Cassivi is Back With the Bears

Wednesday, March 14th 2007

With Olie Kolzig set to return when the Capitals travel to Boston on Thursday, Frederic Cassivi has been reassigned to Hershey. Kolzig has missed the past month due to a knee injury. Cassivi started one game and appeared in three other’s in relief of Brent Johnson and posted an 0-1-1 record with a 2.59 goals against average and an .897 save percentage.
(Photo Courtesy of Dave Sanford/Getty Images)

He returns to the Bears as they prepare to play three games in as many nights beginning with a road trip to Worcester Friday night. They are currently five points behind the division leading Norfolk Admirals and only one point ahead of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for second place in the East Division.

In his place Maxime Daigneault has seen the majority of the action and has flourished compiling a record of 18-6-0 with a 2.65 goals against average and a .912 save percentage.

It is unclear as of yet what the coaches plan to do as far as which goaltender will see the most action. Cassivi will probably take over the number one position again, but it would be nice to see Daigneault get his share of starts, especially in the playoffs in order to continue his development.

Ovechkin's Magic Still Isn't Enough

Superstar's Two Goals Gives Him Back-to-Back 40 Goal Seasons
Atlanta Thrashers 4, Washington Capitals 2
Boxscore
Monday, March 12th 2007
(Photo Courtesy of Dave Sanford/Getty Images)

Alex Ovechkin provided the team with some much needed offensive excitement that has been hard to come by lately. He single handedly kept the Capitals in the game by flying around the ice and creating havoc for the Thrashers defense.

His first goal was a result of just charging the net and making something happen. Niclas Havelid knocked the puck away from him on his way to the goal, but the puck somehow found it's way into the back of the net.

Ovechkin's second of the night came as he was trying to set up Kris Beech in front of the Thrashers net. The puck deflected off the skate of defenseman Andy Sutton and over the glove of goaltender Kari Lehtonen. With 41 goals on the season now, a repeat of last years 50 plus seems as though it could be reachable.

Atlanta put the game away at the 9:35 mark of the third period when they restored their 2 goal advantage thanks to Ilya Kovalchuk's 37th goal of the season. He was able to beat Frederic Cassivi through the five hole as the Caps' backup gave up his only goal of the game after replacing Brent Johnson at the start of the final period.

Johnson was hurt while attempting to stop Atlanta's 3rd goal of the night in the second period. A Steve Eminger turnover directly led to the Keith Tkachuk marker thanks to a nice feed by Eric Boulton.

The loss was Washington's 8th straight as the team still has not won since the trading deadline passed and the team moved it's #1 center Danius Zubrus. They hope to get Olie Kolzig back at the end of week in either Thursday night's game at Boston, or Friday night's game at home against Toronto.

Game Notes:

Jiri Novotny only won 5 of 16 faceoffs as he saw most of his ice time centering the team's first line.... Ovechkin continues to lead the team in ice time as he recorded 25:33.... Atlanta's win improved their record to 5-0-2 against the Caps this season and moved them into sole possession of first place in the Southeast Division.

Caps Lose Free For All in Shootout

Ovechkin Breaks Out of His Slump, But Team Falls to 1-9 in Shootouts This Season
Florida Panthers 6, Washington Capitals 5 F/SO
Boxscore
(Photo Courtesy of Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

Both the Panthers and Capitals came into tonight's matchup shorthanded following an active day at the trade deadline. This led to an interesting game as players found themselves playing in situations they are not normally used to being in.

One example of this was Brian Sutherby's promotion to centering the team's first line between Ovechkin and Brashear. In response, the Edmonton, Alberta native had a two point night and tallied the 1st power play goal of his career. He also won 12 out of 14 faceoffs, making a statement to the coaching staff that he deserves to see more playing time down the stretch.

Washington railed from an early 3-0 deficit to make a game of it. The bright spot of the night was none other than Alex Ovechkin, who took advantage of the free flowing game and finally broke out of his scoring slump notching 2 goals and 2 assists on the night. After losing his center and father figure Danius Zubrus earlier in the day to the Buffalo Sabres, Ovechkin responded and displayed the game changing speed and deadly shot that he has been lacking in recent weeks. His 4 point night was the 1st of the season for a Caps player and pulled him within 4 goals of the NHL leader, Vincent Lecavalier who has 41. He did this all while leading the team in ice time with 26:33 on the night.

Olli Jokinen led the Panthers attack recording a hat trick by the 3:29 mark of the second period. It was the third 3 goal game on the season for Florida's scoring leader. And he almost got his forth goal of the game as a game winning attempt in overtime beat Cassivi with a nice snap shot, but the puck clanged off the inside of the post forcing another dreaded shootout situation for both clubs.

If there is any team that has struggled more than the Caps in the shootout this season it is the Florida Panthers. They came into tonight having yet to win in the competition going 0 for 7 on the season. Goals by Jozef Stumpel and Ville Peltonen changed that luck however, finally getting the team into the win column.

Game Notes:

The Panthers made 3 trades before the deadline, dealing Gary Roberts and Joel Kwiatkowski to Pittsburgh, and Todd Bertuzzi to Detroit.... Frederic Cassivi saw NHL action for the first time this season, replacing Brent Johnson after he allowed 4 first period goals.... Following today's trades the Caps roster was short handed forcing Brian Muir back into the lineup for the first time since December.... Mike Vogel announced during the second period that the team expects Jiri Novotny to be in the lineup for Saturday night's game against Richard Zednik and the New York Islanders.

Caps/Canadians Preview

Washington Capitals (23-27-9, 55 points)
at
Montreal Canadians (30-25-6, 66 points)

Television: Comcast SportsNet
Radio: WTNT 570-AM
Gametime: 7:30 PM ET


It's a tale of two teams who are limping their way into Tuesday night's game. As much as the Capitals have been struggling lately, there's a team that just may be hurting even more right now.

The Montreal Canadians recently snapped a six game losing streak with a 3-2 win in Columbus on Sunday. It was their first road win since January 18th when they defeated the Thrashers in Atlanta 4-1. They are a team that in the middle of December was battling the Buffalo Sabres for the Northeast Division lead. Since then, they have gone into a complete tailspin. After defeating the Caps at the Verizon Center on December 27th, they have compiled a record of 8-16-1 and now find themselves clinging to their playoff lives. Entering tonight's game, they are in a three-way tie for the eighth and final playoff spot with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New York Islanders, who ended the Penguins 16 regulation unbeaten streak yesterday.

They have also recently lost their All-Star goaltender Cristobal Huet who will have surgery on his injured left hamstring. With backup David Aebischer failing to adequately fill in, the Canadians hopes now rest on the shoulders of rookie Jaroslav Halak who was an AHL All-Star this season. He had a 2.00 goals against average, along with a .932 save percentage in 28 games with the Hamilton Bulldogs.

The Caps have their own problems heading into tonight's game. They are riding a 1-11-1 streak in their last 13 road games. While their defensive play has improved as of late, their offense has completely disappeared. Since their 7-3 win against Carolina on January 27th, they have averaged just 2.11 goals a game over the last 9 contests. Alex Ovechkin is in the middle of the biggest slump of his short career, recording just 1 goal and 1 assist in his last 7 games. The Caps could sure use a breakthrough performance from him to spark their offense.

Their could be a feel good story tonight. Backup Frederic Cassivi should get his first NHL start of the season in his return to his native Quebec. The 31-year old Cassivi was called up last week after Kolzig suffered a left knee injury in practice. He was an essential part of the Hershey Bears Calder Cup Championship run last season, and had a 15-7-4 record this year at the time of his recall.

With a little magic from Cassivi, and a little offense from Ovechkin, hopefully the Caps can get a W against a struggling Montreal team.

Bears/River Rats AHL Preview

Albany River Rats (23-24-2-2, 50 points)
at
Hershey Bears (32-10-5-5, 74 points)

Television: B2Networks

Radio: Bears Network (100.1 FM, 1490-AM, 960-AM)

Gametime: 7:00 PM ET

After having a week off since last Saturday’s 4-0 win at home against Albany, the Bears return to action tonight to once face the River Rats at the Giant Center. Hershey will be going for their unheard of 20th consecutive win over the shared AHL franchise of the Carolina Hurricanes and the Colorado Avalanche.

With Frederic Cassivi still in Washington, goaltender Nolan Schaefer will get his first start since returning to the team on Feb 15. He was recalled by his parent club, the San Jose Sharks, when Evgeni Nabokov was sidelined with a groin injury.

The Bears find themselves five points out of first place in the East Division after Norfolk’s overtime win Wednesday night at home against the Portland Pirates. The Admirals however, were destroyed last night by the River Rats 7-3 at the Times Union Center in Albany. Cody McCormick, Dan DaSilva, and Antti Laaksonen each netted two goals to lead the way in the impressive victory.

Since these two teams played last weekend, Albany has received some much needed help on the blue line following the reassignment of defenseman Anton Babchuk from Carolina. In 51 games this season with the Hurricanes, Babchuk had 2 goals and 12 assists and was a -6 defensively.

Joey Tenute will be a gametime decision after being hit in the mouth with a stick in Tuesday’s practice.

Brashear Re-Signs, Kolzig Hurt

It was a good news, bad news day for the Capitals.

The good, being that enforcer Donald Brashear will be returning next season after signing a 1-year $1.1 million contract. After signing with the team last summer, he has fit right in providing the team with veteran leadership and a physical presence on the ice. In 52 games he has 2 goals and 5 assists along with 125 penalty minutes to go along with an even plus/minus rating.

The bad, being that the team will be without goaltender Olie Kolzig for at least the next three weeks after injuring himself in practice today. According to Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post, Kolzig hurt himself while moving laterally during a 2 on 1 breakaway drill early in practice.

The injury will give backup Brent Johnson the opportunity to get his game back into form. He has had a couple of minor injuries during the last month or so, limiting his playing time. Johnson has yet to display the spectacular outings he was accustomed to having in spot duty last season, recording a record of 4-7-3 with a goals against average of 3.86 and an .885 save percentage.

Frederic Cassivi should be recalled from Hershey and could see a few starts in net as well. He has been outstanding at the AHL level leading the Bears to the Calder Cup last season. Cassivi had just returned to action after suffering a broken collar bone in a game on December 23rd. So far this season he has a record of 15-7-4 with a 2.55 goals against average and a .916 save percentage in 28 games.

The Capitals will practice again tomorrow at their practice facility in Ballston before departing for the Sunshine state and a matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning Thursday night.

Dubielewicz Denies Bears

Sound Tigers Goaltender Records Over 50 Saves For A Second Consecutive Game Against Hershey

Bridgeport Sound Tigers 4, Hershey Bears, 2

Boxscore

(Photo Courtesy of Rich Stieglitz/AHL)

He is becoming a thorn in the side of the Hershey Bears this season. Wade Dubielewicz followed up his 51 save performance in a shootout win at Hershey on January 20th with an encore of 52 saves last night in front of 4,745 fans at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport.

The Bears resembled their parent team of late when they got off to a sluggish start and spotted the Sound Tigers a 2-0 first period lead. Robert Nilsson recorded his 10th goal of the season, including his 5th against the Bears, just a minute and twenty-five seconds in. Eric Boguniecki won a lose puck behind Hershey's goaltender Frederic Cassivi and quickly found Nilsson in front who one-timed the puck into the back of the net.

A poor defense display led to Bridgeport's second goal of the game when forward Jason Pitton was allowed to put four consecutive shots on the Bears net. Cassivi was able to stop the first three but not the last as the shot was roofed short side for his 6th goal of the season at the 13:36 mark of the opening period.

Following that goal Hershey would finally show some signs of life, getting back in the game less than a minute later when Louis Robitaille back handed home a rebound off a Dave Steckel shot for his 5th of the year cutting the Sound Tigers lead in half at 2-1. The second period saw the Bears pull even just 2:21 in when Jakub Klepis followed up a Timo Helbling shot wristing the puck past Dubielewicz. The goal continued an impressive run for the Czech winger since his demotion from the Caps as he now has 2 goals and 5 assists in only 7 games since his return to the AHL.

That would be the last of the celebrating the Bears were able to do tonight as despite greatly outshooting Bridgeport and having plenty of quality scoring chances, they would not be able to beat Dubielewicz again. A Chad Wiseman hooking penalty less than three minutes later would allow Eric Boguniecki to score the game winning goal on the power play following a beautiful cross ice pass from Bear killer Robert Nilsson. Jeremy Colliton would provide the empty net goal with 34 seconds remaining to put the game away for good, 4-2.

The Hershey Bears were unable to take advantage of a night when both of their divisional rivals lost. Norfolk suffered only their second regulation defeat at home this season as the Albany River Rats scored four unanswered goals on the way to a 4-2 win. Meanwhile in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton the Penguins were downed by the visiting Portland Pirates 2-1. With the top three teams in the division all loosing the standings remain the same with Norfolk holding a five point lead over the Bears who hold a five point lead over the Penguins.

Your Top 3 Stars:

1. Wade Dubielewicz, Bridgeport 52 saves

2. Robert Nilsson, Bridgeport 1 goal and 1 assist

3. Eric Boguniecki, Bridgeport GW goal and 1 assist

Game Notes:

Hershey scratches on the evening were goaltender Maxime Daigneault, defenseman Jamie Hunt, Donny Grover, and Deryk Engelland, and forward Jonas Johansson.... Former Capital Rick Berry currently plays for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and has 2 goals, 10 assists and is a -9 on the year in 46 games.... Pete Vandermeer will again join John Walton in the Bears radio booth for tomorrow night's home game versus the Albany River Rats.

Hershey Wins In Head Coach's Milestone Game

Three Straight Goals Lead Bears Past Slumping Pirates
Hershey Bears 5, Portland Pirates 2
Boxscore
(Photo courtesy of Just Sports Photography)

Tonight marked the 1,000th professional game of Head Coach Bruce Boudreau's career. And the Bears made sure he would have something to celebrate it by as they triumphed at home before 6,511 at the Giant Center.

Frederic Cassivi returned to the Bears lineup today after his short recall to the Washington Capitals on Sunday. He services were needed to backup Olie Kolzig following a lower body injury to reserve Brent Johnson.

The first period had the same feel as some of the recent Capitals games as sound defensive play dominated the early action. That would change as the intermission approached. The Pirates would strike first following a Timo Helbling turnover in his own zone. Helbling blew a tire as he was trying to clear the puck and fell to the ice, sending the puck right to the waiting stick of Joe Motzko. He found himself wide open in the slot and beat Cassivi glove side for his 14th goal of the season in an unassisted fashion.

The Bears were able to respond back before the end of the period, following a Trevor Byrne penalty they recorded their team's 18th short handed goal of the season when Alexandre Giroux entered the offensive zone on a two on one break. He slid a nice pass across to Quinton Laing who made the most of it, tying the score at one with his 11th of the season as the teams headed into the intermission.

The turning point of the game might just have been Hershey's ability to kill of a Pirates two man advantage at the start of the second period. They used that momentum to score twice in the period and take a 3-1 lead heading into the third. Joey Tenute put home the rebound from the left faceoff circle following a Chad Wiseman shot from the point for a power play goal, his 15th of the year. Hendricks followed that up with a hard working goal as he stuffed home the loose puck right at the goal line after Pirates goaltender Sabastien Caron could not coral it.

Less than five minutes into the third the Pirates tried to make a game of it after a weak backhand shot by Clay Wilson slipped past Cassivi to pull them within one at 3-2. It was definitely a shot that Cassivi would like to have back, but it didn't hurt the Bears as only three minutes later a Kyle Wilson goal would put Hershey back up by 2. A nice individual effort by Dave Steckel later in the period on a 4 on 4 situation put the game away for good. He pick-pocketed a Pirates defenseman in Portland's zone and went in all alone on Caron. A nice deke notched his 19th goal of the year and made the final 5-2.

With the game no longer in doubt, things got a little chippy towards the end. A pair of fights ensued less than a minute apart between the Pirates' Geoff Peters and the Bears captain Matt Hendricks, and Dean Arsene and Greg Amadio.

The win improved Hershey's record to 31-9-5-5 for 72 points on the season. That kept the Bears within 5 points of the division leading Norfolk Admirals as they were able to come from behind and beat the Albany River Rats in a shootout 5-4.

Your Top 3 Stars:

1. Dave Steckel, Hershey 1 goal
2. Alexandre Giroux, Hershey 2 assists

3. Frederic Cassivi, Hershey 32 saves

Bears/Pirates Preview

Portland Pirates (21-19-2-5, 49 points)
at
Hershey Bears (30-9-5-5, 70 points)

Television: B2Networks ($6.00)
Radio: Bears Radio Network (100.1 FM, 1490-AM, 960-AM)
Gametime: 7:00 PM ET


The Bears should have Frederic Cassivi back in goal tonight as they host the Portland Pirates from the Giant Center in Hershey. It will be the first time the Pirates have played in Hershey since the memorable game 7 in the Eastern Conference Championship series last year.

Cassivi, who was recalled to the NHL this past weekend to backup Olie Kolzig, was noticeably absent for the Capitals practice this morning. The team's normal backup Brent Johnson was able to participate in the practice and declared himself ready for tomorrow night's game against the Kings. While no move has officially been made yet, it should come in time for Cassivi to play in tonight's game.

The Portland Pirates limp into today's game having won only once in their last eight games and only twice in their last eighteen. A big decline from their successful season last year and their first place standing up to December 23rd.

Hershey is currently in second place in the East Division just five points behind the Norfolk Admirals who host the Albany River Rats at 7:15 PM ET.

Hershey Scores Come From Behind Win

Bears Net Last Two Goals of the Game to Edge Wolf Pack
Hershey Bears 2, Hartford Wolf Pack 1
Boxscore
(Photo Courtesy of JustSports Photography)

It was the first game of the second half of the season for both teams following the AHL All-Star break. Hershey entered the game having lost it's last two and three out of it's last five, while Hartford, on the other hand, entered the game as one of the hottest teams in the league, winning their last five and nine out of their last ten.

An evenly played first period got interesting as the intermission approached. With just two minutes left the Wolf Pack's Dwight Helminen took control of the puck behind the Bears net. After surveying the situation he stepped to the right side and found Craig Weller with a beautiful pass across the goal mouth that he deposited into the wide open net. The goal was the Wolf Pack captain's 7th of the season giving Hartford the 1-0 lead.

The tightly contested action continued into the second period until the Bears line of Klepis, Fleichmann, and Tenute had a dominating shift that resulted in some good scoring chances and led to a power play opportunity following a Ryan Callahan elbowing call. While the Wolf Pack would kill off the penalty it would only be a technicality as two seconds after Chad Wiseman secured the puck at the Bears blue line and found Alexandre Giroux streaking into the offense zone. The play resulted in a two on zero and an easy goal by Giroux tying the score at 1 and giving him 31 goals on the year, which moved him into third place in the AHL.

Hershey's Frederic Cassivi, who made his first start in goal since breaking his collarbone on December 20th, would make sure the score stayed that way heading into the second intermission as he robbed Hartford's Greg Moore on a breakaway with less than a minute to go.

The third period would see Hershey pull ahead for good. Tomas Fleichmann tapped home the rebound off of a Joey Tenute shot from the slot. It was his 18th goal of the season winger nicknamed "flash". Cassivi would make that goal stand as he was absolutely spectacular down the stretch showing no signs of rust following his extended time off. He ended the night with 37 saves while picking up his 13th win of the season.

Your 3 Stars of the Night:
1. Frederic Cassivi, Hershey 37 Saves
2. Tomas Fleichmann, Hershey GW Goal
3. Craig Weller, Hartford 1 goal

Game Notes:

It was an incredibly fast paced game as it only took 1 hour and 55 minutes to compete.... Bears' Goaltender Nolan Schaefer was recalled from his loan to the San Jose Sharks earlier in the day forcing Coach Bruce Boudreau to insert Cassivi back into the lineup earlier than he would have liked. Cassivi was backed up by Maxime Daigneault who is also just returning from an injury.... Darius Kasparaitis played in his 10th game of the season for Hartford. This is Kasparaitis' first time playing in the AHL as when he first came over to the US from Lithuania he went straight to the NHL.... Defenseman Donny Grover made his debut with Hershey after his recall from South Carolina yesterday.