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.

Pretty in pink....

Hockey fights Cancer as the Bears fought the Rochester Americans at the Giant Center last night. Looking impressive in pink was Chris Bourque, who looked better still when he flipped a penalty shot past Tyler Plante within the first two minutes of the contest to take a 1-0 lead. Rochester kept things close in the first period, and went into the first intermission tied at 1 goal a piece. And that was a close as they came to keeping pace with Hershey. The remaining periods were pure Bears hockey, with Bourque adding 3 assists to take 4 points and be awarded the first star for his stellar performance. Goals came thick and fast in this 8-3 victory, with Quintin Laing and Oskar Osala both finding the back of the net twice. Andrew Gordon, Karl Alzner and Alex Giroux rounded out the scoring in front of a lively 10000+ crowd.

Greg Amadio and Michael Duco entertained the crowd in the first period with an all-out brawl, but the biggest surprise of the evening had to be witnessing Kyle Wilson drop the gloves and duke it out with Duco in the third. Wilson and fisticuffs are seldom categorized together, so it was nice to see that our talented center can look after himself when pushed into a corner. And talking of courage and grit, kudos to Keith Aucoin for stepping up and taking on Keaton Ellerby. When it comes to watching out for his team-mates, what Aucoin lacks in size, he more than makes up for in heart. Well done Keith - four mintues for roughing are a compliment rather than a penalty for your actions. All in all, a great night of hockey once again from the Giant Center.

On a brief note, congratulations are in order for Tyler Sloan, who made the headlines twice this week in his NHL debut. First, THE hit against the Flames was the biggest crunch of the week. I still cannot fathom why Rene Bourque decided he had to pummel Tyler for a legal hit, but Sloan sure looked competent in his Capitals jersey. And then, on Saturday night against the Stars, Tyler scored his first NHL goal. I wonder which highlight he cherishes more - the big hit in Calgary, or lighting the lamp in Dallas? Good luck Tyler - hopefully Bruce keeps you in DC a little longer while Poti recovers from his injury.

Not quite sure what to think about the contract extension for John Erskine. I am kind of on the fence about this guy, whose performance is often simply mediocre. Why take Erskine over the likes of Shaone Morrisson or Milan Jurcina, who are likely candidates to be salary cap casualties next season? Are the Caps ready to have the likes of Sloan, Lepisto and Alzner playing defence at the phone booth next season? Erskine brings experience, and can play the enforcer role when needed, but I'm not sure the extension was necessary at this moment in time in a league where there is no shortage of good defencemen.

Over in the ECHL, the Reading Royals came up short in back to back games this weekend against Johnstown and Augusta. We shall be in Reading this coming Saturday to see them face off against the Idaho Steelheads. Can't wait to see that.

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.