6 games, 10 days, 8 points...not bad

I tried to watch the games Friday and Saturday night but thank you AHL Live for screwing that up for me. Unfortunately I had a meeting and didn't get to see Sunday's game so everything I am giving you today is from the little I was able to see against the Phantoms and from Tim Leone's articles and the score sheets.

Overall Hershey went 3-1-0-2 in the past 10 days. Not bad although it could have been better. The blow out loss at home to the lowly Providence Bruins was kind of a downer the night before Thanksgiving but after that it got better with a beatdown of Adirondack Friday night. Then they let us down again in a shootout against the same Phantom team before coming up with a great performance against the flightless water fowl on Sunday night at Giant Center.

22 goals scored, 8 different goal scorers, 15 goals allowed, 3 different goalies. Not a bad 6 games. And more impressively is that Giroux wasn't one of the top goal scorers and wasn't even there for the last 3 games of the weekend. But other players stepped up when needed. Of the 8 goal scorers only 2 tallied only one goal...Keith Aucoin and Trevor Bruess.

Boyd Kane scored 6 times over the last 6 games and Kyle Wilson and Andrew Gordon scored 4 times each. Giroux (2), Michael Dubuc (2), and Darren Reid (2) scored the remaining goals. It was overall a very good team effort over the 6 games.

The most impressive performance of the 10 days was probably Michal Neuvirth's goaltending job against Wilkes Barre on Sunday. As I mentioned above I didn't get to see it so I can't attest to the claim of 42 shots for the Pens but either way none of them went in. 42 shots, 42 saves and a 5-0 Bears win.

Some games Neuvy is absolutely unbeatable and then others he seems to lose focus a bit and relax too much. If he can figure that part of the game out I can assure you that we won't see him in Hershey for too much longer. He is potentially the best goalie in the system when he is on his game and that is saying alot considering Varly and Holtby.

Good run of games. Only 11 games over the next 31 days should give the team a chance to get healthy. It will also test their concentration with extended time off in between most of their games. Fortunately the month includes two 3 in 3 weekends which should keep them focused.

Also it will be nice to see some different teams for a change. After playing Binghamton, Wilkes Barre, and Adirondack a combined 11 times in the first 23 games they don't play any of them in December. Games against Norfolk, Rochester, and Albany dominate the month.

A great start to the season considering the callups and injuries the team has played through. Leading the team in goals, 5th in the league in goals against, and a 7 point lead in the division.

Not too bad.

Okay start to 6 games in 10 days

Friday night in Binghamton the Bears continued their dominance in New York beating the Senators 5-2 for their third win in that building this season. Everything appeared to be going well as they started a 6 games in 10 days stretch with the Springfield Falcons coming to Hershey Saturday night.

But unfortunately Springfield goaltender Devan Dubnyk managed to control the game by making 29 saves during play and then another 5 in the shootout to give the Falcons a 3-2 shootout win.

It was Hershey's first shootout of the season and only the second game that even made it to overtime. Last season the Bears played in 17 overtime or shootout games and were 7-6 in 13 shootouts. Maybe it is just me but I never feel like Hershey (or Washington for that matter) is any good in the shootouts. Last season was better with Varlamov and Neuvirth in net but when Freddie or Cheese was in there I always felt the Bears were at a disadvantage.

Luckily though shootouts don't exist in the playoffs and eventually another shot would have gotten past Dubnyk. And it wasn't like the Springfield offense was bringing much as they only finished with 18 shots (1 for the shootout win).

Any way you look at it the Bears finished last weekend with 3 of 4 points and have the chance at 8 more points this weekend with 3 home games and a trip to Adirondack.

Tomorrow night in the lone Wednesday night home game of the season the Bears welcome in the (last place) Providence Bruins. Hershey beat the Bruins in Providence 5-1 an November 8th so the Bruins will be looking to get one back.

Hershey welcomes back defenseman John Carlson and forward Andrew Gordon from Washington as the Caps are finally starting to get healthy.

Looking forward to a nice 4-win holiday weekend.

Bears visit Senators tonight

The past two weekends the Bears answered questions about how they will respond when knocked down. And this weekend they will get to answer a couple more questions....

How will the team handle callups to multiple key players (Carlson, Beagle, Perreault, Neuvirth)?
Can the other goaltenders (Bacashihua and Holtby) step up?

Perry has been up in Washington for a while now so they have already played without him. Beagle has also been up for a couple games. But Neuvirth and Carlson just went up and won't be back this weekend.

Add to those callups the fact that Hershey faces a schedule of 6 games in the next 10 days, 4 of those against division opponents. Hershey's depth helps them in these situations but with multiple callups the depth is not as good as it was 2 weeks ago. Every team faces stretches like this but the Bears can make a statement by coming up with wins in the next 10 days.


Hershey Bears
record ~ 12-5-0-0 24 points
standings ~ 1st in East Division
most recent game ~ 3-1 Win vs Wilkes-Barre, 11/14
last 5 games ~ 4-1-0-0
road record ~ 7-3-0-0
goals for ~ 60
goals against ~35
power play ~ 12.7% (20th)
penalty kill ~ 92.2% (5th)


Binghamton Senators
record ~ 8-7-2-1 19 points
standings ~ 4th in East Division
most recent game ~ 2-1 SO Win @ Hartford, 11/18
last 5 games ~ 3-1-0-1
home record ~ 2-4-1-1
goals for ~ 55
goals against ~ 56
power play ~ 16.0% (12th)
penalty kill ~ 85.7% (12th)

last time teams met - Binghamton won 5-2 in Hershey on 10/24.


Players to watch:

Hershey:

LW Alexandre Giroux (12)- Leading the team in goals (8) and points (21) he has 1 goal and 3 assists in the past 3 games.
C Keith Aucoin (11) - Tied for second on the team in goals with 7 and has dominated in the month of November. 6 goals and 2 assists this month including 3 goals and 4 assists in his last 4 games.
D Karl Alzner (7) - Not a typical point producer he has a goal and 2 assists in his last three games and is a team best +14.

Senators:

RW Ryan Keller (28) - Leading the Sens in goals (10) and points (19) he has scored 2 goals and 2 assists in the past 2 games.
C Martin St. Pierre (39) - Second on the team in goals (7) and points (18) he has only produced 1 point (assist) against Hershey this season but has registered a point in 6 straight games (2g, 4a).
LW Denis Hamel (17) - Producing at a good pace lately with points in 5 straight. 4 goals and 4 assists in those 5 games.


LET'S GO BEARS!!!

Beags and Neuvy with Capitals

Jay Beagle and Michal Neuvirth were recalled by the Capitals today. Neither is expected to play tonight against the Rangers however.

Jose Theodore is back in Washington tending to personal matters so Neuvy will serve as the backup to Semyon Varlamov tonight.

David Steckel took a puck off the foot at practice yesterday and his condition is somewhat unknown. IF he can't go Beags will replace him in the lineup.

Bears on a roll

The last time I wrote here (sorry about the lack of posts) I asked if the Bears were going to answer after their deflating performance against Portland.

They did.

Following that game in Portland they traveled to Manchester (1st in Atlantic) and dominated them. Then they went to Providence and dominated there.

Not bad. Dominated teams from the Atlantic division that they will see only 2 times a year. But how would they do against a team they play against 8+ times a season.

Well they got the chance to prove themselves again this past weekend in Hershey. And they passed that test as well.

Norfolk (4th in East) came to town Friday night and jumped out to a 1 goal lead just over a minute into the game. But Hershey answered and continued answering on their way to a 5-3 win.

Then Wilkes-Barre came to town Saturday (currently in 2nd in division) hoping to end the Bears run. They couldn't. I didn't get to see it but it sounds like it was a somewhat fluky win but a wins a win and the Bears are up 6 points in the division.

6 points is nice but lets face it...its early. There are lots of games to play and injuries to come. Mathieu Perreault remains on recall to Washington and very well could remain there for much of the season. Although Keith Aucoin could return to Washington as well for a time. Who knows.

Either way...the Bears have played a quarter of their road games and are 7-3 with 39 goals scored. They have scored (almost) an entire goal more per road game than home game this season. (5-2 with 21 goals for at home)

Two more things before I am done....

1. Michal Neuvirth has played extremely well the past 2 weekends. He has played in all 4 games since the Portland loss and has obviously won all 4. In those games...he has a .946 save percentage and about a 1.50 goals against average. And since the start of November he is 5-0 with a .942 save percentage and a 1.60 goals against average. Nice!

2. Dean Arsene was called up to Edmonton for the game yesterday in Atlanta. Unfortunately for Deano he was a healthy scratch and did not make his pro debut but hopefully he will get his chance soon enough. Congrats Deano on getting the call up...we are all pulling for you to get a game with the Oilers soon!!

Poor performance in Portland

I watched part of the game last night and it was a disappointing effort for much of the game. The first 10 minutes were good. It was how most road teams start out...lots of energy, some good chances, and overall good play. But if teams don't convert in those first minutes the home team begins to take hold of momentum and dominate.

That is how last night went for Hershey. The Bears came out great and dominated play for the first 8-10 minutes. Then it ended.

Portland scored their first goal, then their second, third, fourth, and finally their fifth goal. Yes that's right, the top team in the East division lost to the LAST PLACE team in the Atlantic division 5-0.

Teams have to show up every game for 60 minutes and unfortunately Hershey only showed up for a few minutes last night.

Next up for Hershey is a trip to Manchester to play the Monarchs. The Monarchs, first place in the Atlantic, have already beaten the Bears this season, in Hershey 2-1. So this game will be a good indication of what the Hershey Bears are this season.

Are they a team that will show up after a bad loss?

Will they avenge an earlier defeat?

Can they beat top competition on the road?

Great test tonight for the 09-10 Bears. It is time to forget about the long season and short summer. Time to forget about what worked last season. Time to focus on now and the next opponent. Time to figure out what will work with this team THIS YEAR.

Aucoin and Perreault performing well in new spots

Today marks the 2nd game of the 4 game 5 night New England tour for the Hershey Bears. After beating Lowell 5-2 on Wednesday night they visit Portland to play the last place Pirates.

Keith Aucoin returned to the Bears on Wednesday and promptly showed the Capitals that he is a player on the larger stage. Coiner returned and promptly scored a hat trick in Lowell. That comes on the heels of scoring 5 points in 8 games with the Caps.

Taking his place in Washington was the (apparently now 5'10") Mathieu Perreault. He played in his first NHL game Wednesday night and recorded assists on both of Washington's 2 goals. So he went from being 5'8" and playing on the top line in the AHL to 5'10" and getting 2 assists in only 10.5 minutes of ice time in the NHL.

I am not surprised by his hot start in the NHL. He is a traditional playmaker that will make those around him much better. I am somewhat surprised that he is listed at 5'10" although if they measured him while he was on his skates I could see it or if he was standing on a stool.

Both players played well in the NHL and both are game changers in the AHL. Glad to have either or both in Hershey!


Hershey Bears
record ~ 8-4-0-0 16 points
standings ~ 1st in East Division
most recent game ~ 5-2 Win @ Lowell, 11/4
last 5 games ~ 4-1-0-0
road record ~ 5-2-0-0
goals for ~ 43
goals against ~24
power play ~ 13.8% (16th)
penalty kill ~ 93.3% (4th)


Portland Pirates
record ~ 4-8-0-0 8 points
standings ~ Last in Atlantic Division
most recent game ~ 4-3 Loss @ Syracuse, 10/23
last 5 games ~ 2-3-0-0
home record ~ 3-1-0-0
goals for ~ 31
goals against ~ 47
power play ~ 12.1% (25th)
penalty kill ~ 70.9% (29th)

last time teams met - Hershey won 3-2 at home on Sunday, October 25th.


Players to watch:

Hershey:

LW Alexandre Giroux (12)- After last seasons amazing run he is picking up where he left off with 7 goals and 10 assists in only 8 games.
C Keith Aucoin (11) - Apparently he was trying to make up for lost time on Wednesday by scoring 3 goals. Now has 4 goals and 4 assists in only 5 games this season in Hershey.
LW Oskar Osala (36) - After struggling to score earlier in the season he has now scored in back to back games giving him 3 for the year.

Pirates:

LW Nathan Gerbe (19) - One of the biggest pests on the Pirates team the 5'5" wing has 3 goals and 7 assists this season but no goals since 10/16.
C Tyler Ennis (11) - Leading the team in goals with 6 plus an additional 4 assists. 3 of his goals were on the power play and none have come in the last 3 games.
RW Mark Mancari (25) - Leading the team in points with 11 (3g 8a). Has a point in 6 straight games (2g 5a).


LET'S GO BEARS!!!

Perreault gets his chance

In what I consider to be an 'avoid waiver issues' move, Mathieu Perreault was recalled by the Capitals while Keith Aucoin was reassigned to Hershey.

If Aucoin were to spend 10 games or 30 days straight with the Caps he would have to clear waivers if they wanted to send him back to Hershey. This way they keep that from happening.

Honestly they are very similar players. Both are small playmaking centers. Aucoin is more experienced and can do more scoring but Perry can do amazing things with the puck on his stick and is probably the faster skater right now.

Congrats to Perry for getting his chance and to Coiner...you will surely be back up there soon.

A 4 point weekend

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


My Three Stars of the Weekend:

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

Grading the (Weekend) Performance:

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

LET'S GO BEARS!!!!

Brutal stretch for Bears

Beginning tonight the Bears are embarking on one of the most demanding trips they have to take. Sure this weekend they play at home, Saturday against Albany, but the crazy part of that is tonight they are in Hartford to play the Wolfpack.

The trip to Hartford from Hershey is 5 hours and over 280 miles. It wouldn't be so bad if the rest of their New England road trip started immediately after but it doesn't. Instead the team will head back the same 5+ hours and 280+ miles to Hershey to play Albany on Saturday.

Then they get 3 days off before heading back up to New England for games next Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Between today and Monday, November 9 the Bears will travel over 1600 miles and will spend an amazing 28+ hours in a bus driving.

That is one hell of a 10 days. The shortest trip is from Portland to Manchester....still almost 2 hours long.

Good Luck Boys.

At least they will have Alexandre Giroux back. He was returned to Hershey the other day as Tomas Fleischmann returned to Washington. Having Giroux back is huge but getting Keith Aucoin back would be better to be honest.

In the games Coiner has played for Hershey this season the Bears almost 4 goals per game and were 3-1. Since he went up to Washington the Bears have scored only 3 goals per game and more importantly are only 2-3. And not exactly against stellar competition either.

Giroux is important too though. He is still second on the team in points and goals even though he has missed the last 3 games...of which the Bears are only 1-2.

I am not certain we will see Coiner back in Hershey this season though. It is going to depend on what happens with Michal Nylander who is currently playing for Grand Rapids in order to show him off to potential buyers. If Nylander returns to Washington and does not get traded or loaned then Coiner will be back (barring another injury) but if he gets traded or moved Coiner would probably remain in Washington on a permanent basis.

Time will tell....until then though....

LET'S GO BEARS...ENJOY THE ROAD TRIP!!!

Goalie Trouble??

Out of all the possible problems facing the Bears this season I didn't think one of them would be their starting goalie. But I think it is.

Michal Neuvirth had an amazing postseason last year on his way to playoff MVP. Then he followed that up with an impressive camp where he almost beat out Semyon Varlamov for the backup role in Washington until he got hurt.

And then he got sent to Hershey.

In Hershey....Neuvy is struggling. Sure the defense hasn't been stellar and have given up plenty of easy chances to the opposition. But guess what...the same defense has been playing in front of Braden Holtby and Jason Bacashihua as well and they are still playing well.

It looks like Neuvy is one of two things...upset about being in Hershey and not playing to the best of his abilities OR he is overconfident and getting beat because of it.

I think it is the second option. I think Neuvy came down to Hershey after a great camp against NHL players and a great postseason and thought it was going to be easy. He is a young kid who played his first pro hockey last season. So those thoughts are to be somewhat expected. But now he has to realize that it isn't easy and he needs to bring his A game every single time out on the ice.

Hopefully we will see that happen sooner or later. I am sure the organization is hoping to see it as he is expected to backup Varly in Washington next season.

If he doesn't figure it out soon I would expect to see a lot more of Bacashihua for a while.

Bears get back in win column

While it shouldn't have been as difficult as it was the Bears managed to beat the Portland Pirates last night 3-2. Jason Bacashihua picked up his 2nd win of the season as he made 21 saves while Francois Bouchard (3rd), Andrew Gordon (6th), and Steve Pinizzotto (2nd) scored for Hershey.

But offensively it should have been easier. Portland has given up the most goals in the league this season and is dead last in penalty killing. Yet Hershey couldn't get the puck in the net. And it wasn't that they weren't shooting enough or running into a hot goaltender...nope it was accuracy. In a game of 3-bar the Bears won with no competition. They hit (by my count) at least 4 posts and not one of those misses bounced in.

I would say this is a step in the right direction though. For the past few games I watched guys miss the net entirely even when it was wide open. So to see them hit so many posts means to me that they are getting closer to actually scoring goals again.

So the offense is on the right track (kinda) but what about the defense?

Not quite as close. I hate to call him out as he has already turned into the scapegoat amongst fans (much like Sloan last year) but Patrick McNeill struggled last night at both ends of the rink. I thought he made some good plays too but goal #1 for the Pirates is honestly squarely on the shoulders of Patty. He didn't get back in time and his guy got the goal.

But the entire defense struggled yet again. I thought with Bryan Helmer sitting that you might see an improved unit but it wasn't too be. John Carlson struggled last night as well. And he looked tired. I know it was a 3 in 3 but he better get used to them as they happen regularly at this level.

The thing Carlson does that evens out his play is his offensive game. He jumps up on the rush and puts pressure on the opposing defense and he is good at it. But he needs to be careful at times and pick his spots a little more. Thankfully he plays with Karl Alzner who would rather sit back and play in his own end and doesn't get caught up ice too often. Which allows Carlson to roam a little more.

Overall I just thought the defense got caught flat footed time and time again. Everyone did it. They were just a step behind the Pirates on every play in the first 2 periods. And then in the 3rd period the team dominated play and eventually got the game winner (on a short handed shot) from Pinner.


My Three Stars of the Game:

1. Steve Pinizzotto - game winner while short handed and overall a good game
2. Kyle Wilson - one assist and a game high 8 shots...played between Gordo and Flash and looked good
3. Francois Bouchard - the 'Soph' line was great throughout the night and he had the lone goal

Grading the Performance:

• Offense | B | Honestly I think a B might be a bit high but they did get 35 shots and 3 goals. Still missing chances and just getting by without their top offensive threats. Last night it seemed like they were trying to make too many of the 'pretty' passes instead of putting the puck on net and getting traffic in front.
• Defense | C | A couple decent plays but overall sloppy and slow I thought. Carlson looked tired, Alzner almost got caught a couple times but managed to work out of it, Miscovic and McNeill struggled positionally, Ammo almost took himself out of multiple plays going for the hit, and Collins actually didn't play terribly but I am sure he struggled somewhere. NEEDS MORE CONSISTENCY.
• Goaltending | B+ | Cash made multiple big games and really on the two goals his defense let him out to dry a bit. I will say this....looked better than Neuvy.
• Power Play | C+ | Some pressure and some decent shots but too much looking for the extra pass and not enough getting the puck at the net.
• Penalty Kill | B+ | Got saved a couple times by Cash but they played well as they killed off all 5 chances.
• Overall | B | One thing I noticed last night....Portland communicates better than Hershey. There was MINIMAL conversation and communicating happening in the first 2 periods. Then in the third you started hearing more from the Bears and they started playing better. It was almost like when things were rough they didn't talk but when things were going good they communicated fine. It needs to be consistent and more communication is needed when your struggling.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!

Bears vs Sens yet again

For the 3rd straight Saturday night the Bears and Binghamton Senators will meet on the ice. Hershey has managed to win the previous two and will be looking to make up for last nights poor game against the Pens.

Both of the previous games against Bingo have been played in Bingo. Two weeks ago the Bears won 8-1 and then last Saturday night they won in overtime 3-2. Tonight will be the first meeting of the teams in Hershey this season.

Entering the season the Senators were expected to challenge for the division title but so far that team hasn't appeared. They currently sit in 7th (also known as last) in the East division and have lost six straight.

They have only held teams to fewer than 3 goals once this season, which they won. They have allowed 4 goals in each of their last 2 games, at Rochester on Wednesday and last night at Syracuse.

If Bingo has many hopes of winning the division they need to fix whatever ails them.


Hershey Bears
record ~ 4-3-0-0 8 points
standings ~ 4th in East Division
most recent game ~ 6-4 Loss @ Wilkes-Barre, 10/23
last 5 games ~ 2-3-0-0
home record ~ 1-1-0-0
goals for ~ 23
goals against ~14
power play ~ 17.1% (17th)
penalty kill ~ 87.5% (8th)


Binghamton Senators
record ~ 2-4-2-0 6 points
standings ~ 7th in East Division
most recent game ~ 4-3 Loss @ Syracuse, 10/23
last 5 games ~ 0-3-2-0
road record ~ 0-2-1-0
goals for ~ 24
goals against ~ 33
power play ~ 8.3% (28th)
penalty kill ~ 76.7% (23rd)

last time teams met - Hershey won 3-2 in overtime last Saturday against the Sens.

Players to watch:

Hershey:

RW Francois Bouchard (22)- Was last night the turning point with 2 goals or will he fall back into the shadows tonight? As talented as any player on the Hershey roster but consistency is not in his game right now.
C Kyle Wilson (18) - With Aucoin and Giroux still in Washington (or New York for today) this is his chance to stand out from everyone else. A very talented goal scoring center he needs to step up.
RW Darren Reid (19) - When will he get his chance on a top line? When he gets the chances he produces (3 goals this season).

Senators:

C Martin St. Pierre (39) - A premier offensive player in the AHL leads the team with 1o points (4 goals, 6 assists).
RW Ryan Keller (28) - Leading the team in goals (5) and in plus/minus (+5).
C Cody Bass (16) - Hopefully he gets to play tonight as he is a ridiculous -11 after only 8 games. That is 5 worse than any other Senator.


LET'S GO BEARS!!!

Bears can't quite complete the comeback

The Hershey offense couldn't quite make up for the defensive and goaltending lapses tonight against the Baby Pens. After giving up only 8 goals in their first 6 games they gave up 6 goals tonight and could only muster 4 goals scored.

Everyone lining up on the blue line for the Bears tonight EXCEPT Karl Alzner struggled mightily and yes that includes wonder kid John Carlson. Of particular concern was Bryan Helmer who was out of position for more than one of the Wilkes Barre goals tonight. He was paired up with rookie Zach Miscovic so maybe it was a case of him trying to cover too much for the rook but either way he struggled to stay in position.

But he wasn't the only one as each of the Bears defenders struggled at times. And the goaltending was shaky at best in my opinion. The first goal by Ryan Bayda absolutely should have been stopped and honestly it just didn't look like Neuvirth was focused for much of the night. Honestly it seems as though Neuvirth is still suffering from a bit of send-down-itis after not making the Caps out of camp.

The best goaltender I have seen for the Bears this season was hands down Braden Holtby. He seemed to want it more than Neuvy has so far. Not sure what it is but Neuvy seems a bit over confident maybe.

The offense managed to give the team a chance with a few fluky goals in the 3rd. Francois Bouchard scored his first 2 goals of the season to lead Hershey while Darren Reid (3rd) and Andrew Gordon (5th) added the other 2.

It was an exciting game between the I-81 rivals but I thought the Pens absolutely outplayed Hershey tonight. If it wasn't for a couple fluke goals Hershey would have lost this game 5-2 or worse.

Missed chances, poor positioning, and inconsistent goaltending doomed the team from the opening faceoff.


My Three Stars of the Game:

1. Luca Caputi - 2 goals and an assist
2. Ryan Bayda - 1 goal and an assist but was overall responsible for eventual game winner as he screened Neuvy completely
3. Francois Bouchard - tried to keep Hershey in with 2 goals

Grading the Performance:

• Offense | B | They finished with 33 shots and 4 goals and it wasn't enough. It looked more like last years Bears team instead of the team we saw for the first 6 games this year. They had lots of chances and open looks but missed the net repeatedly. Carlson, Matheiu Perreault, and Oskar Osala all missed open nets at one point or another. You can't miss great chances like that and expect to win.
• Defense | D | Not sure what happened tonight but the defense absolutely fell apart. Helmer in particular was terrible in my opinion. He was out of position on a couple goals and on the game winner by Lovejoy he didn't move Bayda from the front of the net. Didn't even touch him. But Helmer wasn't the only one. Miscovic, Greg Amadio, and Carlson all struggled in their own end tonight.
• Goaltending | C | Neuvirth made some absolutely remarkable saves and then let in some real bad goals. The first goal by Bayda was probably the worst to me as it was just a wrist shot with minimum traffic in front that just beat him high glove side. The defense is partly responsible for the goal totals but not a great outing for Neuvy.
• Power Play | B- | 5 chances yielded no goals tonight. The unit ran hot and cold tonight. Sometimes they set up and got tons of pressure and other times they chased the Penguins in the defensive zone.
• Penalty Kill | D | This had to have been last seasons units out there tonight. Sloppy play, too much chasing, not enough taking the body down low. They only had 2 chances but they looked terrible on both.
• Overall | C | Probably the worst outing so far this year. They managed to get some goals but they couldn't stop anything. They hustled tonight and never gave up but it isn't always enough. Positioning and knowing where the opponents are is probably the most important part of hockey and tonight the Hershey defense lost touch with those parts of their game.

LET'S GO BEARS...TWO CHANCES TO REDEEM THIS WEEKEND!!

Bears head north to play Penguins

I haven't been around as much as I have wanted to be this season but I haven't missed any games and have been paying very close attention to the team even though I haven't been posting here as much. One reason for the lack of posting is that I am writing at 2 other sites for the Bears/Caps now too. Come check out my Examiner.com page on the Hershey Bears. Both sites generally have original content from me a few times each week.

Now on to this weekends games.

Tonight the Bears return to the ice in Wilkes Barre against the Penguins. Unfortunately it looks like the Bears will be going into this game without top center Keith Aucoin and leading scorer Alexandre Giroux as both players are currently up in the NHL with the Capitals. Both guys played last night and congratulations to Giroux on getting a goal and to Aucoin for assisting on that goal.

Here is an interesting stat for you this year...after their 6 games the Bears have allowed the fewest goals in the league with only 8 allowed. In no game has the opposition scored more than 2 goals. Considering that last years team allowed the 8th most goals in the league and the highest among playoff teams this start is all the more impressive. In the first 6 games of 08-09 the Bears gave up 20 goals. That's some serious improvement.

It also speaks to this teams struggles offensively that they have actually lost two of those games and needed overtime to win another one. In the entire 08-09 season the Bears lost exactly 2 games when they held the opponent to 2 goals or less. So they have already managed to lose as many of those games as all of last season. It basically comes down to the offense...they just aren't scoring as much. It isn't a problem right now but it could develop into one.

Tonight is the 2nd of 12 meetings between the I-81 rivals this year. We covered previously how different the Baby Pens look this season and it is showing in their stats too. They are 4th in the division with a 3-2 record but have only scored 15 goals in their 5 games.

So 2 teams that dominated offensively last season are having trouble scoring early this season. One reason for this might be the scattered scheduling. When you have a week off between games it is hard to really get and stay in a rhythm. But it doesn't get too much better for the Bears going forward. They only have 3 mid-week games in 2009.

Which means they better figure out a way to stay on top of their game throughout the week. Hopefully we will see the secondary scoring pick up the slack tonight in Wilkes Barre.



Hershey Bears
record ~ 4-2-0-0 8 points
standings ~ 2nd in East Division
most recent game ~ 3-2 OT Win @ Binghamton, 10/17
last 5 games ~ 3-2-0-0
road record ~ 3-1-0-0
goals for ~ 19
goals against ~8
power play ~ 20.0% (12th)
penalty kill ~ 90.9% (5th)


Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
record ~ 3-2-0-0 6 points
standings ~ 4th in East Division
most recent game ~ 4-3 SO Win vs Syracuse, 10/17
last 5 games ~ 3-2-0-0
home record ~ 2-2-0-0
goals for ~ 15
goals against ~ 13
power play ~ 24.0% (5th)
penalty kill ~ 87.0% (8th)

last time teams met - Hershey won 3-0 at the Pens two weeks ago (10/9).

Players to watch:

Hershey:

RW Andrew Gordon (10)- With Giroux up in Washington the Bears second leading scorer needs to step it up and get a goal or two.
D John Carlson (4) - If neither guy returns from Washington before tonight then Carlson will be the second leading point producer for the Bears tonight. He has a goal and 4 assists this season and has been solid in his own end.
C Jay Beagle (21) - He was centering the top line at practice this past week when Coiner got the call so all guesses are he will center the top line although without Giroux who is the left wing on that line anyhow?

Penguins:

RW Chris Conner (23) - Pens newcomer is leading the team with 6 points (2g, 4a) through 5 games.
C Dustin Jeffrey (21) - Not scoring goals yet this season but assists are just as good and he has 5 of them.
LW Ryan Bayda (37) - Another of the newcomers is leading the team with 3 goals in only 4 games this season.


LET'S GO BEARS!!!

Bears win 3-2 in OT

The Bears got back on track in Binghamton last night with a 3-2 victory in overtime over the Sens. In a game where the Bears took a team record 27 shots in a period (2nd) they struggled to beat Andy Chiodo one week after lighting him up for 6 goals in 2 periods. Chiodo continually went down early and flailed around on the ice to make stops. The Bears definitely did a better job getting pucks on net with a total of 44 shots but they still missed opportunities.

Scoring is beginning to become a question for the Bears. Prior to the signing of Alexandre Giroux there was a lot of question on where the goals would come from. Once he was signed it was just expected that he would provide the difference. But he is unlikely to hit 60 goals again during the regular season (although after 2 more goals last night he has 4 already). At this point it looks like losing Graham Mink and his 32 goals and Chris Bourque and his 21 goals is going to be difficult to replace.

Hershey didn't really bring in any proven scorers to replace those 53 goals. They just decided to continue to develop from within and give other players increased minutes. Guys like Andrew Gordon, Steve Pinizzotto, Kyle Wilson, and Oskar Osala need to pick up the slack.

Not having Keith Aucoin for the past couple of games surely hurts the offense and he is likely to return at some point this week BUT if the Caps can ever trade Nylander he might be called up to Washington on a permanent basis.

One thing for sure is that the defense is better then last years unit. With both Karl Alzner and John Carlson on the blueline along with improved players such as Patrick McNeill and Sean Collins this is going to be a tough team to score against this season. And most of the defensemen can contribute offensively as well.

Okay...the offense has struggled a bit the past 3 games but the game before that they scored 8 goals so it is obviously a little early to sound any alarms but it is something to keep an eye on. I think this team will benefit from more frequent line changes this season as opposed to how things went last year. In 08-09 Coach Woods kept the top 2 lines together all season barring injury which worked out. But with Mink gone there is no true #1 right wing and with Bourque gone there is no true #2 left wing. So rotating guys through the lines will work better then it would have last season.

Any way you look at it the Bears are 4-2 with all 4 wins coming in the East division. Not to shabby to start the season.


My Three Stars of the Game:

1. Alexandre Giroux - 2 goals to lead the team and win the game
2. Trevor Bruess - no points and only 2 shots but created chances consistently
3. Andy Chiodo - made plenty of big saves among his 41

Grading the Performance:

• Offense | B+ | Definitely did much better getting shots but still they missed plenty of opportunities. Chiodo wanted to go down early if there were bodies near him but plenty of Hershey shots came without traffic in front. Could have been better but not bad.
• Defense | B | The stat line says 36 shots against but it didn't seem like that many. Carlson scored his first regular season goal and Alzner is an absolute stalwart on the blue line. Miscovic looked like the rookie he is at times last season. And Ammo sounded pretty good on the radio!
• Goaltending | B | Neuvirth has looked a little lackadaisical in net the past 2 nights. Honestly I think Holtby looked MUCH more impressive in his starts than Neuvy. After missing a few weeks with an injury he is probably just working at getting into a rhythm.
• Power Play | B | 1 for 4 for the night with Carlson picking up the goal. Lots of pressure, good shots, nice job positionally. BUT they should have scored more.
• Penalty Kill | B | Killed off 3 of 4 which is okay. Seem to be chasing a little more than anyone would like to see them chase. Staying in their box is the key to any PK unit and Hershey needs to do this better.
• Overall | B | Good game, not great. Too many shots against, too many wasted shots for. Better than Friday night though for sure.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!

Bears Drop 2nd Straight

After opening up with 3 straight wins over divisional foes the Bears have dropped 2 straight by the score of 2-1. Last Sunday night Manchester came into Hershey and just flat out played the Bears. In that game it seemed as though the Bears were overlooking the Monarchs and weren't ready to play while the Monarchs were looking forward to the game.

Last night was a different story though. Visiting Glens Falls, New York for the first time to play the Phantoms, Hershey actually out played Adirondack. But they couldn't get the goals. According to the score sheet Hershey out shot the Phantoms 27-15 and that is probably pretty accurate in describing the play. Although I am not convinced Hershey actually got 27 shots on goal.

Defensively it was as good a game as the guys have played this season. Only allowing 15 shots is impressive against any team and few of those 15 shots were quality attempts. Offensively it was a different story though. Too much passing and excellent defense by the Phantoms managed to keep the Bears from getting more than their 1 goal.

With center Keith Aucoin getting playing time in Washington with the injury to Boyd Gordon, Mathieu Perreault joined the top line and played well. Every time the Bears got pressure though they seemed to want to make the extra pass instead of just shooting. Most of those 27 shots were just little tap ins from right in front.

But I will give credit where it is due. The Phantoms defense forced many of those passes and broke up many of them too. And goaltender Johan Backlund played very well making a few big saves and keeping his team in the game.

It was one of those games where Hershey was obviously the better team and played like it but couldn't get the bounces. These games happen during a season, the key is...how does the team come out the next time? Well we get to find out about Hershey immediately as they play in Binghamton tonight.

Expect to see a much more determined group on both sides as Hershey wants to get back in the win column and the Senators will want to respond to the 8-1 beating Hershey put on them last weekend.


My Three Stars of the Game:

1. Johan Backlund - 26 saves, none spectacular but more than enough
2. Phantoms Defense - constant pressure kept Hershey away from their goalie
3. Jay Beagle - I thought he was the best Bear on the ice last night

Grading the Performance:

• Offense | B- | Not a terrible performance. Consistent pressure, some nice passing, great hustle. But too many passes and not enough shooting doomed this team last night. The Phantoms defense didn't help either as they pressured the Bears forwards all night long.
• Defense | A | I know the Phantoms scored 2 but they only got 15 shots and honestly I can't remember them getting much pressure at all. The 2nd goal was the fault of Darren Reid. He went for a big hit (and made it) but in the process he left his man skate right down and score behind him.
• Goaltending | B | Michal Neuvirth made his season debut and he surely didn't look bad but he didn't get enough work to really get in a rhythm either.
• Power Play | B- | Not bad. Much like the offense overall...consistent pressure, good possession, hustle. But too many passes and not enough shots.
• Penalty Kill | D | To be honest I missed the Phantoms first goal as I was away from the computer for a minute and thanks to an extremely old building with no replay board I was unable to see it but the PK unit only had 1 chance and they dropped the ball.
• Overall | B- | As I said above...Hershey was the better team last night but they couldn't get enough of the bounces.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!

Bears host Monarchs at 7 tonight

After 3 straight games against division opponents to kick off the 09-10 season the Bears get a division break tonight as they host the Manchester Monarchs. Manchester missed the playoffs last season by 5 points and is looking to rebound. They lost their top 3 scorers from last season but have added a few players that could help them get to the postseason.

Manchester has yet to play a home game this season and has one more road game after tonight before they do. They have spent the past 2 nights in Norfolk as they split those games, winning Friday night and getting shut out last night.

Manchester is not what you would call on offensive juggernaut as they only have 8 goals in 3 games and have not converted on any of their 10 power play opportunities. But defensively they are stout. They have given up 6 goals in 3 games and only 1 of those are on the power play as they are 6th in the league as they kill 94.1% off the power plays.

Hershey comes into this game with confidence after handling two of their main challengers this season on the road. Friday the Bears took down the rival Penguins 3-1 and then last night they destroyed a team many consider to be much improved, Binghamton, 8-1 in New York.

Hopefully Hershey can come out firing and not have too much of a letdown after a couple of big wins. Both these teams are playing their 3rd in 3 nights but for Manchester this is the one they probably had circled of the 3 while the Bears were mainly focused on the first 2.

If Hershey wins they will start 4-0 for the 3rd time in 4 years...both the previous times resulted in trips to the Calder Cup Finals......just saying.


Hershey Bears
record ~ 3-0-0-0 6 points
standings ~ 1st in East Division
most recent game ~ 8-1 Win @ Binghamton, 10/10
last 5 games ~ 3-0-0-0
home record ~ 1-0-0-0
goals for ~ 14
goals against ~2
power play ~ 33.0% (2nd)
penalty kill ~ 100.0% (1st)


Manchester Monarchs
record ~ 2-1-0-0 4 points
standings ~ 3rd in Atlantic Division
most recent game ~ 2-0 Loss @ Norfolk, 10/10
last 5 games ~ 2-1-0-0
road record ~ 2-1-0-0
goals for ~ 8
goals against ~ 6
power play ~ 0.0% (28th)
penalty kill ~ 94.1% (6th)

last time teams met - First meeting this season, Hershey won both games last season.

Players to watch:

Hershey:

RW Andrew Gordon (10)- Team leader in goals and points (4 and 7) had a goal and 2 assists last night. All 4 goals have come on the power play.
LW Oskar Osala (36) - The big Fin has been somewhat quiet on the score sheet so far this season with no points in 3 games but his physical game seems to be better as he has been crashing the net and taking the body with regularity.
D Greg Amadio (32) - With both of Hershey's main fighters out with injuries to this point Ammo has stepped up and defended his teammates. Has also added 2 assists and a +3 rating.

Monarchs:

C Andrei Loktionov (18) - Rookie is leading the team in goals with 3 in 3 games. Last season in the OHL he totaled 24 goals and 42 assists.
C Oscar Moller (10) - Spent most of last season with the LA Kings he returns to Manchester to start the season and has 1 goal and 2 assists so far.
RW Scott Parse (23) - One of the top returning scorers from last season he has started off this year with 5 assists in 3 games.


LET'S GO BEARS!!!

Bears dismantle Sens 8-1

Well coming off a game Friday night where the Bears were probably fortunate to get 2 points they sure responded well enough. Nothing went right for the Binghamton Senators after they scored the opening goal less then 3 minutes into the game. And even that wasn't anything to get too excited about as it wasn't a clean goal. The puck went off Patty McNeill's skate and past Hershey goalie Jason Bacashihua who was making his Hershey debut.

Apparently the Bears are not fond of trailing in any game. That was the first time this season that Hershey had trailed and it only lasted for 3 minutes when Alexandre Giroux scored his first goal of the game and season. He would add his second, the eventual game winner, with less then 30 seconds to go in the 1st period.

That goal was apparently devastating for the Sens and inspiring for the Bears as Hershey scored 4 goals in the second. They would add 2 more in the third on Sens #1 goaltender Mike Brodeur (he replaced starter Andy Chiodo after the 2nd).

Kyle Wilson scored his first 2 goals of the season while Darren Reid (2nd), Andrew Joudrey (1st), Steve Pinizzotto (1st), and Andrew Gordon (4th) scored the remaining goals for Hershey. Overall the Bears finished with 41 shots to Bingo's 33.

So far this season Hershey has defeated 3 East division opponents by a combined score of 14-2! And they have killed off all 14 power plays they have faced. AND they have scored on 5 of their 15 power plays for a 33% success rate.

Not a bad way to start off the season.


My Three Stars of the Game:

1. Alexandre Giroux - first 2 goals of the season got Hershey focused last night
2. Andrew Gordon - 1 goal and 2 assists
3. Jason Bacashihua - the scoresheet shows 32 saves but I am not convinced it was that many

Grading the Performance:

• Offense | A | 8 goals on 41 shots is pretty darn good. They controlled the puck for the first 40 minutes and would have controlled it for another 20 but they really called off the dogs and let Bingo have a chance. Crisp passing and great shooting. Bingo goalie was severely overmatched and it was obvious.
• Defense | A | This entire unit deserves accolades for last night and the season to date. Holding a Bingo team that had scored 11 goals in their previous 2 games to only 1 goal and 15 shots through 2 periods is pretty impressive.
• Goaltending | A | So far it has been an impressive display in net for the Bears this season. One goal allowed last night and it was deflected in off a Bear.
• Power Play | B | They converted 2 of 5 chances but did struggle to keep consistent pressure for much of the game. Overall a good job but room for improvement.
• Penalty Kill | A | What a difference a year makes. Last years penalty kill unit struggled mightily from game 1....this year dominant!
• Overall | A | Honestly it felt like the Bears were skating against a high school team out there last night. I am trying to remember something Bingo did that impressed me and I can't remember a single thing. If it wasn't for the scoresheet I am not sure you could convince me that Hershey actually played another team last night. They were THAT dominant.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!

Holtby makes up for Bears sloppiness

That looked like what it was, an early season game coming off a long stretch of no games. If it wasn't for Braden Holtby in net the Penguins surely would have won the game tonight. He made 38 saves, many of them with quick reflexes and fluid movements.

Pass after pass between Bears defensemen went wrong. If they kept any sort of stats based on how many passes miss there intended target I think this game would have set records for low success rates. Neither team could complete many passes.

While the game was definitely entertaining I didn't find it well played but considering it was the 2nd game of the season after a week off between games it was to be expected.

John Walton and Tim Leone made mention of the difficult decision facing Hershey now. Holtby has won 2 games and has given up a total of 1 goal. Do you send him to South Carolina when Neuvirth gets healthy? Or do you send Bacashihua? I wouldn't want to make that call. The argument for still sending Holtby is that he will be the #1 guy for the Stingrays and will only be the part timer in Hershey. So if you want him to get work....

Hershey managed to make the most of their opportunities while the Pens missed on many of theirs. Darren Reid, Boyd Kane, and Keith Aucoin had the goals for the Bears none of which came with the man advantage though. One game after going 3 for 6 on the power play the Hershey unit stalled and missed on all 4 of their chances.

During the course of the season teams play in many different types of games, from shootouts to defensive battles to penalty filled to games against (and with) hot goalies. The more ways a team can win the better off they will be at the end of the season. In this game Hershey got the hot goalie playing behind them and managed to convert a few chances into goals to get the win.


My Three Stars of the Game:

1. Braden Holtby - obviously the best player on the ice. Won the game for the Bears in my opinion.
2. John Curry - honestly he played very well. Defense hung him out to dry on 2nd goal and 3rd was bounced in off of him.
3. Darren Reid - game winning goal gets him 3rd star

Grading the Performance:

• Offense | B- | Honestly it wasn't good. They missed plenty of other opportunities throughout the game. And some players, Giroux, need to shoot the puck more. He passed up a chance to make a pass that wasn't there. Passing and positioning seemed to be the points of weakness. Guys were just kind of gliding around the zone and not getting set up at all.
• Defense | C | Positioning was poor, passing was horrendous, but the hustle was good. I would say that every member of the defense screwed up at some point tonight. They managed to escape with the win but allowing 38 shots to any team in regulation is not good. Plenty of missed opportunities for the Pens.
• Goaltending | A | Holtby was the best player on the ice tonight...hands down. He made save after save, many difficult to win this game. Does he end up in SC...who knows...I don't want to make that call.
• Power Play | B | They didn't score (0-4) but they set up each time and got plenty of shots at Curry. They did miss some chances but overall I think they played well but they didn't get any bounces tonight.
• Penalty Kill | B | They obviously shut out the Pens (0-5) but there were some lapses in positioning and awareness that almost led to some goals. Surprised to see Perreault killing penalties.
• Overall | B | Not a great game by any stretch but tonight it was enough. Struggled in every facet of the game except goaltending. But there will always be games like that. No team can play perfect hockey for 80+ games a season. If you can win the ones where you struggle...that is a good sign.

LET'S GO BEARS!!!