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Five Former Bears Named to Initial World Cup of Hockey Rosters

hershey bears world cup of hockey

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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Portland Comeback Stymies Hershey, 4-3 (OT)

Mark Parrish of Portland scores in overtime to beat Hershey. Photo by Kyle Mace

Tonight’s game against the Portland Pirates was a specialty jersey night: the Bears sported Capitals Winter Classic jerseys, but with a twist. Instead of the Capitals logo across the front, it had the Hershey logo. As usual, the jerseys were auctioned off after the game.

The Bears got the first lead of the night (as they so often do) with a goal from Andrew Joudrey. The Bears maintained the lead until Steve Pinizzotto was whistled for cross-checking and a ten minute misconduct. Down a man, Braden Holtby (just sent down from Washington this morning) almost had the puck but had it knocked out of his control and into the net.

The Bears quickly responded and scored a power play goal of their own. Patrick McNeill joined the play and scored back door on David Leggio, showing off that offensive side.

The second period saw a lot of penalties doled out to both sides. The Bears had a 5-on-3 but were not able to convert on it. However, when a Pirate was penalized for hooking Joudrey on a breakaway, they took this chance. Back in front of the loyal home crowd, Andrew Gordon did not let down and scored on the power play. He was right in front of the goal and ready to chip it home to score his first goal since returning from injury.

The Pirates scored to make a one goal difference when two Pirates sped past the Hershey defense. Two-on-none, they beat Holtby to make it 3-2 Hershey.

Things were looking good until Joudrey high-sticked a Pirate and Portland had the man advantage with a little more than six minutes left in regulation. It only took 26 seconds before T.J. Brennan one-timed it past Holtby. I hate to admit it, but it was a beautiful shot. Unfortunately, that meant it was a tie game once again.

The teams pushed on to overtime but it was Portland who came out on top. Despite leading by two goals earlier in the game, the Bears lose 4-3 (OT). Overall, the offense was spotty and could have been better but they were playing a talented Portland team. One point is better than none.

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Bears win Nail-biter Against Norfolk Admirals, 3-2

Brian Willsie with the shot of the game against the Norfolk Admirals. Photo by Kyle Mace

After a crushing defeat on Wednesday, the same two teams faced off tonight. Armed with Nolan Schaefer in goal, the Bears were hoping for a much different outcome against a tough Norfolk Admirals team.

Perreault and Willsie celebrate the GWG

The first period was one of the best twenty minutes of hockey the Bears have put together this season. They were completely in control. Schaefer, in his first start as a Bear, made this phenomenal diving save during an Admirals power play. It fired up the crowd and the players. During the same penalty, Brian Willsie chased the puck down ice and Dustin Tokarski came out to clear the puck. His mishandled it and Willsie took off with it. To say that it was a sharp angle shot for Willsie is an understatement. Nevertheless, he someone managed to put Hershey up with an unassisted shorthanded goal.

Speaking of Willsie, the guy was having a fantastic period. He got his second goal of the night in the same period when he capitalized on a rebound shot.

Unfortunately, the second period didn’t go quite as well. The Admirals picked up their game and managed to tie it up. The game-tying goal came in the final 20 seconds of the second period. And then mayhem ensued.

The major problem was not that the Admirals had tied it up. It was a funny bounce but there’s no doubt that it was good goal. The problem came during the discussion afterwards when the refs were talking about the goal. Boyd Kane got a ten minute misconduct for abuse of officials. Meanwhile, Tokarski took offense to something and threw a water bottle towards the Hershey bench. Lucky for him, Joel Rechlicz was on the bench because Recker was mad. Eventually, they were able to wrap up the final 14 seconds of the period but the players weren’t finished. There was still some pushing and shoving and one official had to hold Sheldon Souray back while he mouthed off at Tokarski.

First period went to the Bears, second period went to the Admirals and it all came down to the third.

Tonight was a two referee game. In this case, two is not better than one. Keith Aucoin was high-sticked and neither ref was looking. As Aucoin skated towards the bench, covering his face, it looked like he was a blindsided by a hit of an Admiral’s shoulder. Yet again, no call. Aucoin went down the tunnel and didn’t return for the rest of the game. We’ll keep you updated on our Twitter with any information about his condition.

Just when it seemed like we might be going to overtime, the man of the hour, Willsie, set up Mathieu Perreault for a beautiful shot to give Hershey the game-winning goal. It was tense final few minutes but the Bears hung on and got an intense win against their rivals. Bears win 3-2.

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Hershey adds Goalie Nolan Schaefer to the Roster

Photo by John C. Whitehead/The Patriot-News.

The good news this week was that Braden Holtby is healthy again. The bad news was that Semyon Varlamov is not and so the Caps called up Holtby to back up Michal Neuvirth.

Still equipped with two ECHL goalies in Hershey, the Bears added a little security by adding Nolan Schaefer to the roster. Schaefer played for the Providence Bruins this season and was loaned by the Boston Bruins to the Bears. You may remember Schaefer from his three appearances as a Bear during the 2006-2007 season.

So far this season, Schaefer has been averaging a .897 save percentage and 3.11 goals allowed. For comparison’s sake, Todd Ford is currently averaging .884 save percentage and 3.04 goals allowed. However, Schaefer has much more experience in the AHL as well as a season in the KHL.

In both meetings of Hershey versus Providence this season, Schaefer was in goal. He won the first meeting, stopping 26 of 27 shots. He had a fantastic game and earned the #1 star. In the second game, he had a rougher performance, allowing four goals on thirteen shots. This was the same game that Jared DeMichiel earned his first AHL win.

Schaefer will wear #31 and is likely to play sometime this weekend. For more information (including quotes from Schaefer and Mark French), check out Tim Leone’s story on the Patriot-News site. While this move is not likely to be a game changer for Hershey’s season, it does give the team a little room to breathe.

Injured Bears Annihilated in Norfolk, 6-1

Shane Owen looks on as the Admirals pot their sixth goal of the night.

Well…yeah, that was bad.

It didn’t always look so bleak. Steve Pinizzotto put the Bears on the board first. Earlier he had been whistled a boarding call but he made up for it by scoring on his next shift. Unfortunately, the Admirals tied it up before the end of first twenty minutes. And that started the roll of unanswered goals by Norfolk.

The penalties began racking up in the second and third periods with the Bears on the wrong end of the calls. By the end of the second period, it was a 4-1 game in favor of Norfolk. It’s at this point that you really start thinking about all the injuries that are keeping Bears out of the game and wondering how many players might be playing through minor injuries.

Just to add insult to injury (literally), the Admirals came out fast for the final period and scored just 32 seconds in. That goal would mean the end of Jared DeMichiel’s game and Shane Owen was put in goal. Yes, the same Shane Owen that was signed this morning to a pro tryout contract. The intention was to just have him back-up DeMichiel tonight…but plans change. John Walton informs fans that Owen is not expected to be here long which means that either Braden Holtby or Semyon Varlamov is returning from injury soon.

In his clashing bright red pads, Owen stopped nine of ten shots through the remainder of the game. The only goal he let up came a little over halfway through the period. He lost sight of the puck and couldn’t dive across the crease in time. But, obviously, that’s not enough. Bears lose 6-1.

If anything, this game proves that the Bears need to talk a hard look at some goalies to possibly add before clear day. Granted, Holtby should be getting healthy soon, but what happens if we gets injured again? DeMichiel still has some developing to do and Todd Ford isn’t the kind of goalie you want to backstop you through playoffs.

But it’s probably best to deal with that when it comes.

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Boyd Kane Leads Bears to 4-3 Win Over Devils

Joel Rechlicz has another impressive fight against LeBlond. Photo by Kyle Mace

We said earlier that the organization was one goalie injury away from having a serious problem on our hands. In front of a sold out crowd tonight against the Albany Devils, Jared DeMichiel showed that don’t need to completely panic. He was a little shaky at first and gave up a goal when he couldn’t get control of the puck. But after that, he settled down and stood up for some great saves, including a jaw-dropping one on Darcy Zajac in the third period. By the end, he stopped 27 of 30 shots.

After allowing the Devils the early lead, Boyd Kane countered with a goal of his own, bouncing the puck past Mike McKenna. Later on the 5-on-3 power play, the Bears took their first lead of the night on a goal from Francois Bouchard.

Steve Pinizzotto scored to start the second period, also on the power play. The Devils didn’t respond until the waning moments of the second period but they still stood a goal behind.

Kane scored again in the third period. His second goal would prove to be the game-winner as the Devils scored with 18.4 seconds left. Can we talk about Boyd Kane for a second? We all know that Kane is a clutch player, but as of late he has really stepped his game up even more. He’s been racking up the points and some confidence.

The story of the night for many people was the AHL debut of Dmitri Orlov. I think all around, people were impressed. Troy Mann did a great job coaching Orlov. He was doing a great job of keeping up with his teammates and definitely didn’t look like he was new to the team. He even recorded his first AHL point tonight with a secondary assist on Pinizzotto’s power play goal. He was on ice for both of Hershey’s power play goals and none of Albany’s goals. He also finished the game with three shots on goal. I think it’s safe to say that Hershey fans are happy to add this Russian to the team.

The other story of the night is Joel Rechlicz. I said it on Twitter during the game but I need to repeat it: it’s absolutely mind-blowing how long Rechlicz can fight before he tires out. I’ve never seen a player consistently have fights that last over a minute all while throwing some great punches. Tonight, he was speared in the ribs by Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond (yes, him again) and they fought, of cour se. All while using only his left arm, Rechlicz took down Leblond and was even yelling at him for more. What a champ.

And that wraps up yet another exciting game against the Devils. Bears win 4-3. Goalie carousel be damned.

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The Never-Ending Saga of the Goalie Shuffle


Dan Stuck tends to Dany Sabourin after a bad hit from Louis Robitaille. Photo by Kyle Mace

On Thursday, Hershey’s world was rocked by the news that Dany Sabourin would be out an estimated two to three months because he was scheduled for knee surgery.

For Sabourin, this has to be especially tough. After having a bit of rough first half of the season, he was finally looking comfortable and confident. He had just come off playing four games in a row and they were arguably four of his best games. It hasn’t been announced when he injury occurred, but it’s easy to assume it happen during the January 21st battle against the Albany Devils. Thanks to Louis Robitaille’s hit, Sabourin feel so awkwardly on his leg. Despite laying on the ground for some time, he finished the game and even played for the next three games.

Add to that the fact that Braden Holtby also tweaked his knee right before the All-Star break, forcing him to miss playing in the All-Star game and putting him on the dreaded day-to-day list. Hey, at least it’s not week-to-week. So what now?

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SHOE’s Voting Guide for the 2011 AHL All-Star Classic

Hi, I’m Brian. First, let me start by saying I am thrilled to be part of the Sweetest Hockey On Earth team! I will be bringing you coverage of the back-to-back Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears from a local (and rink-side) perspective. Please take a moment to go to the About Us page to read more about me.

As for the 2011 AHL All-Star game, the Captains for this season’s game have already been named.  Heading up the Eastern Conference will be Mark Wotton and from the West it will be Alexandre Giroux.  They both are not only veterans of the league, but between the two of them, they have been named to several All-Star teams.  More interesting to you Hershey fans, is that both of these team captains are former Calder-Cup winning Bears players!

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Andrew Gordon talks about social media, his favorite Holtbyism, & playing dryer hockey with Crosby

Andrew Gordon

On November 20th, I went up to Hershey to celebrate my 26th Birthday in style, hoping to break my own personal curse and finally see a Bears victory in person (0-4). Despite Andrew Gordon’s heroic two goals and Semyon Varlamov in net, the Bears couldn’t garner enough offensive power to overcome the dreaded Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Undeterred, after the game, I caught up with the current AHL goals (15) and points (30) leader for an exclusive one-on-one interview to ask for his thoughts on a wide range of topics. This includes life in the AHL, the Bears new Captain, goalies, Holtbyisms, and his experience playing dryer hockey with one Sidney Crosby.

In the weeks to come – if my first-ever video interview with an athlete does not result in me being kicked out of the Bears locker room forever – we’ll continue to do these Q/A’s. So make sure to check out for more profiles on your favorite Hershey players and let us know what you think in the comments below. Okay! Let’s do this.

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