Tonight, we had the pleasure of having our own Hershey Correspondent Kyle M. down on the ice as the Hershey Bears celebrated their 11th Championship in Franchise History. And boy did he get some great photos.

Below the jump, check out Bryan Helmer hoisting the Calder Cup, the Bourque family celebrating Chris’s MVP Award, Doug Yingst getting a champagne shower from Michal Neuvirth and Francois Bouchard losing his dang mind. The overriding theme of these photos is “WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”

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?

Above: Chris Bourque skies in the air to keep the puck on his stick. Top: Bourque and Andrew Gordon celebrate the GWG. (Photos by Chris Knight, The Patriot-News)

After an absolutely dreadful start which saw the Bears take a 3-1 deficit into the first intermission, even the most optimistic of Bears fans would have thought that the chances of Hershey coming back in this series were slim. But Head Coach Mark French showed confidence in his players and made the necessary adjustments. He allowed Michal Neuvirth to return in net for the second period, despite witnessing last year’s playoff MVP flub a clearing attempt on a first-period powerplay. Neuvy’s whiff led to Texas’s second goal of the night, an unassisted short-handed goal by Francis Wathier. French then subtlety tinkered with his forward combinations promoting Chris Bourque to the top line and dropping the 2008-09 AHL MVP, Alexandre Giroux, to the second. It paid immediate dividends.

Hershey went on to score five unanswered goals, punctuated by two third period tallies by Andrew Gordon which included the eventual game-winning goal. The Hershey Bears win 6-3. The high-octane offense has returned!

• Tonight marked Hershey’s 9th game in 39 days. Maybe the rust is starting to come off? (Special thanks to fan of the blog Emily Bennett for pointing this out to me via email.)
• I swear Bears’ third-line center, Kyle Wilson, must love NHL10 like I do. He scored both of his goals tonight, Hershey’s 1st and 2nd of the night, via one timers from odd areas in the offensive zone.
• Not to be outdone, Mathieu Perreault had a pair of tallies, and both Keith Aucoin and Chris Bourque had two assists.
• Andrew Gordon’s game-winning goal tonight was a perfect example of why he is such an invaluable player to this club. Gordo set himself in front of the net, and after multiple failed whacks at a loose puck, finally connected on his backhand to give Hershey it’s first lead of the game. John Walton said of the goal, “That is paying the price to win.” While Gregg Mace responded, “Andrew Gordon is one of the heart and soul guys on the Bears.” We agree. We totally agree.
• After giving up 3 tough goals on 11 shots in the first period, Neuvy responded in the clutch by stopping the Stars next 19 shots on goal. He finished with 27 saves on the night and deserves a lot of credit for Hershey’s comeback tonight.
• Patrick Wellar deserves props for his penalty killing tonight. At one point during the second period, I thought I was watching Rod Langway incarnate on the ice as he delivered hit after crunching hit. Wellar also received a Game Misconduct in the third period for his part in a brawl. Well done, Patrick!
• Once again, Steve Pinizzotto played a charged-up game which yielded multiple takeaways and great defense. And once again, Steve Pinizzotto took a completely unneeded penalty, this time a charging call in the third period.
• Caps Employee and reserve goaltender Brett Leonhardt noticed from the stands during a second period TV timeout that Stars Goalie Matt Climie was chirping at the Bears bench. Four goals later, he might have regretted that.

The Bears will now look to even the series at two Wednesday night at 8:30. Make sure to check back in the morning for another installment of Gordo’s Take, as Andrew Gordon will give his view on Game 3. See you then.

Andrew Gordon is wiped out along the boards by Aaron Gagnon. (Photos by Joe Hermitt, The Patriot-News)

If you’ve ever played a competitive sport at any high-level, you know the importance of momentum. It’s something that cannot be accurately measured by statistics, but its presence will never show up on any box-score.  Watching game two of the Calder Cup Finals between the Hershey Bears and the Texas Stars tonight, it was obvious who had momentum in the final ten minutes of the game: The Hershey Bears. Despite the Chocolate and White never leading during regulation, Andrew Gordon’s electrifying put-back off a Patrick Wellar shot from the right point rallied the troops and tied the game 3-3 with 9:16 to go. And after Stars’ Defenseman Matt Stephenson went off for a four-minute double minor for high-sticking towards the tail end of a Bears Powerplay, it seemed like fate was on the Bears side.

It was not to be. The Bears could not score during the ensuing 31 seconds of their 5 on 3 advantage and fretted away the first 1:16 of their 5 on 4. Then, after a whistle, Boyd Kane lost his temper during a scrum and speared a Texas player. The back linesman saw it, notified the head official, and Kane was sent off for four minutes, negating the rest of the Bears Powerplay. Hello, 4-on-4 hockey. Goodbye, momentum.

Hershey and Texas then traded chances back and forth until Caps castoff Travis Morin lifted a slow, knuckling backhander with 46 seconds left. The puck arc’ed over Michal Neuvirth, who desperately tried to stab it with his glove hand. While the rest of the Bears looked on in disbelief, the puck settled in the back of the net. The Bears lose a heartbreaker 4-3.

• Postgame, Hershey Head Coach Mark French, didn’t mince any words when reminded by ABC27′s Gregg Mace that the Bears have come back and won two straight on the road before: “We took six penalties tonight. Four poor in nature. If [our guys] want to continue making those errors, they’ll get to four [wins] before us.”
• Let’s not turn to the History Books for inspiration. No team has ever lost the first two games of the Calder Cup Finals at home and ever come back to win a series. The Bears will now travel to Texas where they’ll play three straight games at Cedar Park Center. They must win at least two of three to bring the series back home to Giant Center. Consider this little factoid as well: The Bears are only 4-3 this postseason on the road.
• Hershey had been 37-1-0-0 in its previous 38 home games before falling to Texas Stars on home ice twice in a three-day span. Is this just an anomaly or are they simply playing a better hockey team?
• I’ll put my Caps blinders on and say I think it’s an anomaly. We’re talking about potentially the AHL’s greatest team of all-time– a 60-win team in the regular season. Let’s face it: The Bears had an 11-day layoff before game one and looked rusty. Tonight, they were the better team, but were plagued by a few early mistakes, a lack of discipline and bad luck. Stars’ Center Aaron Gagnon scored one minute into the game on a breakaway after Hershey’s Defense came out disorganized. The Stars’ second goal of the game was an absurd gift from the Gods. Andrew Joudrey made a great hockey play and blocked a chunk of Garrett Stafford’s shot from the point during a Stars’ Powerplay. The shot changed directions and puttered harmlessly along the ice towards Bryan Helmer, who looked to control the puck on his backhand. As Helmer’s stick met rubber, the puck shot off his stick past a helpless Michal Neuvirth into the yawning net.
• Really, the key to this series will be if Hershey can eschew chip-and-chase to play the simple hockey that will overcome Texas’s outstanding defense. Mark French was clearly frustrated after the game. He has been preaching offensive-zone patience to his players. Yet, some of these guys will get discouraged and take harmless shots from the perimeter or throw a centering pass out in front when nobody’s home. The team must be aggressive on the forecheck and play hard in the corners. We’ll see if they’ve learned their lesson Monday Night.
• 

  Haaaaaaaaay Ray! (Photo by Kyle M.)

  Hall of Fame Defenseman Ray Bourque was in the house tonight to watch his son play.  He looks grumpy in our accompanying picture.
• One thing’s for sure: Steve Pinizzotto certainly plays the game with an edge. In the first period with the Bears shorthanded and down 1-0, he caused a turnover and expertly executed a 2-on-1 break. Pinner blasted a hard slapshot top-shelf to tally his fifth goal of the playoffs, unassisted. While that was totally awesome, he also lost his temper a few times and yapped way too much at the Stars bench. Pinizzotto has good speed, a hard, accurate shot and a dedication to defense that could make him a solid third or fourth line NHL player in the future, especially for a team like the Capitals who need guys who are tenacious and gifted on the penalty kill. Pinner however, needs to play with a controlled chaos and keep his emotions in check. Tonight, his two minors (slashing, roughing) negated his positives.
• Francois Bouchard now has goals in two straight.
• Andrew Gordon’s tally in the third was the first goal of the finals for the AHL’s most prolific line. His Celebration? So. Epic. (Check out the photo montage here.)

The Bears will leave for Texas at noon on Sunday from Harrisburg International Airport. When they step on the ice for game three Monday night, they will be forced to deal with real adversity for the first time this year. Can the Bears step up and regain their offensive flair? Will Texas feel the pressure of wanting to win the Calder Cup in front of their home fans and lose control of the series? Comcast SportsNet will be showing the game live Monday Night at 8:30pm. We’ll see you then.

Video of all of Game 2′s Goals:

Neuvy’s got his game face on

Michal Neuvirth takes in a drink by the bench.

Jay Beagle

Does John “Captain America” Carlson have another Game Winning Goal in him tonight?

Bourque Scores, Bears Win. Hershey only 2 more victories away from returning to the AHL Finals. (Photos by Kyle M.)

For Game 2 of the AHL’s Eastern Conference Finals, the Hershey Bears were in front of a sold-out and enthusiastic Saturday Night crowd of 10,726 and they did not disappoint. Chris Bourque tallied the game’s first goal with a slapshot from the right faceoff dot. The Monarchs’ Gabe Gauthier would then score back to back goals to make it 2-1. It would stay that way until the 3rd period when Hershey’s Steve Pinizzotto would score his second goal in two games and send it into overtime. That’s when the miniature-sized Chris Bourque would take in a pass from Keith Aucoin on a 2 on 1 and score short-side at 10:28 of the first OT giving Hershey their 5th playoff OT win of the year. Bourque’s (6g 12a) clutch second goal of the night also tied him for first place in the AHL Playoff Scoring Race with teammate Alexandre Giroux (10g 8a). Both have 18 points a piece and are now 1 point ahead of the Texas Stars’ Jamie Benn (who none of us have ever heard of).

Hershey now has a record of 10-1 in the playoffs and have won all 5 games that have gone into OT. The Bears will now travel to Manchester, New Hampshire and try to take a 3-0 series lead Monday.

Take a look at the rest of Kyle’s incredible photos from the game after the jump.

Here’s a photo of the first faceoff of Game 2 at the Giant Center.

Manchester Goaltender Jonathan Bernier whacks Alexandre Giroux in front of the net.

Michal Neuvirth makes one of his 31 saves on the night.

Chris Bourque’s OT Game Winner went in as the net came off its moorings behind Monarchs goaltender Jonathan Bernier, but it was determined that the net had been pushed off by Manchester defenders, allowing the goal to stand.

Michal Neuvirth and Karl Alzner, Key catalysts in tonight's game, celebrate a job well done. (Photos by Kyle M.)

It had been 12 days since the Hershey Bears last played. And tonight it only took 16 seconds for them to shake off the rust.

Sean Collins wicked shot from the point opened the scoring in Game 1 of Hershey’s Eastern Conference Finals Series against the Manchester Monarchs, and Andrew Gordon’s rebound tally on the powerplay 10 minutes later in the first period gave Hershey a 2 goal lead they’d never relinquish. Steve Pinizzotto (GWG) and Karl Alzner also chipped in with goals for the Bears on a night where they improved to 9-1 in this year’s postseason and won their 6th consecutive playoff game.

Michal Neuvirth got the start tonight and played big making 24 saves and stopping 3 breakaways. The third period was Hershey’s only bad period, as they seemed to come out of the lockerroom fatigued and a little overconfident with a 3-0 lead. The Monarchs managed to score twice and outshoot the Bears 11-6 in the period, but Karl Alzner’s late goal sealed the game for the Chocolate and White.

Hershey will now go for a 2-0 lead Saturday Night in front of their home fans at Giant Center.

Make sure to check out the other fantastic photos RMNB correspondent Kyle M. took from tonight’s game below and make sure to follow him on Twitter for all your Bears Updates.

Other Photos:

The Hershey Bears concluded a brutal stretch of four games in five mornings/nights today, as they took on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at 1:00 p.m. The game, originally scheduled for 3PM, was bumped up two hours early to accommodate the Gold Medal Game between the United States and Canada.

In his first start since returning from the Russian National Team in the Olympics (and eating McDonald’s everyday), Semyon Varlamov played splendidly against the Baby Pens stopping 30 shots and thwarting three consecutive opportunities in the shootout as the Bears prevailed 2-1. After falling behind 2-0 in the shootout, clutch goals by Keith Aucoin, Alex Giroux and the previous night’s hero (more on that later) Mathieu Perreault allowed Hershey to win the shootout 3-2. Kyle Wilson scored Hershey’s lone goal of the game during regulation, despite the Bears peppering Baby Pens goalie Brad Thiessen with 33 shots. The win was Hershey’s 46th on the season.

Bruce Boudreau and Bears President Doug Yingst take in the 9-2 Beatdown (All Photos by Kyle M.)

Saturday night with Bruce Boudreau in attendence for a pregame book signing, the Hershey Bears pushed their incredible AHL Record home winning streak to 21 with a resounding 9-2 victory over the New York Islanders farm team, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Hershey jumped out to a 5-1 first period lead on the heels of a first period hat trick by everyone’s favorite miniature-sized-center Mathieu Perreault.

Perreault ended the night with an incredible four goals, including one on a penalty shot in the second period. Other crazy stats accumulated during the night? Prepare yourself:

• Two lines for Hershey accumulated more than 10 points: Andrew Gordon, Keith Aucoin and Alex Giroux accounted for four goals and 11 points, while Mathieu Perreault, Chris Bourque and Steve Pinizzotto combined for five goals and 12 points.
• Steve Pinizzotto had four assists.
• Chris Bourque had a goal and three assists.
• When leading after two periods the Bears are now 35-0.
• On the season the Bears are scoring on 13% of their shots, but last night Hershey managed to score on 18% of them.
• Saturday’s total of 50 shots and four goals by Perreault were both season highs for the Chocolate and White.
• They also tied the largest margin of victory with seven goals in front of this year’s 3rd largest crowd with 10,703, Hershey’s 9th sell out this year.

I guess the little brother Hershey wants more attention.

Meanwhile, Capitals chronic-scratches Tyler Sloan and Quintin Laing played in Hershey on conditioning stints. We have the photos from Kyle M. below.

Kyle’s Photos from Saturday Night’s Bears/Tigers Game:

Bryan Helmer and his family on the ice for Post Game Jersey Auction

Captain America post game as well.

Saturday night, Braden Holtby won his 18th game of the year. Ladies begin swooning: now.

Quintin Laing on a conditioning stint with the Bears.

Tyler Sloan on conditioning stint as well.

Yes, the 9 goals and 50 shots really happened.

This past weekend was awesome. Why? Because it was chock full of Hockey at every hour of the day. Sure there was “Super Sunday” with the Russians destroying the Czechs, USA humbling the Green Snubbers from the North, and the Swedes shutting out the Fins in Olympic action. But there also was a double dip of AHL Hockey with the Hershey Bears playing both on Saturday and Sunday. Well since we here at RMNB can’t be everywhere – though Fedor certainly tried as he watched illegal Russian Video Streams of the Bears Games during breaks in the Olympics – we asked our Hershey Correspondent Kyle M to summarize the events of this weekend via pictures, words & yes, his own video. Video which includes reaction from players and Coach Mark French after Hershey set the AHL Record for Consecutive Home Victories. Awesome. If you hate reading like me, here’s all you need to know: HERSHEY RULZ!

Game 1 – Saturday, February 20th – Lake Erie Monsters vs Hershey Bears @ Giant Center

In Saturday’s tilt, the Hershey Bears rose to the challenge – in what I’d say was one of their toughest tests in their now 19 game home winning streak. The Bears defeated the Colorado Avalanche’s affiliate Lake Erie Monsters 4-1 despite a tremendous amount of physical play. Bears goaltender Jason Bacashihua (above) beat his former team (while being in his old Avs mask) with 24 superb saves on 25 shots. With his strong effort in net, Bacashihua was also named the First Star of the Game.

Cash has now won 12 of his 15 starts this season. Four different Bears managed to light the lamp including Oskar Osala, Jay Beagle, Andrew Joudrey & Andrew Gordon via an Empty Net Goal. One final note: Who broke Bacashihua’s Shutout? None other than former Capital Brian Willsie.

Photos From The Game:

Oskar Osala Scores!

Jason Bacashihua and Karl Alzner Gaurd The Net

We weren’t kidding about the rough stuff!

Game 2 – Saturday, February 20th – Albany River Rats vs Hershey Bears @ Giant Center

With the consecutive home victories record on the line, the Bears came out hard against the NJD Affiliated Albany River Rats. After getting back to back goals by Andrew Gordon and Chris Bourque, Braden Holtby surrendered 3 goals in succession in a little under 10 minutes. By the end of second period, the game was all tied up 3-3. It would take 11 minutes of play in the third frame until lil’ scrappy Francois Bouchard would break the tie. More importantly, Bryan Helmer’s assist on the goal gave him the All-Time AHL Assists Record for Defensemen. Bouchard would then add another goal 8 minutes later as the Hershey Bears won their 20th Straight Home Game.

Post Game Reaction:

Photos:

Captain America John Carlson Focuses On Being Awesome During Warm Ups

Steve Pinizzotto Ready To Drop The Gloves