Bears Battle to beat Charlotte Checkers, 4-2

Brian Willsie celebrates his game-winning goal against the Checkers. Photo by Kyle Mace

There’s not much to say about tonight’s game. Everyone involved knew that it was a big one. It would have been scary going down to Charlotte down two games. But thankfully it didn’t go that way.

The Bears spent the entire first period playing sloppy hockey leading to tons of incomplete passes. Perhaps trying to keep up Charlotte’s speed, the players seemed to be constantly rushing with the puck instead of slowing down and making plays. The Bears’ power play failed to impress tonight, especially during the first period. They had trouble keeping the puck in the zone and couldn’t muster many shots on goal until later in the game.

But sometimes even sloppy hockey pays off. A little over halfway through the period, the Bears collapsed on Justin Pogge and Patrick McNeill scored.

When they came out for the second period, the team seemed calmer and maybe a touch more confident. Dmitry Orlov made a great play to keep the puck in the zone and passed to Andrew Kozek who extended the Bears’ lead with a shot from between the face-off dots.

The Checkers answered quickly though and scored less than a minute later. The Checkers gained a bit of momentum from this goal and the Bears had to adjust quickly. Thankfully, Brian Willsie was there to give some insurance. After a sliding Checker blocked the inital shot, he took a second whack at it and scored. It would end up being the game-winning goal.

The Checkers were able to make it a one goal difference later on the power play. A bear was in the box for yet another Charlotte power play. Zac Dalpe scored his second goal of the night on a shot that I don’t think Braden Holtby saw. He was definitely screened, possible by his own teammate.

The Bears had a big penalty kill a few minutes later while Boyd Kane was in the box for slashing. The penalty kill unit got control of the puck and moved back towards Pogge. The players seemed a bit tired, passing to each other but it finally ended up on Sheldon Souray‘s stick. Souray wound up and unleashed that signature shot that flew past Pogge and into the net

The third period saw no score change but there were some close calls. Things got a little scary with a minute left in the game. Pogge was on the bench and Charlotte had their last chance at making a comeback. Two Checkers jabbed at the puck and Holtby couldn’t stop them. The goal was waved off though because of two matching penalties that were assessed to Souray and Dalpe.

After successfully stopping any final attempts by the Checkers, the Bears won 4-2 and tied the series at one game each. Now the battle moves south to North Carolina.

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Bears Accomplish Rare Win against Penguins, 2-1

Andrew Kozek and his linemates shine in a game against the in-state rivals.

Looking at the standings, tonight’s game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins did not appear to hold a lot of value. Neither team would lose or gain anything in the rankings. However, for the Bears, this was a big game for them mentally. They don’t have a good record against the dreaded Penguins and a road win against them right before playoffs could go a long way.

Overall, the Bears had a fantastic first period effort against the Penguins. However, it seemed like the Penguins were giving them some help. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton took a couple of unnecessary penalties and seemed to be getting frustrated. The Bears didn’t score on any power plays but it did help to maintain control of the game.

Hershey did score an even-strength goal though thanks to Andrew Kozek. I could watch this goal all day. WBS’s Andrew Hutchinson was skating with the puck and not paying too much attention to Kozek. As soon as he lifted his stick, Kozek swiped the puck from under him and snapped the puck past Brad Thiessen.

But we’re not done talking about Kozek yet! During the second period, he scored his second goal of the night with another beauty. He pushed the puck through and danced past the defense. Ashton Rome helped to provide a slight screen and suddenly Hershey had a two goal lead.

The Penguins finally broke the shutout during a power play about halfway through the period. Mathieu Perreault was in the box for hooking. After a few failed attempts, Brett Sterling took a rebound and shot it past Braden Holtby. To give some credit to Holtby, it looked like there was a lot of action in front of him.

Some drama came late in the period when Dmitry Orlov hooked Brett Sterling and Sterling was awarded a penalty shot. Holtby successfully stopped it but then Keith Aucoin was given a ten minute misconduct, probably for arguing with the referee.

As expected, physicality dominated this game. Sheldon Souray and Ryan Craig were the first to drop the gloves. Souray stood his ground and delivered a huge punch to Craig, knocking him to the ice. It was over as fast as it started. Steve Pinizzotto decided to follow his example and took on Joey Mormina. Technically, it was listed as roughing but it was still pretty vicious. Pinizzotto took down a bloodied Mormina, but he received an extra roughing penalty for starting the incident.

But those two incidents would pale in comparison to the third period drama. Pinizzotto fell to the ice after a run in with Keven Veilleux. Veilleux paused long enough to recognize that Pinizzotto was flat on the ice and still pulled back and took a full swing at Pinner. Holtby, who was the closest to the play, bolted out of his crease to come to Pinizzotto’s defense.

Veilleux received a match penalty for slashing. I’m a little confused as to why it was a slashing call but nevertheless, the match penalty part works for me. John Walton said that a match penalty carries an automatic one game suspension so Veilleux will not play tomorrow against the Bears in Hershey. I’m hopeful we’ll see some more supplementary discipline for that absolutely classless move by Veilleux. Pinizzotto appeared to be okay as he skated during the ensuing power play.

There wouldn’t be any more scoring and not too much excitement after that incident. The Bears hang on and win 2-1!

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Worcester holds off Hershey Comeback, Win 3-2


Dmitry Orlov’s first AHL goal isn’t enough to stop the Worcester Sharks.

And so the road trip rolls on…

Tonight, the Bears faced the Worcester Sharks. You may remember the last time these two teams met Brian Willsie almost fought Worcester goaltender, Alex Stalock.

Thankfully for Willsie, Stalock wasn’t playing tonight but that didn’t mean that this game would be any easier.

All was well at first. The Bears were putting some good shots on goal and even got the early lead. It was none other than Dmitry Orlov who gave the Bears the lead, scoring his first career AHL goal. It was a hard shot from the face-off circle that goaltender Tyson Sexsmith couldn’t handle. Orlov has been paired with Sheldon Souray for four games now. Between the pure skill, the physicality, and the hard shots, that pairing has to put some fear in the opposing teams. I definitely would not want to be facing down those guys.

However, the Sharks tied it up in the same period. The Sharks were attacking and the Bears couldn’t clear the zone. After a couple of quick shots, Nolan Schaefer tried his best but couldn’t stop the last shot and Worcester scored.

During the second period, the Bears badly outshot the Sharks 16 to 7. Unfortunately, it was the Sharks who came ahead though. The Sharks killed off a Hershey 5-on-3 power play and then scored in the minutes afterwards. It was a bit of a fluky goal as Brandon Mashinter flung the puck towards the goal and it tipped off Schaefer and into the net.

The third period saw the Bears on the wrong side of a 5-on-3. Boyd Kane and Ashton Rome were whistled for penalties and the Worcester didn’t miss the opportunity. With two Bears in the box, the Sharks scored. There was a glimmer of hope later on when Rome dished out a perfect pass to Maxime Lacroix who backhanded it past Sexsmith. It wouldn’t be enough to push the Bears to victory and they lose 3-2.

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Bears Bounce Back With 2-1 Win Against Norfolk

Now that’s more like it!

The Bears did not have a lot of time to think about their loss to the Penguins on Sunday because they had to hit the road and take on the Norfolk Admirals tonight.

From the start, the Bears looked much more comfortable than they did on Sunday. They were moving their feet and getting shots in. Most importantly, Todd Ford was solid and confident in the crease. He stopped 29 of 30 shots in a fantastic outing. Good to see him bounce back after getting pulled on Sunday.

It was Sean Collins who gave Hershey the early lead. Dylan Yeo had the first shot of the play but the rebound came out to Collins who buried it past goaltender Mike Smith.

During the second period, the Admirals managed to tie it up. Mike Angelidis was right between the face-off circles when he sniped it in the top left corner past Ford. But with just 18 seconds left in the period, Keith Aucoin countered with a missile of his own. Beautiful goal that ended up being the game-winner. The third period saw no scoring change and the Bears won 2-1.

The best part of this? They did it with only five defensemen instead of the usual six. Josh Godfrey was called up before the game but his flight did not arrive in time to make the line-up. Instead, Joel Rechlicz got a spot as a thirteenth forward. Tonight’s win will serve as a much better game to reflect on during their next few days off. The line-up keeps changing, but the Bears will keep winning.

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Officiating Called Into Question Again as Bears Lose to the B-Sens 4-3.

Jean Hebert set the tone early with a hooking call on Andre Benoit (BNG) at 1:13 of the first period.  Kyle Greentree got the next two hooking calls but the Bears penalty killers were able to keep the game scoreless.  Shortly after Greentree’s second penalty, the Sens were able to capitalize on a botched play by Todd Ford.  Ford played the puck behind the net, but he was indecisive.  Miscommunication with Sean Collins led to a turnover behind the Bears net.  The puck came out to an undefended Colin Greening in the high slot and  he made Ford pay.  A short time later Dylan Yeo brought the game back to even with a shot through traffic from the point.

The second period saw things start to come apart for the Bears.  Turnovers happened frequently and they left players from the Sens uncovered in scoring positions.  The second period also brought more questionable calls from Hebert.  For most of the period, the Bears PK units were outstanding.  In fact, during the first Steve Pinizzotto penalty, the shorthanded Bears had more chances than the Sens.  In the end, the Sens were able to come up with a PP goal and one other in the period to give them a 3-1 lead headed into the third period.

Nineteen seconds after the start of the third period, the Sens were able to put the puck in the net again.  The goal, however, was waived off due to goaltender interference.  Derek Smith essentially jumped on top of Ford.  The officiating trend continued with seven more penalties called in the period.  This, of course, brought out the colorful chants from the Giant Center crowd.  In the end a road weary, injury depleted Bears team was unable to overcome all the adversity and lost to the Sens.

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Bears Send Amerks Packing After 5-1 Victory


The Bears celebrate one of many goals against the Rochester Americans. Photo by Kyle Mace

Sometimes after a blow-out victory, like the game last night against the Albany Devils, it’s easy to sit back and relax during the next game. But it’s games like the one tonight against the Rochester Americans where you will look back and regret not getting those two points if you relax too much.

I think Steve Pinizzotto took it a little too seriously when someone told him to start the game strong. Right off the opening face-off, he dropped the gloves with Michael Duco. It was over pretty quickly but I’d say Pinizzotto came out on top.

The Bears also started strong by scoring the game’s first goal. Patrick McNeill had a nice goal during a 5-on-3 where he came in and sniped the rebound shot. It was his first goal of the season and a well-deserved one. Keith Aucoin would add to the scoring sheet after he snuck in back door while Andrew Gordon had the puck.

Rochester’s only goal of the night game came during the second period. They beat Dany Sabourin on the power play to cut Hershey’s lead in half. Speaking of Sabourin, he had another great night. He stopped 25 of 26 shots and those were big shots. It’s a great thing to see him getting comfortable and winning two in a row in front of the Hershey faithful.

Thankfully, the third period was all Hershey in terms of scoring. Gordon got Hershey’s third goal with a perfect deflection past Tyler Plante. Brian Willsie tacked on another goal during the power play that got Plante moving. Finally, Ashton Rome added even more goal insurance by cashing in on another juicy rebound.

The top two lines were fantastic tonight and Hershey defeated the Amerks 5-1.The homestand continues tomorrow night when the Adirondack Phantoms come to town.

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Hershey Bears Edge Out Manitoba Moose, 4-3

Hershey started off incredibly strong. They absolutely punished the Manitoba Moose in the first two minutes alone. Brian Fahey got the first goal of the night 43 seconds into the game. His shot came from the blue line and may have deflected off a Moose player before entering the goal. A little over a minute later, Nikita Kashirsky recorded his second goal of the season. Two shots for Hershey, two goals for Hershey.

Manitoba then took a time out to regain their composure. They rebounded and were able to keep calm despite their early deficit. In the last minutes of the period, they got their first goal of the night. It kind of looked like Patrick Wellar screened Dany Sabourin on that shot.

During the second period, the Bears relaxed a little. They stopped firing shots at Manitoba goaltender Eddie Lack. As a result, Manchester kicked it up and tied the game. It was a good cross ice pass for Manitoba but Sabourin didn’t handle it well. Instead of using lateral movement to slide across the crease, he panicked and dove.

Hershey regained the lead before the end of the second period. Stop me if you’ve heard this before but Andrew Gordon scored on the power play with a shot right on the door step of the Manitoba goal. Shocking, I know.

During the third period, the first half was mostly uneventful. It didn’t get interesting until Manitoba tied it up again with a goal that beat Sabourin short side. I’m going to guess he wants that one back.

But have no fear! Andrew Gordon, power play player extraordinaire, is here to save the day! Once again, parking out in front of the net paid off. Lawrence Nycholat‘s shot from the blue line came towards the net and Gordon got his stick on it with less than thirty seconds left in the game. The Bears were able to stave off any last minute chances from the Moose and won 4-3 in exciting fashion.

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Hershey Shames Binghamton in 6-1 Victory


Joel Rechlicz is all smiles after fighting three Bingo Senators in one night. Photo by Kyle M.

Wow…what is there to say about this game?

Before the game, the Washington Capitals called up Keith Aucoin in time to play against the Montreal Canadiens. I admit that I was one of the ones worried about how Hershey would play tonight against the Binghamton Senators. Top line? We don’t need no stinkin’ top line! Hershey put together one of the best offensive efforts we’ve seen all season. Now if I were to actually go into detail about every Hershey goal, this recap would be five miles long.

Basically, Sean Collins started the game off on the right foot with his first goal of the season. Kyle Greentree then scored twice. Dmitri Kugryshev scored a goal and then had a sweet assist on Nikita Kashirsky’s goal (his first goal as a Bear). Zach Miskovic made sure the Senators didn’t escape the second period and scored with 13 seconds left in the period. Six goals, five different goal scorers, eleven different players with points. Good times had by all.

Oh yeah, and the Senators did manage to score once. Dany Sabourin was a bit out of position and they scored just seconds into a power play while Andrew Joudrey was in the box for interference.

The real story of the night? “The Wrecker,” Joel Rechlicz. I’m not sure how many minutes he played exactly (not many), but everyone will remember him tonight. He got a hat trick alright, a hat trick of fights.

Round 1: vs Francis Lessard. You may remember their last bout as the fight that gave Rechlicz the double black eyes. Lessard seemed hesitant to start throwing the punches and kept skating away when Rechlicz would close in on him. Rechlicz had a huge finish with a lot of rights straight to Lessard’s face. Decision: Rechlicz

Round 2: vs Cody Bass. I’m not completely sure this was a wise decision for Bass, who is much smaller than Rechlicz. He picked the fight though and when you ask, you shall receive the fists of fury. Decision: Rechlicz.

Round 3: vs Tim Spencer. This might have been the closest fight of the night. Another marathon fight with two strong guys. But another big finish pushed Rechlicz to the end. Decision: You guessed it, Rechlicz.

Rechlicz received a game misconduct (automatic after three majors). Lessard wanted a rematch and had to settle for fighting Patrick Wellar. However, that was over quickly and Wellar didn’t even have time to actually drop his gloves.

To sum up: Hershey blows Binghamton out of the water with a 6-1 win. The Bears are now 4-1 against the Senators and have outscored them 27 to 9. And Rechlicz now has three enemies on the Senators team. Good night.

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Breakaway goals help Phantoms defeat Bears 3-1

Tonight was a big night for the Bears. In the midst of injuries and call-ups, Keith Aucoin returned after missing 16 games due to a knee injury. Additionally, Patrick McNeill made his season debut after having shoulder surgery during the offseason. They were facing the struggling Adirondack Phantoms, who were looking for only their fifth win of the season.

The game started off on the right foot with a power play goal by Brian Willsie. Aucoin got the primary assist and looked to be back in his element.

During the first period, Sheldon Souray chased after a puck with Matt Clackson and fell funny on his leg. He had to be helped off the ice and never returned to the game. Ironically, the last injury Souray had also involved Clackson after he injured his hand in the now infamous fight.

It was during the second period that the wheels started to fall off. After losing Souray in the first period, Dylan Yeo then made the fateful trip down the tunnel. He too never returned to the game.

After getting called for one penalty too many, the Phantoms scored their first goal of the night on the power play. Exactly one and a half minutes later, Phantom Shane Harper capitalized on a blue line turnover and scored his first ever AHL goal on a breakaway. I hate to admit it but it was a really nice goal.

Despite a handful of power plays in the third period, the Bears could not find the back of the net. Adirondack’s Denis Hamel scored his second goal of the night on a breakaway after Dany Sabourin was, once again, left out to dry. It’s worth noting that Hamel’s goal was his 300th career goal, which is pretty impressive. Phantoms take this one 3-1.

And so Hershey finishes their four-game road trip with two wins and two losses. They return home tomorrow to play the Providence Bruins at Giant Center.

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Depleted Hershey line-up loses 5-3 to Charlotte


Patrick Wellar pushes Jacob Micflikier to the ice. Photo by Checkers SmugMug.

After Friday’s game against the Charlotte Checkers, we were happy for the win but still hoping to see some players return to bolster the line-up. Instead, we lost Phil Oreskovic and, more importantly, leading scorer Andrew Gordon. Oreskovic didn’t play after getting injured in the last game. Gordon was called up to Washington before the game and joined the Capitals in New York for their game aginst the Rangers tonight. Returning from his one game suspension, Steve Pinizzotto took over Gordon’s spot on the top line.

The Charlotte Checkers put the Bears in an early hole today. Three quick goals within the first nine minutes made it 3-0 in favor of the Checkers before you could blink. The only shining moment of the first period was Jay Beagle‘s short-handed goal that finally put Hershey on the board. That goal was Beagle’s fourth short-handed goal of the season. I can’t talk about this enough. He now has more short-handed goals than even strength goals.

During the second period, the Bears were able to cut Charlotte’s lead down to one on the power play. Sheldon Souray scored his first ever goal as a Bear on a blistering one-timer. I’m sure you’d expect nothing less from Souray.

Mark French decided to stick with Braden Holtby in goal. After letting in three goals on six shots, Holtby was able to steady himself and shut the door for…almost the rest of the game. It started to really go downhill when the Checkers scored on a 5-on-3 during the third period. They got another goal when Holtby decided to play with the puck outside of his crease with a lot of traffic around him. One of the reasons we love Holtby is his aggressive style and his puck handling. But today he was making a lot of questionable decisions outside of his crease and eventually it caught up with him. He went to play the puck and turned it over to the Checkers who scored on the practically empty net.

That was pretty much the dagger for the Bears. The game did end on a high note though as Lawrence Nycholat scored his fourth goal of season in the final minutes of the game. But Hershey seemed to accept their 5-3 loss to the Charlotte Checkers. Hey, Keith Aucoin, how is your knee feeling?

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