Springfield defeat Hershey in Shootout.

Saturday evening, with our NHL differences aside for now, we headed to the Giant Center to see the Bears host the Springfield Falcons. For many Bears fans, this was a homecoming night for the Mayor of Hershey, Dean Arsene, and enforcer Kip Brennan - two of the Bears championship team from last season. Arsene, however, would not make the trip. The Mayor was instead fulfilling his dream of playing hockey in the NHL, as a call-up to the Edmonton Oilers. The last time I checked, Arsene had played in at least 3 games for the Oilers, and was receiving favorable feedback from the coaching staff in Edmonton. Congratulations to you Dean - you truly deserve this opportunity.

The Falcons had started off well this season, so we knew this game would not be easy. Just not too long ago, we faced a red-hot Jonathan Bernier in goal when we played the Monarchs. Springfield would give us another tough encounter, with a stellar performance from goaltender Devan Dubnyk. With Michal Neuvirth in Washington, the Bears went with Braden Holtby in goal, and when the game became a shootout, a feeling of deja-vu from the Royals/Stingrays game would haunt us. Holtby has agility and decent reflexes, but has yet to look comfortable in the one-on-one situation. Holtby would once again lose the shootout, conceding a score to Chad Wiseman. He would have little help from his team-mates, who failed to connect on all five of their attempts against Dubnyk. The Bears may have dominated the game in regulation, but their failure to beat Dubnyk after 60 minutes was enough to give Springfield the confidence to take home the victory.

Okay, so hands up all Bears fans that found themselves secretly rooting for Kip Brennan when he chose to drop the gloves with Hershey enforcer Brandon 'Sugar' Sudgen. Hmm, I found a good friend of mine who raised her hand at work (thanks Lorie), so I don't feel so bad now. Those that know me, know that it takes me a while to warm to 'newbies' on the team. Last year, I did not care much for Kipper himself until we had a chance to meet and have a short conversation. This year, I am struggling to care for the likes of Sugden, who brings mediocre hockey skills at best. However, I find it harder still right now to show any emotional attachment to Boyd Kane. Yes, he is a former Bear that has come back! Yes, he's already played a handful of games in a Capitals sweater this season! But there is something, just something, that irks me about him. Is it the whining that he was famous for last season when wearing a Phantoms sweater? Is it the lack of ba......erm, courage when pushed into a corner? I really don't know - but my lack of attachment will make it harder still for him to win me over. He must prove it on the ice, and the missed opportunity to win the game on Saturday night in front of the goal certainly did nothing to boost his worth.

Hershey Bears Home Opener.

After taking 4 straight road victories to start their 2008-09 campaign, the Bears were given a huge ovation when taking the ice at the Giant Center last night. With a mixture of familiar faces, former players returning to Chocolatetown, and a handful of Capitals prospects, the 8000+ fans in attendance were ready to see this highly touted team strut their stuff. Entering this contest, both Hershey and their opponents from Syracuse had not dropped a game yet this season. This was the first time I'd seen the Crunch in action, but had learned through many blogs and forums that they played a smash-mouth hockey game and liked to get physical. A fitting name - the Crunch - I thought to myself.



Sure enough, within the opening five minutes, the first on-ice altercation occurred. Many had predicted this would take place, as some trash talking had been going on prior to the puck drop. Before the final roster was announced prior to the season, I had some concerns over who would step up as enforcers for the Bears, especially as Robitaille and Flinn has moved on to pastures new. Keeping Grant McNeil in Hershey was a good move, but I'm happy to see that new guys Darren Reid and Greg Amadio are not afraid to back down when needed. Dean Arsene is another who will always throw himself to the wolves in order to protect his team mates. Three of these four guys all rumbled with the Crunch last night, and all three came out pretty strong with their offerings. We were not intimidated - we did not crumble. Syracuse Crunch = more like "The Brady Bunch", I thought to myself.


The Bears looked awesome last night. I've not seen them play at this intensity for quite a while. Sure, they were plagued with injuries last season and had different line-ups every game going into the last month of the regular season. However, with the depth the organization has now, every line is strong. The Mink-Aucoin-Giroux line in particular is positively sick - I'm sure that there are several NHL teams that would kill for this line-up, let alone others at the AHL level. Goals came thick and fast in this one, and the 7-1 victory for the Bears must have echoed throughout the AHL. A 5-0 start, with 29 goals scored is a phenomenal way to start the season. I certainly cannot wait to head back to Giant Center this evening for the next match-up against the Baby Pens. Once again, the Bears can roar.........they can live up to their name. As for the Crunch last night, they resembled more of a Nestle Bar, than collective bone-breakers. Let's see if we get some Penguins with attitude tonight, or just some baby flightless fowl that may be wishing they stayed home instead.

Some Bears thoughts

After 3 weeks of eagerly anticipating the Hershey Bears' return home, it was a deep disappointment indeed to see the Bears go down twice to the Manitoba Moose over the weekend. With the Bears' road victory over the Phantoms on Friday night, I had expected that the Bears would come out swinging Saturday - and they did, but not in any kind of productive way. Clearly there were some leftover frustrations from the Bears' visit to Winnipeg, as the number of spats and fighting penalties was fairly high.

The team's play did improve markedly from Saturday night (lost 5-0) to Sunday (lost 3-1), perhaps in part due to the presence of Dean Arsene yesterday. However, the loss of Josef Boumedienne to injury and Sami Lepisto to the Caps is really palpable, as the team seems to lack spark and leadership at the D position right now.

Some other observations:

* Robitaille's fight with Manitoba's Brown at the beginning of Sunday's game was a great strategic move. I'm normally not a fight person, but taking out a player who scored 2 goals for the Moose on Saturday could only help the Bears.

* The passing was abysmal on Saturday, perhaps due to the fact that so many players are out due to injury and have been replaced by call-ups and trades. This was somewhat improved yesterday but still needs work.

* Overall the Bears seem to lack assertiveness when it comes to going after the puck. There were too many times in both games when a player seemed to watch the puck going by and only belatedly move to secure it.

With only 13 games left in the regular season, every game is critical now. Let's Go Bears!