The 2009-10 Hershey Bears celebrate back-to-back championships and their 11th championship in franchise history. (Photo by Kyle M.)

It was only one week ago that the Hershey Bears won the Calder Cup in a 4-0 rout.  It was their second championship in as many years, their third in five years, and the eleventh in franchise history.  Andrew Gordon writes to share his thoughts on the championship, the celebration, and  what happens now.

Life has a million ways to make you feel good, and a million ways to make you feel miserable.  In my 24 years, I have found only one way to feel like a champion (make that two ways now).  It’s a feeling that all players at all levels try to put into words but can’t ever find the exact way to express it.

It’s a combination of happiness, excitement, relief, satisfaction, fulfillment and complete bliss all mixed together and topped with a touch of “thank God it’s over.”

A championship win is so much different than a regular-season win because there is nothing left to accomplish after it’s over. There is no refocusing for your next opponent. No pasta meal waiting for you before tomorrow’s game. No more playing through injury or sickness. It’s all over, and you have nothing else to think about. It’s as if half of your brain suddenly has nothing to do, so it just shuts down and lets the 8-year-old in you run wild.

In the championship moment, nothing matters except the guys around you. I know there was some intense crowd noise as the buzzer sounded in Hershey, especially compared winning on the road in Manitoba, but I don’t remember hearing a sound. It is like I blocked out everything else in the building except the pile of players huddled around the crease. As you fly over the bench, all you want is to be there with the boys, celebrating what you have just accomplished.

When my career is over, I might not remember the score of the game, but I’ll always remember the feeling of jumping that bench (and falling on my face, if you watch the tape) and sprinting towards the rest of the guys.

In my three years of pro hockey, I’m not sure if I have ever seen a team play with more fire and determination than we did in game six. It was as if we just decided that enough was enough. We couldn’t let them think they were back in the series, so we had to make a statement in the first period.

I think it was our best period of the year. We won every puck battle, finished every check, shot every puck, and defended with our lives. I don’t know if a single guy made a mistake in that period. After that, it was too late for the Stars.

I truly believe that– the way we played that game– we could have beaten the Leafs, the Oilers, and (for most of the season) the Hurricanes. It was a combination of work and skill that is rarely seen at this level. I think we were virtually unbeatable that night, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.

How sweet it is. Andrew Gordon hoists the Calder Cup for the second straight year.

It’s both ironic and fitting that we capped off our last game of the season with another record-breaking performance. In a previous entry, I mentioned my “Fun Fact” of the day– that no team had ever lost games one and two at home in the finals then gone on to win the series. Guess they can erase that one from the AHL color-commentary handbook. But that brings me to another point altogether: HISTORY DOESN’T MATTER!!! Nobody in our dressing room was discouraged by the fact that no team had ever come back from two games down. Who cares if it’s never been done? We aren’t those teams who failed before. We are in control of our own destiny, and we will make it happen our own way.

There is no manual that explains how to win a series. You just win four times before they do.

I remember being interviewed before the playoffs about setting all the team records this year and how I felt knowing that the teams who previously held those wins and points records were upset early in the playoffs. My response: we’re not them.  Nothing in the past affects you in the present unless you are too mentally weak to separate the two. Just because something happened the year before doesn’t mean it will happen again. Every season brings a different team with a different outlook and a different identity. No playoffs are ever the same.

That’s why I believe the Caps won’t have a repeat of what happened this year. They had a great team, but couldn’t get a break. It’s a freak occurrence that happens once in a blue moon. It’s sad that it happened to them, but maybe it’s a stepping stone to greater things. I firmly believe that things happen for a reason. It may be hard to understand at the time, but I bet the Caps getting upset in this year’s playoffs lights a fire in them for years to come.

The Hershey Bears mob Michal Neuvirth after the final horn sounds! (Photo by Kyle M.)

I think the best part of winning a championship is the two hours right after the buzzer sounds. All the players’ families are there on the ice, there are news crews and photographers everywhere.  It’s complete mayhem. You can’t stand still for more than five seconds because you are always seeing someone new who you have to go celebrate with. I was fortunate enough to share this win with both my parents who came in from Porters Lake, Nova Scotia. My father was there last year in Winnipeg, but my mother hasn’t seen me play live too often in the past few years, so it was great to have her there on the ice moments after we won. As I always mention, these opportunities don’t come around every year, so having her there to experience the emotion in person meant a lot to me. It’s a memory I’ll never forget, and I’m sure she won’t either.

After the trophy is handed out and the pictures have been taken, the real fun starts. In the dressing room there is nobody but the team and its officials, so we really get to be ourselves and cut loose. This is where the 8-year-old brain I mentioned earlier comes into play. There are bottles of champagne being popped and sprayed all around the room. We had beer, water, Red Bull, Gatorade, and pretty much anything else you can find in an arena fridge being flung around in the air at all times. Guys were strapping on swimming goggles at one point to save themselves from going blind. Where they got them, however, I have no idea. That’s some serious planning ahead if they brought them from home!

After that, things die down a bit. The team is out of booze since we wasted it all in the first ten minutes. We are soaked in our own sweat and stupidity. And we have to get our gear off and showered up before we get to start sharing more moments with our families again. For me, that’s when it really starts to sink in. I realize that I’m taking my skates off for the last time. There is no more knee pain or cut up swollen ankles to deal with. It’s a wonderful relief. I think your body starts to wilt a bit as it knows it has nothing left to give. As you look around the room, there is nothing but smiles and high fives being thrown around. There is music blaring out of the speakers, but you can barely hear it. Again: in this moment, nothing else matters. From that moment till you leave for home its nothing but happiness. Even when you are packed up and saying goodbye to the guys, there is always that little smirk saying, “hell of a season pal,” without the words needing to be said.

I’ve heard that– once you win a championship– you’ll always have a special bond with the guys on that team.  I’ve now experienced that twice, and it’s true.  Everybody on those two teams can now look back and share those great memories together. Once you become a champion, you gain a little immortality. That win can never be taken away from you. You are in the history books. Once you are a champion, you are always a champion.

Gordo waves to the crowd at the Calder Cup Championship Rally at Giant Center. (Photo by Tim Stough)

In closing, I would like to thank the guys at Russian Machine Never Breaks for giving me the opportunity to join their team. It’s been an incredible ride through the playoffs this year and for me to be able to share my thoughts and feelings with so many people has been an amazing experience. I loved sharing stories about our wins and the courage it took for us to climb back into this series, but I think what I’ll remember most is how writing these entries helped me cope with the times when the series didn’t look so good. It was good for me to get my emotions out, and having thousands of people to vent on was really great.

To those of you who read these entries, I especially thank you! I have had nothing but wonderful feedback from all of you, and it was really encouraging for me to hear. I was a tad nervous at the beginning due to by lack of writing experience, but thanks to all those good reviews, I might have a new outlook on my career after hockey! Without readers, blog sites would never be as prominent of a media source as it is today, so I thank you for your ongoing support. Over the past few weeks it’s been a pleasure to help so many see a little deeper into what’s going on behind the scenes and in my head as a player. You as fans make playing hockey the joy that it is, so to be able to give back a few words every couple days is really the least I could do. Again, I thank you.

As my last quote, I only have to go back a couple months to the Olympics in Vancouver. After Canada won the gold medal game in overtime, one of the NBC announcers had this to say, and after going through this season in Hershey, I completely agree with him.

“In sports, one of the hardest things to do is win when you are supposed to.”

Thank you for your time. See you in September!

Yours in hockey,
Andrew Gordon

Michal Neuvirth begins the celebration a few seconds before the final buzzer. (Sean Simmers, The Patriot-News)

The Bears’ 4-0 blowout of the Texas Stars is a fitting punctuation on the team’s 60-win season.

In this, the team’s eleventh Calder Cup championship-clinching game, the Bears’ did everything right. Michal Neuvirth was sterling in net; the team owned puck possession,  second chances, and shots on goal (36); and the scoring came from depth– namely the blueliners.  John Carlson‘s first-period sweeper was Captain America’s second GWG of the series, and his second championship goal of the year.  Karl Alzner rounded out the first period with his own tally through Brent Krahn‘s 7-hole.  Patrick McNeill had goals in both the second and third periods.  And let’s not forget that Chris Bourque, who led the AHL in playoff goals, rightfully claimed the MVP trophy.

When Captain Bryan Helmer hoisted the Cup and passed it to his teammates, he ended one of the most dominating seasons in AHL history.  The Bears ’09-’10 season contained 342 goals (no other team had 280) and a stunning 24-game winning streak at home.  In this series the team overcame a two-game deficit, won three games on the road, and tonight delivered a decisive knockout blow.  There is no shortage of acclaim for the Bears.

The bearded horde of Hershey has earned the right to shave, but even moreso the right to party.  May the law officers of Dauphin County look the other way until dawn, because the Chocolate and White have finally won.

Bieber-Mania hits the Bears lockerroom.

After losing the first two games of the Calder Cup Finals at home, the Hershey Bears are now one win away from raising the Calder Cup for the eleventh time in club history, and in back-to-back years. Holy Schnikes!!

What stands in their way? A Texas Stars team that is “trying to stay positive.” Yeah. (It’s like they finally realized who they were playing against.)

But despite Hershey’s 3 game sweep of Texas at Cedar Park Center, the Stars can still draw confidence off Games 1 and 2 where they frustrated the AHL’s highest scoring team. Which Bears team will show up Monday for Game 6? The one that tried to play fancy, stick around the perimeter and let it’s emotions get the best of them, or the one that played simple, went hard to the net and kept its cool?

Today, Hershey held a 45-60 minute practice at Giant Center and Bears first line center Keith Aucoin hoped it was the latter:

“The main thing is we need to keep our heads into it. We know what we have to do, and we know we have to play the same. We kept it simple on the road, and we’ve got to make sure we play the same way and not be to cute. We can’t get too wrapped up into stuff. We’ve got to take care of business one period at a time, one shift at a time, and go from there.”

Chris Bourque: 'We've got a chance to clinch in front of our fans and it's an exciting thing.' (Photos by Kyle M.)

Meanwhile, it’s fair to say that the Bears were, uhhh, a bit loose after practice. Kyle observed a few of the guys playfully screaming and ribbing each other during interviews, and some players – who we dare not name – decided to blast Justin Bieber in the lockerroom while changing. Is this a sign of a team that got its swagger back?

Chris Bourque just thinks his teammates are giddy to finish what they started:

“I think the guys are excited for tomorrow night. We’ve got a chance to clinch in front of our fans and it’s an exciting thing. We want to stay up-beat and positive and everybody is looking forward to tomorrow.”

Awesome. Well since we’re in a giving mood, here are a few other Hershey-related tidbits to get you by until tomorrow’s night game.

I. History Could Be Made

If the Bears manage to win tomorrow or Wednesday night, Hershey will be the first team in AHL History to lose their first two home games of the Calder Cup Finals and come back and win the series. But let’s revel in the past shall we? Thanks to youtube user puckgodz, we can relive Alexandre Giroux’s epic Game 5 OT winner which is masterfully called by John Walton.

II. Fan Painted Shirts

King Karl, you're loved. Make sure to seek out Christine who will be wearing this homemade shirt to Game 6 at Giant Center.

Friend of the blog, Christine B. (who some of you may know as itsabeta on twitter), is going all out for Game 6. Not only will she be making the drive from DC, she will be wearing this sweet shirt she painted herself. Christine explains the inspiration below:

Why did I make the shirt? Well, I just made a pact with myself that if the Bears won game 5 then I would do something special for Game 6. So I decided to make myself a homemade “King Karl” shirt. I just wanted to do something fun for the finals and Karl Alzner is my favorite Bear (though Braden Holtby is a close second). The response I’ve gotten thus far has been pretty fantastic. I might have to make a few more! Though hopefully with a 27… and in red. I’ll be wearing the shirt tailgating tomorrow, so if any of you see me, please come say hi and shout a loud “let’s go Bears!!!” at me!

III. Japers’ Rink Discusses Gordo’s Take

ABC27's Gregg Mace interviews Andrew Gordon

Japers’s Rink contributor Your Nation’s Capital wrote about our collaboration with Andrew Gordon during this year’s Calder Cup Finals and discusses the narrative that has unfolded throughout his posts. It’s a great read.

Check it out here.

Well, don’t forget that tomorrow night’s game 6 will be shown on ABC27′s digital channel 27.2, Comcast 246, Verizon 461, CSN Mid-Atlantic, and the NHL Network. We’ll see you on Twitter with all our funny musings at 7pm tomorrow night. I’ll be at Peter’s house in Frederick. Should be fun! (The last time I was there THIS happened.)

Alexandre Giroux’s overtime goal has put the Hershey Bears ahead (3-2) of the Stars for the first time in the Calder Cup Finals series.  From his seat on the Bears charter jet, right wing Andrew Gordon sets the stage for the series’ completion in Hershey.  He discusses the vibe in the dressing room, disparities in travel between the NHL and AHL, and predicts some excellent hockey to come.

We finally arrive to the point in the season that we have been waiting for all along. After taking tonight’s game in Texas, we return home with a 3-2 series lead, and more importantly, a chance at the championship. They say the fourth win in a series is always the hardest one to get, but considering the battles we have just fought in games four and five, I don’t see how it could get much tougher. Both teams seem evenly matched through five games. One favorable bounce here or a tough call there has made all the difference, but a win is a win, and we have found a way to win three games in their building. Our confidence is high.

Sometimes you can feel the vibe in the dressing room. When things are going poorly,  a bad goal or a big save against your players can make the team’s attitude spiral down. Frustration sets in, and it spreads around so fast that– before you know it–  everybody is squeezing their sticks. Every play that doesn’t result in a goal seems to make things worse.

Today we experienced the complete opposite effect. After allowing the first goal of the game (another unfortunate bounce off of poor Karl Alzner’s face), we remained calm and composed. It was as if the goal had never even happened. To me, this is a sign that we were ready for battle. Playoff games are often won in the third period or later, so allowing a goal in the first didn’t intimidate us. We have come from behind in every game we’ve won in this series, as well as many times in prior series, so it did not seem insurmountable. Getting a lead and losing it can sometimes be worse than never having a lead at all. Knowing your opponent has the ability to come back on you deflates a team and makes a future one- or two-goal lead feel a little more nerve-racking. You never feel safe or in control even when ahead. This is the psychological warfare waged between teams over a seven-game span. You remember things from previous games, and that’s why we now have the mental edge.

As I write this entry, I’m about a half hour into our flight back to Harrisburg, and I’m thinking about how much better this charter flight is compared to the long day of travel the fellas from Texas have to go through tomorrow. I was told that due to the limited availability of flights, the Stars players have to split up into three groups and travel separately arriving tomorrow anytime between 10pm and 3am. By the time they land, I will have had an 8-hour rest in my own bed, eaten three home-cooked meals, put the finishing touches on packing up my apartment, and will be getting ready to have yet another 8+ hour sleep. This is one of the luxuries of playing in Hershey. During the regular season we spend a lot of time on the bus (most of our games are between 3-6 hours away), but in the playoffs, the team spares no expense to put us in a position to win. This series has felt like being an NHL player. Flying on a private plane, staying in a beautiful hotel, and eating great food are part of the experience in the finals. It really gives you something to look forward to while coming down the stretch of the regular season. Being treated like an NHL player is the carrot the organization dangles in front of us, and it works. Four trips to the finals in the last five years isn’t too bad, eh?

Andrew Gordon: "It’s the price we all pay to follow our dream."

Minor-league travel is a funny thing. None of it is glamorous, but the team cannot splurge to take care of the players because of the schedule. For the majority of the season, we practice Tuesday-Thursday, and then play three games in three nights over the weekend. When we have time off, it’s not an extra day in the bright lights of New York City. Instead we get 12 hours between bus rides from Springfield to Lowell, Mass., with a game in between. That’s life in the minors though. It’s the price we all pay to follow our dream. We ride that bus because we aspire to make it in the NHL full-time one day, where the only bus we will see is to and from the tarmac. I remember after my brief recall to Washington this year, I played a game in Toronto, then Ottawa, Ontario, before returning to Washington to pack my bags and drive to Hershey. On the flight home after the game in Ottawa, I remember thinking, “36 hours ago I was eating stale pizza on a bus from Binghamton, now I’m being served steak and fresh sushi on a flight to the nation’s capital?” What a difference a day makes! Even though in Hershey we have an incredible bus (big cushy seats, wireless internet, and satellite TV), nothing tops the flights we have taken these last couple days. No matter what you do for a living, it’s nice to be rewarded for your hard work.

Looking forward to game six, I predict we play our best game of the series. Despite losing the first two games at home, I feel like we are playing like a different team now. We are more patient, but we have lost none of our tenacity. This game has to be played like an elimination game. We have learned from our mistakes in the first two games and with our crowd behind us it’s going to be an unbelievable atmosphere. I heard the Giant Center sold out in only five hours, and I’m sure it would have happened even sooner if the people in box office could pump tickets out faster! We are all looking forward to the opportunity to win the AHL Championship in front of our family and friends.

I spoke earlier about how these chances to hoist a trophy don’t come around very often, so winning one on the road, and possibly one at home in my first three years of pro hockey would really be a great start to my career. I almost feel bad for guys like Bouchard and Perrault who have known nothing but winning since they arrived on the pro scene. From here on out any season that doesn’t end in a championship will feel like a complete failure. But when I think about it, any season that doesn’t end in a championship is a complete failure. Either way, we have one win left before the season is completed the way we set out to do it all those months ago. We are a Championship team; we just have to finish the job.

“We rate ability in men by what they finish, not by what they attempt” – Unknown

Thank you for your time. See you back in Hershey!

Yours in hockey,
Andrew Gordon

Giant Center was rocking on Friday night. A crowd of 2,000+ came to GC to cheer on their beloved Bears and watch Game 5 on the big screen. By games end, it sounded more like 10,000. Thanks Alexandre Giroux.

Hershey will try and win the Calder Cup Monday in front of a crowd of nearly 11,000. Tickets for Game 6 sold out in a little under three hours.

Cumberland Valley High’s Class of 2010 Graduation Ceremony will have to wait. The Bears have some unfinished business to take care of.

• 8-2 at home
• 8-2 scoring first goal
• 7-3 allowing first goal
• 11-2 when out shooting
• 3-3 when out shot
• 2-1 leading after 1
• 3-1 leading after 2
• (6-0 leading after 3)
• 7-1 Trailing after 1
• 5-2 Trailing after 2
• 6-3 tied after 1
• 7-2 tied after 2
• 9-4 one goal games
• 2-0 two goal games
• 8-1 overtime
• And oh yeah, if the Bears are forced to play a Game 7, Hershey is 4-0 on Wednesdays.

Keith Aucoin shoots while Aaron Gagnon surely does nothing meriting a penalty. (Chris Knight / The Patriot-News)

You gotta give the Bears this: they know drama.  Despite the Hershey offense being well tuned and on-target all throughout game five, the visitors could not gain a lead over the Stars.  By the end of regulation, the Bears had notched 37 shots, but all but one were summarily blocked by the excellent Stars netminder Matt Climie.  It took nearly fifteen minutes of extra hockey for Alexander Giroux to finally defeat the Stars defense and create Hershey’s first game-lead of the series.  The Bears beat the Stars 2-1 in overtime to put the series at 3-2, Hershey.

Don’t be mistaken by the low score; this was a 70+ minute exhibition of superb hockey.   The refs all but abandoned the concept of adjudicating hockey.  The two teams traded off in puck domination and net aggression.  Players dove to block shots with astounding frequency, and no player seemed to forget this is the finals– even when exhausted.   Michal Neuvirth, without a doubt, deserves tonight’s MVP nod for having rebuffed the Stars on perhaps a dozen excellent scoring chances.   John Carlson and Kyle Wilson, too, deserve applause for their precise defensive and shot output respectively.

But it was Alexandre Giroux, all but silenced before this play, who stepped up in overtime to score the game-winner. Roo pounced on a loose puck and swatted it in with a tenacity and alacrity that Climie could not match.  After blocking 41 shots, Climie was finally defeated the goalie by Alex’s force of will.  As John Walton would say, “Good morning, good evening, good night!”

The Bears are probably airborne right now, headed home to Hershey for the final one or two games of the series.  The Chocolate and White now have two chances to win the Calder Cup, and they seem more determined to do so than ever.

Clear your social calendar for Monday, June 14.

John Carlson’s third period goal lifted the Bears to a pivotal win over the Texas Stars.  The series is now tied at 2-2 with only one game remaining in Texas.  Andrew Gordon reflects on the meaning of last night’s win, a few differences between the NHL and the AHL, and the tribulations of team sports.

Tonight is a new night, and we can all breath a little easier. Going down 3-1 is pretty much the same as going down 3-0 in my opinion, so tonight was as much of a must win as Monday.

When we left Hershey, our focus was winning our way home. We wanted to take a minimum of two games in Texas to assure there would be at least one more game back in Hershey. After learning from our experience in the first two games, we felt we would me be a much different team if we could return home for game six. We have achieved that little goal through these two games in Austin, and with a third game still to play we may be able to return home on the verge of a Championship! That’s a drastic shift from the attitude last week.

It’s a strange road we’ve been on.  Rarely in the playoffs do you see the home team struggle the way both teams have in this series. Having home ice has hardly been an advantage for either squad. As a road team going into an opponent’s building, the objective is always to take one win with you when you leave. You obviously want to win every game, and you prepare to do just that, but a split on the road is considered a victory for the visitors. In the NHL, winning at home is practically mandatory, but it’s even more important in the AHL because of the way each series is scheduled. In the NHL, you never spend more than two games in a row on the road, but in a 2-3-2 scenario (as we have here), losing those home games can be devastating.  Losing game one and/or game two then heading on the road gives your opponent momentum and a chance to win at home. That’s what we did over the last week: dig ourselves a hole in Hershey, then force ourselves to climb out of it in Texas.

FUN FACT: No team has ever lost the first two games at home in the finals, then gone on to win the Calder Cup. History could be made?

The last two games have been far from easy, as I’m sure the Stars would agree.  But we showed resolve in games three and four, and now we’re right back in the driver’s seat. Aside from the road team winning every game so far, I think this is exactly how a championship series is supposed to be played. Both teams are playing hard, physical, and clean hockey and making the other earn every inch of ice.  Other than game three, where we opened things up a bit in the third, every game has been a one-goal game determined by a big play late in regulation. It’s rare to see a sweep in the finals at any level, and this is no different.

Looking ahead to game five, we think the pressure falls on the Stars.  Where they once were filled with confidence, they now must be feeling some doubt. Where we once were unsure of ourselves, we have found strength in our game plan and our ability to execute it. We have stuck together when things didn’t look so good, and now we find ourselves on the brink of putting the other team against the ropes, and together we are starting to play some much better hockey. It might not be said out loud, but it’s as if there is something different in the air between the four walls of our dressing room.

I can remember after losing a game earlier on in the season (I honestly can’t recall if it was this year or last).  Afterwards, Bryan Helmer and I were talking about the emotional rollercoaster that sports straps you into.  “Nothing else in the world can make you feel this bad,” I remember him saying, and he was completely right. Sports seem to bring out a host of feelings that you don’t find anywhere else. Winning brings an unbelievable high, and losing sinks you to an astonishing low. I think the desire to win doesn’t have as much to do with the scoreboard as it does the feeling you have gliding off the ice and into the dressing room. It’s a feeling of satisfaction that you won’t get elsewhere.

Keep in mind that I haven’t ever played any individual sports (aside from golf, which I’m miserable at), but I think it’s being part of a team that makes you feel that way. When you win, you win together. When you lose, you feel like you’re letting your teammates down. Everything you sense- you share with the 20+ guys around you which amplifies whatever you are feeling. Both good and bad feelings are contagious, and right now, confidence is spreading around our locker room like wildfire.

As a team, our confidence comes from 20 individuals playing well and doing whatever it takes to make the team successful.  The different roles players assume should get more attention, but it always gets pushed aside behind all the goals and assists. The interviews you see on TV and the quotes in the paper come from the guys who score those big goals or make the big saves, but for a team to win there is a lot more that must happen.   There are guys on our team like Andrew Joudrey and Boyd Kane, who may only have a couple points in the playoffs, but are playing crucial roles for us. These are the guys blocking shots on the penalty kill and winning key face-offs in the defensive zone. These things don’t always get talked about, but on the bench and in the dressing room those guys get just as much praise as a guy with three goals. Little things are important in the playoffs, and those little things should be recognized. Things that might go unnoticed in a regular season game like a good back-check, a chipped puck out of our zone, or a smart line change can draw as much attention from the team as a goal from the highlight reel.  A winning team knows that any play can impact the game, and without those character guys doing a lot of the grunt work, the team would never find itself in a position to score winning goals at all. Recognizing these plays is part of coming together as a team and respecting the fact that without everyone pulling on that rope together, we won’t go anywhere.

Although the season is almost at an end, we are still growing and learning what it takes to win. In the playoffs, each day is a new fight. You need your teammates. If you don’t win as a team, you will fall apart as individuals.  Every winning team is– first and foremost– a team.

“When a team outgrows individual performance ans learns team confidence, excellence becomes a reality” -Joe Paterno

Thank you for your time. Special thanks to all those who made the trip to Texas!

Yours in hockey,
Andrew Gordon

Above: Hershey celebrates their Game 4 win. Top: John Carlson does it again. This time, he redirects the GWG Home on a Bears PP. (Photos by Chris Knight, The Patriot-News)

Tonight could have gone very differently. Despite rediscovering their offensive mojo, the Hershey Bears could not generate a lead over the Texas Stars. With the end of regulation looming, the Bear shook off the threat of a do-or-die game 5 with Captain America John Carlson’s razor-sharp deflection past Stars goalie Matt Climie. An empty netter from Alexandre Giroux sealed the deal, and now we’re facing a unique prospect: the Calder Cup will be awarded in Hershey. With the series finally tied, the only question remains who will claim it.

A couple other quick notes for you:

• Pinizzotto penalty? Naturally.
• Scott McCulloch’s response to John Carlson’s GWG was to smother Karl Alzner into the boards. Yeah, they’ll remember that.
• No one was too sure who scored the game’s first goal: Andrew Gordon or Keith Aucoin. Once the snow cleared, Aucoin was given credit, but Gordo was a key player in that play and Carlson’s game-winner.
• If Hershey doesn’t make a red, white, and blue Carlson t-shirt soon, someone’s gonna make it for them.

The Bears will play their third and final game in Texas on Friday night. The series will return to Hershey on Monday, but will the most winning team in AHL history land in PA with the series lead or not?

Enjoy!

A view of the arena in Austin from the top row.

The jet to Texas.

Boarding and security.  Hockey players, apparently, can keep their shoes on.

John Carlson in repose.

Mathieu and Andrew and their playoff beeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaards.

Armor.

It should be known that, at this point, Andrew has utterly shamed the Russian Machine writing staff and their measly output.  We vow to redouble our efforts to keep pace with Andrew in quality and quantity.

Once again, we thank Andrew for being so open with us.  His perspective is absolutely unique and invaluable to the fan community.  His open and thoughtful posts have created the precise kind of insight and togetherness we strive for on this site.

In a completely unrelated note, here’s a link to the Hershey Bears merchandise store. Vote with your wallets, people!

[Ed. note- This post was not written by Andrew Gordon.]

Andrew Gordon scored two of the Bears’ six goals in last night’s game with the Texas Stars, including the game winner.  In today’s piece, Andrew discusses the win, getting over the bad breaks of the first period, and digging deep in the post season.

I don’t need to explain how badly we needed to win this game. Going down 3-0 with two more games in their building just wasn’t an option. We needed to make a statement about who we are, and we did just that. It didn’t look good early though. After letting up a goal on the first shot of the game (a ricochet off of Boyd Kane’s skate), and a shorthanded tap in after a miscue between Neuvy and our defenseman, I felt like nothing could go right. We were a team stuck in Murphy’s Law: Whatever could go wrong, seemed to.

After the first period, all the talk in the dressing room was about us. We knew we couldn’t take back the bad bounces that happened. We couldn’t play that period over again. But we knew if we used the last 40 minutes to play the way we know how, and stick to the game plan we could give ourselves a chance. From that point forward our attitude was completely different. We started shooting the puck, driving the net, limiting the odd man rushes against and only made high risk plays when it absolutely had to be done. By not giving them anything for free, we slowly started to take over. Every shift was like shooting a little more energy into our veins. We started to believe in ourselves and our abilities again. By the time the third period started, we had our swagger back. We were the Bears again, and when that buzzer sounded to end tonight’s game my thoughts shot back to the feeling I had so often this season. I got a taste of winning again, and as a team I can safely say we liked it.

In my opinion, the playoffs are all about resiliency. In the American League, more often than not, the team who refuses to quit will come out on top. ‘Til the finals that is. The finals are a totally different story. As you go through the first three rounds, winning a series can happen in the first couple games. You obviously have to win four games to take the series, but many times a series is won long before the fourth game comes around. It comes down to breaking your opponents will, and outworking them mentally before they do the same to you. You have to make them believe they can’t beat you, and then their bodies will just come along for the ride. You have to make them want to quit. Make them see summer right around the corner. At that point, a team can be broken even though there is still hockey to be played.

Winning is always a lot harder than losing. To win you have to sacrifice your body, your time and your relaxing summer at home. Some players aren’t willing to make those sacrifices, and those are the players who are easily broken. They can put in a 90% effort and feel good about what they did. But they will never be winners only going 90%. Someone else on another team is willing to go 100% (or better) and eventually they will win out.

A lot of times you see young players ready to quit before the series end. They might have had a good season, and without chance to be recalled to the NHL, their effort drops off. As an AHL player, every day you dream about playing in the NHL and working your way up. Winning the Calder Cup might not be on the “to do list” for some young players. These feelings don’t happen in the NHL. Once you are there, winning becomes the only thing that matters. It becomes your job not just to play, but to win. The ultimate goal, the one you’ve been dreaming about since you’ve picked up a stick, is right in front of you and every game is an opportunity to draw yourself one step closer to achieving that goal. I find the Calder Cup finals have this same feel. There is no backing down in the finals. Nobody’s will is ever broken in the finals. You have sacrificed everything already to get there, so taking your foot off the gas in the middle of June would be a complete waste of two months.

I mentioned in a previous entry that making it to the finals and leaving without a ring on your finger would be a misuse of time, and I feel that’s why you see dramatic comebacks like this year when the Flyers met the Bruins. If the Flyers would have thought, you know, that’s enough for this year, they would have been done in four games and on a beach somewhere in Mexico right now, instead of being two wins away from hoisting hockey’s greatest glory over their heads. It’s your own ability to push harder and tell yourself never to be satisfied that drives a team to succeed. We showed a bit of that championship resilience tonight. I think this series is just going to get better from here.

“A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits.” – Richard M. Nixon

Thank you for your time! See you again Wednesday!

Yours in hockey,
Andrew Gordon