This Week in Pictures 2/5/12

The All Star break is over and the unofficial start of the second half of the season is under way!  I probably shouldn't be so excited about it, I mean afterall, the Bears certainly weren't.  Friday night the Bears played the best 40 minutes of the season at Mohegan Sun Arena.  However, hockey games are 60 minutes.  Saturday the Bears travelled home and played a pretty good 20 minutes.  And yet again, I remind you that games are 60 minutes in duration.  Finally they put it all together and played a decent 60 minutes plus.  And while it wasn't the best 60 minutes we've seen from our hometown boys, it was good enough to garner two points and score a win in OUR barn against the Baby Pens.
Jeff picked the wrong game this week, coming in to see the Whale beat our tails, while I had coverage of the Bears first home win against WBS in 10 tries.  Enjoy.

 Photo courtesy of Jeff Stinson - The Sentinel

Bourque Bowl 2012 made it's first stop in Hershey as Ryan Bourque led the Whale into town.  Connecticut looked pretty good and had a great defensive game that stymied the Bears when they put enough desire into their play.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Stinson - The Sentinel

All the blame cannot be put on Dany Sabourin as he was left all alone one too many times.  Graham Mink was quoted as saying that when adversity strikes this team, instead of banding together, they set off on their own individual quest to win the hockey game.  Hey guys there's no room in a team sport for individual games.   Individual efforts, yes, but you need to come together and stick with the game plan that you've practiced.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Stinson - The Sentinel

This weekend saw the subtraction of Matt Ford and Danny Richmond and the additions of Mike Carman and Kevin Marshall.  It's a good thing Jeff caught a picture of Marshall when he did.  Shortly after this shot, Marshall blocked a shot - with his mouth.  He lost a couple of teeth and was a bloody mess 'til Beaker got out there to his aid.  However, true hockey player that he is, he suited up and played (with a mouth shield) Sunday afternoon.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Stinson - The Sentinel

One guy that won't be suiting up for a while is Francois Bouchard.  Bouch was looking forward to his Hershey visit, but jammed his wrist during the first period, and finally threw in the towel at the beginning of the second.  He tweeted Tuesday that he has a broken scaphoid.  Click here for a diagram and a very lengthy description of where it's located.  Simply put - ouch, sorry Bouch.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Stinson - The Sentinel

Needless to say, the Bears - current and former - came out of Saturday night's contest bumped and bruised.  It was a disappointing loss and there was no time lay down and pout.  The Baby Pens were coming for a visit on the afternoon of the Super Bowl.

The puck dropped for a rare 2:00 start and things got under way, but it was clear fairly early that the Bears meant business.  Well that is until Brandon DeFazio's shorty just over three minutes into the first.  Then Bears fans held their collective breaths to see how the team would respond.  It would respond with a blue line bomb from Sean Collins just over a minute later. 

While there was a little bit of a lull in intensity during the second, here's where the individual effort stepped in.  Tomas Kundratek was mouthing off (specifically at Joey Mormina), and went out on the ice with a mission in mind.  He did not alter his game plan, simply amped it up.  With Frank smackin' people around, the rest of the team responded and the Bears resolve was set in stone.

We had to take it to overtime and then the shootout, but the Bears got it done.  Yes, we gave the Baby Pens a point for going to extra innings.  But I hope the fact that we eventually earned the win, will carry this team forward.  It could be the most important point we gained all season.....GO BEARS!

The Curse is Over: Hershey 4, WBS 3 (Shootout)

Okay, let's face it, last night was horrid.  When Kris Newbury scored the power play goal in the second, the team forgot everything they learned and focused on their individual games.  You could see the frustration on Coach French's face during his post game interview.  You could sense the concern radiating from several player's tweets following the game.  And an easy rebound was not in the cards as the Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguins were pulling into town for a Sunday afternoon show.  The Pens have owned the Giant Center ice winning their last nine visits.  So what would it be - team effort or individual defeat?

(First I gotta say a big thank you to my hubby for taking notes this afternoon.  I was taking pictures and holding a sleepy three-year-old and that was certainly a big help - now I just gotta read his handwriting!)
Things didn't start out overly well for the Bears as a Chris Bourque turnover during a power play resulted in a Brandon DeFazio shorty at 3:43.  The Bears would regroup at 4:57 when Sean Collins tee'd up at the blue line tying the game at one.  Hershey then pulled ahead at 6:09 while Scott Munroe was down and Chris Bourque was all alone at the opposite side of the net!  There was plenty of hitting going on all period from both sides and even though things got rather chippy at times, Chris Cozzan and Francis Charron let them play.  At 12:46, Cody Wild sent a shot in on net that was tipped by Bryan Lerg and stopped by Braden Holtby.  The puck dropped directly below him and tricked over the goal line tying the game at two.  That's where the period would end.

The Bears didn't look quite as crisp in the second and were called on three consecutive penalties.  The later two resulted in Wilkes Barre having 1:41 of 5-on-3 time.  The first penalty kill unit of Boyd Kane, Sean Collins, and I believe Ryan Potulny were outstanding stopping and clearing all attempts.  Unfortunately as they exited the ice and the second unit came on, Geoff Walker slipped one past Holtby.  There was :01 left in the 5-on-3.  This would be the test of our home team.  I'll admit I was a little concerned as the aggressiveness of play seemed to subside.  I did notice toward the end of the period Tomas Kundratek and Joey Mormina yapping at each other from the benches.  On Kundratek's last shift he started slamming Penguins around and was called for roughing at the 20:00 mark, but not before taking DeFazio to the box with him.  The teams would start the third with some 4-on-4 action.

The Bears really concerned me with the 4-on-4 play, but the battled on and soon the hits started coming.  There was no mercy from our boys as the forwards were hitting while our defenders were leading the rush (who would have ever thought you'd see Pat Wellar leading a rush.....twice!).  Finally their persistence paid off as newbie Mike Carman scored his first as a Bear on a nice feed from Graham Mink!  We are tied at 7:20!!!  There were a couple of scary moments for the home team, but Braden Holtby stood strong and Cody Eakin made a great play on a Penguins breakaway to send this baby into.....

.....overtime.  There was no scoring in overtime - and the credit for that goes to Tomas Kundratek.  In a moment of Penguins pressure, Holtby got pulled out from his crease as the puck sailed by.  Kundratek got behind Holts and pushed the puck to the far corner!  But of course, no score means....
....the shootout.  Wilkes Barre went first and in the third round Geoff Walker got one past our netminder.  But Cody Eakin answered right back in a wonderful faker-oo.  Then in the next round Ryan Potulny also befuddled Scott Munroe.  Holtby staved off the final attempt by Ben Street and the Bears have finally beaten the Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguins in our own barn!!!!!!!!
Items of Note:  the Bears scratched Rechlicz, Pope, Oreskovic, and Miskovic....WBS was 1-4 on the power play, while the Bears went 0-3....Eh, that's about it, Super Bowl kickoff is in less than half an hour.
Tweet of the Night:  @timleone:  Bourque breaks tie with Christian Matte on Hershey's all-time goal list with that score.
Refs:  Chris Cozzan and Francis Charron tag teamed the event, but their linesmen need help learning what an offside is.
Goalies:  Braden Holtby earned the shootout win, while Scott Munroe earned the loss.
Shots on Goal:  Bears 28, WBS 27
Stars of the Night:  as chosen by the media:  1. Ryan Potulny (GWG, 1A), 2. Bryan Lerg (1G, 1A), 3. Sean Collins (1G +2)
Morgan:  Eakin, Potulny, Carroll
Zack:  Potulny, Holtby, Eakin
Joel:  The 4th line - most definitely so.
Me:  Tomas Kundratek for his aggressive play, excellent defense, and pretty good offensive pressure too.

The Bears managed to salvage two points this weekend, but I think this win might be bigger than that.  The WBS curse has been broken at home and hopefully the team has learned not to give up and stick with their game plan.  That's all until Friday when the team heads to Syracuse to say hi to Andrew Gordon and company.  Let's keep this thing going......GO BEARS!

Where's Our Bears: Hershey 1, Connecticut 4

The Bears came back from their All Star break looking great - for 40 minutes.  After building a 3-0 lead against the Baby Pens Friday night in Wilkes Barre, the team crumbled and allowed the Pens four unanswered goals in the third period.  French's only published tweet reflected his frustration simply saying that they had signed up to play 60 minutes.  So how would the Chocolate and White respond Saturday as the Whale floated into town?

Photo courtesy of Jeff Stinson - The Sentinel

The Bears actually looked pretty good in the first period of Saturday's contest.  There was a jump to their step, although there was something noticeably missing from their play - aggression.  No one from the home squad was hitting or even charging after the puck.  The team held their own, however, until the 16:00 mark when Tommy Grant sent a wrister in from the left circle to give the Whale the lead.  Hershey would respond at 17:19 when Cody Eakin tipped a Tomas Kundratek blue line shot.  It was tied at one after one.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Stinson - The Sentinel

But that that pretty much all she wrote for Hershey.  Although not looking terrible through the first half of the second, shots were getting swallowed up before getting to the net.  Those that did make it were easily taken care of by goalie Chad Johnson.  Connecticut's Kris Newbury squeaked the puck between Dany Sabourin and the goal post at 12:10 to give the Whale a 2-1 lead during a power play.  Just a minute and a half later the Whale charged down the ice and while everyone was watching Jonathan Audy-Marchessault skate down the right side, no one - including Sabourin - noticed Andre Deveaux coming down the left.  Audy-Marchessault passed the puck cross ice for the easy tap in for Deveaux.  Things got a little chippy toward the end of the second, but not enough to fire up the Bears.  Whale lead 3-1 at the end of two, but Hershey had 1:18 of power play time to start the third.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Stinson - The Sentinel

Not that that did any good.  Hershey actually had two power play chances early in the period, but between the two got one shot on net.  You know, it's kinda hard to score goals when you don't put the puck on net!!!!!  Tommy Grant sealed the Whale victory at 13:50 with his second goal of the night.  Bears had a power play with 2:45 left in the game and even pulled Sabourin for an extra attacker, but to no avail.  Bears sucked, and dropped their third straight home game.
Items of Note:  Bears scratched Aucoin (DC), King, Pope, Oreskovic, and Wellar - all healthy....Kevin Marshall dropped to the ice at 13:56 in the second to block a Connecticut shot.  He accomplished his mission with his face.  He left the ice in a bloody mess and was reported to have lost teeth.  He did not return to play....Francois Bouchard, in his Hershey return, injured his wrist in the first period.  He tried to continue play, but left the game for good in the second.  He will have his wrist x-rayed in Hartford tomorrow, but believes it may be broken.....Joel Rechlicz was returned from DC and played in tonight's contest.
Tweet of the Night:  @timleone:  Hershey has been outscored 8-1 last 4 periods.
Ref:  Chris Ciamaga
Goalies:  Dany Sabourin for Hershey, Chad Johnson for the Whale
Shots on Goal:  Hershey 40, Connecticut 21
Stars of the Night:  as chosen by the media:  1.  Tommy Grant (2G), 2. Chad Johnson (39 saves), 3. Kris Newbury (GWG)
Morgan:  Garrett Mitchell and Cody Eakin
Zack:  Bouchard, MicFlikier, & Chad Johnson
Joel:  Honorable mention to Johnson, star of the night honors to Cody Eakin
Me:  An honorable nod to Zach Miskovic, but my star of the night was Graham Mink.
Jeff:  Player of game: Cody Eakin- Back checking, creating scoring plays (obviously none converted), and the took his frustration out with finishing checks... Props to Boyd Kane and Tomas Kundratek, both were playing hard all 3 periods

I was hoping that the All Star break would refresh these guys and get 'em going in the right direction.  And for 40 minutes last night it looked like it had.  Then it all fell apart.  Frenchie said that they signed up to play 60 minutes of hockey, but I believe he meant every night, not 60 minutes total between two contests!  It's very disappointing to see so much potential not even be able to complete simple passes.  The Bears have one more chance to redeem themselves and try to salvage something from this weekend.  Unfortunately for us, that chance comes tomorrow afternoon against the WBS Penguins.  We'll see.....GO BEARS!

January Review: A Bit of a Downer

You get to the mountain top one step at a time.

You can take a break, but you must keep moving forward.

--Unknown

When you go 10-2-0-1 in December, it's only natural that you're going to come back to reality at some point in time.  And it's better to hit the adversity in January than in April, May, or June.  While this past month saw the numbers go down, February shows some promise already of an uphill swing.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Stinson - The Sentinel

Record through January 31, 2012:  25-12-4-3

Points:  57

Standings:  Second in the East Division behind Wilkes-Barre(58 points)

The Good

I'm going to start the good with two stats that have risen during the month of January.  The first stat would belong to Braden Holtby.  Holtby's save percentage inched up to .906 despite the team's record of 6-4-1-0 during the month.  I personally hold Braden responsible for keeping the Bears in the mix during the last four games he played during the month.  It seems our young goaltender has hit upon his own reality - he's here to stay in Hershey and is more than making the best of it at times.....While Keith Aucoin and Chris Bourque continue to sit atop the AHL leader board in points, Jacob MicFlikier keeps pounding away and now sits fifth in the league for total points.  He's also tied with Graham Mink for power play goals scored with 11....Our power play still ranks first in the league, although dipping slightly in it's efficiency.  Our team scores during the man advantage an average of 29.6% of the time.....And our pk continues to impress, keeping our opponents off the board 86.0% of the time.

The Bad

Well, let's start with that four-game skid the Bears hit on at the end of the month.  Those two games at home against Manchester were absolutely ghastly.  We've had problems with the Monarchs defensive-style in the past, but the team will need to learn adaptability if they expect to beat them in a rematch later this month....Speaking of ghastly - what happened to our defense?  What looked so good through December and the beginning of January completely fell by the wayside as they started making plans for the All Star break.  We need to be defensively responsible before the blueliners jump in on the play....And our penalties are still taking their toll on this group of guys.  The Bears have now amassed 1015 penalties which average out to 23.1 minutes per game.  This is one stat I'd love to see on a downward spiral.

The Surprises

Just last month I was commenting on how great Tomas Kundratek was playing.  Apparently someone in DC  reads my blog, because he was called up to the big club shortly after I published my thoughts.  He has since been returned and I'm looking for continued good play from the young Checz.....And I guess one of the bigger surprises came at the very end of the month when the Caps signed and recalled Joel Rechlicz.  Great opportunity for Recker - he may not be playing a lot of minutes per game, but his mere presence alone is keeping things in order.  I mean, really, Steve Downie was even cordial to Mathieu Perreault when he accidentally high sticked him in Recker's first game.  

Things have already gotten off with a bang and our first February contest isn't even until tonight!  In case you haven't heard - Cody Eakin has been reassigned to the Bears and Keith Aucoin has earned his first NHL recall of the season.  Matt Ford has been traded to the Flyers organization for defenseman Kevin Marshall.  Just what we need, another d-man right?  Don't worry, the Caps also swung a deal that sends Danny Richmond to Colorado for center Mike Carman.  The deal works well for both teams as Richie will be going to a young club with no veteran issues.  This also frees up the Bears so they aren't on the veteran-merry-go-round every game.  Both former Bears are to report to their AHL affiliates while our newbies are expected to make the trip to WBS tonight.  

February hits a serious stretch of away games.  It will be interesting to see how things shake out - not only with a tougher schedule, but with the NHL trade deadline approaching at the end of the month.  This could be just the beginning of what is to come....GO BEARS!

Special Thanks

Tuesdays are pretty hectic days for me.  Getting the kids to school, working, and rushing home to get Morgan from school can wear you down enough, but after dinner, I rush right back out the door for some volunteer time.  Needless to say Tuesdays are completely booked from the time I pry my eyes open, until they slam shut at night.

So when we received a reminder that Morgan's elementary school was hosting a family fun and fitness night this past Tuesday, I almost tossed it without reading it.  However, something at the bottom of the sheet caught my eye - "special appearance by Hershey Bears players."  While there was no way I could attend, my daughter surely had to go.  It took a little convincing my shy eight-year-old.  She turtles in social situations faster than Louis Robitaille.  She finally agreed to go and had a great time.

Morgan & Andrew Carroll

I just wanted to give a big shout out of thanks to Pistol and Recker for making my kids smile for two days.  Morgan came out of her shell enough to even ask Andrew Carroll if she could get her picture taken with him - color me jealous!

Zack and Joel Rechlicz

And Zack showed off his goalie skills when it was his turn to play floor hockey with two guys from his favorite team.  (For the record after he demonstrated his ability to cover the five-hole, both players informed my hubby that we are in trouble....sorry guys, we already figured that one out!)

I just wanted to take a quick moment to recognize Andrew Carroll and Joel Rechlicz for giving up their free time to come out and spend some time with the kids in Middletown.  I know it's something my two will remember for a life time....GO BEARS!

This Week in Pictures 1/22/12

It certainly wasn't the weekend the Bears had hoped for.  With the recent winning streak of the Chocolate and White and the seven-game skid the Manchester Monarchs were experiencing, maybe we went in a little cocky.  Manchester proved they weren't ready to give up and their defensive style put our guys in a tailspin.  The three-loss weekend, sent us from a comfortable lead in the East Division, to a tie with the WB and Norfolk only two points behind.

Jeff wasn't around to watch the beat down - lucky him.  So I brought out my camera to catch some of the action.  Enjoy.

Dany Sabourin drew the start in Saturday's contest and many times was left as the only defender of the net.  Manchester clogged up the shooting zone causing rebounds to become turnovers.  The Monarchs would then sail right down the middle of the ice all alone.  It wasn't all Sabu's fault as the team could just not adjust their play and hang on to the lead when they got it.

Saturday's game was pretty hard hitting seeing one and a half fights (sorry, cannot justify the Oreskovic-Johnson wrestling match as a fight) and a few scrambles along the boards. 

We were able to get people in front of the net on occasion, but the rebounds were popping out by the hashmarks.  With the forwards in and around the net and the defensemen pinching in from the sides, there were only purple people ready to grab the puck and skate down ice.

Despite the two home-losses, Andrew Carroll had a heckuva homestand.  Two fights and some outstanding work on the penalty kill make him a star in my eyes if not on the scoresheet.

Chalk this weekend up as lesson learned.  It's time to regroup - and fast - as they head south for two games against division rival Norfolk Friday and Saturday.  And after the All Star break, there's a few Penguins on my game schedule staring right at them....GO BEARS!

Same Story, Different Night: Bears 2, Manchester 4

Jacob MicFlikier summed up the Bears Saturday night loss perfectly in an interview with Tim Leone in The Patriot.  Said MicFlik "We sat back on our goals after the next shift, and they capitalized.  It hurt us.  We need to step on the gas after we get those goals and change the momentum and keep on them."  Patrick McNeill was also on the money when he stated "They have a unique style" referring to Manchesters collapsing defense that causes turnovers that take advantage of their opponents not being in a defensive stance.  So now that we know what's wrong, can we correct it?  Time will tell.

Well, if the early going was any indication, we didn't learn all our lessons!  Dwight King (DJ's brother) outmuscled Julien Brouillette at the corner of the net to intercept and redirect a Justin Johnson pass to give the Monarchs an early lead.  The Bears would not be able to score on two power play chances before Brouillette would wind up and fire from the blue line to tie the game.  A late Monarchs penalty looked to be the chance the Bears would need, but Chris Bourque turned the puck over in the offensive zone, and Patrick McNeill bobbled it at the defensive blue line.  This led to Stefan Legein's first goal of the night - a shorty at 19:11. 

The Bears still had :34 of power play time to start the second, but it didn't do any good.  Andrew Carroll attempted to jump start the Bears with an early period fight against Jordan Nolan, but unlike last night, it didn't provide the needed spark.  At 5:21, Matt Pope went to the box for tripping and Manchester went to work.  After a pretty passing presentation, Legein got his second of the night into the net and Manchester is leading 3-1.  About half way through the period, the Bears started to pick up the pace, but there was a noticeable lack of hitting from the home team.  Hershey would take an advantage of a Thomas Hickey penalty later in the period.  Jacob MicFlikier skated through the zone, but fell and the puck popped out to center where Keith Aucoin fired straight into the back of the net.  Bears pulled within one heading into intermission.

The third period was pretty quiet, but the Bears were sending shots toward the goal.  One thing I noticed is that normally, having a forward in front of the net is the perfect place to be.  With Manchester's defense swarming around the net, an attacker needed to be standing around the hashmarks to catch the rebounds.  Since the Bears didn't notice what I did, pucks weren't getting through.  Frenchie pulled Holtby with 1:30 left in the game, but even with the extra attacker the Bears couldn't tie the game.  Justin Azevedo added an empty netter to give the Monarchs the win and give the Bears their first 3-in-3 loss of the season.
Items of Note:  Bears scratched Mink, Wellar, and Greentree....With Keith Aucoin's goal in the second, he extended his points streak to 16 games....Bears were 1-7 on the power play, Manchester was 1-4.....Braden Holtby almost scored on his own net, when a clearing attempt went off his own post!  Meanwhile Aucoin made a great diving save on the empty net at the end of the game.
Tweet of the Night:  @timeleone:  Holtby:  "You've got to give credit to Zatkoff and their defense.  They blocked a ton of shots and cleared a ton of rebounds."
Refs:  Keith Kaval and David Banfield.  You know Banfield isn't such a butt when he has help.....
Goalies:  Braden Holtby for the Bears didn't look so hot, while Jeff Zatkoff and his team of defenders stole the show.
Shots on Goal:  Bears 31, Manchester 19
Stars of the Night: as chosen by the media:  1. Stefan Legein (2G), 2. Marc-Andre Cliche (2A), 3. Jeff Zatkoff (29 saves)
Morgan:  Keith Aucoin & Julien Brouillette
Zack:  the other team's goalie
Joel:  Matt Ford
Me:  Christian Hanson.  Especially in third period he showed hustle and determination.

Well, that was a let down.  The way the team's been playing of late, we're not used to three losses in a row.  But no season is without a little adversity and I for one would like to see all the let downs happen now than in April, May, and/or June.  We'll take it and build on it for next time.  That next time is Friday night against division rival Norfolk in Hampton Roads.  Then most of team gets the weekend off while Chris Bourque, Keith Aucoin, and Boyd Kane participate in the All Star Classic.  Maybe a little rest will recharge the team as they head into the second half of the season.......GO BEARS!