Bears edge Monsters 3-2 in a shootout.

We returned to the Giant Center last night to see the Lake Erie Monsters take on the Bears. With Daren Machesney heading out to Switzerland, Simeon Varlamov was given the responsibility of tending between the pipes for Hershey. After their great chemistry on Saturday night, the line of Quintin Laing, Andrew Gordon and Kyle Wilson were named as the starters on offense.

Both teams seemed tired, and the game was a drawn out affair which ultimately saw Hershey drop a goal, only to recover, on two occassions. Laing and Wilson would score the only two goals in regulation for Hershey. Lake Erie came within a whisker of stealing a victory when Bryan Marshall found the puck on his stick in the Bears crease; Varlamov came up trumps, however, and denied the shot to ensure that the game would continue after three periods were over.



Both teams stood their grounds during the five minute overtime period, and as the horn sounded, the shootout loomed for both goaltenders. Up until this point, Monsters goaltender Jason Bacashihua had brushed away 42 of the 44 shots faced. Chris Bourque took to the ice first in the shootout and found the back of the net to give Hershey some renewed confidence and momentum. Bacashihua stood tall once again though, denying the following attempts from Wilson, Keith Aucoin and Matthieu Perreault. At the other end of the ice, Varlamov almost mirrored the opposing goalie, giving up one of four attempts. Stepping onto the ice to take the Bears final regular shot, Andrew Gordon could not have envisioned the good fortune he would have. Putting the puck between the pads with such velocity, Bacashihua made the save, only to fall prey to his own backwards reeling momentum that laid him, puck and all, on his back in the goal. The official awarded the goal, Varlamov denied the final Monsters shot, and Hershey came out with another victory at home. The game wasn't pretty! The game wasn't particularly exciting! Referee Jeff Smith called only four minor penalties. But the Bears took the critical two points to help keep the surging Bridgeport Sound Tigers at bay in the divisional standings.