From the Girl's Point of View...

First of all, I agree with everyone Hubs said below - I think Hershey played a fabulous game last night and coming away with a 7-1 win was a terrific feeling. I think, though, what most impressed me was the grit, perseverance, and quickness the Bears displayed - all qualities that were only occasionally present last year. I've written before of how frustrated I occasionally got last year when the Bears would play 1-1/2 to 2 great periods of hockey and be mediocre the rest of the game. Not so last night. We saw 60 minutes of intense, high-energy, never-say-die hockey from the Bears, even when they had a significant lead and could have slacked off a bit. That is what I've been waiting to see from them, and I think this year is going to be a fabulous year.

On a side note, here's hoping Andrei Kostitsyn of the Habs doesn't miss significant ice time following his injuries last night against Phoenix. I haven't yet watched the recording of the game but from the picture in the Montreal Gazette, he looked pretty shaken up. Still, I was pleased to see the Habs win again. Latendresse continues to surprise, earning another assist last night, and if he keeps this up I may have to eat my words about his place on the line with Koivu and Tanguay...

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.

Procrastination Comes Back to Bite You Sooner or Later...

My thoughts about last night's Caps/Pens game are largely in line with those of my wise Hubs, but I do have a couple of additional thoughts. Last year, I was somewhat frustrated with Hershey's tendency to play 2 periods (or even 1-1/2) instead of 3. What has made me acutely nervous in the games against the Blackhawks and the Pens has been the necessity of coming back after digging oneself in a great, big, fat hole; I'm not sure I'm seeing three consecutive periods of consistent, full-out hockey from the Caps yet, and that does bug me a bit. Still, it's early in the season, and it does appear that Theodore has settled down a bit, so hopefully I'm just picking nits.

On the Habs, I'm thrilled at the possibility that Christopher Higgins might be back in the lineup tomorrow night - we desperately need him back. Latendresse has shown improvement, but I still don't think he's right for a line with Koivu and Tanguay; he's faster, but not fast enough.

And did anyone besides us think that Malkin should have been given a 5-minute major for his hit on Semin last night????

Time to shine....

After an impressive 2008 training camp, and some great on-ice productivity during the pre-season, it was incredibly depressing to see Chris Bourque sent back to Hershey prior to the regular season commencing. While I would never argue with Boudreaus' reasoning, the emotional aspect for a Hershey Bears fan to see one of his guys make the NHL will probably always outweigh conventional thought. With the injuries to Kozlov, Brashear and Poti, the Capitals just announced that Chris Bourque was being recalled, and will most likely play against the New Jersey Devils tomorrow night. I'm sure that Chris is ready to rise to the challenge, and like those before him (such as Fehr, Schultz and Fleischmann), is ready to show the world that he belongs there.



Good luck to you Chris. Your loyal fans at Hershey will be behind you all the way.

Road Warriors

Sitting down last night to watch the Caps play the Penguins, I finally managed to accept the early deficit knowing that when the Caps decide to come out flat early, they generally turn it around in the later periods. This was something that happened several times last year with the Hershey Bears, who'd look stale for 20 minutes, and then turn up for a game when the second period commenced. With the exception of the odd mild expletive when the Pens scored last night, I sensed that the goal by Flash was the spark this team needed to ignite - and ignite they did in that final period. It wasn't the prettiest game by far, but the end result is what matters the most. Boyd Gordon netted the winner, and deflated a Penguins team that saw a huge momentum shift result in an embarrassing loss at home.

With Donald sidelined, I admired Matt Bradleys courage and grit to go toe to toe with Paul Bissonette. This former baby Pen had a huge reputation in the AHL as a bruiser, and made pretty short work of Bradley. For those that followed the Bears/Pens games last season, they will remember when Bissonette duked it out with Bears enforcer Ryan Flinn back in February. Flinn dominated that confrontation, but we all became aware that the Pens had a guy who could clearly handle himself at not only the AHL level, but the NHL too. I'm sure right now that Donald Brashear will be looking out for Bissonette the next time these two powerhouse teams clash. As for Ryan Flinn - hopefully he's doing well up in Hamilton - we miss you Ryan.

Here's hoping that Hershey can also be road warriors tonight, as they face off against the Phantoms in Philadelphia. Varlamov is scheduled to be in goal tonight, and this will be a good test for him if Claude Giroux fires some pucks at him. Good luck Bears, and we look forward to seeing you tomorrow at the home opener in Hershey.

Kudos

to Keith Aucoin for being named the AHL player of the week. A 3-0 start to the AHL season for the Bears is a fantastic start, especially as all games were in the arenas of divisional rivals. I cannot wait to feel the atmosphere on Saturday at the Giant Center when the Bears kick off at home against Syracuse.

Here's hoping that the injury to Viktor Kozlov in DC is only minor, and that he'll be back on the ice soon. Eric Fehr is more than capable of filling that roster spot, but Kozlov has great chemistry on that line with Ovie and Backstrom. Good health to you Viktor.

The Reading Royals open their 08-09 campaign shortly. Good luck to the guys down there for the coming season.

Relegated to Online Radio...

While Hubs was basking in the glory of banner-raising in the Phone Booth, I was languishing in a hotel room, listening to the Caps game in its entirety and watching NHL's gametracker for the Habs game whilst simultaneously keeping an eye on the Hershey/Norfolk game. Some random thoughts from my scanning of the web today:

* I found this article interesting: http://www.torontosun.com/sports/hockey/2008/10/12/7060026-sun.html - the question I have is, when did Toronto ever have a bubble? Nearly everyone has picked them to finish low, low, low in the East... they get one win against Detroit and things suddenly look different?

* This blog posting from The Hockey News about the AHL and the current economic spiral: http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/18510-Dave-Andrews-Blog-The-AHL-and-the-spiraling-economy.html - maybe it's just that I'm tired, but is Dave really answering the question here? True, the AHL provides a great product at a very reasonable price, and true, marketing needs to continue, but if the economy continues to worsen and fans need to start making hard financial choices, what then? I'm not sure that the Pollyanna approach is what we're looking for - yes, we all hope things improve soon, but if they don't, how will the AHL and NHL prepare and sustain themselves?

* http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/18570-THNcom-Blog-Hockey-shouldnt-be-used-as-a-political-backdrop.html - yet another reason to dislike the Flyers. As if I needed one. :-)