Hershey Bears Hockey

posted by Hershey Bears on Jan 27

Posted by Hershey Bears

The victory allowed Norfolk to pull into a tie with Hershey in the Eastern Conference standings.

NORFOLK, Va. — The Hershey Bears have company in the East Division of the AHL.

Norfolk sent Hershey to its fourth straight loss Friday night, 2-1 at Norfolk Scope arena to pull into a second-place tie with the Bears in the East.

View full sizeHershey Bears Jacob Micflikier, battles Manchester Monarchs Andrew Campbell, for the puck in the corner during second period action at the Giant Center Sunday January 22, 2012. CHRIS KNIGHT, The Patriot-News

Now tied with 55 points each, the teams will do battle tonight back at Scope in the final game before the AHL All-Star break in Atlantic City, N.J.

Pierre-Cedric Labrie snapped a 1-all third-period tie by converting a rebound off an odd-man rush with 9:56 to play for the deciding goal. Labrie beat Braden Holtby, who was under siege all night. The Bears’ netminder was sharp, making 44 stops on 46 shots, but had no chance on Labrie’s game-winner.

Hershey continued its league-leading march to the penalty box Friday, committing nine infractions. The Bears killed off all nine, a remarkable stat, but spent much of the night behind the eight-ball. Hershey’s 18 penalty minutes give the club an AHL-high 996 PIMs for the season in just 43 games. Norfolk is second — the only two clubs with 900-plus PIMs.

A high-scoring season series (the teams averaged 8.83 goals per game combined in six prior meetings) took a severe downward turn in the first game of this back-to-back. Carter Ashton potted the first goal midway through the second period by prying the puck loose from underneath Holtby.

It stayed that way until Jacob Micflikier tied it for the Bears with 13:30 play by cashing in off a Norfolk turnover deep in the Admirals’ defensive zone, beating goalie Dustin Tokarski.

NOTES

-Micflikier’s goal extended his points-game streak to seven.

-The teams were a combined 0-for-15 on the power play.

-Former Washington Capitals goalie Olaf Kolzig was Hershey play-by-play man Scott Stuccio’s color man in the booth at Scope. Kolzig dropped the ceremonial first puck before the game.

-The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins beat Connecticut 3-2 in overtime to stretch their East Division lead to three points over the Bears and Admirals.

-Tonight’s rematch at Scope is a 7:15 start, 15 minutes earlier than Friday’s faceoff.

posted by Hershey Bears on Jan 8

Posted by Hershey Bears

Despite taking the tough loss Braden Holtby was excellent in goal for the Bears making 40 saves. Below is my coverage from the AHL Winter Classic. I have video of Holtby and Sabourin along with a few pictures of former Bear Jason Bacashihua. Enjoy. Reports: Tim Leone has great coverage for Pennlive while PA Puck also has a report. Previews:…

Despite taking the tough loss Braden Holtby was excellent in goal for the Bears making 40 saves.

Below is my coverage from the AHL Winter Classic. I have video of Holtby and Sabourin along with a few pictures of former Bear Jason Bacashihua. Enjoy.

Reports:
Tim Leone has great coverage for Pennlive while PA Puck also has a report.

Previews:
Coach French has announced that Braden Holtby will start in goal for the Bears. Dany Sabourin has previous outdoor experience having played for the Penguins during the NHL Winter Classic but it is Holtby getting the start.

Former Bear Jason Bacashihua will be in the line-up for the Phantoms but he will not get the start. As of now Michael Leighton is scheduled to start in goal as he has previous outdoor experience from the NHL Winter Classic in Boston.

That being said, Bacashihua recently won a game against the Portland Pirates that needed 12 shootout rounds to be decided. “Cash” stopped 11 of the 12 attempts including 10 in a row. Here you can see a photo of Jason from that game.

PA Puck has a great interview with Graham Mink asking him about the game with the Phantoms, what he thought while watching the NHL Winter Classic, and what it was like playing outdoors growing up in Vermont.

PA Puck also has a cool article about equipment manager Justin Kullman and how he prepared for the game.

As you know the Bears practiced outside at the Milton Hershey School rink to prepare. Here is Tim Leone’s coverage of that practice as well as PA Pucks article previewing the practice and one about the actually event itself.     

Videos:
Below are videos I took from warm-ups and the game itself.

Photos:
Below are photos I took during warm-up and the game itself.

posted by Hershey Bears on Dec 2

Posted by Hershey Bears

Finishing their latest effort with three unanswered goals — all with Keith Aucoin helping out — the Hershey Bears opened a busy American Hockey League weekend Friday night by cracking the Syracuse Crunch 4-1 at the Oncenter.   Matt Pope, Tomas Kundratek, Graham Mink and Matthew Ford all bagged scores for the Bears, who halted a brief two-game skid. Hershey,…

Finishing their latest effort with three unanswered goals — all with Keith Aucoin helping out — the Hershey Bears opened a busy American Hockey League weekend Friday night by cracking the Syracuse Crunch 4-1 at the Oncenter.
 
Matt Pope, Tomas Kundratek, Graham Mink and Matthew Ford all bagged scores for the Bears, who halted a brief two-game skid. Hershey, which snapped a 1-1 tie late in the first period on Kundratek’s score, will entertain Portland Saturday night at Giant Center.
 
Patrick Maroon’s power-play finish accounted for the lone Syracuse goal.

While Maroon’s score pulled the Crunch even with 1:08 remaining in the opening period, Kundratek connected 49 seconds later to push Mark French’s Bears ahead to stay.

Mink’s power-play goal upped Hershey’s lead to 3-1 with 1:06 to go in the second. Ford capped the contest by connecting with 7:24 to go in the third.

Braden Holtby banked the victory by turning away 24 of Syracuse’s 25 shots. Iiro Tarkki played valiantly for the Crunch, amassing 37 stops in a losing cause.

NOTEBOOK

Aucoin has assisted on nine of the last 10 Hershey goals.

Bears captain Boyd Kane left the game in the third period with an undisclosed injury.

Pope’s goal was his first since joining the club earlier this week from the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays.

Former Bears head coach Bob Woods, fired earlier this week by the NHL’s Washington Capitals, landed on the Anaheim coaching staff Friday as an assistant to recently hired Ducks skipper Bruce Boudreau. Anaheim entertained the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday night.

Woods, who played 10 seasons as a defenseman in the ECHL, will be inducted into that circuit’s Hall of Fame during a January luncheon in North Charleston, S.C.

posted by Hershey Bears on Nov 22

Posted by Hershey Bears

When you have time you really should check out Dave Gunnarsson’s website. You need to see the high resolution images of the countless masks that he has painted. You also need to read the detailed information the Swedish artist gives towards the inspiration for each one. View full sizeimage by Daveart.com Finding out what he was thinking when coming up with a design or knowing what he and…

When you have time you really should check out Dave Gunnarsson’s website. You need to see the high resolution images of the countless masks that he has painted. You also need to read the detailed information the Swedish artist gives towards the inspiration for each one.

View full sizeimage by Daveart.com

Finding out what he was thinking when coming up with a design or knowing what he and the player talked about during the creative process is just as interesting as seeing the end result.

You can follow him on his Twitter page, you can “like” him on Facebook, and there is even a DAVEART app you can download for your smartphone! 

Dave has painted multiple masks for Braden Holtby as well as former Bear goalies Michal Neuvirth and Semyon Varlamov. His most recent creation is Holtby’s roller coaster mask.

Gunnarsson mentions that it was Holtby who came up with the idea of having an old school wooden roller coaster on the mask but Dave did add some of his own personal creative touches.

One cool thing you will notice is that even though the ride is flying along super fast the bear remains calm. That symbolizes how cool Braden can be under pressure.  

Obviously the bear is a goalie so he has a mask that is flying off in the wind. You can also notice that the bear isn’t one to mess with as he has bruises and a black eye. Those symbolize that Braden is one tough customer and controls who comes into his crease.

I am working on a breakdown of Braden and his play lately. I hope to have that posted soon. Until then check out Daveart’s website and enjoy.

posted by Hershey Bears on Nov 10

Posted by Hershey Bears

Last night, in front of a sold out Giant Center, Braden Holtby made 15 saves and recorded his first shutout of the 2011-12 season. He was not called on often but he made a few key saves and kept the B-Sens off of the scoreboard as the Bears rolled to a 3-0 victory. Holtby made a big save early in…

Last night, in front of a sold out Giant Center, Braden Holtby made 15 saves and recorded his first shutout of the 2011-12 season.

View full size

He was not called on often but he made a few key saves and kept the B-Sens off of the scoreboard as the Bears rolled to a 3-0 victory.

Holtby made a big save early in the first period but according to some people in the crowd he had already been putting on a show during warm-ups.

As I was watching Braden Holtby warm up last night a fan next to me turned and said, “Man, I’ve never been so entertained just watching a guy practice.” The fan was making reference to Braden’s well documented “Holtby-isms”.

I do agree, he sure is fun to watch. I compare him to Tommy Soderstrom in that he has so many rituals that he goes through.

Soderstrom was always tapping his posts, stretching a certain way, and you may remember how he would hunch over and slide back into the net while the play was at the other end of the ice.

I also noticed Braden’s stick handling abilities during warm-ups. I was always an average stick handler as a goalie and it baffles me when I see elite NHL or AHL goalies do what they can do with the puck. 

Below I posted a few videos of Braden showing him taking the ice and handle the puck (including when he roofs a shot from up close), making a few saves, and stretching like only Braden can.

View full size

I also posted a video of Dany Sabourin warming up. If you notice he was wearing a different mask (not the skating Bear mask he started wearing just after the start of the season). I do not have any up close detailed shots of it but I will try and get some soon. You can kind of make out the mask in the photo I posted in this entry. Sorry for the poor quality. ***Update- From the Bear’s site, here is a high res up close shot***

It is similar in design to a previous retro style mask he wore before but you can see the ears and hair of the goalie behind the mask.

Plus, I know this is a goalie blog but I just happen to have caught the Rechlicz vs. Lessard fight on video also.

posted by Hershey Bears on Oct 31

Posted by Hershey Bears

Braden Holtby made 19 saves on his way to recording a 3-2 victory over the defending Calder Cup champion Binghamton Senators last night. View full sizephoto by Anthony Fiore While making those saves and getting the victory, Holtby sported his new roller coaster themed mask and a breast cancer awareness jersey which was auctioned off after the game. Thanks once again…

Braden Holtby made 19 saves on his way to recording a 3-2 victory over the defending Calder Cup champion Binghamton Senators last night.

View full sizephoto by Anthony Fiore

While making those saves and getting the victory, Holtby sported his new roller coaster themed mask and a breast cancer awareness jersey which was auctioned off after the game.

Thanks once again to Anthony Fiore for the photo.

You can also view some saves and highlights from the game below.   

posted by Hershey Bears on Oct 17

Posted by Hershey Bears

When a goalie gives up six goals in one game you automatically think he played poorly. Watching the game live and talking to fans between periods some fans commented to me that they thought Holtby was off his game Saturday night. When you watch the goals again on replay, I wouldn’t say he was stellar but he really wasn’t the main reason we…

When a goalie gives up six goals in one game you automatically think he played poorly. Watching the game live and talking to fans between periods some fans commented to me that they thought Holtby was off his game Saturday night. When you watch the goals again on replay, I wouldn’t say he was stellar but he really wasn’t the main reason we lost the game. Some weak defense in the crease and some crazy bounces were also at fault. Lets take a look at the goals. If you had a different angle or saw something that I missed please chime in and let me know.

Braden Holtby signaling icing

The first goal- Being honest here, this one was one of the few goals scored that may have been Braden’s fault. The initial shot came in and the rebound was deflected by Braden straight to the Norfolk player. Yes the Admiral did a good job of shooting the puck back across the grain and beating Holtby but it looked as though after giving up the rebound he came too far back across the net and allowed the goal.

The second goal- Wow, what the heck happened here? It looked as though Hanson and Holtby got tangled up and neither one of them could get back up. Weird goal, crazy situation, not Holtby’s fault.

The third goal- The goal was the result of a scrum in front of the net. I did not have a very good angle to see what happened but it seemed to me that maybe the defense could have cleared the crease a bit better. Those are the kind of goals that if a guy scores them he better pay the price and it seemed too easy. Yes, it could have been stopped but I would not single out Braden on this one.  

The fourth goal- Another strange one that I did not see very well. It appeared to be a cross that deflected off of either the Norfolk player or the Bears defensmen. Not one I would fault Holtby on. Another case of send the puck at the net and sometimes good things/bounces come your way. Norfolk did that well.

Holtby during the national anthem

The fifth goal- This is the offside goal that Hershey was upset about. Sure seemed to be offside, also a crazy bounce as the Norfolk player lost the puck, went into the zone (offsides mind you) and somehow got the puck back.

At the time the shot was taken Holtby seemed to be deep in his crease giving up the top corner but he may have backed off or not been 100% assuming it was going to be called by the linesman.

Sixth goal- Another strange bounce that could have either been avoided or gone either way. It was a bit of a flustering scrum in front of the goal and Norfolk sent the puck at the net and got the goal.

All in all Holtby made some strong saves, let in one or two that he maybe would have liked to have had back, and was the victim of bad bounces. The end result was a loss. The team still earned a point which is good. I would imagine that as the season goes on and the rust gets burnt off, these goofy goals or defensive errors will become few and far between. It is still early in the season and as Coach French mentioned in the post game interview, if you look around the league there are a lot of high scoring games that perhaps are the result of early season defensive lapses.           

With Dany Sabourin on recall to Washington Philipp Grubauer dressed and backed up Braden Holtby Saturday night. Obviously he didn’t see any game action but he did warm up with the team and as we predicted, he looked pretty good with his Stingray pads that matched the Giant Center jerseys. Philipp will get his chance at some point this season and I am excited to see how he does with the Stingrays and also how he can do when the Bears give him a start in the AHL. You can see a photo of him below. Sorry for the poor quality.

View full sizePhilipp Grubauer

In addition to evaluating Holtby in his first regular season home game, I also wanted to respond to a request I had from two readers. Someone had emailed me letting me know that they were not going to be able to attend the home opener. They asked if I could get some video of Braden wearing one of the Giant Center 10th Anniversary season jerseys. I also had someone email asking for me video of Holtby-isms. Below are two videos that I took showing both the jersey and the Holtby-isms. If you are not aware of what I mean by Holtby-isms you can check out this link on Russian Machine Never Breaks.

posted by Hershey Bears on Oct 13

Posted by Hershey Bears

Washington has recalled Braden Holtby. He will travel with the Caps to face the Penguins. Michal Neuvirth is still listed as day-to-day. Hershey has recalled Philipp Grubauer from the South Carolina Stingrays to replace Holtby on the roster. Grubauer will meet the team in Norfolk for Friday nights game. The goalie rotation is still TBD. Grubauer will most likely…

Washington has recalled Braden Holtby. He will travel with the Caps to face the Penguins. Michal Neuvirth is still listed as day-to-day.

Hershey has recalled Philipp Grubauer from the South Carolina Stingrays to replace Holtby on the roster. Grubauer will meet the team in Norfolk for Friday nights game. The goalie rotation is still TBD. Grubauer will most likely be sporting his white, red, dark blue, and silver Reebok pads that should actually match pretty nicely with the Giant Center 10th Anniversary jerseys.

With Holtby recalled, Hershey had LVC freshman goalie Colin Catherman fill in during practice.

posted by Hershey Bears on Oct 10

Posted by Hershey Bears

Braden Holtby and the rest of the Hershey Bears got the 2011-12 campaign off to a solid start by winning the season opener against Binghamton 3-2. Braden made 27 saves on 29 shots helping the Bears spoil the B-Sens banner raising home opener. The following night Dany Sabourin got the start against his former team the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. Dany…

Braden Holtby and the rest of the Hershey Bears got the 2011-12 campaign off to a solid start by winning the season opener against Binghamton 3-2.

Braden made 27 saves on 29 shots helping the Bears spoil the B-Sens banner raising home opener.

The following night Dany Sabourin got the start against his former team the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. Dany came through with an impressive 3-2 victory making 23 saves on 25 shots.

In other AHL news, David Aebischer won the first game in St. John’s Icecaps history 4-1. Aebie made 21 saves on 22 shots. You can check out a photo of David being announced as the game’s number one star on the Icecaps website. Jason Bacashihua did not see playing time in the Phantoms 6-3 victory over the Whale.

In the NHL, Michal Neuvirth recorded the win in goal for Washington as he and the Caps defeated Carolina by a score of 4-3 in OT. Neuvy made 28 saves on 31 shots.

One time Hershey Bear Brent Johnson may have been the losing goalie against the Oilers (2-1 in a shootout) but he made 34 saves on 35 shots and was named the game’s number two star.

In a similar situation, Semyon Varlamov recorded the loss in goal but was still solid in net making 36 saves against the Wings and was named the games number three star.

As for the ECHL… South Carolina played Friday night against Greenville in pre-season action. Daren Machesney got the start in goal and played the whole game. South Carolina lost 3-2 in a shootout. Machesney was sharp in goal making 30 saves on 32 shots.

The following night Philipp Grubauer was in net as the Rays lost 2-1. Grubauer made 12 saves on 14 shots.

In other ECHL pre-season Jared DeMichiel and the K-Wings lost 3-1 to Toledo. DeMike got the start and played the first 30 minutes making 11 saves on 14 shots before switching goalie duties with Gill.

posted by Hershey Bears on Oct 4

Posted by Hershey Bears

Braden Holtby made his Hershey Bear pre-season debut in goal last night against the B-Sens.  Hershey won 4-3 in overtime and Braden recorded 11 saves on 14 shots. It was a tough game for Braden as he did not see much rubber early in the contest. I would imagine that made it hard for him to get into any kind…

Braden Holtby made his Hershey Bear pre-season debut in goal last night against the B-Sens. 

Hershey won 4-3 in overtime and Braden recorded 11 saves on 14 shots. It was a tough game for Braden as he did not see much rubber early in the contest. I would imagine that made it hard for him to get into any kind of a groove.

I feel bad about not being able to attend training camp last week or any of the pre-season games. I usually try and have some photos and videos by now. SHoE does have a recap from last nights game with a bunch of photos featuiring Holtby all taken by Kyle Mace.

Machesney and Grubauer hit the ice with the Rays:
Daren Machesney and Philipp Grubauer have reported to the Stingrays training camp and were on the ice for day two. Below is a video from camp that shows Machesney in his new Brian’s pads and white mask but also shows the new Reebok pads Grubauer has. They appear to be white with red and blue colored accents. He still has his Kingston mask.

Jared DeMichiel joins Kalamazoo:
After playing in the Boston Bruins NHL rookie camp and participating in the P-Bruins camp, Jared DeMichiel will now join Kalamazoo for the start of the ECHL season.   

posted by Hershey Bears on Sep 29

Posted by Hershey Bears

Michal Neuvirth is "nursing a minor injury" so he has been given some time off to rest. To fill his position the Caps have recalled Braden Holtby. Scott Stuccio and Dany Sabourin at the STH party I am not going to hit the panic button yet and say that we are headed towards Varly 2.0 here but… it may…

Michal Neuvirth is “nursing a minor injury” so he has been given some time off to rest. To fill his position the Caps have recalled Braden Holtby.

Scott Stuccio and Dany Sabourin at the STH party

I am not going to hit the panic button yet and say that we are headed towards Varly 2.0 here but… it may not be a good sign for the Caps.

It really could just be a minor thing or it could be more. Time will tell. One way or another Holtby is back with the Caps. If it lasts longer then expected it may open up the door for Machesney to start the season in Hershey.

Last night was the team’s season ticket holder skating party. Other then a shortage of hot dogs I think it went well and everyone had a blast.  

Varly’s new mask:
Semyon Varlamov’s new mask shows a yeti and a snowman doing battle with bazookas shooting snowballs and carrots at each other. Gotta love it! 

Cash makes Phantoms debut:
Jason Bacashihua made his pre-season debut with the Phantoms last night and notched a 3-1 win against Wilkes-Barre.

posted by Hershey Bears on Sep 28

Posted by Hershey Bears

Training camp has begun and the Bears currently have four goalies on the roster. Coach French has been cycling through the goalies for each session. photo by capsinpictures.com contributor “Courtney D” So that the crease doesn’t get too crowded the team has been dressing three goalies per primary workout. Two guys then participate in a seperate session with goaltending coach…

Training camp has begun and the Bears currently have four goalies on the roster. Coach French has been cycling through the goalies for each session.

photo by capsinpictures.com contributor “Courtney D”

So that the crease doesn’t get too crowded the team has been dressing three goalies per primary workout. Two guys then participate in a seperate session with goaltending coach Olie Kolzig.

Many readers contacted me asking for photos from camp and wanted to know who was breaking in new gear. My real job has kept me busy this week so I have not been able to get over to the rink to get photos or video.

However, Capsinpictures.com has posted some great photos from training camp showing all four goalies that were taken by Capsinpictures.com contributor ”Courtney D”.

First off Braden Holtby is now wearing his Hershey colored Reebok pads and gloves while once again using a Warrior stick. He currently has his Caps mask. I like this style of pads and I expected Braden to choose them again as he has worn them and liked them quite a bit over the last year.

Dany Sabourin is a bit of a pleasant surprise. He has switched to a very cool set of Warrior pads that are white with brown accents. He also has a Warrior stick. His mask is also new. I will try and get more photos of it in the near future. I like it a lot. One side of the mask appears to have an image on it that is very similar to the skating Bear logo for the Bears Den at the Hershey Lodge. The other side seems to have a snarling Bear with claws on it.  

During his Q&A with Stack the Pads in August, Daren Machesney told us that he would be switching to Brian’s pads. He is now wearing them and they look great. He currently has a plain white mask and is using a Reebok stick.

Rookie Philipp Grubauer is wearing the same Reebok pads and gloves he has had all pre-season. They are white with yellow and black accents. He also has his mask from Kingston that was higlighted on the blog a few weeks ago. 

The pre-season games are coming up this weekend. This is just my opinion based on how things have gone in the past but I would bet Machensey and Grubauer may split one game while Holtby and Sabourin will go the distance in the other two games.   

posted by Hershey Bears on Sep 23

Posted by Hershey Bears

I was not able to attend the Baltimore Hockey Classic this week as I was away at a meeting for work. I understand the ice surface left a little bit to be desired. Other then that I have heard from a few friends who attended the game and they said it was a lot of fun. Courtesy of John…

I was not able to attend the Baltimore Hockey Classic this week as I was away at a meeting for work. I understand the ice surface left a little bit to be desired. Other then that I have heard from a few friends who attended the game and they said it was a lot of fun.

Courtesy of John Sparenberg

I have to give the city of Baltimore credit. First they brought the IZOD Indycar and ALMS sportscar series to the “Charm City” and now they have brought the NHL. Not gonna lie here, I would rather see a Caps pre-season game in Hershey but it was still a cool event and it was well attended.

Despite having to miss the game I do have some photos to share. John Sparenberg from the Bears Bites and Insights blog sent me these great images of Neuvy. I understand the crowd was amazing and most of them were “rocking the red.” Well, you can tell from these pictures Neuvirth is rocking the red also.

Bears camp starts this Sunday with the first on ice sessions Monday. I plan on being at camp sometime early in the week getting video of the goalies. Stay tuned for more.

Speaking of camp, unless Dany Sabourin is sent to Chocolatetown between now and Sunday Hershey will open camp with Daren Machesney and newly assigned rookie Philipp Grubauer between the pipes.

View full sizeCourtesy of John Sparenberg

The team may bring in another goalie to help run drills depending how long it takes for Holtby and Sabourin to be sent down.

For more on the Hockey Classic see the video below or check out this youtube link.

Aebischer makes NHL pre-season debut with Winnipeg:
David played for the Jets in their pre-season game against Columbus. He played in one period and stopped all nine shots he faced. Here you can see a photo of him in action.

Video from Washington Capitals training camp:
I also found some great video from the Capital’s camp. The first video shows Holtby and Sabourin on the ice with group B while the second video shows Neuvy and Grubauer and group A. You can tell in the video that Sabourin is sporting new pads.

DeMichiel goes from Boston Bruins to the P-Bruins:
According to Jared DeMichiel’s facebook page he will be in camp with the Providence Bruins next week.

posted by Hershey Bears on Sep 19

Posted by Hershey Bears

NHL training camps began this past weekend. There will be lots of storylines to follow as each goalie sets out towards his own objective this season. courtesy of capsinpictures.com Braden Holtby will be looking to show that his performance in the NHL last season was not a fluke. Neuvy is not backing down and giving up the starting spot to anyone……

NHL training camps began this past weekend. There will be lots of storylines to follow as each goalie sets out towards his own objective this season.

courtesy of capsinpictures.com

Braden Holtby will be looking to show that his performance in the NHL last season was not a fluke. Neuvy is not backing down and giving up the starting spot to anyone… not even to one of his idols. Dany Sabourin is back on the ice and getting into the groove of things after his season ending injury last year. Former Bear Semyon Varlamov is participating in his first camp with Colorado. Peter Budaj is in his first camp with Montreal. Jason Bacashihua wants to show the Flyers organization what he is capable of while David Aebischer wants a shot at getting back to the NHL.

Capinpictures.com has photos from camp broken into groups. Group B contains shots of both Braden Holtby and Dany Sabourin while Group A has Neuvy and Grubauer.

Capitals Outsider has some great photos showing Neuvy’s new red pads along with some shots of Braden Holtby. The Goalie Guild has some images of Varlamov on the ice with the Avalanche. He is wearing his new pads, blocker, and mask while currently still using his catcher from last year.

David Aebischer is in camp with the Jets right now. The Toronto Sun has an interesting article (including a photo of him with the Jets) about Aebie and his quest to return to the NHL.  

posted by Hershey Bears on Sep 9

Posted by Hershey Bears

Training camp in Washington starts very soon. Shortly after that Hershey will open their camp. Below are a few tidbits of news relating to current and former Hershey goalies. Braden Holtby has now joined the group of Capitals players that are participating in on ice sessions at KCI leading up to the start of training camp. He recently talked with Katie Carrera…

Training camp in Washington starts very soon. Shortly after that Hershey will open their camp. Below are a few tidbits of news relating to current and former Hershey goalies.

Braden Holtby has now joined the group of Capitals players that are participating in on ice sessions at KCI leading up to the start of training camp. He recently talked with Katie Carrera of Capitals Insider about his position in the depth chart and how he will balance duty in Hershey and Washington.

Dany Sabourin attempted to skate at Hersheypark Arena today with Keith Aucoin and Kyle Greentree but the group was turned away. They ended up heading to Klick-Lewis rink instead. Thanks to Tim Leone for the info.

Images of Michal Neuvirth’s new mask have popped up on the internet today. I like the detail in the castle. I am excited to see what the mask looks like with his new red pads.

Speaking of new pads, here is a shot of Peter Budaj checking out his new pads.

The sad news from Russia has had a lot of people talking about Semyon Varlamov and his connections to Lokomotiv. The chance of him being on that plane could have been reality if he had not signed with Colorado. Scary stuff for sure and reminds you a lot David Aebischer’s experience of what “could have been” years ago when he was with Hershey.

Oddly enough, since we are talking about Aebischer, I should mention it has been reported he will report to training camp with the Winnipeg Jets on a tryout contract.

Lastly, Jared DeMichiel has reported to Bruins traing camp and I hope to have some pictures soon.

posted by Hershey Bears on Aug 8

Posted by Hershey Bears

Summer is starting to wind down. Before you know it the pre-season will be here and we will have loads of hockey to talk about. Until then… here are a few Hershey Bear goalie tidbits to help hold you over. Braden Holtby having “One Crazy Summer”: One Crazy Summer was a great movie in 1986. I am a product of the…

Summer is starting to wind down. Before you know it the pre-season will be here and we will have loads of hockey to talk about. Until then… here are a few Hershey Bear goalie tidbits to help hold you over.

Braden Holtby having “One Crazy Summer”:
One Crazy Summer was a great movie in 1986. I am a product of the 1980′s so I am well aware of the movie and its plot. For those of you who may not know, it is a comedy that chronicles the whirlwind events that John Cusack’s character (along with Demi Moore and Bobcat Goldthwait) had during his summer break after graduating from high school.

Braden Holtby has had one crazy summer also. Maybe he didn’t get chased by any biker gangs or have to write his own comic strip like in the movie but it sure has been eventful for him. After Varly got traded I would assume he was sky high. When the news came out about the Vokoun signing I bet he was a bit down in the dumps.

He recently spoke about his thoughts on the trade, free agency, and the start of the 2011-12 season. Thanks to Russian Machine Never Breaks for bringing this The Pipeline Show interview to our attention.

Peter Budaj visits Montreal for the first time:
While we are on the topic of summer… check out a cool article and video the Canadiens posted on their site called the “Summer of Budaj”. It shows Peter putting on his Habs jersey plus he talks about playing with Mathieu Darche in Hershey and ponders what his new mask design will look like. 

Varlamov returns to Central, PA and sports an Av’s jersey on the ice in Russia:
Varly will eventually make his way to Colorado to officially start the season but for now he is doing some traveling. He has taken time to relax, visit relatives, and has also returned to Central Pennsylvania.

Focusing on exercises to help eliminate any injury problems he has had in the past, Semyon worked with Steve Saunders and both were interviewed by ABC 27. You can see the video below.

Russian Machine Never Breaks also has a photo of Varly on the ice in Russia sporting an Av’s jersey. You can also see him in an Av’s jersey in this photo taken during the open training session he held for youth hockey players in Samara.      

Todd Ford trading card and his plans for 2011-12:
The 2011-12 Victory trading card set includes a rookie Washington Capitals trading card of former Hershey Bear Todd Ford. Oddly enough, at almost the same exact time the card was released, news got out that Todd has signed in Germany for the coming season.

Neuvy as a kid:
Ever want to see cute pictures of NHL stars when they were kids? You can check out tons of pictures including many of Michal Neuvirth on the NHL Players as Kids website. Russian Machine Never Breaks also has an interesting post about Neuvirth and his thoughts on the talk about who will be number one in Washington.  

posted by Hershey Bears on Jun 30

Posted by Hershey Bears

I mentioned in a previous post that Dany Sabourin expressed interest in wanting to return to the Washington/Hershey organization. That wish became a reality when he signed a two-way NHL/AHL contract for next season. The deal firms up part of the goaltending situation for 2011-12 but there is still much more to come in what could be a real soap opera with’in the…

I mentioned in a previous post that Dany Sabourin expressed interest in wanting to return to the Washington/Hershey organization. That wish became a reality when he signed a two-way NHL/AHL contract for next season.

The deal firms up part of the goaltending situation for 2011-12 but there is still much more to come in what could be a real soap opera with’in the organization. Why will there be some drama you might ask? The fate of Semyon Varlamov is still up in the air. His agent is fairly vocal and has made comments about him returning to Russia to play in the KHL next season. It really does look as though he may in fact leave Washington and the NHL. Oddly enough according to the one report and his agent Varly recently left Russia to head to Hershey!

This brings up a good question… should the Caps spend lots of time and effort in re-signing Varly or should they just part ways and let him go? Well they have already made him a qualifying offer but the question still remains, if push comes to shove should they bring him back or not?

Some say he is injury prone and not worth the money they might need to spend to keep him. Others say he is spectacular (when he does play) and they should not give up on him. I see both sides of the situation. He is a great young player but he has missed lots of games due to injury. I think one thing to keep in mind is that if we go without him and let him depart for Russia we still have Neuvirth, Holtby, and Sabourin in the system with the potential of signing another veteran. So it is not like we are totally up a creek without a paddle if he goes. There are other very capable options.

That being said being a former Hershey Bear and a super nice kid I have grown attached to him and wouldn’t want to see him leave. He is exciting to watch and can be a key player on the ice who can control the outcome of a game. The Peerless Prognosticator has an excellent analysis of Varly that you need to read before going any further and making your decision. It mentions subjective areas for concern or praise while also going into great objective statistical detail as well.

Braden Holtby, who quietly sits on the sideline and waits for his full time chance in the NHL recently participated in a charity golf event. He was quoted in saying that he will work this summer to improve in certain areas and head to training camp ready to fight for a full time spot with the Caps. I really believe that with time and experience Holtby will only continue to get better. I may even go so far as to say (like many others have) that so much was made about Varly and Neuvy yet it eventually will be Holtby who could emerge as the long term solution in the net for Washington. He has flaws, some say he lacks consistency, but if given the chance to prove himself over a longer period of time in the NHL he could develop the way people hope. One way or another no matter who it is (Varly vs. Neuvy or Neuvy vs. Holtby) Washington will have competition between the pipes.

If Holtby graduates to the NHL fulltime and is no longer a Hershey Bear it will be a bummer for sure (for the Bears fans who like seeing him play) but there is always another draft pick or free agent in the works set to take over the reigns. One of those players is Steffen Soberg who was recently selected by the Caps in the draft. He is another player that we may see between the pipes in Hershey in a few years.

posted by Hershey Bears on Apr 18

Posted by Hershey Bears

Braden Holtby made 22 saves on 24 shots as the Bears evened the series with the Checkers Sunday night. Holtby was sharp and both he and the rest of the team looked more like the group we expected to see in the playoffs (as compared to game one). Braden may have liked to have the one shot that eluded…

Braden Holtby made 22 saves on 24 shots as the Bears evened the series with the Checkers Sunday night. Holtby was sharp and both he and the rest of the team looked more like the group we expected to see in the playoffs (as compared to game one). Braden may have liked to have the one shot that eluded his glove back but other then that he was right on.

View full sizephoto courtesy of Anthony Fiore

Frederic Cassivi featured in Hersheypark game:
This may be old news. In fact, many of you may have seen this before but just in case you didn’t know about it I wanted to mention it.

I took my family to Springtime in the Park this past weekend and while strolling the park we came across a cool Bears/goalie oriented game for kids and parents alike located in Comet Hollow.

I believe it is called “Hat Trick”. It is a hockey shooting game where you pick your stick size and for a fee you get to shoot some pucks and try and get it in “Score-O” style. Each goal has three holes. The big holes get you a small prize (a stuffed Bears puck) where if you get one in the really small hole you win a bigger stuffed Bears toy that is the size of a pillow.

Best part of the whole thing… the goalie you are scoring on isn’t just any guy, it is Frederic Cassivi. Cool way for Hershey to tie in a connection to the Bears if you ask me.  

posted by Hershey Bears on Apr 11

Posted by Hershey Bears

View full sizephoto courtesy of Anthony Fiore The 2010-11 regular season is in the books. Another 100 point season for Hershey is history. The team heads into playoff action against the Checkers this week. Nolan Schaefer played the final regular season game last night as all signs point to Braden Holtby being the go-to guy in goal for the playoffs….

View full sizephoto courtesy of Anthony Fiore

The 2010-11 regular season is in the books. Another 100 point season for Hershey is history. The team heads into playoff action against the Checkers this week.

Nolan Schaefer played the final regular season game last night as all signs point to Braden Holtby being the go-to guy in goal for the playoffs.

Anothony Fiore snapped a few great shots of Holtby this past weekend.

posted by Hershey Bears on Apr 5

Posted by Hershey Bears

This entry is pretty much the goaltender's version of Charles Dicken's classic A Christmas Carol. It talks about the future, the present, and the past. First up… Semyon Varlamov's future. In a recent interview Varly was asked about his future in pro hockey and more specifically if he wanted to return to the KHL next season. Semyon respnded well…

This entry is pretty much the goaltender’s version of Charles Dicken’s classic A Christmas Carol. It talks about the future, the present, and the past.

First up… Semyon Varlamov’s future. In a recent interview Varly was asked about his future in pro hockey and more specifically if he wanted to return to the KHL next season. Semyon respnded well by basically saying he was focused on the current season and he would worry about next year at a later date. He also mentioned he would like to stick with the Washington organization. You can read the full interview over at Japers’ Rink.

Next is Braden Holtby and his current situation. Holtby has been busy of late playing for both the Bears and the Caps. Right now he is with Hershey and although he would obviously love to be playing in the nation’s capital he understands his role with’in the organization and is ok with it. Tim Leone recently posted an article talking about this topic. If you missed it check it out now, it is a great read. John Walton has more on this topic also.

Now for the past. Jared DeMichiel’s past to be specific. Prior to turning pro,Jared played his college hockey at RIT. At the end of last month RIT’s University News Youtube channel posted some great video footage of Jared playing with the Jackals. It even includes a brief interview at the end.