Wednesday November 30, 2005 vs. Bridgeport (Posted Wednesday 11:43 P.M.)

 

Steckel, Bears silence Sound Tigers, 5-3

 

By Joe Shetrom, 7641 Sports

joe@7641.com

 

After a sluggish 1st period in which they allowed 2 goals -- one from a right point shot that eluded goaltender Frederic Cassivi, and the other 25 seconds after they had tied the score 1-1 -- the Hershey Bears stormed back with 4 unanswered goals to down the Bridgeport Sound Tigers 5-3 before 9,273 fans Wednesday night at the Giant Center. Dave Steckel netted his second, 2-goal game in a week for Hershey (13-4-2-3, 31 points); with Boyd Gordon, Graham Mink, and Mike Green each finishing with a goal and an assist. Cassivi (9-5-2), in his 15th start of the season for the Bears, turned aside 25 of 28 shots faced to earn the victory. Former Bear David Masse, Jeremy Colliton, and Sean Bergenheim would pocket goals for the Sound Tigers (8-11-2-0, 18 points), while goalie Chris Madden (6-6-0) -- who spent time in Bears training camp in 2001 -- took the loss for Bridgeport, ending with 34 saves.

 

TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	TOTAL
Bridgeport	2	1	0	3
Hershey	1	3	1	5

 

FIRST PERIOD - Scoring: 1, BRI, Masse 2 (Gervais), 4:34. 2, HER, Steckel 6 (unassisted), 13:40. 3, BRI, Colliton 6 (Brigley, Regier), 14:05. Penalties: Hamilton, BRI (tripping), 1:49; HER bench, served by Fehr (too many men), 8:50; Rourke, BRI (roughing), 14:26.

 

SECOND PERIOD - Scoring: 4, BRI, Bergenheim 4 (power play) (Pettinen, Colliton), 5:43. 5, HER, Gordon 6 (Fehr, Green), 10:54. 6, HER, Mink 14 (power play) (Gordon, Bourque), 13:48. 7, HER, Green 2 (game-winner) (power play) (Fehr, Aulin), 16:38. Penalties: Zinger, HER (interference), 3:25; Fortin, HER (tripping, unsportsmanlike conduct, misconduct), 5:00; Koalska, BRI (roughing), 5:50: HER, Steckel (roughing), 5:50; Jarrett, BRI (roughing), 8:33; Bergenheim, BRI (slashing), 12:10; Smith, BRI (high-sticking), 13:16; Marjamaki, BRI (high-sticking), 14:47; Bourque, HER (tripping), 17:25.

 

THIRD PERIOD - Scoring: 8, HER, Steckel 7 (short-handed) (Mink, Wotton), 18:52. Penalties: Tunik, BRI (holding), 1:39; Kane, HER (unsportsmanlike conduct, misconduct), 18:10.

 

Game Factoids: Face-offs won (unofficial): Hershey: 38, Bridgeport: 32 … Hershey finished 2-7 on the power-play, while Bridgeport ended at 1-6 … the Bears outshot the Sound Tigers 39-28 … rookie Eric Fehr ended with 2 assists, and has now recorded multiple points on 7 occasions this season … LW Tomas Fleischmann -- in his first game with Hershey since 11/1 -- finished scoreless, ending his 9-game assist and point streak … referee David Banfield tacked on 10-minute misconduct penalties to J.F. Fortin (2nd period) and Boyd Kane's (3rd period) minor infractions in the game … the Bears posted points in 11 of 12 November games, finishing with an 8-1-2-1 mark … former Bear Travis Brigley ('02-'04) finished with 1 assist for the 'Tigers… Bridgeport D Tomi Pettinen, assigned to the team earlier in the day for a conditioning assignment by the parent New York Islanders, earned an assist on Bergenheim's power play strike in the 2nd … the Bears have outshot their opponent in 15 of their last 17 games … Green became the 11th different player to register a game-winning goal for Hershey this season...Hershey Head Coach Bruce Boudreau started Dean Arsene and Dwayne Zinger on defense, with Owen Fussey, Kane, and Steckel at forward … C Joey Tenute returned to the Bears lineup after missing the last 5 contests with a shoulder injury … scratched from Hershey were: D Jakub Cutta, RW Jonas Johansson, RW Eric Labelle, G Maxime Ouellet, and D Martin Wilde … 3 Stars of the Game: (1) Steckel, (2) Green, (3) Gordon … the attendance -- in which one-day HersheyPark passes were handed out -- was a season-high … Hershey faces Bridgeport 3 more times within the next 11 days.

 

Six Degrees of Separation: Sound Tigers C Kevin Colley had brief stints with Charlotte (ECHL) and Hartford teams in 99/00 that also included Hershey's Boyd Kane. He also played 4 games with a Providence Bruins team in 01/02 that featured Bears D Martin Wilde … Bridgeport LW Masi Marjamaki and Gordon were linemates during the 02/03 season with Red Deer (WHL). The following year, he played alongside Fleischmann with the Moose Jaw Warriors … Sound Tigers Jeff Hamilton -- who recently returned to North America after starting the season in Russia -- was teammates with Bears d-man Lawrence Nycholat last season in Hartford … Bridgeport D Mike Jarmuth, who was scratched in Wednesday's game, played for Bears Assistant Coach Bob Woods last season in Mississippi (ECHL).

 

Coming Up: Hershey resumes play Saturday night, when they host the Syracuse Crunch at 7 PM. It will mark the only 05/06 Giant Center appearance for the Columbus Blue Jackets affiliate. Last year, the Bears went 2-1-1 versus Syracuse, finishing with only 5 goals against Head Coach Gary Agnew's squad.

 

Bridgeport's Matt Koalska (right) celebrates as David Masse's right point shot gets by Bears goalie Frederic Cassivi (left), giving the Sound Tigers a 1-0 lead 4:34 into the 1st period.

 

Hershey's Owen Fussey (right) prepares to raise his arms as Dave Steckel's goal at 13:40 of the 1st period ties the game at 1-1. Steckel had intercepted a Tomi Pettinen pass in the Bridgeport zone, beating goalie Chris Madden on the stick-side.

 

Just 25 seconds after Hershey evened the score at 1-1, Jeremy Colliton would sink this shot past Cassivi, quickly giving Bridgeport the lead again.

 

Sean Bergenheim (right) prepares to give the Sound Tigers a 3-1 lead, burying this power play shot to give the visitors a 3-1 advantage 5:43 into the middle period.

 

Bridgeport goalie Chris Madden stretches out to turn aside a shot during 2nd period action.

 

Dave Steckel (#20) puts the nail in the coffin, bagging this short-handed goal -- his 2nd score of the game -- with 1:08 remaining in the 3rd period, providing the Bears with a 5-3 lead.

 

Monday November 28, 2005 (Posted Monday 6:37 P.M. EST.)

 

Current Bears Statistical Leaders (through 11-27-05)

 

Bears goaltender Frederic Cassivi (center) makes a save on this Jason Morgan point blank shot during 1st period action.

 

From left to right, Dustin Byfuglien, Steve Munn, Martin St. Pierre, Mike Brown, and Quintin Laing celebrate as Laing's goal at 11:23 of the 2nd gives the visitors a 1-0 lead.

 

Hershey's Graham Mink (right) jockeys for position with Norfolk D Steve Munn as goalie Adam Munro keeps a close eye on the play during the 2nd period.

 

With Hershey's Eric Fehr (left) at the doorstep, Adam Munro turns aside this 3rd period attempt.

 

Munro (center) makes a breadbasket save on Hershey's Boyd Kane late in the 3rd period, preserving the shutout in Norfolk's 1-0 victory.

 

Sunday November 20, 2005 vs. Rochester (Posted Sunday 11:27 P.M. EST.)

 

Bears continue power play surge

Hershey drops longtime rival Rochester 5-1

 

By Joe Shetrom, 7641 Sports

joe@7641.com

 

The Hershey Bears keep getting the chances on the power play; and by golly, they're making the most of them. Saturday night against Philadelphia, they deposited a team record 7 power play goals. Sunday night, it was only 4 man advantage strikes … but good enough to sink the Rochester Americans 5-1 before 6,379 fans Sunday evening at the Giant Center. Boyd Kane (2 goals), Lawrence Nycholat (3 assists), and rookie Eric Fehr (1 goal, 1 assist) led the way on offense for Hershey (10-3-2-1, 25 points), while goaltender Frederic Cassivi (7-4-2) -- making his 3rd straight start in net -- turned aside 37 of 38 shots faced as the Bears earned a point in their 9th consecutive contest. Mark Mancari would be the lone offensive bright spot for Rochester (10-7-0-0, 20 points), beating Cassivi on a delayed Hershey penalty in the 2nd period. Well-traveled goalie Jean-Marc Pelletier (5-2-0) suffered the loss in goal for the Amerks, who lost both head-to-head meetings with Hershey this season.

 

TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	TOTAL
Rochester	0	1	0	1
Hershey	3	1	1	5

 

FIRST PERIOD - Scoring: 1, HER, Gordon 4 (power play) (Fehr, Nycholat), 1:27. 2, HER, Arsene 1 (game-winner) (Wilde), 8:16. 3, HER, Kane 5 (power play) (Robitaille, Aulin), 13:56. Penalties: Lojek, ROC (holding), 1:06; Robitaille, HER (elbowing), 4:06; Ryan, ROC (roughing), 8:39; Robitaille, HER (roughing), 8:39; Swanson, ROC (hooking), 11:58; ROC bench, served by Meyer (too many men), 19:02.

 

SECOND PERIOD - Scoring: 4, HER, Fehr 8 (power play) (Mink, Nycholat), :36. 5, ROC, Mancari 3 (Larman, Hendricks), 5:36. Penalties: Cutta, HER (interference), 1:57; Kane, HER (hooking), 2:56; Swanson, ROC (holding the stick), 15:00; Janik, ROC (interference), 15:24; Green, HER (tripping), 19:17.

 

THIRD PERIOD - Scoring: 6, HER, Kane 6 (power play) (Nycholat), 10:22. Penalties: Meyer, ROC (charging, fighting major), 4:18; Cutta, HER (fighting major), 4:18; Paetsch, ROC (high-sticking major), 4:54; Thorburn, ROC (holding), 10:13; Arsene, HER (holding), 17:33.

 

Game Factoids: Face-offs won (unofficial): Hershey: 37, Rochester: 34… Hershey finished 4-8 on the power-play, while Rochester ended at 0-4 … Hershey's penalty killing unit currently ranks 3rd in the AHL, having fended off 110 of 125 short-handed situations faced this season (88%) … The Bears outshot the Amerks 40-38 … Hershey has outshot their opponent in each of the last 10 contests … The 38 shots allowed by Hershey were a season high … Fehr has scored goals in 5 straight games, during which he's totaled 11 points (5G, 6A) … Rochester's Nathan Paetsch earned a 5-minute major for high-sticking Hershey's Graham Mink at 4:54 of the 3rd. As he headed off to the Hershey locker room, Mink left a trail of blood on the ice that stretched from the Amerks' goal line to the Hershey bench … Mink has recorded points in 5 consecutive games (4G, 2A) … Arsene's 5-on-5 marker was only the 2nd he's scored in 93 career games with Hershey, and first since 11/19/04 … only 2 of Hershey's last 13 goals have come at even strength … Bears D Jakub Cutta took exception to a Stefan Meyer hit along the endboards in the Hershey zone during the 3rd period. The Hershey blueliner dropped the gloves and went after Meyer, with the Rochester LW getting assessed an additional penalty for charging … Hershey leads the AHL with 39 power play goals … Rochester entered the game with the AHL's #1 power play (27.6%) … Hershey Head Coach Bruce Boudreau started and Cutta amd Dwayne Zinger on defense, with Chris Bala, Dave Steckel, and Louis Robitaille at forward … scratched from Hershey were: C Chris Bourque (concussion), RW Jonas Johansson (head injury), RW John Morlang (finger), G Maxime Ouellet (healthy), and C Joey Tenute (shoulder) … 3 Stars of the Game: (1) Kane, (2) Cassivi, (3) Nycholat … Morlang, who suffered a finger injury during a fight with Philadelphia's Josh Gratton on Saturday, skated in the pregame warm-up … the Bears snapped a 0-7-1 winless skid when referee Harry Dumas officiates… Bears radio play-by-play announcer John Walton celebrated his 500th career AHL broadcast.

 

Coming Up: Hershey continues its Giant Center homestand on Wednesday at 7 PM, taking on the Cleveland Barons in the annual Thanksgiving Eve contest. It will mark the only 2005/06 appearance in Chocolatetown for the Barons, who bested the Bears 3-2 in a shootout on November 1st at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.

 

This Boyd Gordon power play shot would find its way past Rochester goalie Jean-Marc Pelletier, giving the Bears a 1-0 lead just 1:27 into the 1st period.

 

Pelletier reaches in vain to make a stop, but can't quite get the blocker on this Boyd Kane shot that would propel the Bears to a 3-0 lead in the opening period.

 

Jiri Novotny (left) and Jakub Cutta have a front row seat as Bears goalie Frederic Cassivi juggles a save during late 1st period action.

 

From left to right, Rochester's Drew Larman, Matt Hendricks, Mark Mancari, and Doug Janik after Mancari's goal cut the Hershey lead to 4-1 at 5:36 of the 2nd period.

 

Graham Mink is helped off the ice by Bears trainer Dan Stuck (right) after taking a high stick from Rochester's Nathan Paetsch at 4:54 of the 3rd period. Paetsch was assessed a 5 minute major for the infraction on Mink, who did not return.

 

Saturday November 19, 2005 vs. Philadelphia (Posted Sunday 1:07 A.M. EST.)

 

Power plays punish Phantoms

Bears trounce Philly with team record 7 man advantage scores

 

By Joe Shetrom, 7641 Sports

joe@7641.com

 

Today is November 20th, which is close enough to be considered part of the holiday season. Saturday night, the Hershey Bears graciously accepted power play-after-power play presents given by the Philadelphia Phantoms. Taking advantage of man-up opportunities throughout the game, Hershey torched Philadelphia for a team record 7 power play goals en route to a penalty-filled 7-2 win before 8,562 fans at the Giant Center. 6 different players would light the lamp for Hershey (9-3-2-1, 23 points), with Eric Fehr, Mike Green, and Jared Aulin leading the way on offense with 3 points each. Goaltender Frederic Cassivi (6-4-2), starting in net against Philly for the second straight night, turned away 16 shots to earn the victory for Hershey. Freddy Meyer and Josh Gratton would tally markers for Philadelphia (6-10-0-2, 14 points), while goalie Jamie Storr (4-6-1) -- also earning the nod in net against Hershey for the second consecutive game -- ended with 42 saves.

 

TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	TOTAL
Philadelphia	1	0	1	2
Hershey	1	2	4	7

 

FIRST PERIOD - Scoring: 1, PHI, Meyer 1 (power play) (Cavanaugh, Slaney), 8:38. 2, HER, Mink 11 (power play) (Nycholat, Fehr), 18:59. Penalties: Eager, PHI (instigator, fighting major, misconduct), 2:41; Mink, HER (elbowing, fighting major), 2:41; Cote, PHI (fighting major), 2:44; Arsene, HER (fighting major), 2:44; Gratton, PHI (roughing), 3:55; Wotton, HER (roughing), 3:55; Ruzicka, PHI (hooking), 4:00; Zinger, HER (interference), 6:45; Cutta, HER (delay of game - closing hand on puck), 7:07; Robitaille, HER (charging), 11:13; Printz, PHI (hooking), 13:12; Meyer, PHI (roughing), 14:05; Fehr, HER (roughing), 14:05; Kane, HER (roughing), 14:05; Zinger, HER (holding), 15:37; Kelly, PHI (roughing), 18:26; Abel, PHI (holding), 19:14.

 

SECOND PERIOD - Scoring: 3, HER, Robitaille 1 (power play) (Aulin, Fortin), 7:10. 4, HER, Mink 12 (game-winner) (power play) (Fehr, Gordon), 8:04. Penalties: Cavanaugh, PHI (hooking), 1:24; Hope, PHI (interference), 5:14; Skolney, PHI (boarding), 6:54; Printz, PHI (boarding), 7:32; Picard, PHI (slashing), 8:31; Robitaille, HER (goaltender interference), 8:31; Bala, HER (tripping), 9:58; Eager, PHI (holding the stick), 11:16; Morlang, HER (boarding), 14:43; Gratton, PHI (fighting major), 16:49; Morlang, HER (fighting major), 16:49; Grant, PHI (kneeing major, game misconduct), 17:31.

 

THIRD PERIOD - Scoring: 5, HER, Fehr 7 (power play) (Fortin, Nycholat), 4:53. 6, HER, Wotton 2 (power play) (Green, Aulin), 5:41. 7, HER, Kane 4 (power play) (Wotton, Green), 6:11. 8, HER, Steckel 2 (power play) (Aulin, Green), 7:31. 9, PHI, Gratton 3 (Abel, Ruzicka), 18:00. Penalties: Green, HER (interference), :50; Eager, PHI (roughing), 3:38; Meyer, PHI (cross-checking), 4:11; Slaney, PHI (tripping), 4:37; Storr, PHI (slashing), 5:32; Slaney, PHI (high-sticking major), 6:59; Skolney, PHI (slashing, roughing, fighting major), 7:31; Nycholat, HER (fighting major, misconduct), 7:31; Meyer, PHI (roughing), 11:45; Mink, HER (high-sticking), 15:27.

 

Game Factoids: Face-offs won (unofficial): Hershey: 45, Philadelphia: 27… Hershey finished 7-18 on the power-play, while Philadelphia ended at 1-9. Hershey has surrendered only 2 goals in their last 45 short-handed situations … The Bears outshot the Phantoms 49-18. It was the 9th consecutive game Hershey has outshot their opponent … Fehr, who extended his goal-scoring streak to 4 games, has collected a total of 9 points in that stretch (4G, 5A). He also registered a season-high 9 shots on goal … Mink, who stretched his point streak to 4 games, has recorded multiple goals four times this season … in total, 7 Bears finished with at least 2 points … Philadelphia mustered just 3 shots in the 2nd period, a season low allowed by Hershey … the 146 combined penalty minutes were a season high … the Bears improved to 4-1-0-1 at home this season, while the Phantoms fell to 2-8-0-1 on the road in 05/06 … the victory was the most-lopsided for Hershey in the all-time Bears/Phantoms series, which began during the 1996/97 season … Hershey Head Coach Bruce Boudreau started J.F. Fortin and Wotton on defense, with Fehr, Boyd Kane, and Aulin at forward … scratched from Hershey were: C Chris Bourque, LW Owen Fussey, RW Jonas Johansson, G Maxime Ouellet, and C Joey Tenute … Bourque took the skate in the pregame, and will likely return in the next week … with Johansson out of the lineup, RW John Morlang was summoned from the ECHL's Reading Royals. Morlang, who played with Hershey during the preseason, fought Philly enforcer Josh Gratton during the 2nd period after Morlang exited the penalty box from serving a boarding penalty just moments before. Although he took the loss in the bout, Morlang -- not known as a fighter -- earned kudos for getting in a few shots on Gratton … Philly's Triston Grant earned a kneeing major and game misconduct for a hit on Hershey's Louis Robitaille at 17:31 of the 2nd … Phantoms captain John Slaney garnered a high-sticking major penalty during the 3rd period for getting the lumber up on Morlang … 3 Stars of the Game: (1) Mink, (2) Fehr, (3) Green … referee Terry Koharski.

 

Coming Up: Hershey concludes its weekend with 5 PM Sunday matinee against their longtime AHL counterparts, the Rochester Americans at the Giant Center. It will mark the only appearance in Chocolatetown this season for the Amerks, who fell to the Bears at home 5-3 on October 14th.

 

Hershey's Graham Mink (left) and Philly's Ben Eager go at during their 1st period fight.

 

Just 3 seconds later, Riley Cote (left) and Dean Arsene drop the gloves, each earning 5 minute fighting majors.

 

This Freddy Meyer power play shot would find its way past Bears goalie Frederic Cassivi, giving the Phantoms a 1-0 lead at 8:38 of the 1st period.

 

Louis Robitaille redirects this J.F. Fortin shot past Phantoms goalie Jamie Storr (left), giving the Bears a 2-1 advantage at 7:10 of the 2nd period.

 

Mink raises his arms in celebration as his eventual game-winning goal gets through the Philadelphia defense at 8:04 of the 2nd period.

 

Josh Gratton (left) and John Morlang exchange punches during their 2nd period donnybrook. In his first game with the Bears on Saturday, Morlang finished with 7 penalty minutes.

 

Storr watches as Dave Steckel's shot prepares to find mesh, giving the Bears a 7-1 lead at 7:31 of the 3rd period.

 

Friday November 18, 2005 at Philadelphia (Posted Friday 10:57 P.M. EST.)

 

Bears fall to Phantoms in OT, 3-2

Hershey rallies from 2-goal deficit to earn point in 8th straight contest

 

By Joe Shetrom, 7641 Sports

joe@7641.com

 

After rallying from two goals down, the Hershey Bears took it to sudden death overtime, where the Philadelphia Phantoms took less than 2 minutes (at 1:58) to defeat the visitors 3-2 before 8,841 fans Friday night at the Wachovia Spectrum. Eric Fehr and Graham Mink potted 3rd period comeback goals for Hershey (8-3-2-1, 21 points), while goaltender Frederic Cassivi (5-4-2) -- sent down by Washington on Wednesday -- finished with 28 saves for the Bears. Ben Eager and Josh Gratton, known more for their toughness than scoring prowess, scored regulation markers for the Phantoms (6-9-0-2, 14 points), while Pat Kavanagh netted the game-winner in OT. Former NHL netminder Jamie Storr (4-5-1) earned the victory in net for Philly, turning aside 37 of 39 shots faced.

 

TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	OT	Total
Hershey	0	0	2	0	2
Philadelphia	0	2	0	1	3

 

FIRST PERIOD - Scoring: None. Penalties: HER bench, served by Fehr (too many men), 4:08; Cote, PHI (cross-checking), 6:22; Nycholat, HER (holding), 7:18; Kane, HER (slashing), 11:13; Gratton, PHI (charging), 15:24; Skolney, PHI (elbowing), 17:57; Storr, PHI (slashing), 18:48.

 

SECOND PERIOD - Scoring: 1, PHI, Eager 2 (Meyer, Storr), 17:26. 2, PHI, Gratton 2 (Picard, Cavosie), 19:44. Penalties: Printz, PHI (interference), 2:15; Gratton, PHI (roughing), 2:15; Meyer, PHI (slashing), 4:11; Steckel, HER (holding), 9:25; Nycholat, HER (holding), 11:51; Cote, PHI (boarding), 14:49.

 

THIRD PERIOD - Scoring: 3, HER, Mink 10 (Fussey, Gordon), 5:46. 4, HER, Fehr 6 (power play) (unassisted), 14:41. Penalties: Meyer, PHI (tripping), 2:43; Hope, PHI (holding), 14:23.

 

OVERTIME -- Scoring: 5, PHI, Kavanagh 8 (game-winner) (Kelly), 1:58. Penalties: None.

 

Game Factoids: Hershey finished 1-10 on the power-play, while Philadelphia ended at 0-5. Hershey has allowed just 1 goal in their last 36 short-handed situations … The Bears outshot the Phantoms 39-31. It marked the 8th straight game Hershey has outshot their opponent … Less than 2 minutes after he put the Phantoms up 1-0, Eager was stonewalled by Cassivi on a penalty shot attempt at 19:21 of the 2nd period. Only 23 seconds later though (at 19:44), Gratton would give the home team a 2-goal advantage with an even strength tally … the last time Hershey faced a penalty shot was on 3/25/05, when Tom Lawson allowed a goal by Rochester's Thomas Vanek … Hershey enjoyed lengthy 5-on-3 power plays in both the 1st (1:09) & 2nd (2:00) periods … At one point in the 2nd period, the Bears were outshooting the Phantoms by a 11-0 margin. By the end of the stanza, Philadelphia had recorded 14 unanswered shots, outgunning Hershey 14-11 for the period … Fehr has goals in 3 straight contests, and 6 points overall in that span … the Bears fell to 4-2-2-3 in 1-goal games this season … dating back to last season, the Bears are winless when Harry Dumas officiates (0-7-1) … Bears RW Jonas Johansson left the ice after taking an elbow from Philly's Wade Sklolney late in the 1st period … Hershey Head Coach Bruce Boudreau started Mike Green and Lawrence Nycholat on defense, with Owen Fussey, Boyd Gordon, and Mink at forward … Scratched from Hershey were: D Dean Arsene (healthy), C Chris Bourque (concussion), Maxime Ouellet (healthy), and Martin Wilde (healthy). Arsene kept busy, resuming his role as color commentator with Bears radio play-by-play broadcaster John Walton … 3 Stars of the Game: (1) Kavanagh, (2) Storr , (3) Cassivi.

 

Coming Up: The Bears return to the Giant Center on Saturday evening to finish a home-and-home series with the Phantoms at 7 PM. It will mark the first of three straight at home for Hershey, who will also play 7 of their next 8 contests at Giant Center.

 

 

Monday November 14, 2005 (Posted Monday 3:48 P.M. EST.)

 

Current Bears Statistical Leaders (through 11-13-05)

 

 

Saturday November 12, 2005 at Manchester (Posted Saturday 11:18 P.M. EST.)

 

Monarchs spoil Boudreau's return

Manchester beats Hershey, 6-5 in OT

 

By Joe Shetrom, 7641 Sports

joe@7641.com

 

Many adjectives and expressions could easily describe Saturday night's affair in Manchester. Boring and low-scoring were certainly not among those choices, as Lauri Tukonen's overtime tally resulted in the Hershey Bears' 6-5 loss to the Manchester Monarchs before 7,797 fans at the Verizon Wireless Arena. Hershey (8-3-1-3, 20 points), who rallied from 2-goal deficits on two occasions, was led on offense by rookie Eric Fehr (1 goal, 2 assists), while goaltender Kirk Daubenspeck (3-1-1), making his third straight start in net, turned aside 27 shots in Head Coach Bruce Boudreau's return to Manchester. Jeff Tambellini (2 goals, 1 assist) and Brendan Bernakevitch (1 goal, 2 assists) paced the victorious Monarchs (8-3-0-1, 17 points), with netminder Adam Hauser (5-2-1) earning the win with 42 saves. Even after gaining a point for the seventh straight match, Hershey fell to 5 points behind East Division front-running Wilkes-Barre (25 points), who shutout the Portland Pirates 6-0 on Saturday.

 

TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	OT	Total
Hershey	0	2	3	0	5
Manchester	1	1	3	1	6

 

FIRST PERIOD - Scoring: 1, MAN, Tambellini 6 (Clarke, Nolan), 6:33. Penalties: Ryan, MAN (holding), 2:18; Mink, HER (interference), 3:10; Smyth, MAN (interference), 5:26; Mink, HER (interference), 6:07; Nycholat, HER (hooking), 8:25; Kanko, MAN (unsportsmanlike conduct), 8:51.

 

SECOND PERIOD - Scoring: 2, MAN, Petiot 2 (Tambellini, Smyth), 4:55. 3, HER, Green 1 (Bala, Aulin), 14:04. 4, HER, Kane 3 (Cutta, Steckel), 19:00. Penalties: Bernakevitch, MAN (holding the stick), 2:46; Tenute, HER (goaltender interference), 6:31; Cutta, HER (roughing), 12:08; James, MAN (roughing), 12:08.

 

THIRD PERIOD - Scoring: 5, MAN, Tambellini 7 (James, Smyth), :30. 6, MAN, (Mihaly, Sersen), 3:12. 7, HER, Fehr 5 (power play) (Fortin, Tenute), 7:07. 8, HER, Mink 9 (power play) (Fehr, Tenute), 8:33. 9, HER, Wotton 1 (Green, Fehr), 12:20. 10, MAN, Murphy 1 (Wilford, Bernakevitch), 14:02. Penalties: Robitaille, HER (roughing, double minor), 4:29; Clarke, MAN (roughing), 4:29; Tukonen, MAN (interference), 5:57; Wilford, MAN (slashing), 7:07; Arsene, HER (fighting major), 15:25; Green, HER (game misconduct); HER bench, served by Fehr (too many men), 15:25; Flinn, MAN (instigator, fighting major, misconduct), 15:25; Hauser, MAN (high-sticking), 19:21.

 

OVERTIME -- Scoring: 11, MAN, Tukonen 4 (game-winner) (Bernakevitch), 3:07. Penalties: None.

 

Game Factoids: Hershey finished 2-7 on the power-play, while Manchester ended at 0-5. The Bears have successfully fended off 30 of their last 31 short-handed situations … The Bears outshot the Monarchs 47-33. Hershey has bested their opponent in the shot department over the last 7 contests … Fehr and Joey Tenute have recorded back-to-back, multi-point games for Hershey. Tenute has now posted 14 points (6 goals, 8 assists) in the last 12 games … Bears D Mike Green, sent down by Washington on Thursday, posted his 1st professional goal in the 2nd period. He added an assist on Mark Wotton's 1st marker of the season at 12:20 of the 3rd … Hershey's Jared Aulin and Dave Steckel, both former Monarchs, each finished with an assist … Bernakevitch finished with a game-high +4 … Bears captain Boyd Kane has points in 5 of his last 6 games … in his 9th game of the season, Hershey D Dwayne Zinger registered his first on goal for 05/06 … Hershey still holds the all-time lead in head-to-head meetings with Manchester (5-3-1) … 7 of Manchester's 8 wins this season have come via overtime or shootout … Tukonen was Los Angeles' 1st pick (11th overall) in the 2004 NHL draft … Hershey has surrendered 11 goals combined in their last two visits to Manchester (lost 5-0 on 11/13/05) … Boudreau, the former Monarchs bench boss, started J.F. Fortin and Lawrence Nycholat on defense, with Owen Fussey, Boyd Gordon, and Graham Mink at forward … D/F Louis Robitaille returned to the Bears lineup after missing the last 4 games with an eye injury … excluding current Washington recalls (G Frederic Cassivi, LW Tomas Fleischmann, RW Jakub Klepis, C Brooks Laich), scratches from Hershey included: RW Jonas Johansson (healthy), D Martin Wilde (healthy), and C Chris Bourque (concussion) … 3 Stars of the Game: (1) Tukonen, (2) Tambellini, (3) Fehr … referee Terry Koharski … A Kane game worn Bears jersey fetched a high bid of $820 in an online auction that ended on Friday. A captain or alternate captain from each American Hockey League team sported a "Red Cross" patch on their jerseys for the first home game of the season. Proceeds from the AHL auctions will benefit the hurricane relief efforts for the American Red Cross.

 

6 Degrees of Separation: Monarchs veteran - and former AHL MVP Brad Smyth - was teammates with Hershey's Boyd Kane for 2 seasons in Hartford, and with Chris Bala in Binghamton (02/03) … during portions of his two seasons with the IHL's Indianapolis Ice, G Kirk Daubenspeck played with Monarchs D Marty Wilford, who Hershey fans may remember from his days with Norfolk … Manchester D Denis Grebeshkov was taken 18th overall by Los Angeles in the 2002 NHL draft, one spot after Hershey's Boyd Gordon … Monarchs D Mark Ardelan, a scratch on Saturday, played on a South Carolina Stingrays team that included Hershey's Joey Tenute and Daubenspeck last season. He also joined the Portland Pirates for 1 game in 04/05 … Manchester D Doug Nolan, the fifth-to-last player selected in the 1994 NHL draft (282nd overall), spent time with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks from 1999-2001, teams that also included Bears d-man Dwayne Zinger … before signing with Hershey in November of last year, Martin Wilde played on a Reading Royals (ECHL) squad that included Monarchs G Barry Brust, and was coached by Manchester Assistant Derek Clancey.

 

Coming Up: Hershey concludes a 3-game road swing Friday evening in Philadelphia, taking on the Phantoms at 7:05 PM from the Wachovia Spectrum. In their only other meeting of 05/06, the Bears tripped up the Phantoms 2-1 in Philly on November 4th.

 

Friday November 11, 2005 at Albany (Posted Friday 10:59 P.M. EST.)

 

Bears continue mastery of River Rats

Hershey makes it 10 straight over Albany with 6-4 win

 

By Joe Shetrom, 7641 Sports

joe@7641.com

 

The Hershey Bears defeated the Albany River Rats by a 6-4 score Friday night at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, NY. Boyd Gordon and Jared Aulin led the way with 2 goals apiece for Hershey, with goaltender Kirk Daubenspeck (3-0-1) turning aside 21 of 25 shots faced. The Bears (8-3-0-3, 19 points), who have earned points in 6 straight contests, moved within 4 points of idle Wilkes-Barre for 1st place in the East Division. Hershey has also defeated Albany 10 straight times, dating back to the 2003/04 campaign. Tuomas Pihlman paced the Rats with a hat trick, while netminder Ari Ahonen (2-3-0) - sent down by New Jersey earlier in the day - finished with 24 saves. Albany (4-8-0-0, 8 points), who has now lost 4 consecutive games (all at home), sits tied with Providence for 6th place in the Atlantic Division standings.

 

TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	TOTAL
Hershey	1	3	2	6
Albany	1	1	2	4

 

FIRST PERIOD - Scoring: 1, HER, Gordon 2 (Wotton, Fussey), 2:54. 2, ALB, Pihlman 3 (Suglobov), 17:47. Penalties: Tenute, HER (hooking), 4:55; Fehr, HER (interference), 13:35; Bergfors, ALB (hooking), 19:56.

 

SECOND PERIOD - Scoring: 3, HER, Fehr 4 (power play) (Fortin, Nycholat), 1:25. 4, HER, Aulin 3 (power play) (Tenute), 13:46. 5, HER, Gordon 3 (Fussey, Mink), 15:21. 6, ALB, Rheaume 2 (Redlihs, Clarkson), 19:44. Penalties: Zinger, HER (tripping), 1:46; Hale, ALB (holding), 7:31; Cutta, HER (high-sticking), 10:26; Voros, ALB (tripping), 10:50; Pikkarainen, ALB (cross-checking), 13:00.

 

THIRD PERIOD - Scoring: 7, ALB, Pihlman 4 (Suglobov), 11:41. 8, HER, Aulin 4 (game-winner) (Tenute, Kane), 13:39. 9, ALB, Pihlman 5 (Redlihs), 17:15. 10, HER, Steckel 1 (Paddock, Sersen), 18:02. Penalties: Zinger, HER (fighting major), 4:33; Voros (fighting major), 4:33; Clarkson, ALB (roughing), 9:21; Ahonen, ALB (interference), 18:26.

 

Game Factoids: Hershey finished 2-6 on the power-play, while Albany ended at 0-4. The Bears have allowed just 1 power play goal in their last 26 short-handed situations … The Bears outshot the River Rats 30-25. Hershey has outgunned their opponents in 6 straight contests … Gordon's 1st period goal came on Hershey's first shot of the game … with 2 points on the night, C Joey Tenute now has 12 points in the last 11 games (6G, 6 A) … 5 different Bears netted multiple points in the win: Aulin (2G), Eric Fehr (1G, 1A), Owen Fussey (2A), Gordon (2G), and Tenute (2A) … Bears C Dave Steckel notched his 1st goal of the season late in the 3rd period … Fussey recorded his first point of the 05/06 campaign on Gordon's 1st stanza strike … D J.F. Fortin registered his first point - an assist on Fehr's 2nd period power play tally - since the Bears' 5-3 win in Rochester on October 14th … Bears D Dwayne Zinger rang up his second fighting major of the season, dropping the gloves with Albany's Aaron Voros at the 4:33 mark of the 3rd period … the hat trick was the first allowed by Hershey since 2/25/05, when the Philadelphia Phantoms' Jon Sim potted 3 goals in a 4-1 victory at the Wachovia Spectrum … the 6 goals were a season high for the Bears … Rats C Nicklas Bergfors, a 2005 1st round pick (25th overall) by New Jersey, is the youngest player in the AHL this season (18 years, 7 months at the start of the 2005/06 campaign) … Hershey Head Coach Bruce Boudreau started Mark Wotton and Mike Green on defense, with Gordon, Fussey, and Graham Mink at forward … scratched from Hershey were: C Chris Bourque (concussion), D/F Louis Robitaille (eye); and on recall to Washington: G Frederic Cassivi, LW Tomas Fleischmann, RW Jakub Klepis, and C Brooks Laich … 3 Stars of the Game: (1) Pihlman , (2) Gordon , (3) Aulin … attendance: 5,274 … referee David Banfield … Cassivi earned the start in the Capitals/Devils game on Friday afternoon, suffering the 4-3 loss while making 26 saves … former Bears LW Jordan Krestanovich ('99-'04) has switched teams - and countries - going from Sweden (Mora IK) to Italy (HC Bolzano).

 

6 Degrees of Separation: Albany D Bryan Miller was teammates with Bourque last season at Boston University … The River Rats' Ray Schultz patrolled the blueline with the Bears' Lawrence Nycholat during the 2000/01 season with the Cleveland Lumberjacks (IHL). That same year, Schultz also played for Boudreau for 13 games with the Lowell Lock Monsters … Nycholat and Rheaume each spent time with the New York Rangers and Hartford Wolf Pack during the 03/04 season … during parts of his 2 seasons with the Utah Grizzlies, Albany enforcer Mike Sgroi played with Wotton … former Devils 1st rounder Adrian Foster spent time with the Brandon Wheat Kings in 01/02, a team that also featured Bears rookie Eric Fehr … Albany LW Ben Carpentier teamed with Boyd Kane for 2 seasons in Hartford, and was teammates with Hershey D Martin Wilde with Providence in 01/02.

 

Coming Up: The Bears wrap-up their weekend road trip with a Saturday evening stop in Manchester, NH. It will mark the return of Boudreau, who coached the Monarchs for 4 seasons before coming to Hershey this season. Two other Bears, Jared Aulin and Dave Steckel, are also former Monarchs. The game, Hershey's only 05/06 stop in the Granite State, is set for 7:35 PM at the Verizon Wireless Arena.

 

Thursday November 10, 2005 (Posted Thursday 9:49 P.M. EST.)

 

Cass to Caps…

…Green to Chocolate and White

 

By Joe Shetrom, 7641 Sports

joe@7641.com

 

Before they departed for Albany, NY on Thursday afternoon, the Hershey Bears made a couple of changes to their player roster. First, goaltender Frederic Cassivi was summoned to the Washington Capitals, while rookie defenseman Mike Green was sent down to the Bears.

 

Cassivi, 30, is the sixth Hershey player to be recalled to Washington this season, joining Green, Brooks Laich, Tomas Fleischmann, Nolan Yonkman, and Jakub Klepis. In 10 games with the Bears this season, Cassivi posted a 5-3-2 mark, with a 2.44 GAA and a .913 Save Percentage. He could possibly earn a start in net, as the Capitals play a home-and-home series with the New Jersey Devils on Friday and Saturday afternoon (1 PM).

 

Green played the first two games of the season with Hershey before getting recalled on October 11th. He made his NHL debut the following night -- which happened to be his 20th birthday -- as the Capitals lost 7-2 to the Carolina Hurricanes. In 11 contests with Washington this year, Green registered no points with 12 penalty minutes. He made it back to Hershey just in-time as the Bears headed north for games in Albany (Friday) and Manchester (Saturday).

 

With Cassivi going up, Maxime Ouellet -- who has been relegated to third-string goalie since an early October demotion -- is likely to see time in net during the weekend contests.

 

Notes: Nick Foligno, playing for former Bears Head Coach - and dad - Mike Foligno with the OHL's Sudbury Wolves, is currently ranked 32nd overall among draft eligible players for the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, according to the International Scouting Service. In 15 games this season, the 17-year old has posted 5-11-16, with 50 penalty minutes … One-time Bears heavyweight Frank "The Animal" Bialowas (99/00) will be among 25 former enforcers featured in the "Tough Customers" trading card set, which will be released this week by In The Game, Inc. Included in the base set are fan-favorites like Bob Probert, Donald Brashear, Eddie Shack, and Link Gaetz. In addition to autographed cards, collectors could pull Bialowas "Game Worn Jersey" cards, which feature a swatch of material from a Bialowas used sweater.

 

 

Thursday November 10, 2005 (Posted Thursday 9:35 P.M. EST.)

 

Where are they now?

Coaches/Personnel Edition

 

By Joe Shetrom, 7641 Sports

joe@7641.com

 

After spending the last couple of days unearthing where many former Bears are playing this season, we thought we'd take a gander at where many former Bears players, coaches, personnel, etc. are located this season. The parenthesis will denote what season(s) that person was a member of the Bears family.

 

NHL