The Next Wave of Prospects Hit Hershey

Josh Godfrey

With their junior seasons now over, defensemen Josh Godfrey and Karl Alzer have joined the Hershey Bears for the remainder of their playoff run. Now these are two players that should have Caps fans everywhere excited about what they bring to the table.

Godfrey, the Caps 2nd-round choice in the 2007 NHL draft, is another offensive defensemen that brings a cannon of a shot from the point. He had 17 goals and 34 assists in 60 regular season games with Sault Ste. Marie of the OHL and was a +31. Godfrey should provide immediate dividends to the Bears power-play.

Alzner, the Caps 1st-round choice in the 2007 NHL draft, is a franchise defensemen who could have contributed to the Capitals this season if they have chosen to keep him in Washington. The team decided against rushing him though and returned him to the Calgary Hitmen of the WHL for another year of seasoning in juniors. He had 7 goals and 29 assists in 60 games during the regular season and was a +26.

If the Bears can pull out a victory tonight in Wilkes-Barre, both players could be available for game 6 back in Hershey according to Tim Leone. Now that would be exciting to see.

"Don't Stop Believin"

Stingrays Advance, Bears Live to Fight Another Day

The South Carolina Stingrays jumped out to a 2-0 lead, then held on for dear life to advance to the next round of the ECHL playoffs, the South Division Finals.

Late in the 1st period Matt Scherer tallied his 1st goal of the playoffs to put the Stingrays on top. Then in the 2nd period Capitals' prospect Travis Morin notched his 6th goal of the postseason, on the power play, to give SC the worst lead in hockey, a two goal lead. Goaltender Davis Parley made it stand up though, despite the fact the Gwinnett Gladiators outshot the Stingrays 20-6 in the final frame, they could not beat the 25-year old netminder. Parley had his 1st shutout of the postseason, his 5th of the season, and South Carolina survived another game 5 for the second straight series. They will face the winner of the Texas-Columbia series which is surprisingly enough, headed to a game 5 even though the Wildcatters finished the regular season with a 38 point lead over the Inferno. I guess that is why they play the games, right?

The Hershey Bears got some help from a familiar face in Eric Fehr on their way to 3-2 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Fehr, who had just returned to the Bears following the Capitals playoff exit, provided two helpers, including the game-winner, 20 seconds into overtime on Alexandre Giroux's 2nd goal of the game. The Bears will now head back to Wilkes-Barre for game 5 with their backs still against the wall trailing the Penguins 3 games to 1.

"Don't Stop Believin"

Hershey Bears Highlights

The Hershey Bears defeated the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 5-3 on the road Saturday night. Chris Bourque led the way for the Bears with two goals on the night, giving him 17 on the season. Andrew Gordon also tallied his 11th goal on the season and Daren Machesney had 22 saves for his 15th win. Check out the highlights from the 1st period, video courtesy of B2Networks.
(If you are having trouble playing videos on this site with firefox, try using windows explorer)

Toronto Star on Boudreau: NHL Job is Just a Matter of Time

The Toronto Star is singing the praises of Hershey Bears bench boss Bruce Boudreau. They, like most Capitals and Hershey experts, believe that he will end up in the NHL as a Head Coach someday soon.


Boudreau's coming up big behind the bench
TheStar.com - Sports - Boudreau's coming up big behind the bench

`I don't know what else I could do if it wasn't for hockey,' ex-Leaf says of coaching the AHL's Bears

June 01, 2007
Kevin McGran
SPORTS REPORTER

They used to say he was too short to play in the NHL. Surely they can't say he's too short to coach in the NHL.

Bruce Boudreau did what he was supposed to do in junior hockey and the minors to impress scouts, coaches and general managers. He scored. Lots. And his teams won. Plenty.

But the guy they called "Gabby" couldn't catch a break. The Maple Leafs, who drafted him out of the Toronto Marlboros, treated him like a yo-yo. He was up and down to and from the minors for seven consecutive seasons. Despite his talent, his 5-foot-10 frame was apparently the obstacle to a long NHL career.

Now 52, Boudreau has an impressive resumé as a minor league coach with a .583 winning percentage. Last year, he coached the Hershey Bears to the Calder Cup. This year, the top farm team of the Washington Capitals is at it again, defending their title by taking on the Hamilton Bulldogs in a best-of-seven series that series begins tonight in Hershey, Pa.

"This is my 32nd year of fighting to get to the NHL," said Boudreau yesterday. "It's always your goal. You're always plugging away and hoping something will happen. But at the same time, quite frankly, I don't know what else I could do if it wasn't for hockey.

"I loved everywhere I've gone. I just keep doing what I do and hopefully somebody will notice."

And he's been everywhere, a member of 16 pro teams as a player. Boudreau actually got his pro start in 1975 with the WHA's Minnesota Fighting Saints' top farm team, the Johnstown (Pa.) Jets of the North American Hockey League. It happened to be where and when the movie Slap Shot was filmed.

Boudreau landed a bit part playing for the Hyannisport Presidents against Paul Newman's Charlestown Chiefs. He wore No.7.

"I'm the little hog that stays in front of the net because I knew where the camera was," said Boudreau.

Perhaps it was there that his reputation as the Crash Davis of pro hockey began. He was a prolific scorer in the minors. One of four players in AHL history to top the 100-point mark three times in his career, Boudreau sits 11th on the AHL's all-time scoring list with 799 points in 634 games over 11 seasons, and his 1.26 career points-per-game average ranks second among the 71 members of the 500-point club. No player scored more in the AHL in the 1980s than Boudreau.

"I'm not as good looking as Kevin Costner," said Boudreau, in reference to the Bull Durham star. "It's sort of a compliment. But at the same time, Crash Davis, no matter how good he did, was never going to get to the big leagues. That, I hope, is the difference."

He believes he'll coach in the NHL someday.

"I'm very happy with the Capitals," said Boudreau. But if anybody ever came along, I would certainly look at it."

Former St. Louis Blues coach Mike Kitchen, Boudreau's friend since they were teammates on the Marlies, thinks it's a matter of time.

"He recognizes talent so well," said Kitchen. "As we all know, there's only 30 of those jobs out there.

"It's being patient, and timing is everything in those jobs."

The Capital Fanatic.com Show: The First Live Episode

On the show I talked about the Stanley Cup Finals including the disgusting hit by Chris Pronger, the Hershey Bears after they tied up the Calder Cup Finals at a game a piece, and more. Just click on the media player on the right to listen to the show now, or click on the link below to go to my blogtalkradio.com homepage.




Join me next Sunday, June 10th @ Noon for the next live edition of The Capital Fanatic.com Show.

The First Live Edition of The Capital Fanatic.com Show

Sunday, June 3rd @ 6:00 PM ET.

Tune in,
Listen,
Call in (646) 478-5432,
IM Capital Fanatic using Google Talk

Just click the link and you're there.

The Capital Fanatic.com Show: Episode 5

In this episode I’m going to do something a little bit different as I’ll take an in depth look back at Game 2 of the Hershey Bears Eastern Conference matchup with the Manchester Monarchs. And the Capitals locked up another big piece of the puzzle this week, I’ll take a look at Nicklas Backstrom and why there’s so much excitement surrounding his signing.

Podcast People.com
The Capital Fanatic.com Show: Episode 5

Podbean.com
The Capital Fanatic.com Show: Episode 5

My Podcast.com
The Capital Fanatic.com Show: Episode 5

Dave Steckel Recalled

A late addition to tonight's roster. Steckel has been called up from the Hershey Bears in time to play against Toronto. Here's the release from www.washingtoncaps.com.

March 6, 2007 WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 6, 2007 – The Washington Capitals have recalled center David Steckel from the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL), vice president and general manager George McPhee announced today.

Steckel, who will turn 25 next Thursday, has played three games with the Capitals this season and 10 games in his NHL career. He won 72 percent of his faceoffs in his three games this year (Dec. 29-Jan. 1).

A 6’5”, 222-pound native of Westbend, Wis., Steckel has 43 points (22 goals, 21 assists) in 56 games for the Bears this season. He ranks fourth on the team in scoring, tied for second in goals and second with a +22 plus/minus rating (which is tied for fifth in the AHL).

Steckel will be available for tonight’s game at Toronto (7:30 p.m., Comcast SportsNet, WTNT-AM 570) and would wear No. 25.

Bears/Wolf Pack AHL Preview

Hartford Wolf Pack (35-21-3-0, 73 points)
at
Hershey Bears (37-13-5-5, 84 points)

Television: B2Networks
Radio: Bears Network (100.1 FM, 1490-AM, 960-AM)
Gametime: 5:00 PM ET

As if the Bears needed any more offensive fire power following yesterday’s 7-1 drubbing of the Binghamton Senators, the team will welcome back their leading goal scorer Alexandre Giroux for their Sunday evening matchup with the Hartford Wolf Pack. He’ll return to Hershey in time for today’s game before rejoining the depleted Capitals lineup tomorrow. Depending on the severity of Kris Beech’s injury during yesterday’s blowout loss to the Islanders, Washington may need to recall some more help for when they travel to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs Tuesday night.

Hartford is coming off of a game yesterday at Philadelphia in which they outshot the Phantoms 42-20 but needed to rally from a 2-0 deficit and put up a good shootout performance in order to escape with the victory. Center Brandon Dubinsky lead their comeback as he tallied both goals in the second period, one on the power play and the other shorthanded. He also scored what ended up being the game winning goal in the shootout. The win was Hartford’s seventh straight, making them one of the hottest teams in the AHL.

While it will be hard to match the excitement of yesterday’s game given all the goals and physical play, the Wolf Pack’s recent play should be a precursor to a entertaining game. The Bears will no doubt be scoreboard watching as well as the division leading Norfolk Admirals head to Portland to take on the Pirates at 4:05 PM today. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, who is only two points behind Hershey, is off today.

Injuries Continue to Mount

The Capitals received some more bad news this morning. Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post is reporting that Matt Pettinger will be out 4-6 weeks thanks to a broken thumb, while their checking line center and faceoff specialist Boyd Gordon will be out 2 weeks with a sore knee. Both players were injured in the third period of last night's game and did not return.

(Photos Courtesy of Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

Tarik says that General Manager George McPhee has plans to call up winger Alexandre Giroux from Hershey. Giroux is having an excellent year in the AHL, where he has 34 goals and 21 assists in 53 games while being named to the All-Star team. If the team feels they need a center to take Gordon's spot on the roster, they would most likely turn to Dave Steckel who is also having a career year in the AHL. Known for his checking ability, just like Gordon, Steckel has added an offensive punch this season and has 21 goals and 21 assists in 54 games. Both players also have excellent plus/minus ratings with Giroux being a +28 and Steckel a +20.

Today was also the day that the Hershey Bears announced their clear day roster. The list of 22 included 4 players currently on Washington's roster in Frederic Cassivi, Jeff Schultz, Eric Fehr, and Tomas Fleichmann. Here's the full list courtesy of the Hershey Bears website:

Goaltenders: Frederic Cassivi, Maxime Daigneault
Defenseman: Tim Wedderburn, Tyler Sloan, Jeff Schultz, Andy Hedlund, Dean Arsene, Deryk Engelland, Mike Green
Forwards: Joey Tenute, Eric Fehr, Alexandre Giroux, Tomas Fleischmann, Jakub Klepis, Chris Bourque, Kyle Wilson, Matt Hendricks, Dave Steckel, Louis Robitaille, Quintin Laing, Chad Wiseman, Scott Barney

Players in Residence but not on clear day list: Jamie Hunt, Pete Vandermeer, Kip Brennan, Donny Grover, Jeff Pietrasiak, Troy Milam.
A player in residence can be used during the playoffs if a member of the 22-man roster is injured or recalled.

Only amateur players signed to PTO's can be added to this list. Some possibilities there include current Capitals prospects Andrew Gordon, Andrew Joudrey, Travis Morin, and Andrew Thomas who are all playing in the collegiate ranks.

Wilson Wins Game in Comeback Fashion

Kyle Wilson’s Game Winner With 2:31 Left Completes Hershey’s 3rd Period Rally

Hershey Bears 3, Albany River Rats 2
Boxscore
(Photo Courtesy of Just Sports Photography)

The Bears scored first but needed two third period goals in order to prevail in Albany tonight before 3,004 fans at the Times Union Center.

Despite the River Rats controlling the action early on, including recording 9 of the games first 10 shots on goal, Joey Tenute was able to tally the game’s first goal at the 13:07 mark of the opening period. His shot from the right circle beat goaltender Tyler Weiman five-hole, thanks to a nice screen in front by newcomer Scott Barney. The 6′4″ 225 pound winger made a habit of causing traffic in front of the River Rats net on several occasions tonight, giving the Bears something to look forward to down the stretch run to the playoffs.

Albany scored the next two goals in the second period to take the lead following a Ryan Bayda point blank shot on the power play and a Tim Conboy wrister from the point. The Rats would take that advantage into the final period where they were looking for their second straight win over the Bears after snapping their 19 game losing streak earlier this month in Hershey.

It was not to be this time as Kip Brennan notched his second goal of the season just 3:12 in. With the game tied heading into the final minutes, Matt Hendricks was able to draw a key holding penalty on Kyle Cumiskey giving the Bears a power play. Kyle Wilson would capitalize on the man advantage. He received a pass from the point off the stick of Alexandre Giroux and roofed it over Weiman into the top right corner from directly in front of the net. Wilson’s 14th of the season would end up being the game winner as Mike Green would add an empty netter from his own blue line with just 6 seconds remaining to give the Bears the 4-2 victory.

The win improved Hershey’s record to 36-13-5-5, giving them 82 points and moving them within 1 point of the 1st place Norfolk Admirals who were idle tonight. The Bears find themselves on a role winning 4 of their last 5 heading in clear day tomorrow, where playoff rosters need to be set by 3:00 PM. They could still make a few moves before then as Frederic Cassivi will most likely be sent down, at least on paper, in order to be eligible for Hershey’s Calder Cup run.

Game Notes:

Jamie Hunt, Donny Grover, Pete Vandermeer, and Chad Wiseman were scratched…. In John Walton’s pre-game report head coach Bruce Boudreau said that the team can expect to name a captain soon after Nycholat will officially not be back following his trade to Ottawa…. Nolan Schaefer will not be back with the team after he was traded by San Jose to Pittsburgh at the NHL trade deadline…. Maxime Daigneault had 30 saves to improve his record to 16-4-0 on the year.

Hedlund and Barney In, Helbling and Johansson Out

Hershey Bears (35-13-5-5, 80 points)

at

Albany River Rats (26-25-2-2, 56 points)

Television: B2Networks

Radio: Bears Network (100.1 FM, 1490-AM, 960-AM)

Gametime: 7:00 PM ET

Hershey's roster will have some new faces when they travel to the Times Union Center in Albany to take on the River Rats Wednesday night. Gone are defenseman Timo Helbling, who was part of the Capitals' trade of Danius Zubrus to Buffalo, and Jonas Johansson, who was sent to the Grand Rapids Griffins on loan in exchange for Scott Barney (Pictured). The Bears will also acquired Andy Hedlund as part of the Capitals trade with the Ottawa Senators that involved former Hershey captain Lawrence Nycholat.
(Photo Courtesy of www.moosehockey.com)

Barney, a 6'4" 225 pound forward who will turn 28-years old next month, is a former 30-goal scorer in the AHL and has spent time in the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings and the Atlanta Thrashers. In 40 games this season with the Griffins he has 4 goals and 8 assists to go along with 26 penalty minutes and a -1 defensive rating.

The 28-year old Hedlund has spent his entire season so far with the Binghamton Senators, where he played against the Bears as recently as this past Sunday's game at the Giant Center. In 56 games this season he has accumulated 6 goals and 21 assists to go along with 84 penalty minutes and a -6 defensive rating. The 6'2" 216 pound defenseman should provide Hershey with the veteran leadership they have lacked since losing Nycholat to the NHL in December.

Barney's career statistics from The Internet Hockey Database:

			Regular Season					Playoffs
Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1995-96	Peterborough Petes	OHL	60	22	24	46	52	24	6	8	14	38
1997-98	Peterborough Petes	OHL	62	44	32	76	60	4	1	0	1	6
1998-99	Peterborough Petes	OHL	44	41	26	67	80	5	4	1	5	4
2000-01	Did Not Play	Ind	Statistics Unavailable
2002-03	Manchester Monarchs	AHL	57	13	5	18	74	--	--	--	--	--
2003-04	Manchester Monarchs	AHL	44	20	14	34	28	6	2	3	5	8
2005-06	Chicago Wolves	AHL	53	32	19	51	54	--	--	--	--	--
2006-07	Grand Rapids Griffins*	AHL	40	4	8	12	26
2006-07	Hershey Bears	AHL	Stats Unavailable
	NHL Totals		27	5	6	11	4

Hedlund's career statistics from The Internet Hockey Database:

			Regular Season					Playoffs
Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1997-98	Fargo-Moorhead Ice Sharks	USHL	56	4	12	16	135	4	0	4	4	0
2000-01	Minnesota State U - Mankato	NCAA	38	6	6	12	64
2001-02	Trenton Titans	ECHL	2	0	0	0	0	6	0	0	0	6
2002-03	Binghamton Senators	AHL	59	1	7	8	48	10	0	0	0	0
2004-05	Binghamton Senators	AHL	75	2	13	15	103	6	0	2	2	25
2006-07	Binghamton Senators*	AHL	56	6	21	27	84
2006-07	Hershey Bears	AHL	Stats Unavailable

Successful Weekend Pulls Bears Within 3 Points of Division Leader

Winless Weekend for Norfolk Tightens Race for the East Division Crown

Sunday: Hershey Bears 5, Binghamton 2 Boxscore
Saturday: Philadelphia Phantoms 3, Hershey Bears 2 Boxscore
Friday: Hershey Bears 3, Philadelphia Phantoms 0 Boxscore

(Photo Courtesy of Michael Fernandez/The Patriot-News)

A week after dropping both games at home to the Albany River Rats and the Hamilton Bulldogs, the Bears entered this weekend’s slate of games 7 points behind the first place Norfolk Admirals in the East Division. After splitting a home-and-home series with the Phantoms, Hershey finished up the weekend in a winning fashion, defeating the Binghamton Senators 5-2.

Yesterday, the Bears found themselves in a tough battle with the last place Senators. With the game tied at 2 in the third period, Kyle Wilson was able to tally what ended up being the game winning goal taking a nice feed from Jakub Klepis and beating goaltender Kelly Guard from the right circle. Hershey ended up firing 45 shots on Guard during the night and goals by Mike Green, his first in the AHL this season, and Quinton Lang, his 12th, in the final five minutes of the game would make the final score look a lot more one-sided than the game actually was.

Maxime Daigneault continued his superior play since the team lost both Frederic Cassivi and Nolan Schaefer to NHL recalls, making 23 saves in route to improving his record to 15-4-0 on the season. He saw action in all three of the Bears games making 31 saves in a shutout win at Philadelphia on Friday night and then stopping all 10 shots he faced in relief of Jeff Pietrasiak Saturday night.

Jakub Klepis was also a key factor this weekend notching a goal and two assists to go along with some solid physical play that is making people, such as his coach Bruce Boudreau, take notice. His coach had this to say following Sunday’s game: (From Pennlive.com)

“In Washington, they compete, compete, compete and they talk to Jakub a lot about that,” Boudreau said. “He’s come down here and he’s hit probably in the 15 games he’s played more than he hit last year. That’s a really positive step in his development.”

With the NHL trading deadline set for tomorrow afternoon, and the Capitals letting it be known that they will be active, Hershey could once again find themselves the beneficiary of some quality additions for their playoff run. Last year a Washington trade with Nashville for veteran Brendan Witt brought them Kris Beech who was a key member of the Bears Calder Cup championship team. This year the team will be looking to deal forwards Danius Zubrus and Richard Zednik along with a veteran defenseman or two that could include Jamie Heward. Zubrus in particular should bring some attractive young prospects that could potentially see some time with Hershey during the remainder of the season. It also remains to be seen if the Capitals make any moves with some of their depth players such as Beech or Lawrence Nycholat who would need to pass through waivers in order to be reassigned to the team.

It will definitely be something that all fans in Hershey will need to watch as any moves Washington makes will directly effect the Bears and their clear day roster.

Bears Triumph in Philly

Hershey Get 2 Goals From Unlikely Sources in Victory
Hershey Bears 3, Philadelphia Phantoms 0
Boxscore
(Photo Courtesy of www.hamiltonbulldogs.com)

After Tomas Fleichmann was recalled to the Washington Capitals this afternoon the Bears knew that others would be needed to step up and fill in for the scoring slack. Coming into tonight’s game there were just two Bears regulars who hadn’t cracked the goal scoring sheet this season. It could not have been scripted any better as they would both contribute in Hershey’s win over their intrastate rivals.

Phantoms’ defenseman Nolan Baumgartner, who was placed on re-entry waivers by the Flyers earlier in the day, turned the puck over in his own zone directly leading to Dean Arsene’s 1st goal of the season for the Bears.

That would be all of the scoring until the third period. Phantoms’ center Matt Davis took what turned out to be a key holding penalty while his team had a man advantage with 5:20 remaining. The Bears would capitalize on the power play and put the game out of reach for good. Timo Helbling who would make you believe, at least for a moment, that he was a sniper by rifling a shot into the top right corner of the net beating goaltender Scott Munroe for his 1st goal of the season as well.

Maxime Daigneault would make the lead stand up as he provided Hershey with his second straight quality start making several big stops on his way to his 3rd shutout of the season. The win improved his record on the season to 13-4-0 and put him into a tie with Frederic Cassivi for the team lead in wins. He also improved his record to 4-0 on the season against Philadelphia. Alexandre Giroux would add an empty netter for his 33rd goal of the season to make the final 3-0.
These two teams will not have to wait long to see each other again as they will meet in a rematch tomorrow night at in what is expected to be a sold out Giant Center.

My Top Three Stars:

1. Dean Arsene, Hershey GW Goal

2. Maxime Daigneault, Hershey 31 Saves in Shutout

3. Timo Helbling, Hershey 1 pp goal

Game Notes:

Jamie Hunt, Tyler Sloan, Pete Vandermeer, and Kip Brennon were the scratches…. Tonight was the 125th regular season meeting between these two teams dating back to 1996…. With Tomas Fleichmann recalled earlier, Chad Wiseman returned to the lineup despite not yet being 100%.

Bears Blow Lead, But Rally to Win Shootout

Alexandre Giroux Provides the Knockout Punch in the Shootout
Hershey Bears 3, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 2
Boxscore

It’s a little ere how much the Bears game resembled their parent club’s game. The Caps, who were playing at the same time tonight as Hershey, jumped out to a 2-0 lead just as the Bears did, only to allow their opposition to tie the game up and eventually send it to a shootout. The difference was that Hershey was able to pull out the win, while the Capitals could only manage a single point on the night.

Tomas Fleichmann got the scoring started as he parked himself in front of the net and knocked home his 20th goal of the season following a nice feed from Mike Green behind the Penguins net. In the second period, Louis Robitaille extended the lead to 2 in what looked like an innocent looking play. He gathered the puck off the boards and just fired a shot, beating goaltender Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers.

The Bears took that lead into the third period and looked to be on their way to an easy victory before the Penguins were able to rally and tie the game. With 11:30 left in the game, Micki DuPont tallied his 9th goal of the season on the power play with a shot from the right circle that found the top right corner of the net. A little less than six minutes later, Kyle Brodziak would knock home his 18th of the season as another shot from the right circle beat Maxime Daigneault. It was the result of a quick offensive attack following a defensive zone faceoff win by the Penguins.

After Jakub Klepis hit the post, an excellent performance by Daigneault on some quality scoring chances led by Brodziak, allowed the game to go to a shootout.

Goals by Mike Green and Alexandre Giroux along with a clean sheet from Daigneault, gave the Bears the victory and the much needed extra point to extend their lead in the standings to 4 points over the Penguins. With Norfolk defeating Springfield 2-1, the win also kept Hershey seven points behind the division leaders.

The hit of the night came from none other than Jakub Klepis as he nailed Penguins defenseman Noah Welch. The hit left Welch wobbly and resulted in a scrum that sent Mike Green and Ryan Stone to the box with ten minute misconducts.

Your Top 3 Stars:

1. Maxime Daigneault, Hershey 38 saves

2. Tyler Kennedy, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2 assists

3. Tomas Fleichmann, Hershey 1 goal

Game Notes:

Jamie Hunt (wrist), Chad Wiseman (day-to-day), Pete Vandermeer (broken leg), Jonas Johansson (healthy), and Donny Grover (healthy) were the scratches.

Hershey is Finally Beaten by Albany

River Rats snap 19 game losing streak to the Bears Dating Back to March 28, 2004

Albany River Rats 3, Hershey Bears 1

Boxscore
(Photo Courtesy of Mark Newman/AHL.com)

It looked like a completely different River Rats team than the Bears were used to facing. In the week since these two teams last played, Albany was lucky enough to receive some much needed help in the newly assigned left wing Antti Laaksonen from the Colorado Avalanche and defenseman Anton Babchuk from the Carolina Hurricanes. Each played a big factor in the River Rats first win over the Bears since March 28, 2004.

A sellout crowd of 10,598 at the Giant Center saw Albany jump all over Hershey from the start. Following a Matt Hendricks high-sticking penalty just 4:03 into the game, Matt Murley put home a power play goal on a rebound shot in front of Nolan Schaefer, after the Bears’ goaltender had originally made the save on a Kyle Cumiskey shot. It was Murley’s 14th goal of the season and gave Albany an early 1-0 lead.

Just 15 seconds later the River Rats struck again as Jakub Petruzalek took advantage of a Bears defensive lapse to knock home his 8th of the season and put the home team in a 2-0 whole. Hershey continued their lackluster play and the crowd started to get on them. They voiced their displeasure after some more sloppy play in their own zone lead to a couple more quality scoring chances for Albany after the Bears failed to carry the puck out of their defensive zone cleanly. The River Rats outshot the Bears 14-9 in the first period and were 1-3 on the power play. The score could have been much worse than 2-0 at the intermission if not for some nice saves by Nolan Schaefer in his first start since being reassigned to Hershey by his parent club, the San Jose Sharks.

The second period didn’t start much better as the River Rats struck again just 14 seconds into the period as Annti Laaksonen put home a pass from captain Keith Aucoin right into the slot area. It was Laaksonen’s 3rd goal in his 2nd game since being reassigned to Albany.

The game finally started to turn Hershey’s way at the 8:08 mark of the second when left winger Louis Robitaille got involved in a scrap with Kevin Estrada of the River Rats. The fight brought some energy into the building as it gave the fans something to cheer about. Hershey seemed to feed off of this as they pretty much controlled the action the rest of the game. They were finally able to solve goaltender Tyler Weiman with 2:28 remaining in the 2nd period as Jakub Klepis won a battle for the puck in the offensive corner, and found Kip Brennon in front of the net. The Bears’ resident tough guy received the pass and beat Weiman for his 1st goal in a Hershey uniform. The goal was also the 200th of the season for the Bears, giving them some life heading into the 3rd period.

The final period saw a furious comeback attempt come up short as despite dominating the play, outshooting their opposition 19-5, Hershey was unable to beat Tyler Weiman who made some excellent saves on two quality chances by Chad Wiseman in the period. With 2:48 to go, Wiseman celebrated what he thought was a goal after he had a point blank shot in front of the River Rats goal. It was not to be as Weiman did not allow the puck to squeeze through his pads as he secured Albany’s first win over Hershey this season in their seventh try.

The game marked the season debut in the AHL for defenseman Mike Green who was reassigned to the Bears this past Thursday. He wore number 25 and was paired up with defenseman Tyler Sloan, who coincidently wore number 5, the number Green wore with the Bears last season. He also saw time on the first power play unit on the point with Alexandre Giroux.

Your Top Three Stars:

1. Tyler Weiman, Albany 35 Saves

2. Keith Aucoin, Albany 2 Assists

3. Antti Laaksonen, Albany 1 Goal

Game Notes:

Mike Vogel was a guest in John Walton’s booth during the first intermission. He talked about Kolzig’s recent injury, Frederic Cassivi possibly playing in Washington’s game at Montreal on Tuesday, Mike Green’s reassignment being a numbers game, and Jeff Schultz’s impressive play with the Caps that he credited to his long reach and good poise…. Tim Leone of The Patriot News was Walton’s guest during the second intermission and he credited Louis Robitaille’s fight as a momentum changer in the game, and talked about Hershey’s goaltending situation as Maxime Daigneault is not quite ready to play as of yet…. Nolan Schaefer made his 19th start of the season in the AHL, and his 3rd with Hershey…. Jamie Hunt (wrist), Pete Vandermeer (broken leg), and Deane Arsene (suspension) were scratched to go along with Marc Busenburg, Joey Tenute, and Jonas Johansson, who were listed as healthy scratches…. Former Capital Stephen Peat was a scratch for Albany. He is currently out with a broken leg.

Bears/Sound Tigers AHL Preview

Hershey Bears (31-9-5-5, 72 points)
at

Bridgeport Sound Tigers (22-20-1-4, 49 points)

Television: B2Networks

Radio: Bears Network (100.1 FM, 1490-AM, 960-AM)

Gametime: 7:30 PM ET

The Hershey Bears return to action tonight with a road contest at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport. It will be the sixth meeting this season between these two teams as the Bears have posted a 1-1-1-2 record overall against the Sound Tigers, including a 1-1-0-0 record in Bridgeport this season.

Hershey will get a much needed boost tonight in the tough guy department as newly acquired Kip Brennan will be making his debut for the team. The 6'4" 220 pound Brennan comes to the Bears from Long Beach of the ECHL, where he played in 11 games this season after recovering from a rib injury. In his time with the Ice Dogs he recorded 2 goals and added 74 penalty minutes. He brings eight years of professional hockey experience with him including 58 games in the NHL, 12 of which were with the Anaheim Ducks last season.

While Brennan is added to the lineup the team will be without forward Jonas Johansson, who is ill, goaltender Maxime Daigneault, who is still recovering from an upper body injury, and defenseman Derek Engelland.

In another game that the Bears will definitely be interested in as they look to close in on the division leader, the Norfolk Admirals will host the Portland Pirates tonight. The Admirals have currently won six games in a row and fourteen straight at home. They lead not only the East Division, but the entire league with 77 points on the season.

Kip Brennan's Career Stats Including Playoffs:

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1996-97	Windsor Spitfires	OHL	42	0	10	10	156	5	0	1	1	16
1997-98	Sudbury Wolves	OHL	24	0	3	3	85	--	--	--	--	--
1999-00	Sudbury Wolves	OHL	55	16	16	32	228	12	3	3	6	67
2000-01	Lowell Lock Monsters	AHL	23	2	3	5	117	--	--	--	--	--
2001-02	Los Angeles Kings	NHL	4	0	0	0	22	--	--	--	--	--
2002-03	Los Angeles Kings	NHL	19	0	0	0	57	--	--	--	--	--
2003-04	Manchester Monarchs	AHL	2	0	0	0	6	--	--	--	--	--
2004-05	Chicago Wolves	AHL	48	7	6	13	267	18	1	1	2	105
2005-06	Portland Pirates	AHL	9	2	1	3	22	--	--	--	--	--
2006-07	Toronto Marlies*	AHL	1	0	0	0	6
2006-07	Long Beach Ice Dogs*	ECHL	11	2	3	5	74
2006-07	Hershey Bears	AHL	Stats Unavailable
	NHL Totals		58	1	1	2	210