in off a losing effort at home last night to Hamilton 5-2.

Rochester was up 2-0 in the first period of that game after 2 power play goals late in the period but Hamilton stormed back with 1 in the last 30 seconds of the first period and 2 goals in each of the 2nd and 3rd periods.

The Americans come in with a record of 1-2 as they lost to Hershey last Sunday and to the Bulldogs last night.

Hershey meanwhile is 2-0-1 with a shootout loss to Wilkes-Barre the only blemish on their record to this point.

Players to Watch tonight:

Hershey:

• RW Brian Willsie (18) - he scored a goal and added 3 assists last night
• C Keith Aucoin (11) - he had 2 assists last night and had 2 goals and an assist against Rochester last weekend
• D Sheldon Souray (7) - assuming the veteran plays again tonight it will be interesting to see his skill set and how it translates to the AHL

Rochester:

• D Clay Wilson (5) - the defenseman has 3 goals to lead the team right now including one against the Bears last weekend
• D Mike Kostka (28) - another defenseman leading the team in a category...assists, with 3
• C Michal Nylander (19) - since the post was partially about him I figured I would include him. He has only 1 goal and is a team worst -4 this year.