Sunday January 29, 2005 vs. Albany (Posted Sunday 10:17 P.M. EST.)

 

Hershey makes it 7 straight over Albany with 2-1 OT win

 

The Hershey Bears continue to find ways to beat the Albany River Rats this season. Sunday night, the Bears, down 1-0 going into the 3rd period, rallied to tie the game before completing the comeback with Jeff Ulmer's goal 2:30 into the overtime. Bears goaltender Tom Lawson (8-10-0), starting in net for only the second time since December 19th, earned the victory, stopping 37 of 38 River Rats shots.

 

With the win, Hershey (23-22-1-0, 47 points) keeps pace with Wilkes-Barre, trailing the East Division's 4th place team by 8 points. For last-place Albany (12-24-5-5, 34 points), they have now lost all 7 matchups against Hershey this season, and have dropped 8 in a row to the Bears dating back to last season.

 

Need to Know: After an uneventful 1st period, Albany would take the games' first lead at the 5:49 mark of the 2nd period. During a mad scramble around the Bears net, Adrian Foster would pick up a loose rebound on the left side, chipping the puck over Lawson for his 5th goal of the season.

 

Hershey would finally get its legs in the 3rd period, picking up momentum that seemed to be lacking in the first 40 minutes of the game. Just 2:53 into the frame, Eric Perrin would pick up his 14th goal of the season, backhanding a right side shot that trickled over Albany goaltender Scott Clemmensen, tying the game at 1-1.

Exactly at the midpoint of the extra session (2:30), Ulmer would net the game-winner for Hershey, taking a Jeff Finger pass between the circles and firing a shot that beat Clemmensen stick side. It was Ulmer's 12th goal of the season, and he now has goals in 6 straight games, the current AHL high.

 

Misc. Game Notes: Clemmensen (6-15-5) took the loss for Albany, finishing with 30 saves…Hershey RW Andre Savage has assists in 5 straight games…Bears C Marek Svatos was a healthy scratch, while rookie C Ryan Steeves returned to the lineup after missing the last 2 games…the 4 combined penalty minutes were a season low in 1 contest involving the Bears, while Hershey's 2 PIMs tied a season low for 1 game…early in the 1st period, the River Rats skated with a forward line of tough guys Rob Skrlac, Cam Janssen, and Brett Clouthier, with Ray Schultz skating on defense…the Bears and WGAL Channel 8 raised over $38,000 from donations at Sunday night's game, which will be given to the American Red Cross to benefit victims of December's Tsunami in Southeast Asia.

 

Coming Up: The Bears will make up their cancelled game with Philadelphia from January 22nd this Wednesday night, hosting the Phantoms with a 7:30 PM faceoff at the Giant Center. After dropping the previous 16 consecutive contests to Philly, Hershey has now won their last 2 meetings.

 

 

From left to right, Cody McCormick, Tuomas Pihlman, Tom Lawson, Ilkka Pikkarainen, and Mathieu Darche hover around the Bears net as Adrian Foster's 2nd period shot finds its way into the goal, giving Albany a 1-0 lead.

 

 

Hershey's Eric Perrin prepares to backhand this shot past Albany goaltender Scott Clemmensen, tying the game 1-1 at the 2:53 mark of the 3rd period.

 

 

Bears goaltender Tom Lawson makes a save during 3rd period action.

 

 

Jeff Ulmer celebrates as his overtime score beats Clemmensen, giving the Bears a 2-1 victory over the River Rats.

 

Current Bears Statistical Leaders (through 1-30-05)

 

• Games: 46 (Johnny Boychuk, Mathieu Darche, Eric Perrin, Jeff Ulmer)
• Goals: 16 (Mathieu Darche)
• Assists: 25 (Eric Perrin)
• Points: 39 (Eric Perrin)
• PIMs: 235 (Dennis Bonvie)
• +/-: +3 (Nick Naumenko)
• PPGs: 7 (David Masse)
• SHGs: 1 (Jeff Ulmer & David Masse)
• GWGs: 6 (Eric Perrin)
• Shots: 166 (Mathieu Darche)

The 7641 Sports' News 'N Notes team can be contacted via e-mail at: nnn@7641.com

 

Saturday January 29, 2005 vs. Hartford (Posted Sunday 9:45 A.M. EST.)

 

Hartford "Packs" a punch with 6-1 win over Hershey

 

Hartford Head Coach (and former Bear) Ryan McGill can count on certain players for certain roles. At 6'6'', 265 lbs, Steve MacIntyre fills the role of size and toughness at left wing for the Wolf Pack. Saturday night, he added an unlikely element: offense. His list of feats for the game read like this: assist, fight, goal, fight. Result: netting the "Gordie Howe Hat Trick," (which consists of a goal, an assist, and a fight) en route to being named the game's #1 star in Hartford's 6-1 victory of Hershey. For the Bears (22-22-1-0, 45 points) who fell back to .500, they have now dropped 5 of their last 7 decisions, while the Wolf Pack (32-12-1-2, 67 points) inched to within 1 point of the Manchester Monarchs for 1st place in the Atlantic Division.

 

Need to Know: Hershey's only offensive production of the game would occur at the 4:14 mark of the 1st period, when Jeff Ulmer would net his 11th goal of the season. After an odd-man rush going into the Hartford zone, Andre Savage would hit the brakes midway along the left dasher boards, feeding a pass to Ulmer between the circles. Ulmer would then take the puck in alone to Wolf Pack goaltender Jason LaBarbera, backhanding a shot through the "5 hole" to make it 1-0 Hershey.

 

Then, the 2nd period began and Hartford would begin its offensive onslaught just 16 ticks into the frame. With Bryce Lampman skating with the puck on the left side, Bears goalie Peter Budaj committed and dropped down to the left post, with Lampman then wrapping around the Hershey net and depositing his 7th of the season on an open net.

 

Just over 2 minutes later (at 2:27), Ryan Hollweg would put the Wolf Pack up 2-1, taking a MacIntyre left circle pass to the point and rocketing home the game-winner---his 6th goal of the season---beating Budaj top shelf.

 

At 4:47 of the 2nd period, MacIntyre and Hershey's Dennis Bonvie dropped the gloves near center ice. Both circled each other for 15-20 seconds before MacIntyre landed a couple of rights, which forced Bonvie to try and tie up the much-bigger MacIntyre. Bonvie, who got tied up himself, managed to free his right hand, getting off a few shots on MacIntyre. MacIntyre was then able to free his left hand, unloading a few that found their mark. After tying each other up again, the linesmen intervened, separating the two pugilists and sending them to their respective penalty boxes.

 

Hartford would go up 3-1 at the 8:19 point of the 2nd, with Garth Murray scoring his 3rd of the season on a shot from the left side of the net that hit Budaj's pads, squeaking through and giving the Wolf Pack their 3rd unanswered goal in just under 6 minutes.

 

Dominic Moore, the younger brother of former Bear Steve Moore, would give the Wolf Pack a 4-1 advantage at the 14:20 mark of the 2nd, registering his 11th goal of the season. Alexandre Giroux, behind the Hershey net along the end boards, backhanded a pass to Moore, who took the puck right into Budaj, tucking the biscuit through the netminder's skates.

 

MacIntyre would cap the 2nd period scoring, netting his 1st career AHL goal at 17:58 on a backhand shot from the point that found its way through several players, finally coming to rest in the Hershey net. After allowing 5 goals on 27 shots, Budaj would be replaced by Tom Lawson to start the 3rd period.

 

A near-riot erupted at the 11:48 mark of the 3rd period after Bonvie laid a big hit along the Hershey endboards. Hartford's Craig Weller responded by hitting Bonvie from behind, leading to MacIntyre/Bonvie 2. This time around, both players tied each other up quickly, with MacIntyre falling to the ice on top of Bonvie. Both were each issued their second fighting majors of the game, while Weller was assessed a roughing minor.

 

After the net had become dislodged in the Hershey zone, tempers would flare again at the 14:03 mark, with Hartford's Ryan Hollweg dropping the mitts and landing a couple of rights to Bears D Agris Saviels, who had yet to shake off his gloves. At the same time, Hartford's Jed Ortmeyer and Hershey's Mike Souza grappled along the Hershey endboards.

 

At 18:11, Hartford would score their 6th (and final) unanswered goal of the game, with Lucas Lawson's right circle wrist shot beating Hershey goalie Lawson on the top shelf.

 

Misc. Game Notes: LaBarbera (21-6-0), who was chased after allowing 3 goals on 10 shots in Hartford's 4-1 loss back on November 10th, showed why he's one of the AHL's best backstoppers, turning aside 29 shots. Budaj (16-13-0) suffered the loss in net for Hershey, ending with 22 saves in 40 minutes. Lawson, who finished the game in mop-up duty for the Bears, finished with 9 saves…Ulmer now has goals in 5 straight games. Speaking of Ulmer, he left the game with 41 seconds left in the 3rd after taking a high stick to the face from Hartford's Jake Taylor, who was handed a 5 minute major for the infraction…in addition to MacIntyre, Moore (1 goal, 1 assist), Giroux (2 assists), and Chad Wiseman (2 assists) each finished with 2 points…Hartford has allowed an AHL-low 92 goals this season. In fact, coming into Saturday's contest, the Wolf Pack averaged only 1.98 goals allowed/game, tops in the league…Hartford leads the AHL with 21 home victories, but is only 11-9-1-1 on the road in 04/05…the Wolf Pack, who came into the game as the AHL's top penalty killers (90.2 %), knocked off all 3 Hershey power play opportunities…the 6 goals allowed by Hershey tied a season high (lost 6-2 in Providence on 12/5), as did the 5-goal margin of defeat (5-0 loss in Manchester on 11/13)…with Bears LW David Masse out with an inured wrist, Dean Arsene moved up to forward…after missing Friday's game with the flu, Hershey D Jeff Finger returned to the lineup…rookie C Ryan Steeves was Hershey's lone healthy scratch…after his first fight with Bonvie, MacIntyre's jersey sported an 8-10 inch rip from the neck down.

 

Coming Up: The Bears will look to return to their winning ways Sunday evening, when they host the Albany River Rats at 5 PM at the Giant Center. Hershey is 6-0 against Albany this season, including 2 wins at home.

 

 

Hartford's Chad Wiseman attempts to defend, but Hershey's Jeff Ulmer slips the puck past goaltender Jason LaBarbera to give the Bears a 1-0 lead in the 1st period.

 

 

Hartford's Bryce Lampman slips this shot past Bears goaltender Peter Budaj, tying the game 1-1 just 16 seconds into the 2nd period.

 

 

Hershey's Dennis Bonvie (left) tangles with Hartford's Steve MacIntyre during their 2nd period fight.

 

 

This shot by Garth Murray (not pictured) found its way through goaltender Peter Budaj's pads, giving the Wolf Pack a 3-1 lead in the 2nd period.

 

 

Hartford's Alexandre Giroux & Dominic Moore celebrate Moore's 2nd period goal as the Bears' Peter Budaj and Andre Savage react.

 

 

Hartford's Layne Ulmer (left) celebrates Steve MacIntyre's late-2nd period goal while Hershey's Peter Budaj, Carl Corazzini, and Martin Wilde look on.

 

 

Hershey's Dennis Bonvie (left) stands at the doorstep as Hartford goalie Jason LaBarbera makes a save during 3rd period action.

 

The 7641 Sports' News 'N Notes team can be contacted via e-mail at: nnn@7641.com

 

Friday January 28, 2005 at Wilkes-Barre (Posted Friday 9:45 P.M. EST.)

 

Down 2-0, Bears respond with 4 goals to down Pens 4-2

 

Making their first trip up I-81 to Wilkes-Barre, the Hershey Bears, down 2-0 in the 3rd period, stormed back with 4 unanswered goals to down the Penguins 4-2 before 8,357 fans Friday night at the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Dennis Bonvie, Chris Bala, Nick Naumenko, and Jeff Ulmer each pocketed goals en route to the Hershey victory. With the win, the Bears (22-21-1-0, 45 points) move within 7 points of Wilkes-Barre (21-13-5-5, 52 points) for 4th place in the East Division.

 

Need to Know: After a scorless 1st period, Wilkes-Barre's Shane Endicott would net the game's 1st goal at 14:02 of the 2nd. Carrying the puck into the Hershey zone, Endicott unloaded a blast from the top of the circle, beating Bears goaltender Peter Budaj in the top left corner for his 17th goal of the season.

 

With Hershey's Andre Savage serving a holding the stick penalty, Ramzi Abid would take a Ross Lupaschuk pass from behind the Bears net and fire his 17th of the season past Budaj to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead at 13:03 of the middle frame.

 

The Bears would finally get on the scoreboard at 1:54 of the 3rd period, when former Penguin Dennis Bonvie would tally just his 2nd goal of the season, sneaking behind the Wilkes-Barre defense and sliding the puck past Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.

 

On an odd-man rush into the Wilkes-Barre end, Chris Bala would tie the game at 2-2, picking up a Carl Corazzini rebound and bagging his 7th of the season at 8:41 of the 3rd.

 

With both teams skating 4 on 4, Nick Naumenko's blast from the blueline---the eventual game-winner--- would find its way past Fleury, giving the Bears their first lead of the game at 11:16.

 

Jeff Ulmer would net the Bears 4th unanswered goal of the 3rd period, netting a power play goal on a shot from the left circle at 17:26.

 

Misc. Game Notes: Budaj (16-12-0) earned the win for Hershey finishing with 20 saves. Fleury (15-9-3) took the loss for Wilkes-Barre, ending with 33 saves…Ulmer now has goals in 4 straight games…Bears D Johnny Boychuk ended with 2 assists…Hershey C Eric Perrin, who earned an assist on Bala's goal, has 18 points in his last 14 games…the 4, 3rd period goals were a season high for one period…Wilkes-Barre's 22 shots on goal were the least the Bears have allowed in 1 game this season…shortly after the opening faceoff, Bears LW David Masse left with an apparent hand injury, and did not return…after missing the last 2 games with a shoulder injury, Bears D Martin Wilde returned to the lineup…D Jeff Finger and C Ryan Steeves were healthy scratches for Hershey…earlier in the day, the Bears released LW Mike Amodeo...before Friday's game, Wilkes-Barre had gone 12-0-1-2 when leading after 2 periods, including a 10-0-0-0 mark at home.

 

6 Degrees of Separation: Hershey RW Dennis Bonvie played with the Baby Pens from '99-'01…in addition to the 99/00 & 00/01 seasons, Bonvie and Penguins D Chris Kelleher were teammates with the Providence Bruins during the 01/02 season…Pens C Kris Beech played alongside Bears D Johnny Boychuk during the 2000/01 season with the Calgary Hitmen (WHL)…Wilkes-Barre goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, and Hershey goalie Peter Budaj split time in net for 2 seasons with the St. Michael's Majors (OHL).

 

Coming Up: On Saturday, the Hartford Wolf Pack make their only visit to Central PA with a 7 PM start against the Bears at the Giant Center. The last time Hershey and Hartford met (on November 10th ), Dennis Bonvie, Mathieu Darche, Eric Perrin, and Marek Svatos each had 2 points as the Bears downed the then-undefeated Wolf Pack 4-1 in Hartford. Wolf Pack netminder Steve Valiquette had a shutout streak of 221:50 stopped Friday night in Philadelphia, when the Phantoms scored just 1:26 into the 1st period. NHL Hall of Famer Johnny Bower holds the AHL record of 249:51, set in 1957.

 

The 7641 Sports' News 'N Notes team can be contacted via e-mail at: nnn@7641.com

 

Wednesday January 26, 2005 vs. St. John's (Posted Thursday 7:13 A.M. EST.)

 

Bears win shootout at G.C. Corral

 

The Hershey Bears made the St. John's Maple Leafs final appearance in Chocolatetown a memorable one, rallying to tie the game with less than 4 minutes left in regulation before besting the Leafs 3-2 in a shootout. Bears goaltender Peter Budaj stopped 28 shots in regulation and overtime before making another 13 saves in the shootout frame. 30 total attempts were needed to declare a victor, but Hershey's Andre Savage sealed the win by beating Leafs goaltender Mikael Tellqvist on the Bears' 15th shootout chance. The Bears (21-21-1-0, 43 points), who are now 5-0 in shootouts this season, snapped a season-high 4-game losing streak. St. John's (26-16-0-2, 54 points) heads next to Cleveland, where they'll wrap up their season-long 12-game road swing with a pair of games at Gund Arena against the Barons.

 

Need to Know: After a scoreless 1st period by both teams, St. John's wouldn't take long in the 2nd frame, with David Ling netting his 18th goal of the season just 51 seconds into the period. On a 2 on1, odd-man rush with teammate Kyle Wellwood, Ling would take a Wellwood pass on the left side, beating Bears goalie Peter Budaj on the stick-side.

 

The Bears would finally break through Leafs goaltender Mikael Tellqvist in the 3rd period, with Jeff Ulmer scoring his 9th goal of the season at the 4:51 mark. With an excited Giant Center crowd performing "The Wave," Ulmer and Mathieu Darche led a 2 on 1, odd-man situation, with Darche's right circle pass to Ulmer finding its mark, and Ulmer burying the puck stick-side of Tellqvist.

 

Any momentum the Bears were carrying was deflated when Harold Druken's 13th goal of the season at 7:32 of the 3rd gave the Leafs a 2-1 advantage. Druken, moving the puck back in the Bears zone, turned around and fired a slapshot from high in the slot, finding its mark and beating Budaj.

 

Bears captain Brett Clark, who returned to the lineup after missing the last 13 games with a shoulder injury, evened the score at 2-2, racing towards the St. John's goal, picking up an Eric Perrin rebound and firing home his 3rd goal of the season at 16:02 of the 3rd.

 

After Hershey and St. John's were unable to settle on a winner in the 5-minute overtime period, both teams headed towards the shootout frame. Coming into Wednesday's game, St. John's held a 3-2 mark in shootouts, while Hershey sported a perfect 4-0 record in the same category.

 

As the 1st and 2nd shooters for the Leafs, Nathan Barrett and Druken would miss on 5-hole attempts on Budaj. As the 3rd shooter, Ling would give St. John's a 1-0 lead in the frame, beating Budaj in the top left shelf. Marek Svatos and David Masse would not convert on Hershey's first 2 chances, but Perrin would capitalize on the Bears 3rd opportunity, beating Tellqvist glove-side to tie the shootout at 1-1.

 

Jeremy Williams and Brad Leeb would fail in their attempts before Ling, in his 2nd attempt (and St. Johns' 6th attempt) netted his 2nd shootout score, beating Budaj high on the glove side. The pattern would repeat itself on the Hershey side, with Savage and Darche missing their tries before Perrin (on Hershey's 6th attempt) pocketed his 2nd tally of the frame, once again tying the shootout score at 2-2.

 

After the next 9 St. John's and 8 Hershey attempts were stymied, Savage ended the game at 10:24 PM, beating Tellqvist stick-side and giving the Bears a 3-2 shootout victory.

 

Misc. Game Notes: Budaj (15-12-0), who is now 4-0 in shootouts this season for Hershey, has stopped 25 of 29 shootout attempts this season (.862%). Tellqvist (12-10-1) finished with 29 saves in defeat for St. John's …during the latter stages of the 2nd period, Hershey killed off a St. John's 5 on 3 power play opportunity for 1 minute, 40 seconds…in all-time games played in Hershey, the Bears finished with a 10-7-1 record against St. John's…the Bears are the only AHL team this season that has not lost in a shootout…Perrin has converted 5 of 7 shootout attempts this season…surprisingly, St. John's Head Coach Doug Shedden elected not to use 2 of his more potent goal scorers, Kyle Wellwood and Matt Stajan. Wellwood leads the Leafs with 19 goals, while Stajan has tallied 13 goals in 04/05, including 2 against the Bears in last Wednesday's 4-2 win…Ling, the AHL's 5th-leading scorer with 53 points, finished with a goal and an assist…Wellwood, who was named to AHL Canadian All-Star team on Wednesday, has amassed 6 points (1 goal, 5 assists) in 2 games against Hershey this season…the Bears/Leafs 30 combined shootout attempts fell short of the AHL season-high, which was set on December 3rd, when the Cleveland Barons and Utah Grizzlies needed 32 attempts before Cleveland's Garrett Stafford beat Utah's David LeNeveu, giving the Barons a 3-2 victory. Cleveland goaltender Nolan Schaefer's 14 shootout saves in that game are the current, season-high…St. John's fell to 18-1-0-1 when leading after 2 periods…a season-high, sellout crowd of 10,674 attended the game, in which a free, 1-day pass to Hershey Park was given to each fan…Hershey C Cody McCormick, out for the last 2 months with a wrist injury, played his 1st game since November 17th…D Martin Wilde, who signed a full-season contract with Hershey on Monday, missed his 2nd straight game with a shoulder injury…LWs Mike Souza and Mike Amodeo were Hershey's healthy scratches.

 

"Pre-Perrin" for another All-Star appearance: For the 2nd straight second, Bears alternate captain Eric Perrin has been named to the American Hockey League's Canadian All-Star squad. Perrin, 29, leads Hershey with 36 points, and led the Bears in scoring last season with 75 points. In last years' AHL All-Star Classic, Perrin earned 2 assists en route to Team Canada's 9-5 victory over the Planet/USA All-Stars. The 2005 AHL All-Star Game will be played February 14th at the Verizon Wireless Arena, home of the Manchester Monarchs and will be broadcast in the US on ESPN2.

 

Coming Up: On Friday, Hershey will make its 1st appearance at the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza to take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at 7 PM. It will be the first of 10 meetings between the two teams this season.

 

 

St. John's goaltender Mikael Tellqvist makes a shoulder save during 1st period action.

 

 

Bears goalie Peter Budaj makes a save during 2nd period play.

 

 

Maple Leafs goalie Mikael Tellqvist reacts after Jeff Ulmer's 2nd period goal ties the game at 1-1.

 

 

David Ling goes top left shelf over Bears goalie Peter Budaj, giving the Leafs a 1-0 lead in the shootout.

 

 

Eric Perrin (left) quickly evens the shootout score at 1-1, beating Leafs goaltender Mikael Tellqvist on the glove side.

 

 

As the Maple Leafs' 5th shooter, Brad Leeb attempts a 5 hole shot on Hershey goalie Peter Budaj.

 

 

St. John's RW David Ling goes 2 for 2 in the shootout frame, beating Budaj high on the glove side to give the Leafs a 2-1 edge.

 

 

Hershey's Eric Perrin crashes the crease, beating Tellqvist and registering his 2nd goal in as many attempts during the shootout frame, tying the score at 2-2.

 

 

Hershey's Mathieu Darche (left) attempts a glove side attempt on Tellqvist, which is turned aside by the St. John's netminder.

 

 

It takes a combined 30 chances by both teams, but Andre Savage, Hershey's 15th shooter, seals the Bears win by beating Tellqvist on a stick side shot.

 

The 7641 Sports' News 'N Notes team can be contacted via e-mail at: nnn@7641.com

 

Sunday January 23, 2005 vs. Binghamton (Posted Sunday 10:13 P.M. EST.)

 

Sens send Bears to 4th straight loss with 5-3 win

 

The Binghamton Senators, having driven through the night from Ottawa to arrive in Chocolatetown, made the trek worthwhile, downing the Hershey Bears 5-3 before 6,167 fans Sunday evening at the Giant Center. Jason Spezza showed why he's the AHL's leading scorer, leading the offensive charge for Binghamton with 2 goals and 2 assists en route to the Sens' 8th straight win. Hershey (20-21-1-0, 41 points), who had previously reeled off 7 consecutive victories, has now dropped their last 4 decisions. Binghamton (26-14-3-2, 57 points), on the other hand, now sits atop the AHL's East Division with a 3-point cushion, leapfrogging over the Philadelphia Phantoms this weekend for 1st place.

 

Need to Know: Former teammates Brian McGrattan and Dennis Bonvie would try to spark some momentum for their respective teams, dropping the gloves at the 5:01 mark of the 1st period. Each circled one another for 15-20 seconds in the Binghamton neutral zone, then came in close, with McGrattan firing several rights that missed their mark. Bonvie returned fire, unloading a few rights of his own that made contact. No major damage was levied though, and both were escorted to the penalty boxes for 5 minutes.

 

Just over a minute and a half following the fight (at 6:39), Mathieu Darche would net his team-leading 16th goal, redirecting a Jeff Finger right circle shot to give the Bears a 1-0 advantage.

 

After Anton Volchenkov's shot from the point was stopped by Bears goaltender Peter Budaj, Binghamton's Danny Bois would pick up the rebound on the right side, beating Budaj glove side to even the score 1-1 at 12:53 of the 1st.

 

Antoine Vermette would set up the Senators 2nd goal, waiting for the Bears defense to commit before taking a backhand shot, which was picked up in the crease by Spezza, swiping it home for his 21st goal of the season at 18:19 of the 1st.

 

Only 63 seconds into the 2nd frame, Volchenkov would pick up a Spezza rebound and collect his 5th goal of the season, giving the Sens a 3-1 lead.

 

Jeff Ulmer would cut into the Sens lead, earning credit for his 8th goal of the season on a shot that deflected off of Binghamton LW Arpad Mihaly at 5:32 of the 2nd.

 

With Hershey's Agris Saviels serving a 5 minute major for high-sticking, Brandon Bochenski would once again give the Senators a 2-goal lead, beating Budaj with the eventual game-winning goal at 12:11 of the 2nd period.

 

With Senators captain Chris Kelly in the penalty box for holding, Marek Svatos would come up with his 8th goal of the season for Hershey, coming from the backdoor and squeaking a backhand shot past Sens goalie Billy Thompson at 10:40 of the 3rd stanza.

 

Spezza would round out the night's scoring, firing home a power play, empty net goal from the red line at 19:41 of the 3rd to seal the victory for the road-weary Senators.

 

Misc. Game Notes: Thompson (12-5-0) earned the win in net for Binghamton, finishing with 29 saves. Budaj (14-12-0) suffered his 3rd straight loss, ending with 22 saves…Spezza now has 20 points in the last 8 straight contests, and has 39 points in his last 21 games…Bochenski, the AHL's leader in rookie scoring with 35 points, finished with 1 goal and 2 assists for Binghamton. His 17 goals also lead all AHL freshmen…Volchenkov also finished with 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists), and had a game-high +3…Senators LW Denis Hamel earned an assist on Spezza's empty net tally to extend his point streak to 10 games…Darche led Hershey with 1 goal and 1 assist…former Bear Charlie Stephens ended with 1 assist…Binghamton, who entered the game with the AHL's #1 ranked power play, finished 2-5 on the man advantage…the Senators are now 20-0-2-0 this season when leading after 2 periods…D Mikko Viitanen was recalled from Reading (ECHL), while D Martin Wilde was scratched from the Bears lineup…Hershey sported their white jerseys, which are normally reserved for road games…Binghamton arrived in Hershey at 8 AM Sunday morning...Binghamton now has a 2-1 lead in the season series...Bears Head Coach Paul Fixter returned behind the bench, having missed the 2 previous games to return home to Ontario, where his father had heart surgery earlier in the week.

 

Coming Up: The Bears wrap up their current 3-game homestand with a 7:30 PM matchup against the St. John's Maple Leafs this Wednesday at the Giant Center. It will mark the final appearance for the Leafs, who will relocate to Toronto beginning next season. St. John's will still have hockey come next fall, sporting a QMJHL club.

 

 

Hershey's Dennis Bonvie (left) and Binghamton's Brian McGrattan square off during their 1st period fight.

 

 

Senators captain Chris Kelly (left) and the Bears' Marek Svatos lift off during 1st period play.

 

 

At 18:19 of the 1st period, Jason Spezza (left) collects his 1st of 2 goals on the night as Hershey's Peter Budaj and Dean Arsene look on.

 

 

Binghamton goaltender Billy Thompson watches as Jeff Ulmer's 2nd period shot prepares to cross the goal line, making the score 3-2.

 

 

Binghamton's Brandon Bochenski (left) watches as his power play shot beats Hershey netminder Peter Budaj, giving the Senators a 4-2 lead at the 12:11 mark of the 2nd period. Jason Spezza, the AHL's leading scorer, is at top right.

 

 

Hershey's Dennis Bonvie (right) levels Binghamton's Jan Platil during 3rd period action. Bonvie was assessed a charging penalty for the hit.

 

 

Hershey's Marek Svatos (right) prepares to tally this power play---his 8th goal of the season---at 10:40 of the 3rd period.

 

Current Bears Statistical Leaders (through 1-23-05)

 

• Games: 42 (Johnny Boychuk, Mathieu Darche, Eric Perrin, Jeff Ulmer)
• Goals: 16 (Mathieu Darche)
• Assists: 23 (Eric Perrin)
• Points: 36 (Eric Perrin)
• PIMs: 211 (Dennis Bonvie)
• +/-: +5 (Nick Naumenko)
• PPGs: 7 (David Masse)
• SHGs: 1 (Jeff Ulmer & David Masse)
• GWGs: 6 (Eric Perrin)
• Shots: 154 (Mathieu Darche)

The 7641 Sports' News 'N Notes team can be contacted via e-mail at: nnn@7641.com

 

Saturday January 22, 2005 vs. Philadelphia (PPD) (Posted Saturday 2:25 P.M. EST.)

 

Bears postpone Saturday's home game against Philadelphia

 

No need to bundle up, clear off the car, or risk tackling the roads…Saturday night's 7 PM home game against the Philadelphia Phantoms has been postponed due to heavy snowfall.

 

The contest has been rescheduled for Wednesday, February 2nd at 7:30 PM. It is the 1st cancelled Bears home game since March 14th, 1993, when heavy snow inundated Central Pennsylvania, forcing the team to postpone its evening affair against the Utica Devils.

 

The Bears will return to action tomorrow evening, when the Binghamton Senators make their 2nd appearance to the Giant Center this season. The last time they met, the Bears thumped the Sens by a score of 7-4, with Eric Perrin leading the charge with 2 goals and 2 assists.

 

The Bears also stated that tickets for Saturday's contest will be honored for the same seat and location on February 2nd.

 

Binghamton, who is playing at the Corel Centre in Ottawa tonight, faces the task of driving through the snowstorm to reach Hershey in time for tomorrow's 5 PM game.

 

The 7641 Sports' News 'N Notes team can be contacted via e-mail at: nnn@7641.com

 

Friday January 21, 2005 at Norfolk (Posted Friday 10:10 P.M. EST.)

 

3 unanswered Norfolk goals sink Bears 3-1

 

The Norfolk Admirals, down 1-0 early in the 3rd period, rallied to down the Hershey Bears 3-1 in front of 4,844 fans Friday evening at the Scope in Norfolk, VA. Matt Keith, Rene Bourque, and Ajay Baines would pocket goals for the victorious Admirals, while Bears goaltender Peter Budaj stopped 36 shots in defeat. Hershey (20-20-1-0, 41 points), who mustered a season low 19 shots on goal, dropped their 3rd straight, and saw their 3-game road winning streak come to an end. Norfolk (24-16-1-3, 52 points) was unable to inch closer to the East Division's 2nd place Binghamton Senators, who defeated the Manchester Monarchs, maintaining their 3 point lead on the Admirals.

 

Need to Know: It would take 2+ periods of action, but the Bears would erase their goose egg at the 3:43 mark of the 3rd period, when Jeff Ulmer's backhand tip beat Admirals goaltender Michael Leighton, giving the Bears a 1-0 lead.

 

At 6:53 of the 3rd, with Jeff Finger serving a holding call for Hershey, Matt Keith would even the score at 1-1 for Norfolk, firing a shot from between the circles to beat Budaj on the top left corner.

 

Just over 1 minute later (at 7:55) Bourque would bag his team-leading 16th goal of the season, picking up a rebound off a Matt Ellison shot and netting the go-ahead score.

 

With Dennis Bonvie sitting for a late-period boarding call, Baines would net a power play, empty net tally with 2.3 seconds remaining, sealing the win for Norfolk.

 

Misc. Game Notes: Budaj took his 2nd straight loss in goal for the Bears, dropping to 14-11-0 on the season. Leighton (12-11-1) earned the win for the Ads, ending with 18 saves…Bears D Dean Arsene and Admirals RW Mike Brown fought at the 1:26 mark of the 1st period. It was Brown's league-leading 25th major penalty, while Arsene registered his 12th major penalty, tied for 3rd place among AHL D-men…Bears C Eric Perrin saw his AHL-leading 9-game scoring streak come to an end…Bourque's 16 goals & 30 points place 2nd among AHL rookies…Jeff Finger, who missed the 3 previous games, returned and started on defense…after sitting out Wednesday's game with the flu, Bears D Agris Saviels returned to the lineup…LW Mike Amodeo was Hershey's lone healthy scratch…Baines returned to the Admirals lineup after missing his teams' previous 10 contests…Norfolk has a 5-3 lead in the season series.

 

Coming Up: The Bears kick off a weekend homestand against East Division rivals, starting with a 7 PM faceoff vs the Philadelphia Phantoms on Saturday night. Hershey will then return to the Giant Center for a 5 PM Sunday matinee against Jason Spezza and the Binghamton Senators.

 

The 7641 Sports' News 'N Notes team can be contacted via e-mail at: nnn@7641.com

 

Wednesday January 19, 2005 vs. St. John's (Posted Thursday 8:00 A.M. EST.)

 

St. John's makes like a tree, "Leafs" Chocolatetown with a 4-2 win

 

Reaching the midpoint of the 2004/05 schedule, the Hershey Bears dropped a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the St. John's Maple Leafs Wednesday night at the Giant Center in Hershey, PA. Matt Stajan (2 goals, 2 assists) & Kyle Wellwood (1 goal, 3 assists) led the way on offense for the Leafs, each netting 4 points, with Stajan netting the game-winning goal in the 3rd period. Hershey (20-19-1, 41 points) missed an opportunity to inch closer to the 4th place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, who were idle on Wednesday evening. For St. John's (26-14-0-1, 53 points, 3rd place in North Division), in the midst of a season-long 12-game road swing, they picked up their 9th win in their last 12 games.

 

Need to Know: St. John's would waste little time getting on the scoreboard Wednesday night, with Stajan netting his 11th goal of the season at 2:29 of the 1st period. After RW David Ling's shot rang off the right post, Stajan would pick up the rebound at the doorstep, sliding the puck past Bears goalie Tow Lawson and giving the Leafs a 1-0 advantage.

 

At 8:54 of the opening period, Wellwood would bag his team-leading 17th goal of the season, taking a Stajan feed and burying a shot on an open left side, providing St. John's with a 2-0 lead going into the 1st intermission.

 

Only 6 seconds into a Ben Ondrus slashing penalty, Nick Naumenko would get the Bears on the scoresheet, pocketing his 2nd goal of the season on a shot from the right circle at 4:59 of the middle frame.

 

With David Ling serving a tripping call, Andre Savage would tie the game 2-2 at 7:11 of the 3rd period, picking up a Mathieu Darche rebound and depositing his 6th goal of the season.

 

St. John's would deflate the Hershey momentum at the 9:14 mark of the 3rd, with Stajan firing a left circle shot over Lawson's right shoulder to give the Leafs a 3-2 lead.

 

Harold Druken would finish the game's scoring at 12:31, punching in a power play score in front of the Bears net, giving the Leafs a 4-2 gain that would hold the final 7 ½ minutes of the contest.

 

Misc. Game Notes: Tellqvist (12-8-1) earned the win, finishing with 41 saves. Lawson (6-10), between the pipes for the 1st time in exactly 1 month, suffered his 3rd straight loss in goal, ending with 19 saves…Bears C Eric Perrin finished with 2 assists, extending his scoring streak to 9 games...Wellwood had an AHL season-high 5 points (all goals) vs Cleveland back on October 30th…Ling, who finished with 3 assists in the victory, moved into a tie for 5th place in the AHL scoring race…D Johnny Boychuk, who turned 21 on Wednesday, earned an assist on Naumenko's 2nd period tally…LW Mike Souza returned to the lineup after missing last Saturday's game against Norfolk, while d-men Agris Saviels (healthy) and Jeff Finger (eye) were scratched…St. John's, who came in allowing an AHL-high 34.78 shots/game, surrendered 43 Hershey shots on goal…Hershey gave up only 4 shots in the 3rd period, and tied a season record with allowing only 23 shots in the game…Bears Assistant Coach Paul Jerrard, subbing for Head Coach Paul Fixter for the 2nd time this season, fell to 0-2-1 as bench boss this season. Colorado Avalanche Vice President of Player Personnel and NHL Hall of Famer Michel Goulet is filling Jerrard's shoes by serving as the Bears Interim Assistant Coach.

 

6 Degrees of Separation: St. John's C Brett Engelhardt was teammates with Bears D Jeff Finger for 2 seasons with the Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)…Maple Leafs ' D Brad Leeb played alongside Hershey's Andre Savage with the Manitoba Mosse in 2001/02…David Ling, who participated in the 1996 AHL All-Star Game at Hershey Park Arena, played alongside Bears captain Brett Clark with the Fredericton Canadiens during the 1997/98 season, with Hershey's Nick Naumenko & Eric Perrin in 98/99 with the Kansas City Blades (IHL), and with Bears LW Mathieu Darche in the 01/02 & 02/03 seasons with the Syracuse Crunch...Leafs RW Jason MacDonald was a teammate of Bears RW Dennis Bonvie during the 00/01 season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton…St. John's RW Nathan Perrott played with Hershey LW Mike Souza during the 00/01 season with Norfolk…during his time with the OHL's Belleville Bulls, Hershey C Cody McCormick played alongside the Maple Leafs' Kris Newbury, Matt Stajan and Kyle Wellwood.

 

Coming Up: The Bears will look to even up their season series at 4-4 with a 7:30 PM matchup against the Norfolk Admirals Friday at the Scope in Norfolk, VA. Hershey will then play a pair of games at the Giant Center this weekend: Saturday evening at 7 PM vs the Philadelphia Phantoms; and a 5 PM Sunday matinee against the Binghamton Senators.

 

 

From left to right, Mathieu Darche, Nick Naumenko (behind Darche), Eric Perrin, Andre Savage, and Johnny Boychuk celebrate as Naumenko's 2nd period power play goal cut the Leafs lead in half at 2-1.

 

 

Hershey's Andre Savage & Mathieu Darche celebrate Savage's game-tying power play tally in the 3rd period. Pictured for St. John's are Ben Ondrus (#25), Clarke Wilm, and goaltender Mikael Tellqvist.

 

 

Bears goalie Tom Lawson reaches back, but can't get ahold of this Harold Druken shot that put the Leafs up 4-2 in the 3rd period.

 

 

Leafs RW David Ling (right) gets upended by Bears defenseman Martin Wilde (left) as Hershey netminder Tom Lawson turns the puck aside during 3rd period action.

 

 

St. John's goalie Mikael Tellqvist makes one of his 41 saves by stopping this Andre Savage 3rd period attempt.

 

The 7641 Sports' News 'N Notes team can be contacted via e-mail at: nnn@7641.com

 

Monday January 17, 2005 (Posted Monday 10:50 P.M. EST.)

 

Bears 2004/05 Midseason Report Card

 

Forwards

 

NAME	GP	G	A	PTS	PIMS	GRADE	NOTES
Mike Amodeo	2	0	0	0	10	I	Backup muscle for Bonvie
Chris Bala	38	6	2	8	9	D+	"D" for Disappointing
Greg Barber	24	1	2	3	8	C-	Lacks scoring and grit…back to UHL
Dennis Bonvie	35	1	9	10	200	B+	Knows his role, and adds some offense
Carl Corazzini	25	9	8	17	4	B+	Sparkplug has been fun to watch
Mathieu Darche	39	15	9	24	8	B	Brought in to score goals, has
Martin Hlinka	12	1	4	5	6	C+	Effective when healthy
Sergei Klyazmin	7	0	0	0	0	I	Sent to CHL for seasoning, now in ECHL
Cail MacLean	12	0	0	0	2	C	Hard worker victim of limited roster space
David Masse	25	11	4	15	17	B-	November addition has been key on PP
Cody McCormick	14	2	4	6	34	C-	Didn't show much before injury
Graig Mischler	4	0	0	0	4	I	Lineup filler in early December
Eric Perrin	39	13	21	34	24	A-	1st Half MVP regaining 03/04 form
Andre Savage	37	5	15	20	24	C	Vet may be odd man out when Clark returns
Frantisek Skladany	15	0	0	0	2	D	No production = demotion to UHL
Mike Souza	14	1	2	3	13	C	Admirable 4th line addition from Reading
Ryan Steeves	36	2	2	4	10	C	Rookie has decent speed, forechecking
Marek Svatos	35	7	14	21	32	C	Needs to be more consistent
Jeff Ulmer	39	6	12	18	28	B-	Grinder is good at both ends

GP= Games Played - G= Goals - A=Assists - Pts= Points - PIMs= Penalty Minutes

 

Defensemen

 

NAME	GP	G	A	PTS	PIMS	GRADE	NOTES
Dean Arsene	37	1	4	5	99	C+	Top physical presence on defense
Johnny Boychuk	39	2	6	8	35	B	Best Bears rookie
Ed Campbell	1	0	0	0	0	I	Now w/ 3rd AHL team in 04/05 (B'Port)
Brett Clark	29	2	19	21	38	B	Captain was leading scorer until injury
J-F David	2	0	0	0	0	I	Lineup filler
Jeff Finger	36	1	5	6	58	C	Plays with an edge…offense coming around
Trevor Johnson	3