Successful Weekend Pulls Bears Within 3 Points of Division Leader

Winless Weekend for Norfolk Tightens Race for the East Division Crown

Sunday: Hershey Bears 5, Binghamton 2 Boxscore
Saturday: Philadelphia Phantoms 3, Hershey Bears 2 Boxscore
Friday: Hershey Bears 3, Philadelphia Phantoms 0 Boxscore

(Photo Courtesy of Michael Fernandez/The Patriot-News)

A week after dropping both games at home to the Albany River Rats and the Hamilton Bulldogs, the Bears entered this weekend’s slate of games 7 points behind the first place Norfolk Admirals in the East Division. After splitting a home-and-home series with the Phantoms, Hershey finished up the weekend in a winning fashion, defeating the Binghamton Senators 5-2.

Yesterday, the Bears found themselves in a tough battle with the last place Senators. With the game tied at 2 in the third period, Kyle Wilson was able to tally what ended up being the game winning goal taking a nice feed from Jakub Klepis and beating goaltender Kelly Guard from the right circle. Hershey ended up firing 45 shots on Guard during the night and goals by Mike Green, his first in the AHL this season, and Quinton Lang, his 12th, in the final five minutes of the game would make the final score look a lot more one-sided than the game actually was.

Maxime Daigneault continued his superior play since the team lost both Frederic Cassivi and Nolan Schaefer to NHL recalls, making 23 saves in route to improving his record to 15-4-0 on the season. He saw action in all three of the Bears games making 31 saves in a shutout win at Philadelphia on Friday night and then stopping all 10 shots he faced in relief of Jeff Pietrasiak Saturday night.

Jakub Klepis was also a key factor this weekend notching a goal and two assists to go along with some solid physical play that is making people, such as his coach Bruce Boudreau, take notice. His coach had this to say following Sunday’s game: (From Pennlive.com)

“In Washington, they compete, compete, compete and they talk to Jakub a lot about that,” Boudreau said. “He’s come down here and he’s hit probably in the 15 games he’s played more than he hit last year. That’s a really positive step in his development.”

With the NHL trading deadline set for tomorrow afternoon, and the Capitals letting it be known that they will be active, Hershey could once again find themselves the beneficiary of some quality additions for their playoff run. Last year a Washington trade with Nashville for veteran Brendan Witt brought them Kris Beech who was a key member of the Bears Calder Cup championship team. This year the team will be looking to deal forwards Danius Zubrus and Richard Zednik along with a veteran defenseman or two that could include Jamie Heward. Zubrus in particular should bring some attractive young prospects that could potentially see some time with Hershey during the remainder of the season. It also remains to be seen if the Capitals make any moves with some of their depth players such as Beech or Lawrence Nycholat who would need to pass through waivers in order to be reassigned to the team.

It will definitely be something that all fans in Hershey will need to watch as any moves Washington makes will directly effect the Bears and their clear day roster.

Bears Blow Lead, But Rally to Win Shootout

Alexandre Giroux Provides the Knockout Punch in the Shootout
Hershey Bears 3, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 2
Boxscore

It’s a little ere how much the Bears game resembled their parent club’s game. The Caps, who were playing at the same time tonight as Hershey, jumped out to a 2-0 lead just as the Bears did, only to allow their opposition to tie the game up and eventually send it to a shootout. The difference was that Hershey was able to pull out the win, while the Capitals could only manage a single point on the night.

Tomas Fleichmann got the scoring started as he parked himself in front of the net and knocked home his 20th goal of the season following a nice feed from Mike Green behind the Penguins net. In the second period, Louis Robitaille extended the lead to 2 in what looked like an innocent looking play. He gathered the puck off the boards and just fired a shot, beating goaltender Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers.

The Bears took that lead into the third period and looked to be on their way to an easy victory before the Penguins were able to rally and tie the game. With 11:30 left in the game, Micki DuPont tallied his 9th goal of the season on the power play with a shot from the right circle that found the top right corner of the net. A little less than six minutes later, Kyle Brodziak would knock home his 18th of the season as another shot from the right circle beat Maxime Daigneault. It was the result of a quick offensive attack following a defensive zone faceoff win by the Penguins.

After Jakub Klepis hit the post, an excellent performance by Daigneault on some quality scoring chances led by Brodziak, allowed the game to go to a shootout.

Goals by Mike Green and Alexandre Giroux along with a clean sheet from Daigneault, gave the Bears the victory and the much needed extra point to extend their lead in the standings to 4 points over the Penguins. With Norfolk defeating Springfield 2-1, the win also kept Hershey seven points behind the division leaders.

The hit of the night came from none other than Jakub Klepis as he nailed Penguins defenseman Noah Welch. The hit left Welch wobbly and resulted in a scrum that sent Mike Green and Ryan Stone to the box with ten minute misconducts.

Your Top 3 Stars:

1. Maxime Daigneault, Hershey 38 saves

2. Tyler Kennedy, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2 assists

3. Tomas Fleichmann, Hershey 1 goal

Game Notes:

Jamie Hunt (wrist), Chad Wiseman (day-to-day), Pete Vandermeer (broken leg), Jonas Johansson (healthy), and Donny Grover (healthy) were the scratches.

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.

Capitals/Hurricanes Preview

Carolina Hurricanes (26-19-6, 58 points)
at
Washington Capitals (20-22-7, 47 points)

Television: Comcast Sportsnet
Radio: Sportstalk 980-AM
Gametime: 7:00 PM

A week off to prepare for yesterday's game did nothing to help change the Caps losing ways. The Hurricanes were able to take advantage of the opportunities the Capitals game them and ended up blowing them out of Raleigh.

The turning point in the game was the back-to-back penalties by Jakub Klepis in the beginning of the second period. If one person can ever be responsible for a loss while only being on the ice for 2:38, than last night was a good example of this. Klepis killed all the momentum the Caps had going their way, and swung it back into the Hurricanes favor. But really, are we suprised? Klepis has been playing this way all year. He had developed a propensity to take unnecessary penalties, and at this time has done nothing to prove that he is an NHL player. If he is not sent back to Hershey today I will be shocked.

Despite the short distance, it must have been a long trip back to Washington for the Caps. Hopefully they spent their time trying to figure out what they each have to do individually in order to turn their season around. And time is becoming a factor with only 33 games remaining.

On the positive side, Alex Ovechkin will try to extend his career long ten game point scoring streak tonight. His 30 goals on the season now put him into a tie with 4 other players for 2nd in the league behind Atlanta's Marian Hossa.

Down on the Farm:

Hershey will host a rematch with the Admirals tonight from the Giant Center after falling in Norfolk last night 5-4 in overtime. The game was played before the first ever sellout crowd of 8,784 at the Norfolk Scope Arena. Bears center Dave Steckel had a pair of goals in the loss giving him 18 on the season. Despite the loss, the Bears outshot the Admirals 35-22. You can catch all the live action tonight via b2networks by visiting the Hershey Bears official website at the 7:00 PM gametime.

The South Carolina Stingrays will play at the Texas Wildcatters for the third consecutive night. The teams have split the first two games with the Stingrays winning on Thursday night, and the Wildcatters winning last night. The gametime is 8:05 PM. You can catch all the live action via b2networks by visiting Stringrayshockey.com.

Capitals Crash and Burn

Washington Can't Stay Out of the Box, Carolina Makes Them Pay
Carolina Hurricanes 6, Washington Capitals 2
Boxscore

Everything looked to be going their way. Alex Ovechkin had just recorded his 30th goal of the season and the team had recovered from a slow start to tie the game at two just 54 seconds into the second period. But then the penalty bug bit them and a pair of inexcusable plays by center Jakub Klepis swung the momentum in the Hurricanes favor for good.

A goaltender interference penalty by Klepis was quickly followed by a Chris Clark hooking call that gave Carolina a two man advantage. Erik Cole helped the Caps out by taking down defenseman Shoane Morrisonn just after Boyd Gordon had just won a key faceoff inside the Caps zone, ending the five on three situation. They seemed to have escaped a very tenuous situation when Klepis' penalty expired. However, immediately after leaving the box, Klepis took a silly hooking penalty and was sent right back to the box. The Hurricanes would capitalize on the gift as Justin Williams scored on the four on three man advantage for his second on the night and 25th of the season. For his actions, Klepis was benched for the rest of the game after totaling only 2:38 of ice time.

Later in the second period Steve Eminger would save the day momentarily for the Caps. After a chaotic scramble in front of Johnson the puck squirted past the goaltender and was moving slowly towards the empty net when Eminger cleared the puck off the goal line with his right glove. A fight between Chris Clark and Scott Walker ensued and the captain held his own despite trying his best to protect his recently repaired jaw. It was a gutsy effort by Clark who, earlier in the night, had gotten the Caps on the board redirecting a Danius Zubrus pass off his left skate past goaltender Cam Ward into the back of the net for his 20th goal of the season. It is the second consecutive 20 goal season for Clark.

Washington was unable to take advantage of Eminger's save as the Hurricanes would score two goals just ninety seconds apart in the last five minutes of the second period on goals by Justin Williams and Ray Whitney. An Eric Staal goal, his 23rd of the season, just 1:17 into the third period destroyed any idea the Capitals had of making a comeback.

Carolina got on the board first when traditional Cap killer Rod Brind'Amour burst in the offensive zone and flew past a flat-footed Eminger to the slot beating Brent Johnson with a backhand shot for his 14th goal of the season. Justin Williams would add another goal just five minutes later on a hard slap shot after he entered the Caps' zone unchallenged making it 2-0.

Game Notes:
Jeff Schultz recorded his first career point when he assisted on Clark's goal.... Justin Williams had two goals and one assist on the night.... Ovechkin's goal extended his point scoring streak to 10 games.... Both of the Caps' affiliates also lost last night as Hershey lost in overtime to Norfolk 5-4 and South Carolina lost at Texas 6-3.

Capitals/Hurricanes Preview

Washington Capitals (20-21-7, 47 points)
at
Carolina Hurricanes (25-19-6, 56 points)

Television: NC8
Radio: WTNT 570-AM
Gametime: 7:00 PM

The second half of the season officially begins Friday in Raleigh, North Carolina as the Capitals begin a home-and-home series against the defending Stanley Cup champions. It was only eight days ago that Washington entered an away game against Carolina riding a six game road losing streak and a three game losing streak overall. Despite all that, the team was able to put together a solid sixty minute effort for an impressive 5-2 win.

They will need an even better performance in order to overcome a Hurricanes team that will be fully prepared to avenge what their coach Peter Laviolette described as a bitterly disappointing effort. Carolina went into the break with a two game losing streak after they followed up that game with an overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning last Saturday.

Alex Ovechkin will return to the team after missing Thursday's practice while traveling back from the NHL All-Star game in Dallas. A game in which he had the most ice time of any forward and was able to tally his first career all-star goal. It remains to be seen if Ovechkin will continue to wear his stylish but controversial blue mirrored visor in the regular season. While not against NHL rules, a similar mirrored visor he wore last year was voted down by general managers by a vote of 29-1 after New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur complained that he could not see his eyes. He enters Friday night's game riding a nine game point scoring streak, accumulating 4 goals and 11 assists over that span.

Carolina defenseman Niclas Wallin is questionable for the game with a lower-body injury which he suffered against Washington in last week's game.
For the Capitals, what last week was described as the flu, has now been changed to an upper body injury for Brian Pothier. He will miss Friday's game as defenseman Jeff Schultz was recalled Thursday to take his place in the lineup. He played well when he was thrust into the lineup before the break because of injuries. As reported in the Washington Post, Matt Bradley will also be missing from the lineup for personal reasons. This could explain why Jakub Klepis was recalled earlier in the week. Richard Zednik should return to the lineup any day now after recovering from a severe groin injury.

It will be the fifth out of eight games on the season between these division rivals.

Hershey Lets One Slip Away

Bears led 3-1 before falling in Shootout to Bridgeport
Bridgeport Sound Tigers 4, Hershey Bears 3 F/SO
Boxscore

Hershey, in front of a large home crowd of 9,401, seemed to be in complete control of this game, getting on the board early when Eric Fehr put a loose puck past Sound Tigers' goaltender Wade Dubielewicz for a 1-0 lead just 2:20 into the first period. It was the 22nd goal of the season for the talented right winger. Jakub Klepis, playing in his first game since being reassigned to the Bears, missed a chance to put Hershey up by 2 when he failed to connect on a wide open net courtesy of a pass from defenseman Timo Helbling.

Bridgeport responded with a power-play goal by Brandon Nolen after Matt Hendricks was sent to the box for hooking. That goal, Nolen's 3rd of the season, tied the game at one.

Tomas Fleichmann quickly responded for the Bears, putting Hershey back on top just 43 seconds later capitalizing on a rebound off a Joey Tenute shot that Dubielewicz was unable to secure. With 1:44 remaining in the first period Fleichmann would put in his second goal of the game and 15th of the season. Alexandre Giroux, who had the primary assist on the goal, would immediately get into an altercation with Bridgeport's Tomas Melac before he was able to celebrate the goal. Giroux would make quick work of Melac knocking him to the ice with a quick right. Matching fighting majors would follow, but Melac would get an extra roughing penalty on the play.

In what can be looked at as a turning point in the game, Maxime Daigneault was shaken up 1:50 into the second period after Drew Fata broke to the net and ran him over after failing to convert on his scoring opportunity. Daigneault would finish the period but would then be replaced by backup Daren Machesney at the beginning of the third.

Bridgeport would take advantage of this shift in momentum by cutting the lead to 3-2 when Robert Nilsson capitalized on a two man advantage by scoring his 9th goal of the season. The Sound Tigers then controlled much of the action for the rest of the game. And despite a sound relief effort by Machesney, they were able to tie the game at 3 with 6:23 remaining in the game on a goal by Eric Boguniecki, his 9th of the season as well. That score would hold up through overtime leading to a shootout to decide the outcome of the contest.

For those of you unfamiliar with the AHL rules in the shootout, they actually have 5 rounds as apposed to the NHL's 3 rounds. Goals by Bridgeport's Peter Ferraro and Steve Regier put the Sound Tigers ahead 2-0. Hershey was able to respond however and after goals by Tomas Fleichmann and Matt Hendricks the shootout was tied up at 2 after four shots. On the fifth attempt Allan Rourke put the game winner past Machesney while Dubielewicz stopped Joey Tenute's attempt to tie. Wade Dubielewicz was outstanding for the Sound Tigers, stopping 51 shots in regulation and overtime plus 3 of 5 in the shootout for the win.

It was a disappointing outcome for the Bears who were looking to make up some ground on division leading Norfolk who lost earlier in the day.

Your Top 3 Stars of the Game:
1. Wade Dubielewicz, Bridgeport 51 saves
2. Tomas Fleichmann, Hershey 2 goals
3. Eric Boguniecki, Bridgeport Game-tying goal

Note: Defenseman Jamie Hunt, who was recalled earlier in the day to Washington and did not play when Mike Green dressed, was returned to Hershey and played in tonight's game.

Caps/Panthers Preview

Florida Panthers (17-22-10, 44 points)
at
Washington Capitals (20-20-7, 47 points)

TV: Comcast Sportsnet
Radio: Sportstalk 980-AM
Gametime: 1:00 PM

Revenge is on their mind as the Capitals look to finish up the first half of the season on a bright note before heading into the All-Star break. It was only one week ago that the Florida Panthers demolished the Caps in the sunshine state 7-3, and the game was not as close as the score. But a win Thursday night against the stanley cup champion Carolina Hurricanes has the Caps believing in themselves again. They came out with a passion that had not been seen as of late, received some lucky bounces for a change, and finished out the game in the third period, a solid all-around team effort.

It is yet to be known what the lineup will look like for the Caps on Saturday. Alexander Semin, Donald Brashear, and Brian Pothier all missed practice on Friday. Semin seems to be the only one whose presence seems likely in the game, Brashear and Pothier will be game time decision as reported by the Washington Post. That's good news for the team as Alexander Semin has been the best player on the ice for the Caps this month with 10 goals in his last 7 games. Pothier's absence would put the Capitals in position to have to make another emergency defensive call-up. He left Thursday night's game at the mid-way mark and did not return. As per the Capitals normal policy when it comes to injuries, the team is not saying anything about his condition. With Mike Green recently injured, and John Erskine and Bryan Muir already on the injured reserve list the Capitals cannot afford to loose another defenseman.

The Panthers enter Saturday's game with a 1-2-1 record over there last 4 games. They are currently in last place in the Southeast Division and 14th in the Eastern Conference. Once again, if the Capitals want to have any chance of making the playoffs they have to find a way to win this game at all cost.

After the Capitals practice on Friday the team reassigned center Jakub Klepis to Hershey of the AHL. This move was a long time coming. He had been the odd man out in the lineup lately, repeatedly being named as a healthy scratch. He received one last chance in Ottawa on Tuesday, but did nothing to stand out and was again a healthy scratch in Carolina. In 35 games he recorded 2 goals and 6 assists for 8 points. Hopefully this reassignment will help Klepis get his game back on track and return to Washington with his confidence renewed later in the season.