Plenty of left over turkey last night.....

and it was all donated by our wonderful divisional rivals from the city of brotherly love. Riding along on a seven game winning streak, the Bears hosted the Phantoms once again last night at the Giant Center. With a 7-3 victory for Hershey over Philly just two weeks ago, the Bears were looking to continue their winning ways, but would have to do it minus several key players that were recalled to the Capitals earlier this week. While Bourque, Alzner, Lepisto, Sloan and Helmer were skating in Columbus, the Bears knew that they would have to step up against a Phantoms team that likes to play physical.

The first period was one of the most impressive periods of Bears hockey I have had the pleasure of watching this season. Reminiscent of the previous encounter between these clubs, Hershey once again exploited the weaknesses of the normally talented Scott Munroe with four quick scores through the first 20 minutes of play. Graham Mink would strike first, just a little over 4 minutes into the contest. Alexandre Giroux would add two in succession, and defenceman Greg Amadio would send one home from the blue line before the first intermission. The offensive firepower was fully complemented by a red hot defense that allowed only three shots on goal, the first of which did not arrive until 16 minutes had been taken off the clock. Machesney could have taken a nap during this period and none of the 10300 in attendance would have known.

Hershey did not ease off the gas in the second period, playing strong once again in the defensive zone while adding three more scores at the opposite end of the ice. Darren Reid and Andrew Joudrey contributed two of those goals, but the highlight reel moment has to be reserved for Greg Amadio. Not only did he score his second of the night (and the season), but it was done short-handed after a perfect pass from Quintin Laing. After seven successful strikes, John Paddock had no choice but to pull Munroe from the contest.

The intensity remained high during the third period. Quintin Laing would put his own rebound into the net, and Kyle Wilson would round out the score and give the Bears a 9-0 victory. With a strong feeling of frustration, the Phantoms would embarrass themselves with a pathetic fighting penalty from Garrett Klotz. When Darren Reid politely declined to go toe to toe with Klotz, he was sucker-punched after the puck dropped and ejected from the game. The seven minute powerplay that followed allowed the Bears to score the two goals during this period. The Phantoms were simply turkeys in this contest, and the Bears provided more than enough stuffing to send them on their way back down the turnpike to Philadelphia.