Hershey Bears Hockey

posted by Hershey Bears on Apr 23

Posted by Hershey Bears

Wellar will miss Game 3 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Wednesday night at Giant Center.

Hershey Bears defenseman Patrick Wellar was suspended for one game by the AHL on Monday as a result of the major and game misconduct he received for slashing at 15:25 of the third period in Game 2 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday.

Wellar will miss Game 3 of the first-round playoff series Wednesday night at Giant Center.

posted by Hershey Bears on Apr 21

Posted by Hershey Bears

WBS leads the best-of-five series 2-0 and has outscored the Bears a collective 10-3. Hershey must win the next two games at home and also win Game 5 on the road to avoid the end of its season.

WILKES-BARRE — Three years ago the Hershey Bears exited the visitor’s locker room at Mohegan Sun Arena one loss from playoff elimination.

They kept alive their 2008-09 Calder Cup aspirations by beating the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in Games 6 and 7 of the East Division finals at Giant Center.

In the wake of a 7-2 rout in Game 2 to WBS Saturday night, the Bears face a more difficult plight in 2011-12.

WBS leads the best-of-five series 2-0 and has outscored the Bears a collective 10-3. Hershey must win the next two games at home and also win Game 5 on the road to avoid the end of its season.

“We’ve got to give them credit,” said Bears winger Chris Bourque, a member of the 2008-09 Calder Cup club. “They’ve played a real good two games. We just have to be better all around and stay positive as a group.

“It’s not the end of the world. We’re still alive here. We have to win on Wednesday [in Game 3] and have a much better effort.”

In the wake of a rough start in Game 2, when Colin McDonald gave WBS a 1-0 lead 1:19 into the contest, the Bears had begun showing positive signs until Zach Sill and Cody Wild scored 82 seconds apart midway through the first period to make it 3-0.

The Baby Pens then increased the lead to 4-0, insurmountable in practical terms, on Geoff Walker’s power-play goal at 17:00.

“There’s going to be goals scored in hockey,” Bears winger Garrett Mitchell said. “We can’t let that affect us. We have three games we’ve got to win, and that’s what we’ve got to do. Those goals don’t matter anymore.

“It comes down to winning three games. There’s teams that have won three games a lot.”

Mitchell and Patrick McNeill scored in the second for Hershey.

McDonald added his second goal of the game and fourth of the series on the power play in the third. Matt Rust and Ben Street (penalty shot) also scored for WBS.

“Everyone’s playing the best they have all year,” McDonald said.

In contrast, Hershey’s winless streak stretched to 10. It is its longest winless streak since a club-record 12-game streak (0-10-0-2) in 2001-02.

WBS has taken away Hershey’s strengths. The top two lines haven’t produced a point in the first two games and the power play has gone 0-for-7.

“I think we’re trying to be a little too cute at times,” McNeill said. “We’ve got to collectively work together on the faceoffs to gain possession of the puck. We’ve just got to make the simple plays, back to the basics of hockey, the basics of running the power play.

“Obviously, we clicked at a high percentage throughout the year, but come playoffs teams work a lot harder. You’ve got to simplify it and dumb it down a bit and get back to the basics.”

Hershey has struggled to sustain offensive zone time on the power play.

“They play a real good defensive game and they collapse well in front,” Bourque said. “So whenever we get in their zone and throw it out to the point, there’s not many shot lanes and it’s tough to take it to the net and find seams.

“We obviously need to do a better job of creating stuff down low and getting more shots on net. I don’t think we’ve really tested out this goalie too much.”

Hershey has mustered just 36 shots on goalie Brad Thiessen (14 saves in Game 2) in two games. In 120 minutes of series action, WBS has led for all but 15:59.

Hershey hasn’t been swept in a series since 2001-02 (Houston). It hasn’t been swept in a best-of-five since 1965-66 (Springfield).

“I think our play needs to be more urgent,” Bears head coach Mark French said. “And, certainly, the situation is urgent. So, hopefully, the play of the team will follow the situation.”

Seven is the most goals the Bears have allowed in a playoff game since WBS beat them 7-3 on April 25, 2008, in Game 5 to clinch a first-round playoff series.

Dating back to last season, Hershey has lost five straight playoff games. In 2010-11, the Charlotte Checkers won the final three games of a first-round series to eliminate the Bears in six games.

“We obviously didn’t get the success we were looking for here,” McNeill said. “Everybody knows it’s tough to play in this building, and when they get rolling it’s tough to swing momentum your way. The Giant Center’s not an easy place to play for opposing teams.

“Best three-out-of-five, you win one game and you’re right back in it. So we’ve just got to forget about what’s transpired here and we’ve got to get back to work and start doing what’s made us successful throughout the year and chip away a game at a time.”

NOTEBOOK

Hershey made two lineup changes from Game 1. Defenseman Julien Brouillette replaced Cameron Schilling and forward Barry Almeida replaced D.J. King.

Hershey’s 16 shots marked a season low.

WBS has gone 4-for-11 on the power play.

McNeill on McDonald: “He’s working hard like the rest of their team and is a good player.”

The Washington Capitals’ Game 5 Stanley Cup playoff win over the Boston Bruins means the Bears won’t get any NHL reinforcements at least through Game 3.

ON TWITTER: @timleone

posted by Hershey Bears on Apr 21

Posted by Hershey Bears

Everybody who played Friday night participated in the morning skate at Mohegan Sun Arena.

WILKES-BARRE — Everybody who played Friday night participated in the Hershey Bears’ morning skate Saturday at Mohegan Sun Arena. That included Andrew Carroll, who took a puck to the left ankle in Game 1 against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

“A few questionable [health] things that we’ll get a read from here,” Bears head coach Mark French said.

Game 2 of the best-of-five series is scheduled for Saturday night. The Bears lost 3-1 in Game 1 to extend their winless streak to nine, which is Hershey’s longest winless streak since a club-record, 12-game streak (0-10-0-2) in 2001-02.

Asked to assess his team’s mood, French said, “I think it’s good.”

Washington Capitals associate goaltending coach Olie Kolzig is on the trip and worked with Brandon Anderson after the skate.

posted by Hershey Bears on Apr 20

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Game 2 of the best-of-five series is scheduled for Saturday night at Mohegan Sun Arena.

WILKES-BARRE — A Hershey Bears team that entered the postseason on an eight-game winless streak got little chance to generate positive momentum Friday night in their playoff opener at Mohegan Sun Arena.

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins summoned a smothering performance for the first 30 minutes en route to a commanding 3-1 victory in Game 1.

Hershey mustered some pushback in the second half of the second period and the first half of the third, but it was down by three goals before Mike Carman ended goalie Brad Thiessen’s shutout bid at 18:08 of the third.

“There’s no team anywhere in hockey that wins just to play, whatever, 20 minutes or whatever we did,” Bears goalie Dany Sabourin said.

“We showed some good hockey. We have to take the positives and see what we can do better. It’s one game. We have to regroup very fast.”

Game 2 of the best-of-five series is scheduled for Saturday night at Mohegan Sun Arena.

“I think it’s beneficial mentally to a lot of guys,” Carman said. “You want to get right back into it right away. We have a lot better than that. It’s better to get right back in there and be able to show what we’re capable of doing instead of dwelling on it for a couple days off.”

WBS scored a goal in each period. Colin McDonald scored a power-play goal in the first and an even-strength goal in the third, and Cal O’Reilly scored a power-play goal in the second.

“That’s what they’re all about all year,” Sabourin said. “They come hard and they don’t stop. I think they kind of stopped at the end because they had the lead. But we have to match and be even better.”

Sabourin’s 26-save effort kept the score from being more lopsided.

“Especially at home, first game, we want to set the tone right away,” O’Reilly said. “I think we did that. I didn’t even know they’d lost eight in a row. They’re going through some struggles. But, you know, guaranteed, they’ll come back with a big effort.”

The Baby Pens outshot Hershey, which finished with 20 shots for the game, 12-3 in the first. WBS was able to sustain lots of pressure in the offensive zone and the Bears sustained little at the other end.

“They were getting pucks behind us and moving their feet and putting pressure on our D right away,” Carman said. “When you’re getting that kind of pressure on you and pucks are getting dumped on you all night long, not only is it tiring but it makes it tough to get out of the zone. Give them credit. They executed their systems well and we didn’t do the same.

“That was one of our biggest issues is that we didn’t get pucks behind their D the way they did to us. If we can’t do that, we can’t execute our forecheck.”

The trend continued until the middle of the second.

“We can’t sit back and wait for them to kind of dictate how the play is going to go,” Bears defenseman Sean Collins said. “We have to be the ones dictating the play. Once we started playing the right way and doing the right things, keeping things simple, getting pucks deep, then we started putting some pressure on them.”

Hershey’s special teams were ranked higher during the regular season, but WBS had the special teams advantage in Game 1. The Baby Pens went 2-for-5 on the power play and held Hershey 0-for-3.

“You’ve just got to take it as a learning experience,” Collins said. “These are five-game series. It’s not one or two games. So one game is down, but we’ve got to take the good and try to build off of it and take the bad and try to correct it. It’s a long series.”

NOTEBOOK

Brandon Anderson backed up Sabourin.

Bears forward Andrew Carroll exited in the first after blocking a shot with his left ankle but returned in the second.

Jacob Micflikier, returning from a knee injury, played his first game since March 9. He began the game on the third line but was moved to the first line, with Graham Mink moving from the first line to the third.

ON TWITTER: @timleone

posted by Hershey Bears on Apr 20

Posted by Hershey Bears

Sabourin will be available to start Game 1 Friday night against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Goalie Dany Sabourin, who has been backing up Braden Holtby with the Washington Capitals, was assigned to the Hershey Bears Friday, the NHL club announced.

Sabourin will be available to start Game 1 Friday night against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Hershey returned goalie Daren Machesney to South Carolina (ECHL).

posted by Hershey Bears on Apr 20

Posted by Hershey Bears

Hershey Bears beat writer Tim Leone and The Patriot-News Sports Editor Paul Vigna talk about the just wrapped up Hershey Bears hockey season.

Watch video

posted by Hershey Bears on Apr 20

Posted by Hershey Bears

Hershey Bears beat writer Tim Leone and The Patriot-News Sports Editor Paul Vigna talk about the AHL playoff series

Watch video

posted by Hershey Bears on Apr 19

Posted by Hershey Bears

Along with heated tradition, the I-81 foes bring a host of roster variables into their sixth all-time postseason collision.

It would be fitting if the Hershey Bears and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins played their first-round Calder Cup series with a Rubik’s Cube instead of a puck.

Along with heated tradition, the I-81 foes bring a host of roster variables into their sixth all-time postseason collision.

Key personnel on NHL recall from both clubs will be missing when the best-of-five series opens. Game 1 is scheduled for Friday night and Game 2  is scheduled for Saturday night, both at Mohegan Sun Arena.

If Hershey can at least get a split in the first two, it will put itself in a stronger position for the possible returns of Keith Aucoin, Dmitry Orlov and Braden Holtby should the Washington Capitals get eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs. On the other hand, losing two would be a difficult plight to survive even if reinforcements ultimately arrive.

“I think the shortened series definitely puts more emphasis on every game,” Bears winger Graham Mink said. “There might be more pressure [on WBS] having the first game at home.

“But, certainly, from a visiting standpoint, it’s really important that we go in there and win Game 1. That would really help our chances as well. I’m sure they’re aware of that and they’re a very good team, and I’m sure they’ll be ready to handle the pressure.”

The Baby Pens will be awaiting the possible returns of Eric Tangradi, Brian Strait and Simon Despres should the Pittsburgh Penguins be eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Hershey got a roster lift Thursday when Washington reassigned Cody Eakin. It is possible that goalie Dany Sabourin could be reassigned in time to play in Game 1.

“I don’t think you can worry about what’s going to happen in Game 2 until you’re done with Game 1,” Bears captain Boyd Kane said. “For us, it’s just going in there in the first period and getting a good start and see where it goes from there.”

The Bears went 5-5-1-1 against WBS during the regular season. In terms of goals scored, subtracting tallies credited for shootout wins, the season series was remarkably even.

WBS outscored Hershey 37-36. Take away the Baby Pens’ goal in the one game determined in overtime — there is no 4-on-4 OT format in the postseason — and it was 36-36.

Hershey’s power play (No. 1) and penalty kill (No. 4) ranked higher than WBS’s power play (No. 10) and penalty kill (No. 22). However, the Bears had 413 more penalty minutes than WBS, so they will need to be more disciplined to utilize that theoretical special teams advantage in the series.

Eight Baby Pens scored at least three goals against Hershey, but one of them was Tangradi.

“They work hard, lines one through four,” said Bears forward Ryan Potulny, who led the AHL in playoff scoring last season for Calder Cup champion Binghamton. “Their scoring is balanced. They don’t really have a few guys doing all their scoring. They’ve got a lot of guys helping out.

“They play a smart hockey game. They don’t make a lot of mistakes. For us, I think, it’s just going to be trying to push the pace and force them to feel uncomfortable, I guess, and maybe make mistakes that they usually don’t.”

Five Bears scored three or more goals against WBS, led by Potulny (six).

“They’ll probably try to keep an eye when I’m on the ice or make sure they have their personnel that they want out there,” Potulny said. “But everyone’s got to play the game of hockey. There’s not going to be one guy that’s going to change the game; it’s going to be everyone. In the game of hockey, you can’t really pick out one guy.”

Last season, Bears forward Jacob Micflikier played for a Charlotte Checkers team that eliminated Hershey and then regular-season champion WBS in the playoffs. Charlotte rallied from a 3-0 deficit with four third-period goals to eliminate the Baby Pens in Game 6 at Mohegan Sun Arena.

“They were confident,” Micflikier said. “But, at the same time, we were young and brash. There was kind of a never-say-die atmosphere in our locker room. You could see that with that final game that we had, the comeback.

“Whatever happens, we’ve got to come out there and do it early, because it’s a five-game series and things are going to happen quicker.”

ON TWITTER: @timleone

posted by Hershey Bears on Apr 19

Posted by Hershey Bears

2008-09 (second round): Hershey 4, WBS 3.

Hershey Bears-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins playoff history (all series best-of-seven):
2008-09 (second round): Hershey 4, WBS 3.
2007-08 (first round): WBS 4, Hershey 1.
2006-07 (second round): Hershey 4, WBS 1.
2005-06 (second round): Hershey 4, WBS 0.
2000-01 (Western Conference finals): WBS 4, Hershey 0.

posted by Hershey Bears on Apr 19

Posted by Hershey Bears

Records: Hershey 38-26-4-8, 88 points. WBS 44-25-2-5, 95 points.

Hershey Bears-Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins:

Season series: WBS won 7-3-0-2.

Records: Hershey 38-26-4-8, 88 points. WBS 44-25-2-5, 95 points.

Goals for: Hershey 244. WBS 235.

Goals against: Hershey 225. WBS 215.

Penalty minutes: Hershey 1,611. WBS 1,198.

Power play rank: Hershey No. 1 (25.5 percent). WBS No. 10 (18.8).

Penalty kill rank: Hershey No. 4 (84.4 percent). WBS No. 22 (81.6).

Hershey leading scorers: Chris Bourque (27-66-93), Keith Aucoin (11-59-70, on NHL recall), Ryan Potulny (33-32-65).

WBS leading scorers: Ben Street (27-30-57), Bryan Lerg (27-26-53), Colin McDonald (14-35-49).

Hershey goalies: Braden Holtby (20-15-2, 2.61, .906, on NHL recall), Dany Sabourin (18-12-5, 2.76, .909, on NHL recall), Daren Machesney (0-2-1, 4.42, .810), Scott Greenham (0-3-0, 3.05, .912), Brandon Anderson (0-0-0).

WBS goalies: Brad Thiessen (23-15-2, 2.82, .887), Scott Munroe (19-10-3, 2.52, .907).

Overview: Both teams have key players on NHL recall, with Eric Tangradi, Brian Strait and Simon Despres up for WBS. Potulny produced 6-6-12 in nine games against WBS. Street and Lerg both produced 3-8-11 in 12 games against Hershey. Thiessen (.884), Munroe (.889) and Sabourin (.855) all had save percentages below .900 in the season series.

Pick: WBS in five. At least early in the series, the Bears will have too many missing parts.

posted by Hershey Bears on Apr 19

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The No. 4 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are seeded higher than No. 5 Hershey in the Eastern Conference and have home-ice advantage in their first-round series.

Underdog isn’t a role that has often been associated with the Hershey Bears during an era that has resulted in three Calder Cups since 2005-06.

The No. 4 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are seeded higher than No. 5 Hershey in the Eastern Conference and have home-ice advantage in their first-round series. WBS also went 7-3-0-2 against Hershey in the regular season.

Thus, underdog is a term that might apply to the Bears. But they aren’t interested in labels.

“Underdogs-favorites is something that the media comes up with,” Bears head coach Mark French said. “We won’t pay much attention to it. We’ll just try to focus on our preparation.”

Hershey entered the 2011-12 season with a strong roster that stoked Calder Cup aspirations.

That roster has seldom been at 100 percent, including now. But there remains a chance that a powerhouse lineup could still come together.

“We’ve had the group we have for pretty much half of the season, at least,” Bears winger Graham Mink said. “This is the group, and I think we’re perfectly capable of winning with this group.

“They came in fourth and we’ve battled with them all season, came in fifth. So I think we’re a little bit of an underdog. But I don’t think Wilkes-Barre’s approaching us as an underdog. I think they’re going to respect us and they’re going to know it’s going to take a strong effort. We certainly respect them and think we’re going to have to play our best games to beat them.”

In 2010-11, Bears forward Ryan Potulny played for a Binghamton Senators team that finished fifth in the East Division … and went on to win the Calder Cup.

The B-Sens could claim an underdog designation. In reality, Potulny said, their success was about hard work.

“You try to put the pressure on the other team,” Potulny said. “I think if you come in and put the pressure on them early, that’s going to be to our advantage.

“But, in this league, I don’t think there’s really any underdog or powerhouse. I think everyone knows that anyone can beat anyone. It’s just going to be the better team throughout the five games.”

Hershey, winless in its final eight regular-season games, has been a streaky club, particularly in calendar year 2012. Since January, the Bears have also had winning streaks of five and seven games and two four-game losing streaks.

Right now, a seven-game winning streak would catapult Hershey into the Eastern Conference finals. A three-game losing streak would end its season.

“I’ve been on teams that have been like this before,” Mink said. “Hopefully, we can get on a winning streak here and feeling positive. When that happens, it can take you a long way. We’re hoping that we’ve turned the page a little bit.”

The Bears and Baby Pens played 12 times during the regular season and twice during the exhibition season.

“There’s no underdogs here,” Bears forward Jacob Micflikier said. “We’ve battled enough. We kind of know what each other is going to be about. Hershey has a history of doing well and success and Wilkes does, too.”

Familiarity tends to breed contempt, especially in the playoffs.

“You come into the series fresh and you’re looking at it as a clean slate for a whole new season because there’s no stats on the board right now,” Micflikier said. “Whatever happened doesn’t matter at this point.

“But after about five, 10 minutes of that first period and you get into the game, you realize that there’s still some of those animosities throughout the season that have build up. You recognize them, and then the series starts to wear on you right away.”

ON TWITTER: @timleone

posted by Hershey Bears on Apr 19

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Hershey got a roster lift Thursday when the Washington Capitals reassigned Cody Eakin.

Heading into their first-round series with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the Hershey Bears got a roster lift Thursday when the Washington Capitals reassigned Cody Eakin.

The forward participated in practice at Giant Center.

“I think he’s excited to be back,” Bears head coach Mark French said. “Obviously, he was going through a pretty good experience with Washington. It’s different to go through the experience playing, so he’s excited to play in the playoffs.”

Eakin hasn’t dressed for any of Washington’s playoff games against the Boston Bruins.

“It’s just the way it went,” Eakin said. “I didn’t really analyze it too much. I was watching and I was there if need be, but there wasn’t really a necessity to be there. It’s probably healthier to be here and try to help the team win.

“I’m excited. The playoffs is a fun time of the year.”

Eakin played in five playoff games for the Bears during their 2009-10 Calder Cup run.

“It seems forever ago,” Eakin said. “It’s playoffs. It’s not going to happen in one game, obviously. The thing I’ve learned over the years [about approaching the playoffs] is it’s patience.”

Kyle Greentree sat out practice due to allergies, French said, and Chris Bourque exited early for a second straight day. The Bears used Daren Machesney and Brandon Anderson at practice, with Scott Greenham as the odd goalie out.

Here is a link to Thursday’s Japers’ Rink Caps clips.

Lines (there was heavy rotation on the second line, so this is just a listing of the participants on that line):
Almeida-Potulny-Mink
Kane-Eakin-Bourque-Syner
Micflikier-Carman/Civitarese-Pope
King-Carroll-Mitchell/Rechlicz

D-pairs:
Schilling-Collins
McNeill-Marshall
Brouillette-Kundratek
Wellar-Miskovic

posted by Hershey Bears on Apr 18

Posted by Hershey Bears

Chris Bourque, who took a maintenance day on Tuesday, was present at the start of practice Wednesday at Giant Center. But the Hershey Bears winger exited and wasn't there at the end.

Chris Bourque, who took a maintenance day on Tuesday, was present at the start of practice Wednesday at Giant Center. But the Hershey Bears winger exited and wasn’t there at the end.

“He should be all right,” Bears head coach Mark French said.

Ryan Potulny and Jacob Micflikier both participated fully in practice.

The Bears had three goalies on the ice in Daren Machesney, Scott Greenham and newly added junior eligible Brandon Anderson. French indicated that Machesney, who has playoff experience against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton from the 2007-08 postseason, would be tabbed to start Game 1 Friday if Dany Sabourin isn’t back from the Washington Capitals.

“Cheese would be the guy that would play,” French said.

French has been pleased with the tenor of practice so far this week.

“I think there’s been a great excitement since the regular season’s been over,” he said, “maybe a renewed focus and an energy about our group because it’s playoffs.”

Here is a link to Wednesday’s Japers’ Rink Caps clips.

Lines (note that Micflikier centered the cast utilized when Bourque was present and absent):
Greentree-Potulny-Mink
Micflikier-Kane-Bourque-Civitarese-Syner
Almeida-Carman-Pope
King-Carroll-Mitchell
Syner-Civitarese-Rechlicz

D-pairs:
Schilling-Collins
McNeill-Marshall
Brouillette-Kundratek
Wellar-Miskovic

posted by Hershey Bears on Apr 17

Posted by Hershey Bears

Bridgeport looms as a formidable hurdle to Norfolk in the Eastern Conference.

The Calder Cup has developed a habit of following Bryan Helmer.

The venerable defenseman won his first as a member of the Albany River Rats in 1994-95 and he captained the Hershey Bears to two more in 2008-09 and 2009-10.
 
Don’t be surprised if Helmer hoists it again as captain of the Oklahoma City Barons in 2011-12.

The Western Conference’s regular-season champion has two strong Cup playoff ingredients in Helmer’s leadership and the goaltending of Yann Danis. Thus, I am picking the Barons to win the AHL title.

No, I am not forgetting the Norfolk Admirals, winners of a remarkable 28 straight games. Their regular-season performance logically stamps them as Eastern Conference favorites.

But logic rarely completely prevails in the Calder Cup playoffs. Eastern Conference chalk against Western Conference chalk in the Calder Cup finals typically doesn’t happen.

The Admirals haven’t lost since the Springfield Falcons beat them 4-2 on Feb. 5. Reaching the finals would require them to stay on a near-supernatural roll from February through May.

There’s got to be a lull at some point, right? Lulls in the playoffs tend to end seasons.

Helmer may not be the only former Hershey captain in this year’s Calder Cup finals. Bridgeport Sound Tigers head coach Brent Thompson, who has already showcased his playoff leadership in the ECHL, has a team that enters the postseason in a groove, having won nine of its last 11 games.

The Northeast Division winners loom as a formidable hurdle to Norfolk in the Eastern Conference finals.

A Bridgeport-Oklahoma City matchup would provide a Hershey flavor to the finals thanks not only to Helmer and Thompson. Oklahoma City head coach Todd Nelson and assistant coach Rocky Thompson are former Bears, and former Bears defenseman Dylan Yeo is on the roster.

Here are my round-by-round picks:

Eastern Conference first round (best-of-five):

Norfolk over Manchester in four. The Monarchs scored 66 fewer goals than the Admirals.

Syracuse over St. John’s in five. The Crunch, 3-1-0-0 in the season series, are riding late-season momentum.

Bridgeport over Connecticut in four. The Sound Tigers went 6-2-1-1 in the season series.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton over Hershey in five. This series would be tight even if the Bears were at full strength, and right now they’ve got too many missing parts.

Western Conference first round (best-of-five):

Oklahoma City over Houston in three. The Barons collected 15 of 16 possible points in the regular season against the Aeros.

Toronto over Rochester in five. The Amerks have been bolstered by the Buffalo Sabres, but they used a lot of energy to make the playoffs.

San Antonio over Chicago in four. Rampage goalie Jacob Markstrom had a .967 save percentage against the Wolves in the regular season.

Abbotsford over Milwaukee in five. The Heat finished the regular season on an 8-0-0-1 run.

Eastern Conference second round:

Norfolk over Syracuse in six. The Admirals’ goaltending performance against the Crunch is a concern (Dustin Tokarski .840 save percentage, Jaroslav Janus .867), but Syracuse surrendered more goals (234) than any team in the playoffs.

Bridgeport over WBS in seven. The Sound Tigers, who would have home-ice advantage in the series, were much stronger at home (25-9-2-2) than the Baby Pens (18-16-2-2).

Western Conference second round:

Oklahoma City over San Antonio in six. It was an even, low-scoring season series, but it is tough to pick a Florida Panthers affiliate to win two series.

Toronto over Abbotsford in seven. The Marlies’ penalty kill, ranked No. 1 in the AHL (88.1 percent), makes the difference.

Eastern Conference finals:

Bridgeport over Norfolk in seven. Rookie forward Casey Cizikas rises to the occasion against rookie forward Cory Conacher.

Western Conference finals:

Oklahoma City over Toronto in seven. The Marlies (175) and Barons (176) allowed the fewest goals in the league, and home ice tips the edge to OKC.

Calder Cup finals:

Oklahoma City over Bridgeport in five. The Sound Tigers are worn down after two seven-game series against East Division clubs.

ON TWITTER: @timleone

posted by Hershey Bears on Apr 17

Posted by Hershey Bears

After ending the regular season with an eight-game winless streak, the Hershey Bears now need to find a way to turn the page as they head into a first-round playoff series against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins that begins Friday.

After ending the regular season with an eight-game winless streak, the Hershey Bears now need to find a way to turn the page as they head into a first-round playoff series against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins that begins Friday.

“I think we’ve got to try to build our momentum from each day at practice,” Bears head coach Mark French said Tuesday. “Our motto kind of going into practice is to build momentum each day, of extreme focus and good competition in practice and a lot of energy.

“I liked our game on Sunday. I thought we played well against Worcester. There’s some benefits to that in terms of the way we played, and we’ll build off those positives. Today we had a good practice and tomorrow I expect the same.”

Chris Bourque, Boyd Kane, Patrick McNeill and Kyle Greentree all took maintenance days for Hershey’s first practice in preparation for WBS.

Ryan Potulny (lower body) and Jacob Micflikier (knee) both practiced in non-contact jerseys.

“We didn’t do too much contact today,” French said. “They were able to do almost everything in practice today.”

French said Christian Hanson has been ruled out for the first two games of the WBS series.

The Bears will be without Joel Rechlicz, who has five games remaining on a six-game suspension, against WBS. The winger came off the bench and entered an altercation Saturday at Manchester.

“It seems consistent with what they’ve done with the same type of discipline of leaving the bench,” French said.

Rechlicz said he had a talk with French, assistant coach Troy Mann and President-GM Doug Yingst.

“It’s just one of those things,” Rechlicz said. “I just reacted. I probably could have been smarter there.

“I had a good talk with Frenchy and Manner and Dougie. I’ll just stay positive and be positive in the room and help out the guys and motivate the guys in the room and just be positive and work hard out there.”

Here is a link to Tuesday’s Japers’ Rink Caps clips.

There was heavy rotation in the D-pairs at practice. And, with all the players missing Tuesday, the lines likely bear little relation to what will be seen in Game 1.

Lines:
Micflikier-Potulny-Mink
Pope-Carman-Almeida
Ford-Carroll-Mitchell
Syner-Civitarese-Rechlicz

posted by Hershey Bears on Apr 16

Posted by Hershey Bears

If Hershey is eliminated from the playoffs before the suspension can be served to completion, any remaining games would carry over to the 2012-13 regular season.

Hershey Bears winger Joel Rechlicz was suspended for six games by the AHL as a consequence of his actions in a game at Manchester on April 14, the league announced on Monday.

Rechlicz, who has already served one game of the suspension, will miss Hershey’s first five Calder Cup playoff games. If Hershey is eliminated before the suspension can be served to completion, any remaining games would carry over to the 2012-13 regular season.

posted by Hershey Bears on Apr 16

Posted by Hershey Bears

The forward had an assist and six penalty minutes in six games.

Hershey Bears forward Francis Verreault-Paul was released from his amateur tryout agreement on Monday.

Verreault-Paul had an assist and six penalty minutes in six games.

posted by Hershey Bears on Apr 15

Posted by Hershey Bears

The defeat extended Hershey’s winless streak to eight (0-6-0-2), which is the second-longest winless streak to end a season in the club’s 74-year AHL history.

With an eye now on the playoffs, the Hershey Bears hope April ends better than the way it started.

A 3-2 loss to the Worcester Sharks Sunday at DCU Center in Worcester, Mass., in their 2011-12 regular-season finale kept the Bears winless in seven April games.

The defeat also extended Hershey’s winless streak to eight (0-6-0-2), which is the second-longest winless streak to end a season in the club’s 74-year AHL history. The 1958-59 team was winless in its last 10 (0-9-1).

Trailing 2-1 after the first period, the Sharks got second-period goals from Matt Irwin (power play) and Tim Kennedy to cap their non-playoff season on a winning note.

Barry Almeida, whose signing out of Boston College was formally announced before the game, scored on his second pro shift to give Hershey a 1-0 lead 2:57 into the contest. Andrew Carroll, notching his first goal of the season, also scored for the Bears.

Yanni Gourde had a goal and two assists for Worcester. Goalie Scott Greenham, making his first Hershey start, made 32 saves.

Hershey finished the 76-game campaign at 38-26-4-8, 88 points, for an eighth straight above-.500 season. Thirty-eight is its lowest win total since going 33-34-8-5 in 2003-04 (80-game season).

The Bears, who have endured numerous personnel woes in the second half of the season, have gone 14-18-0-5 since Jan. 20.

NOTEBOOK

Chris Bourque (27-66-93) led the AHL in scoring, assists and power-play assists (39). It is the third time in the last four seasons a Hershey player has won the scoring title (Alex Giroux 2008-09, Keith Aucoin 2009-10).

Ryan Potulny (19) led the AHL in power-play goals. He and Sean Collins sat out the finale.

Hershey’s power play ranked No. 1 in the AHL (25.5 percent).

Almeida and new Bears teammate T.J. Syner are cousins.

Joel Rechlicz served the first game of a two-game suspension for accumulated game misconducts.

Hershey went 20-11-2-5 at home and 18-15-2-3 on the road.

Hershey’s longest run of above-.500 seasons is nine (1960-69).

Hershey has lost four straight in regulation, tying a season high.

posted by Hershey Bears on Apr 14

Posted by Hershey Bears

Hershey’s winless skid reached seven (0-5-0-2) with one game remaining.

Perhaps the 2011-12 Hershey Bears can draw inspiration from the 1958-59 Bears, who went winless in their final 10 regular-season games (0-9-1) but revived to win the Calder Cup.

With Saturday’s 5-1 loss to the Manchester Monarchs at Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H., playoff-bound Hershey’s current winless skid reached seven (0-5-0-2) with one game remaining.

Stefan Legein’s shorthanded goal at 14:00 of the first period broke a 1-1 tie and was the first of four straight for the Monarchs, still battling for an Eastern Conference playoff berth.

Linden Vey, Patrick Mullen and Justin Azevedo (5-on-3 power play) followed Legein with goals for Manchester. Ryan Potulny (power play) scored Hershey’s lone goal, which tied the game after Richard Clune had given Manchester a 1-0 lead.

Hershey, which lost 6-4 Friday night at Portland, has surrendered 11 goals in the last two games. That hasn’t happened to the Bears since Norfolk combined for 11 in consecutive games in mid-October.

Bears goalie Daren Machesney (16 shots-12 saves) was replaced at the start of the third by Scott Greenham (eight shots-seven saves), who made his Hershey debut. Machesney’s save percentage is .810 in three games since being recalled from South Carolina (ECHL).

The defeat means that Hershey (38-25-4-8, 88 points) can’t reach the 40-win mark, ending the club-record streak of 40-win seasons at six.

Seven is Hershey’s longest winless streak since an eight-game streak (0-5-3) from Jan. 12-Jan. 25 in 2002-03. The 2004-05 Bears ended the season with a six-game winless streak (0-5-0-1).

NOTEBOOK

Hershey closes the regular season Sunday at Worcester.

Hershey went 1-3-0-0 against Manchester.

The Washington Capitals’ 2-1 double overtime win against the Boston Bruins in Game 2 means their first-round Stanley Cup series will go at least five games, likely ensuring that Keith Aucoin, Cody Eakin, Dmitry Orlov and Braden Holtby will miss at least the first two games of Hershey’s first-round playoff series against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

posted by Hershey Bears on Apr 14

Posted by Hershey Bears

Game 1: Friday, April 20, 7:05 p.m., at WBS.

Here is the schedule for the first-round playoff series between the Hershey Bears and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (best of five):

Game 1: Friday, April 20, 7:05 p.m., at WBS.
Game 2: Saturday, April 21, 7:05 p.m., at WBS.
Game 3:  Wednesday, April 25, 7 p.m., at Hershey.

Game 4 (if necessary): Friday, April 27, 7 p.m., at Hershey.

Game 5 (if necessary): Saturday, April 28, 7:05 p.m., at WBS.