Five Former Bears Named to Initial World Cup of Hockey Rosters

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Wednesday afternoon five former Hershey Bears were named to four different World Cup of Hockey rosters for the 2016 Tournament to be held in Toronto. Dmitry Orlov, Semyon Varlamov, John Carlson, Braden Holtby, and Michal Neuvirth were all named their home country’s initial roster.

Orlov an Varlamov will represent Team Russia, Carlson will sport the red, white, and blue for Team USA, Holtby will have a maple leaf on his chest as he will between the pipes for Team Canada, and the 2009 AHL Calder Cup Playoffs MVP Michal Neuvirth was named as one of the goalies for Team Czech Republic.

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Michal Neuvirth Recalled to Washington

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HERSHEY, PA – Michal Neuvirth looks ahead during warm-ups during his conditioning stint in Hershey (Kyle Mace / Sweetest Hockey on Earth)

Wednesday morning, the Washington Capitals announced they have recalled Michal Neuvirth from Hershey. Neuvirth was on loan from DC to Hershey to help heal an ankle which was injured during warm-ups in Washington.

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Michal Neuvirth Returns to Hershey for First Game Since 2010

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HERSHEY, PA – Michal Neuvirth looks on during warm-ups Saturday night before his first start in Giant Center since Game 6 of the 2010 Calder Cup Finals (Kyle Mace / Sweetest Hockey on Earth)

June 15th, 2010. 11,002 Bears fans packed Giant Center for the largest crowd in the building’s history. Michal Neuvirth raised his second straight Calder Cup after a 22-save shutout of the Texas Stars. 1278 days later, he stepped back out on the ice in a Hershey uniform for the first time since raising the Calder Cup.

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Michal Neuvirth Rehabbing In Hershey Saturday Night

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HERSHEY, PA – Michal Neuvirth shakes Chris Bourque’s hand after winning the 2010 Calder Cup (Kyle Mace / Sweetest Hockey on Earth, 2010)

For the first time since winning the Calder Cup in 2010 at Giant Center, Michael Neuvirth is back in a Hershey Bears uniform. “Neuvy” will get a rehab start with Hershey on Saturday after injuring his right ankle during warm-ups at the Caps game on November 29. Since the freak fall, he’s missed six games with the Caps. Neuvirth was with the Bears during morning skate on Friday before heading to Wilkes-Barre that night for the Bears game against the Penguins.

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Norfolk Spoils Hershey’s Home Opener, 6-5 (OT)


Michel Ouellet scores in overtime to defeat the Bears. Photo by Kyle Mace.

Despite the fact that the Bears had already played three games before tonight, there was a lot of energy and excitement in Giant Center. For once, the Bears were not raising a banner before their home opener but they did celebrate the 10th anniversary of Giant Center. The Bears were wearing commemorative jerseys tonight, honoring Giant Center and the three Calder Cups they’ve won since playing there. It was time to show off the new Bears slogan in front of the Hershey faithful.

The Bears celebrate an early lead.

To start the game, the Admirals did exactly what they didn’t want to do: they went to the penalty box. After having a great night against the Norfolk penalty kill unit last night, the Bears continue to score during the man advantage. Keith Aucoin had a sharp angle shot towards the crease and Graham Mink did what he does best. The puck deflected past Jaroslav Janus and Hershey took the early lead.

But, much like last night, the Admirals responded and tied the game up a few minutes later. They got Braden Holtby moving and Radko Gudas was able to score on the rebound. Then the Admirals gained their first lead of the weekend before the end of the first period when several players crashed the net. Christian Hanson fell on his own goaltender and Gudas scored again with the loose puck. With less than a minute left in the first period, the Bears made up for it by scoring on a Sean Collins shot from the point.

For the second night in a row, the game was tied 2-2 after one period.

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Offense Rules: Bears beat Admirals 7-5


Seen here last season, Keith Aucoin and Mike Angelidis face off. Photo by John Wright.

It was a battle of the undefeated teams tonight and someone had to go home with a loss. The Bears and the Admirals always have interesting games when they play each other and tonight was no exception. This could take a while to recap, so let’s get to the goals.

Just about four minutes in, Chris Bourque was hit up high with a stick. He exacted revenge by scoring during the ensuing power play with a big shot from the point. A teammate provided the screen and Dustin Tokarski couldn’t do much to stop it. About halfway through the period, Brett Flemming earned his first AHL goal with a shot that was very similar to Bourque’s. Once again, there was a lot of bodies in front of Tokarski and a powerful shot sailed right past him.

The first half of the period was all Hershey but the second half was all Norfolk. J.T. Wyman was right in front of Dany Sabourin and flipped the puck past him during a delayed penalty call against the Bears. Soon after, Boyd Kane went to the box for tripping and the Admirals tied the game up with a power play goal. Tyler Johnson easily made his way through the Hershey defense and scored with no one between him and Sabourin.

Four goals after one period but we were just getting started.

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Healthy Hershey Line-up Loses 2-1 to Adirondack

As the regular season dwindles down, the Hershey Bears traveled up North to play the Adirondack Phantoms for the final time this season.

All in all, it was quiet start to the game. Both goalies faced about the same amount of shots and both teams had good scoring chances. The Phantoms had two power plays but the Bears held them back. Unfortunately, Adirondack had the lead after one period. A pass came to Ben Holmstrom from behind the net and Nolan Schaefer couldn’t stop it in time.

Andrew Carroll did his part to get the team going by dropping the gloves with Marc-Andre Bourdon during the second period. For relatively smaller guys, this was a pretty nice fight. Good punches from both guys. I give the win to Bourdon though because he had the final say.

And that was all that happened during the second period. The Bears killed off an early third period penalty but that didn’t stop Adirondack. A puck was deflected in front of Schaefer and suddenly the Phantoms were up 2-0. It wasn’t until just about the halfway point that the Bears finally broke the shutout! Brian Willsie scored and tied his career best in goals. Coincidentally, the last time he scored 29 goals in one season was back in 2002-2003 when he was the Bears.

Even with Willsie making it a close game again, it wasn’t enough. Bears lose 2-1.

Ironically enough, this was the healthiest line-up the Bears have dressed in a long time. Looking at the lines and pairings below, you would think this team wouldn’t have any problem finding the back of the net. In fact, the scratches for this game (healthy or not), have accounted for only 26 of the 230 goals Hershey has scored this season.

Nevertheless, the Bears’ offense didn’t play a full game tonight and the score shows it. The good news is that there are two more games this weekend for them to make up for it.

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