All photos by Kyle M. of Sweetest Hockey On Earth

Welcome back, Varly! After a four week layoff, Semyon Varlamov finally got himself back into game-action tonight as the Bears concluded their stretch of three-games-in-three-nights against the Binghamton Senators at Giant Center. How did he do? Kathryn Hedrick of our Hershey blog, Sweetest Hockey On Earth, has your update:

I know you’re all dying to hear how Semyon Varlamov did. When he was sent to Hershey, I’m thinking they were hoping to see him challenged more than he was tonight. He didn’t really have to deal with a lot of shots until the second period when Binghamton had a couple power plays, including a 5-on-3. He let in three goals, two while Hershey was on the penalty kill. He was pretty solid but probably wants at least one of those goals back. It’s understandable since he’s shaking off a lot of rust. He looked great when he stopped a shorthanded breakaway shot during the third period. Overall, he made 21 for 24 saves.

Hershey went on to win the game 8-3. Mathieu Perreault had six assists and Andrew Gordon had a pair of goals. Make sure to view SHOE’s gamer here, which includes video highlights, awesome photos from Kyle, and some other crazy stats. Below the fold, make sure to check out some more photos of Varly in action.

Bonus Photos

Boyd Gordon in his first rehab game with the Bears

Last week the Capitals made an attempt to send Boyd Gordon to Hershey for a rehab stint, but with the blizzard-like conditions on the East Coast, he ended up everywhere else but Hershey.

Here’s the full horror story via Capitals Insider:

Maybe you have a worse travel experience from Snowmaggedon 2009, but I certainly would not have wanted to be in Boyd Gordon’s shoes this past weekend. The Capitals originally wanted him to go to Hershey for a rehab assignment this weekend, but the bad weather forced Gordon, who has played in just one game since Oct. 12 because of a bad back, to go on an adventure straight out of “Plane, Trains and Automobiles.”

He took a car service from Vancouver to Seattle, but nasty weather on the East Coast sent him on flights from Seattle to Atlanta to Orlando to Cincinnati before he finally gave up on the assignment all together and ended up in the D.C. area. Gordon couldn’t skate this morning because his equipment got lost in the shuffle during all the flight changes. The team is hoping his equipment arrives at Kettler by tomorrow and Gordon will return to the ice, but Boudreau said he wasn’t sure if Gordon would go on another rehab assignment this weekend.

So the Capitals tried to send him to Hershey again this weekend, with the Bears playing back to back home games against the Syracuse Crunch and Norfolk Admirals. This time, beyond the terrible rain and fog, Gordon made the trip up to Hershey safely, and because of Reader Kyle, we have photographic evidence that he’s still alive!

Well in his first game in a BEARS sweater since the 2006 Calder Cup playoffs, Gordon finished the game +1 with an assist. And from all accounts, he had a pretty solid game. Here were Kyle’s observations from the game – you know, since he was actually there and everything:

Boyd Gordon was greeted with a loud cheer back in Chocolate Town USA last night. He was +1 with an assist and looked good out there. The Bears were playing how they always play with Braden Holtby between the pipes…great. They got off to a slow start in the first, but Holtby was a wall. The score was 0-0 heading into the second but Kyle Wilson made it 1-0 for Hershey with assists from Zach Miskovic and Boyd Gordon. Right before the next goal I was looking on the ice for the 5th Bears player. No, the Bears were full strength, but they only had four guys on the ice for roughly 2-2 1/2 minutes (ed. note I love AHL Hockey. Imagine what would happen if the Capitals did this once? Bruce would not be happy.). Nonetheless, Holtby made some great stops and saved the Bears from a potential embarrassing goal. Mathieu Perreault, with 3 mins to go in the 2nd period, lit the lamp with helpers from Chris Bourque and Francois Bouchard. Boyd Gordon looked fine at the start of the game but he seemed to be gassed towards the end and was taking only :30 to :35 second shifts. Bouchard and Perreault tacked on goals late to make the score 4-0. Holtby was on his game tonight but gave up one bad goal to the Crunch. Holtby was the #1 star of the night as the Bears won 4-1, their seventh consecutive home victory.

So minus having his shifts reduced to 30-35 seconds towards to end of the game it sounds like Boyd Gordon’s first game back was a great success. Thanks to Reader Kyle for the updates from Hershey and the great photos.

More Photos of Boyd Gordon in Hershey: