Sunday January 29, 2005 vs. Albany (Posted Sunday 10:17 P.M. EST.)

 

Hershey makes it 7 straight over Albany with 2-1 OT win

 

The Hershey Bears continue to find ways to beat the Albany River Rats this season. Sunday night, the Bears, down 1-0 going into the 3rd period, rallied to tie the game before completing the comeback with Jeff Ulmer's goal 2:30 into the overtime. Bears goaltender Tom Lawson (8-10-0), starting in net for only the second time since December 19th, earned the victory, stopping 37 of 38 River Rats shots.

 

With the win, Hershey (23-22-1-0, 47 points) keeps pace with Wilkes-Barre, trailing the East Division's 4th place team by 8 points. For last-place Albany (12-24-5-5, 34 points), they have now lost all 7 matchups against Hershey this season, and have dropped 8 in a row to the Bears dating back to last season.

 

Need to Know: After an uneventful 1st period, Albany would take the games' first lead at the 5:49 mark of the 2nd period. During a mad scramble around the Bears net, Adrian Foster would pick up a loose rebound on the left side, chipping the puck over Lawson for his 5th goal of the season.

 

Hershey would finally get its legs in the 3rd period, picking up momentum that seemed to be lacking in the first 40 minutes of the game. Just 2:53 into the frame, Eric Perrin would pick up his 14th goal of the season, backhanding a right side shot that trickled over Albany goaltender Scott Clemmensen, tying the game at 1-1.

Exactly at the midpoint of the extra session (2:30), Ulmer would net the game-winner for Hershey, taking a Jeff Finger pass between the circles and firing a shot that beat Clemmensen stick side. It was Ulmer's 12th goal of the season, and he now has goals in 6 straight games, the current AHL high.

 

Misc. Game Notes: Clemmensen (6-15-5) took the loss for Albany, finishing with 30 saves…Hershey RW Andre Savage has assists in 5 straight games…Bears C Marek Svatos was a healthy scratch, while rookie C Ryan Steeves returned to the lineup after missing the last 2 games…the 4 combined penalty minutes were a season low in 1 contest involving the Bears, while Hershey's 2 PIMs tied a season low for 1 game…early in the 1st period, the River Rats skated with a forward line of tough guys Rob Skrlac, Cam Janssen, and Brett Clouthier, with Ray Schultz skating on defense…the Bears and WGAL Channel 8 raised over $38,000 from donations at Sunday night's game, which will be given to the American Red Cross to benefit victims of December's Tsunami in Southeast Asia.

 

Coming Up: The Bears will make up their cancelled game with Philadelphia from January 22nd this Wednesday night, hosting the Phantoms with a 7:30 PM faceoff at the Giant Center. After dropping the previous 16 consecutive contests to Philly, Hershey has now won their last 2 meetings.

 

 

From left to right, Cody McCormick, Tuomas Pihlman, Tom Lawson, Ilkka Pikkarainen, and Mathieu Darche hover around the Bears net as Adrian Foster's 2nd period shot finds its way into the goal, giving Albany a 1-0 lead.

 

 

Hershey's Eric Perrin prepares to backhand this shot past Albany goaltender Scott Clemmensen, tying the game 1-1 at the 2:53 mark of the 3rd period.

 

 

Bears goaltender Tom Lawson makes a save during 3rd period action.

 

 

Jeff Ulmer celebrates as his overtime score beats Clemmensen, giving the Bears a 2-1 victory over the River Rats.

 

Current Bears Statistical Leaders (through 1-30-05)

 

• Games: 46 (Johnny Boychuk, Mathieu Darche, Eric Perrin, Jeff Ulmer)
• Goals: 16 (Mathieu Darche)
• Assists: 25 (Eric Perrin)
• Points: 39 (Eric Perrin)
• PIMs: 235 (Dennis Bonvie)
• +/-: +3 (Nick Naumenko)
• PPGs: 7 (David Masse)
• SHGs: 1 (Jeff Ulmer & David Masse)
• GWGs: 6 (Eric Perrin)
• Shots: 166 (Mathieu Darche)

The 7641 Sports' News 'N Notes team can be contacted via e-mail at: nnn@7641.com

 

Saturday January 29, 2005 vs. Hartford (Posted Sunday 9:45 A.M. EST.)

 

Hartford "Packs" a punch with 6-1 win over Hershey

 

Hartford Head Coach (and former Bear) Ryan McGill can count on certain players for certain roles. At 6'6'', 265 lbs, Steve MacIntyre fills the role of size and toughness at left wing for the Wolf Pack. Saturday night, he added an unlikely element: offense. His list of feats for the game read like this: assist, fight, goal, fight. Result: netting the "Gordie Howe Hat Trick," (which consists of a goal, an assist, and a fight) en route to being named the game's #1 star in Hartford's 6-1 victory of Hershey. For the Bears (22-22-1-0, 45 points) who fell back to .500, they have now dropped 5 of their last 7 decisions, while the Wolf Pack (32-12-1-2, 67 points) inched to within 1 point of the Manchester Monarchs for 1st place in the Atlantic Division.

 

Need to Know: Hershey's only offensive production of the game would occur at the 4:14 mark of the 1st period, when Jeff Ulmer would net his 11th goal of the season. After an odd-man rush going into the Hartford zone, Andre Savage would hit the brakes midway along the left dasher boards, feeding a pass to Ulmer between the circles. Ulmer would then take the puck in alone to Wolf Pack goaltender Jason LaBarbera, backhanding a shot through the "5 hole" to make it 1-0 Hershey.

 

Then, the 2nd period began and Hartford would begin its offensive onslaught just 16 ticks into the frame. With Bryce Lampman skating with the puck on the left side, Bears goalie Peter Budaj committed and dropped down to the left post, with Lampman then wrapping around the Hershey net and depositing his 7th of the season on an open net.

 

Just over 2 minutes later (at 2:27), Ryan Hollweg would put the Wolf Pack up 2-1, taking a MacIntyre left circle pass to the point and rocketing home the game-winner---his 6th goal of the season---beating Budaj top shelf.

 

At 4:47 of the 2nd period, MacIntyre and Hershey's Dennis Bonvie dropped the gloves near center ice. Both circled each other for 15-20 seconds before MacIntyre landed a couple of rights, which forced Bonvie to try and tie up the much-bigger MacIntyre. Bonvie, who got tied up himself, managed to free his right hand, getting off a few shots on MacIntyre. MacIntyre was then able to free his left hand, unloading a few that found their mark. After tying each other up again, the linesmen intervened, separating the two pugilists and sending them to their respective penalty boxes.

 

Hartford would go up 3-1 at the 8:19 point of the 2nd, with Garth Murray scoring his 3rd of the season on a shot from the left side of the net that hit Budaj's pads, squeaking through and giving the Wolf Pack their 3rd unanswered goal in just under 6 minutes.

 

Dominic Moore, the younger brother of former Bear Steve Moore, would give the Wolf Pack a 4-1 advantage at the 14:20 mark of the 2nd, registering his 11th goal of the season. Alexandre Giroux, behind the Hershey net along the end boards, backhanded a pass to Moore, who took the puck right into Budaj, tucking the biscuit through the netminder's skates.

 

MacIntyre would cap the 2nd period scoring, netting his 1st career AHL goal at 17:58 on a backhand shot from the point that found its way through several players, finally coming to rest in the Hershey net. After allowing 5 goals on 27 shots, Budaj would be replaced by Tom Lawson to start the 3rd period.

 

A near-riot erupted at the 11:48 mark of the 3rd period after Bonvie laid a big hit along the Hershey endboards. Hartford's Craig Weller responded by hitting Bonvie from behind, leading to MacIntyre/Bonvie 2. This time around, both players tied each other up quickly, with MacIntyre falling to the ice on top of Bonvie. Both were each issued their second fighting majors of the game, while Weller was assessed a roughing minor.

 

After the net had become dislodged in the Hershey zone, tempers would flare again at the 14:03 mark, with Hartford's Ryan Hollweg dropping the mitts and landing a couple of rights to Bears D Agris Saviels, who had yet to shake off his gloves. At the same time, Hartford's Jed Ortmeyer and Hershey's Mike Souza grappled along the Hershey endboards.

 

At 18:11, Hartford would score their 6th (and final) unanswered goal of the game, with Lucas Lawson's right circle wrist shot beating Hershey goalie Lawson on the top shelf.

 

Misc. Game Notes: LaBarbera (21-6-0), who was chased after allowing 3 goals on 10 shots in Hartford's 4-1 loss back on November 10th, showed why he's one of the AHL's best backstoppers, turning aside 29 shots. Budaj (16-13-0) suffered the loss in net for Hershey, ending with 22 saves in 40 minutes. Lawson, who finished the game in mop-up duty for the Bears, finished with 9 saves…Ulmer now has goals in 5 straight games. Speaking of Ulmer, he left the game with 41 seconds left in the 3rd after taking a high stick to the face from Hartford's Jake Taylor, who was handed a 5 minute major for the infraction…in addition to MacIntyre, Moore (1 goal, 1 assist), Giroux (2 assists), and Chad Wiseman (2 assists) each finished with 2 points…Hartford has allowed an AHL-low 92 goals this season. In fact, coming into Saturday's contest, the Wolf Pack averaged only 1.98 goals allowed/game, tops in the league…Hartford leads the AHL with 21 home victories, but is only 11-9-1-1 on the road in 04/05…the Wolf Pack, who came into the game as the AHL's top penalty killers (90.2 %), knocked off all 3 Hershey power play opportunities…the 6 goals allowed by Hershey tied a season high (lost 6-2 in Providence on 12/5), as did the 5-goal margin of defeat (5-0 loss in Manchester on 11/13)…with Bears LW David Masse out with an inured wrist, Dean Arsene moved up to forward…after missing Friday's game with the flu, Hershey D Jeff Finger returned to the lineup…rookie C Ryan Steeves was Hershey's lone healthy scratch…after his first fight with Bonvie, MacIntyre's jersey sported an 8-10 inch rip from the neck down.

 

Coming Up: The Bears will look to return to their winning ways Sunday evening, when they host the Albany River Rats at 5 PM at the Giant Center. Hershey is 6-0 against Albany this season, including 2 wins at home.

 

 

Hartford's Chad Wiseman attempts to defend, but Hershey's Jeff Ulmer slips the puck past goaltender Jason LaBarbera to give the Bears a 1-0 lead in the 1st period.

 

 

Hartford's Bryce Lampman slips this shot past Bears goaltender Peter Budaj, tying the game 1-1 just 16 seconds into the 2nd period.

 

 

Hershey's Dennis Bonvie (left) tangles with Hartford's Steve MacIntyre during their 2nd period fight.

 

 

This shot by Garth Murray (not pictured) found its way through goaltender Peter Budaj's pads, giving the Wolf Pack a 3-1 lead in the 2nd period.

 

 

Hartford's Alexandre Giroux & Dominic Moore celebrate Moore's 2nd period goal as the Bears' Peter Budaj and Andre Savage react.

 

 

Hartford's Layne Ulmer (left) celebrates Steve MacIntyre's late-2nd period goal while Hershey's Peter Budaj, Carl Corazzini, and Martin Wilde look on.

 

 

Hershey's Dennis Bonvie (left) stands at the doorstep as Hartford goalie Jason LaBarbera makes a save during 3rd period action.

 

The 7641 Sports' News 'N Notes team can be contacted via e-mail at: nnn@7641.com

 

Friday January 28, 2005 at Wilkes-Barre (Posted Friday 9:45 P.M. EST.)

 

Down 2-0, Bears respond with 4 goals to down Pens 4-2

 

Making their first trip up I-81 to Wilkes-Barre, the Hershey Bears, down 2-0 in the 3rd period, stormed back with 4 unanswered goals to down the Penguins 4-2 before 8,357 fans Friday night at the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Dennis Bonvie, Chris Bala, Nick Naumenko, and Jeff Ulmer each pocketed goals en route to the Hershey victory. With the win, the Bears (22-21-1-0, 45 points) move within 7 points of Wilkes-Barre (21-13-5-5, 52 points) for 4th place in the East Division.

 

Need to Know: After a scorless 1st period, Wilkes-Barre's Shane Endicott would net the game's 1st goal at 14:02 of the 2nd. Carrying the puck into the Hershey zone, Endicott unloaded a blast from the top of the circle, beating Bears goaltender Peter Budaj in the top left corner for his 17th goal of the season.

 

With Hershey's Andre Savage serving a holding the stick penalty, Ramzi Abid would take a Ross Lupaschuk pass from behind the Bears net and fire his 17th of the season past Budaj to give the Penguins a 2-0 lead at 13:03 of the middle frame.

 

The Bears would finally get on the scoreboard at 1:54 of the 3rd period, when former Penguin Dennis Bonvie would tally just his 2nd goal of the season, sneaking behind the Wilkes-Barre defense and sliding the puck past Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.

 

On an odd-man rush into the Wilkes-Barre end, Chris Bala would tie the game at 2-2, picking up a Carl Corazzini rebound and bagging his 7th of the season at 8:41 of the 3rd.

 

With both teams skating 4 on 4, Nick Naumenko's blast from the blueline---the eventual game-winner--- would find its way past Fleury, giving the Bears their first lead of the game at 11:16.

 

Jeff Ulmer would net the Bears 4th unanswered goal of the 3rd period, netting a power play goal on a shot from the left circle at 17:26.

 

Misc. Game Notes: Budaj (16-12-0) earned the win for Hershey finishing with 20 saves. Fleury (15-9-3) took the loss for Wilkes-Barre, ending with 33 saves…Ulmer now has goals in 4 straight games…Bears D Johnny Boychuk ended with 2 assists…Hershey C Eric Perrin, who earned an assist on Bala's goal, has 18 points in his last 14 games…the 4, 3rd period goals were a season high for one period…Wilkes-Barre's 22 shots on goal were the least the Bears have allowed in 1 game this season…shortly after the opening faceoff, Bears LW David Masse left with an apparent hand injury, and did not return…after missing the last 2 games with a shoulder injury, Bears D Martin Wilde returned to the lineup…D Jeff Finger and C Ryan Steeves were healthy scratches for Hershey…earlier in the day, the Bears released LW Mike Amodeo...before Friday's game, Wilkes-Barre had gone 12-0-1-2 when leading after 2 periods, including a 10-0-0-0 mark at home.

 

6 Degrees of Separation: Hershey RW Dennis Bonvie played with the Baby Pens from '99-'01…in addition to the 99/00 & 00/01 seasons, Bonvie and Penguins D Chris Kelleher were teammates with the Providence Bruins during the 01/02 season…Pens C Kris Beech played alongside Bears D Johnny Boychuk during the 2000/01 season with the Calgary Hitmen (WHL)…Wilkes-Barre goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, and Hershey goalie Peter Budaj split time in net for 2 seasons with the St. Michael's Majors (OHL).

 

Coming Up: On Saturday, the Hartford Wolf Pack make their only visit to Central PA with a 7 PM start against the Bears at the Giant Center. The last time Hershey and Hartford met (on November 10th ), Dennis Bonvie, Mathieu Darche, Eric Perrin, and Marek Svatos each had 2 points as the Bears downed the then-undefeated Wolf Pack 4-1 in Hartford. Wolf Pack netminder Steve Valiquette had a shutout streak of 221:50 stopped Friday night in Philadelphia, when the Phantoms scored just 1:26 into the 1st period. NHL Hall of Famer Johnny Bower holds the AHL record of 249:51, set in 1957.

 

The 7641 Sports' News 'N Notes team can be contacted via e-mail at: nnn@7641.com

 

Wednesday January 26, 2005 vs. St. John's (Posted Thursday 7:13 A.M. EST.)

 

Bears win shootout at G.C. Corral

 

The Hershey Bears made the St. John's Maple Leafs final appearance in Chocolatetown a memorable one, rallying to tie the game with less than 4 minutes left in regulation before besting the Leafs 3-2 in a shootout. Bears goaltender Peter Budaj stopped 28 shots in regulation and overtime before making another 13 saves in the shootout frame. 30 total attempts were needed to declare a victor, but Hershey's Andre Savage sealed the win by beating Leafs goaltender Mikael Tellqvist on the Bears' 15th shootout chance. The Bears (21-21-1-0, 43 points), who are now 5-0 in shootouts this season, snapped a season-high 4-game losing streak. St. John's (26-16-0-2, 54 points) heads next to Cleveland, where they'll wrap up their season-long 12-game road swing with a pair of games at Gund Arena against the Barons.

 

Need to Know: After a scoreless 1st period by both teams, St. John's wouldn't take long in the 2nd frame, with David Ling netting his 18th goal of the season just 51 seconds into the period. On a 2 on1, odd-man rush with teammate Kyle Wellwood, Ling would take a Wellwood pass on the left side, beating Bears goalie Peter Budaj on the stick-side.

 

The Bears would finally break through Leafs goaltender Mikael Tellqvist in the 3rd period, with Jeff Ulmer scoring his 9th goal of the season at the 4:51 mark. With an excited Giant Center crowd performing "The Wave," Ulmer and Mathieu Darche led a 2 on 1, odd-man situation, with Darche's right circle pass to Ulmer finding its mark, and Ulmer burying the puck stick-side of Tellqvist.

 

Any momentum the Bears were carrying was deflated when Harold Druken's 13th goal of the season at 7:32 of the 3rd gave the Leafs a 2-1 advantage. Druken, moving the puck back in the Bears zone, turned around and fired a slapshot from high in the slot, finding its mark and beating Budaj.

 

Bears captain Brett Clark, who returned to the lineup after missing the last 13 games with a shoulder injury, evened the score at 2-2, racing towards the St. John's goal, picking up an Eric Perrin rebound and firing home his 3rd goal of the season at 16:02 of the 3rd.

 

After Hershey and St. John's were unable to settle on a winner in the 5-minute overtime period, both teams headed towards the shootout frame. Coming into Wednesday's game, St. John's held a 3-2 mark in shootouts, while Hershey sported a perfect 4-0 record in the same category.

 

As the 1st and 2nd shooters for the Leafs, Nathan Barrett and Druken would miss on 5-hole attempts on Budaj. As the 3rd shooter, Ling would give St. John's a 1-0 lead in the frame, beating Budaj in the top left shelf. Marek Svatos and David Masse would not convert on Hershey's first 2 chances, but Perrin would capitalize on the Bears 3rd opportunity, beating Tellqvist glove-side to tie the shootout at 1-1.

 

Jeremy Williams and Brad Leeb would fail in their attempts before Ling, in his 2nd attempt (and St. Johns' 6th attempt) netted his 2nd shootout score, beating Budaj high on the glove side. The pattern would repeat itself on the Hershey side, with Savage and Darche missing their tries before Perrin (on Hershey's 6th attempt) pocketed his 2nd tally of the frame, once again tying the shootout score at 2-2.

 

After the next 9 St. John's and 8 Hershey attempts were stymied, Savage ended the game at 10:24 PM, beating Tellqvist stick-side and giving the Bears a 3-2 shootout victory.

 

Misc. Game Notes: Budaj (15-12-0), who is now 4-0 in shootouts this season for Hershey, has stopped 25 of 29 shootout attempts this season (.862%). Tellqvist (12-10-1) finished with 29 saves in defeat for St. John's …during the latter stages of the 2nd period, Hershey killed off a St. John's 5 on 3 power play opportunity for 1 minute, 40 seconds…in all-time games played in Hershey, the Bears finished with a 10-7-1 record against St. John's…the Bears are the only AHL team this season that has not lost in a shootout…Perrin has converted 5 of 7 shootout attempts this season…surprisingly, St. John's Head Coach Doug Shedden elected not to use 2 of his more potent goal scorers, Kyle Wellwood and Matt Stajan. Wellwood leads the Leafs with 19 goals, while Stajan has tallied 13 goals in 04/05, including 2 against the Bears in last Wednesday's 4-2 win…Ling, the AHL's 5th-leading scorer with 53 points, finished with a goal and an assist…Wellwood, who was named to AHL Canadian All-Star team on Wednesday, has amassed 6 points (1 goal, 5 assists) in 2 games against Hershey this season…the Bears/Leafs 30 combined shootout attempts fell short of the AHL season-high, which was set on December 3rd, when the Cleveland Barons and Utah Grizzlies needed 32 attempts before Cleveland's Garrett Stafford beat Utah's David LeNeveu, giving the Barons a 3-2 victory. Cleveland goaltender Nolan Schaefer's 14 shootout saves in that game are the current, season-high…St. John's fell to 18-1-0-1 when leading after 2 periods…a season-high, sellout crowd of 10,674 attended the game, in which a free, 1-day pass to Hershey Park was given to each fan…Hershey C Cody McCormick, out for the last 2 months with a wrist injury, played his 1st game since November 17th…D Martin Wilde, who signed a full-season contract with Hershey on Monday, missed his 2nd straight game with a shoulder injury…LWs Mike Souza and Mike Amodeo were Hershey's healthy scratches.

 

"Pre-Perrin" for another All-Star appearance: For the 2nd straight second, Bears alternate captain Eric Perrin has been named to the American Hockey League's Canadian All-Star squad. Perrin, 29, leads Hershey with 36 points, and led the Bears in scoring last season with 75 points. In last years' AHL All-Star Classic, Perrin earned 2 assists en route to Team Canada's 9-5 victory over the Planet/USA All-Stars. The 2005 AHL All-Star Game will be played February 14th at the Verizon Wireless Arena, home of the Manchester Monarchs and will be broadcast in the US on ESPN2.

 

Coming Up: On Friday, Hershey will make its 1st appearance at the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza to take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at 7 PM. It will be the first of 10 meetings between the two teams this season.

 

 

St. John's goaltender Mikael Tellqvist makes a shoulder save during 1st period action.

 

 

Bears goalie Peter Budaj makes a save during 2nd period play.

 

 

Maple Leafs goalie Mikael Tellqvist reacts after Jeff Ulmer's 2nd period goal ties the game at 1-1.

 

 

David Ling goes top left shelf over Bears goalie Peter Budaj, giving the Leafs a 1-0 lead in the shootout.

 

 

Eric Perrin (left) quickly evens the shootout score at 1-1, beating Leafs goaltender Mikael Tellqvist on the glove side.

 

 

As the Maple Leafs' 5th shooter, Brad Leeb attempts a 5 hole shot on Hershey goalie Peter Budaj.

 

 

St. John's RW David Ling goes 2 for 2 in the shootout frame, beating Budaj high on the glove side to give the Leafs a 2-1 edge.

 

 

Hershey's Eric Perrin crashes the crease, beating Tellqvist and registering his 2nd goal in as many attempts during the shootout frame, tying the score at 2-2.

 

 

Hershey's Mathieu Darche (left) attempts a glove side attempt on Tellqvist, which is turned aside by the St. John's netminder.

 

 

It takes a combined 30 chances by both teams, but Andre Savage, Hershey's 15th shooter, seals the Bears win by beating Tellqvist on a stick side shot.

 

The 7641 Sports' News 'N Notes team can be contacted via e-mail at: nnn@7641.com

 

Sunday January 23, 2005 vs. Binghamton (Posted Sunday 10:13 P.M. EST.)

 

Sens send Bears to 4th straight loss with 5-3 win

 

The Binghamton Senators, having driven through the night from Ottawa to arrive in Chocolatetown, made the trek worthwhile, downing the Hershey Bears 5-3 before 6,167 fans Sunday evening at the Giant Center. Jason Spezza showed why he's the AHL's leading scorer, leading the offensive charge for Binghamton with 2 goals and 2 assists en route to the Sens' 8th straight win. Hershey (20-21-1-0, 41 points), who had previously reeled off 7 consecutive victories, has now dropped their last 4 decisions. Binghamton (26-14-3-2, 57 points), on the other hand, now sits atop the AHL's East Division with a 3-point cushion, leapfrogging over the Philadelphia Phantoms this weekend for 1st place.

 

Need to Know: Former teammates Brian McGrattan and Dennis Bonvie would try to spark some momentum for their respective teams, dropping the gloves at the 5:01 mark of the 1st period. Each circled one another for 15-20 seconds in the Binghamton neutral zone, then came in close, with McGrattan firing several rights that missed their mark. Bonvie returned fire, unloading a few rights of his own that made contact. No major damage was levied though, and both were escorted to the penalty boxes for 5 minutes.

 

Just over a minute and a half following the fight (at 6:39), Mathieu Darche would net his team-leading 16th goal, redirecting a Jeff Finger right circle shot to give the Bears a 1-0 advantage.

 

After Anton Volchenkov's shot from the point was stopped by Bears goaltender Peter Budaj, Binghamton's Danny Bois would pick up the rebound on the right side, beating Budaj glove side to even the score 1-1 at 12:53 of the 1st.

 

Antoine Vermette would set up the Senators 2nd goal, waiting for the Bears defense to commit before taking a backhand shot, which was picked up in the crease by Spezza, swiping it home for his 21st goal of the season at 18:19 of the 1st.

 

Only 63 seconds into the 2nd frame, Volchenkov would pick up a Spezza rebound and collect his 5th goal of the season, giving the Sens a 3-1 lead.

 

Jeff Ulmer would cut into the Sens lead, earning credit for his 8th goal of the season on a shot that deflected off of Binghamton LW Arpad Mihaly at 5:32 of the 2nd.

 

With Hershey's Agris Saviels serving a 5 minute major for high-sticking, Brandon Bochenski would once again give the Senators a 2-goal lead, beating Budaj with the eventual game-winning goal at 12:11 of the 2nd period.

 

With Senators captain Chris Kelly in the penalty box for holding, Marek Svatos would come up with his 8th goal of the season for Hershey, coming from the backdoor and squeaking a backhand shot past Sens goalie Billy Thompson at 10:40 of the 3rd stanza.

 

Spezza would round out the night's scoring, firing home a power play, empty net goal from the red line at 19:41 of the 3rd to seal the victory for the road-weary Senators.

 

Misc. Game Notes: Thompson (12-5-0) earned the win in net for Binghamton, finishing with 29 saves. Budaj (14-12-0) suffered his 3rd straight loss, ending with 22 saves…Spezza now has 20 points in the last 8 straight contests, and has 39 points in his last 21 games…Bochenski, the AHL's leader in rookie scoring with 35 points, finished with 1 goal and 2 assists for Binghamton. His 17 goals also lead all AHL freshmen…Volchenkov also finished with 3 points (1 goal, 2 assists), and had a game-high +3…Senators LW Denis Hamel earned an assist on Spezza's empty net tally to extend his point streak to 10 games…Darche led Hershey with 1 goal and 1 assist…former Bear Charlie Stephens ended with 1 assist…Binghamton, who entered the game with the AHL's #1 ranked power play, finished 2-5 on the man advantage…the Senators are now 20-0-2-0 this season when leading after 2 periods…D Mikko Viitanen was recalled from Reading (ECHL), while D Martin Wilde was scratched from the Bears lineup…Hershey sported their white jerseys, which are normally reserved for road games…Binghamton arrived in Hershey at 8 AM Sunday morning...Binghamton now has a 2-1 lead in the season series...Bears Head Coach Paul Fixter returned behind the bench, having missed the 2 previous games to return home to Ontario, where his father had heart surgery earlier in the week.

 

Coming Up: The Bears wrap up their current 3-game homestand with a 7:30 PM matchup against the St. John's Maple Leafs this Wednesday at the Giant Center. It will mark the final appearance for the Leafs, who will relocate to Toronto beginning next season. St. John's will still have hockey come next fall, sporting a QMJHL club.

 

 

Hershey's Dennis Bonvie (left) and Binghamton's Brian McGrattan square off during their 1st period fight.

 

 

Senators captain Chris Kelly (left) and the Bears' Marek Svatos lift off during 1st period play.

 

 

At 18:19 of the 1st period, Jason Spezza (left) collects his 1st of 2 goals on the night as Hershey's Peter Budaj and Dean Arsene look on.

 

 

Binghamton goaltender Billy Thompson watches as Jeff Ulmer's 2nd period shot prepares to cross the goal line, making the score 3-2.

 

 

Binghamton's Brandon Bochenski (left) watches as his power play shot beats Hershey netminder Peter Budaj, giving the Senators a 4-2 lead at the 12:11 mark of the 2nd period. Jason Spezza, the AHL's leading scorer, is at top right.

 

 

Hershey's Dennis Bonvie (right) levels Binghamton's Jan Platil during 3rd period action. Bonvie was assessed a charging penalty for the hit.

 

 

Hershey's Marek Svatos (right) prepares to tally this power play---his 8th goal of the season---at 10:40 of the 3rd period.

 

Current Bears Statistical Leaders (through 1-23-05)

 

• Games: 42 (Johnny Boychuk, Mathieu Darche, Eric Perrin, Jeff Ulmer)
• Goals: 16 (Mathieu Darche)
• Assists: 23 (Eric Perrin)
• Points: 36 (Eric Perrin)
• PIMs: 211 (Dennis Bonvie)
• +/-: +5 (Nick Naumenko)
• PPGs: 7 (David Masse)
• SHGs: 1 (Jeff Ulmer & David Masse)
• GWGs: 6 (Eric Perrin)
• Shots: 154 (Mathieu Darche)

The 7641 Sports' News 'N Notes team can be contacted via e-mail at: nnn@7641.com

 

Saturday January 22, 2005 vs. Philadelphia (PPD) (Posted Saturday 2:25 P.M. EST.)

 

Bears postpone Saturday's home game against Philadelphia

 

No need to bundle up, clear off the car, or risk tackling the roads…Saturday night's 7 PM home game against the Philadelphia Phantoms has been postponed due to heavy snowfall.

 

The contest has been rescheduled for Wednesday, February 2nd at 7:30 PM. It is the 1st cancelled Bears home game since March 14th, 1993, when heavy snow inundated Central Pennsylvania, forcing the team to postpone its evening affair against the Utica Devils.

 

The Bears will return to action tomorrow evening, when the Binghamton Senators make their 2nd appearance to the Giant Center this season. The last time they met, the Bears thumped the Sens by a score of 7-4, with Eric Perrin leading the charge with 2 goals and 2 assists.

 

The Bears also stated that tickets for Saturday's contest will be honored for the same seat and location on February 2nd.

 

Binghamton, who is playing at the Corel Centre in Ottawa tonight, faces the task of driving through the snowstorm to reach Hershey in time for tomorrow's 5 PM game.

 

The 7641 Sports' News 'N Notes team can be contacted via e-mail at: nnn@7641.com

 

Friday January 21, 2005 at Norfolk (Posted Friday 10:10 P.M. EST.)

 

3 unanswered Norfolk goals sink Bears 3-1

 

The Norfolk Admirals, down 1-0 early in the 3rd period, rallied to down the Hershey Bears 3-1 in front of 4,844 fans Friday evening at the Scope in Norfolk, VA. Matt Keith, Rene Bourque, and Ajay Baines would pocket goals for the victorious Admirals, while Bears goaltender Peter Budaj stopped 36 shots in defeat. Hershey (20-20-1-0, 41 points), who mustered a season low 19 shots on goal, dropped their 3rd straight, and saw their 3-game road winning streak come to an end. Norfolk (24-16-1-3, 52 points) was unable to inch closer to the East Division's 2nd place Binghamton Senators, who defeated the Manchester Monarchs, maintaining their 3 point lead on the Admirals.

 

Need to Know: It would take 2+ periods of action, but the Bears would erase their goose egg at the 3:43 mark of the 3rd period, when Jeff Ulmer's backhand tip beat Admirals goaltender Michael Leighton, giving the Bears a 1-0 lead.

 

At 6:53 of the 3rd, with Jeff Finger serving a holding call for Hershey, Matt Keith would even the score at 1-1 for Norfolk, firing a shot from between the circles to beat Budaj on the top left corner.

 

Just over 1 minute later (at 7:55) Bourque would bag his team-leading 16th goal of the season, picking up a rebound off a Matt Ellison shot and netting the go-ahead score.

 

With Dennis Bonvie sitting for a late-period boarding call, Baines would net a power play, empty net tally with 2.3 seconds remaining, sealing the win for Norfolk.

 

Misc. Game Notes: Budaj took his 2nd straight loss in goal for the Bears, dropping to 14-11-0 on the season. Leighton (12-11-1) earned the win for the Ads, ending with 18 saves…Bears D Dean Arsene and Admirals RW Mike Brown fought at the 1:26 mark of the 1st period. It was Brown's league-leading 25th major penalty, while Arsene registered his 12th major penalty, tied for 3rd place among AHL D-men…Bears C Eric Perrin saw his AHL-leading 9-game scoring streak come to an end…Bourque's 16 goals & 30 points place 2nd among AHL rookies…Jeff Finger, who missed the 3 previous games, returned and started on defense…after sitting out Wednesday's game with the flu, Bears D Agris Saviels returned to the lineup…LW Mike Amodeo was Hershey's lone healthy scratch…Baines returned to the Admirals lineup after missing his teams' previous 10 contests…Norfolk has a 5-3 lead in the season series.

 

Coming Up: The Bears kick off a weekend homestand against East Division rivals, starting with a 7 PM faceoff vs the Philadelphia Phantoms on Saturday night. Hershey will then return to the Giant Center for a 5 PM Sunday matinee against Jason Spezza and the Binghamton Senators.

 

The 7641 Sports' News 'N Notes team can be contacted via e-mail at: nnn@7641.com

 

Wednesday January 19, 2005 vs. St. John's (Posted Thursday 8:00 A.M. EST.)

 

St. John's makes like a tree, "Leafs" Chocolatetown with a 4-2 win

 

Reaching the midpoint of the 2004/05 schedule, the Hershey Bears dropped a 4-2 defeat at the hands of the St. John's Maple Leafs Wednesday night at the Giant Center in Hershey, PA. Matt Stajan (2 goals, 2 assists) & Kyle Wellwood (1 goal, 3 assists) led the way on offense for the Leafs, each netting 4 points, with Stajan netting the game-winning goal in the 3rd period. Hershey (20-19-1, 41 points) missed an opportunity to inch closer to the 4th place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, who were idle on Wednesday evening. For St. John's (26-14-0-1, 53 points, 3rd place in North Division), in the midst of a season-long 12-game road swing, they picked up their 9th win in their last 12 games.

 

Need to Know: St. John's would waste little time getting on the scoreboard Wednesday night, with Stajan netting his 11th goal of the season at 2:29 of the 1st period. After RW David Ling's shot rang off the right post, Stajan would pick up the rebound at the doorstep, sliding the puck past Bears goalie Tow Lawson and giving the Leafs a 1-0 advantage.

 

At 8:54 of the opening period, Wellwood would bag his team-leading 17th goal of the season, taking a Stajan feed and burying a shot on an open left side, providing St. John's with a 2-0 lead going into the 1st intermission.

 

Only 6 seconds into a Ben Ondrus slashing penalty, Nick Naumenko would get the Bears on the scoresheet, pocketing his 2nd goal of the season on a shot from the right circle at 4:59 of the middle frame.

 

With David Ling serving a tripping call, Andre Savage would tie the game 2-2 at 7:11 of the 3rd period, picking up a Mathieu Darche rebound and depositing his 6th goal of the season.

 

St. John's would deflate the Hershey momentum at the 9:14 mark of the 3rd, with Stajan firing a left circle shot over Lawson's right shoulder to give the Leafs a 3-2 lead.

 

Harold Druken would finish the game's scoring at 12:31, punching in a power play score in front of the Bears net, giving the Leafs a 4-2 gain that would hold the final 7 ½ minutes of the contest.

 

Misc. Game Notes: Tellqvist (12-8-1) earned the win, finishing with 41 saves. Lawson (6-10), between the pipes for the 1st time in exactly 1 month, suffered his 3rd straight loss in goal, ending with 19 saves…Bears C Eric Perrin finished with 2 assists, extending his scoring streak to 9 games...Wellwood had an AHL season-high 5 points (all goals) vs Cleveland back on October 30th…Ling, who finished with 3 assists in the victory, moved into a tie for 5th place in the AHL scoring race…D Johnny Boychuk, who turned 21 on Wednesday, earned an assist on Naumenko's 2nd period tally…LW Mike Souza returned to the lineup after missing last Saturday's game against Norfolk, while d-men Agris Saviels (healthy) and Jeff Finger (eye) were scratched…St. John's, who came in allowing an AHL-high 34.78 shots/game, surrendered 43 Hershey shots on goal…Hershey gave up only 4 shots in the 3rd period, and tied a season record with allowing only 23 shots in the game…Bears Assistant Coach Paul Jerrard, subbing for Head Coach Paul Fixter for the 2nd time this season, fell to 0-2-1 as bench boss this season. Colorado Avalanche Vice President of Player Personnel and NHL Hall of Famer Michel Goulet is filling Jerrard's shoes by serving as the Bears Interim Assistant Coach.

 

6 Degrees of Separation: St. John's C Brett Engelhardt was teammates with Bears D Jeff Finger for 2 seasons with the Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)…Maple Leafs ' D Brad Leeb played alongside Hershey's Andre Savage with the Manitoba Mosse in 2001/02…David Ling, who participated in the 1996 AHL All-Star Game at Hershey Park Arena, played alongside Bears captain Brett Clark with the Fredericton Canadiens during the 1997/98 season, with Hershey's Nick Naumenko & Eric Perrin in 98/99 with the Kansas City Blades (IHL), and with Bears LW Mathieu Darche in the 01/02 & 02/03 seasons with the Syracuse Crunch...Leafs RW Jason MacDonald was a teammate of Bears RW Dennis Bonvie during the 00/01 season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton…St. John's RW Nathan Perrott played with Hershey LW Mike Souza during the 00/01 season with Norfolk…during his time with the OHL's Belleville Bulls, Hershey C Cody McCormick played alongside the Maple Leafs' Kris Newbury, Matt Stajan and Kyle Wellwood.

 

Coming Up: The Bears will look to even up their season series at 4-4 with a 7:30 PM matchup against the Norfolk Admirals Friday at the Scope in Norfolk, VA. Hershey will then play a pair of games at the Giant Center this weekend: Saturday evening at 7 PM vs the Philadelphia Phantoms; and a 5 PM Sunday matinee against the Binghamton Senators.

 

 

From left to right, Mathieu Darche, Nick Naumenko (behind Darche), Eric Perrin, Andre Savage, and Johnny Boychuk celebrate as Naumenko's 2nd period power play goal cut the Leafs lead in half at 2-1.

 

 

Hershey's Andre Savage & Mathieu Darche celebrate Savage's game-tying power play tally in the 3rd period. Pictured for St. John's are Ben Ondrus (#25), Clarke Wilm, and goaltender Mikael Tellqvist.

 

 

Bears goalie Tom Lawson reaches back, but can't get ahold of this Harold Druken shot that put the Leafs up 4-2 in the 3rd period.

 

 

Leafs RW David Ling (right) gets upended by Bears defenseman Martin Wilde (left) as Hershey netminder Tom Lawson turns the puck aside during 3rd period action.

 

 

St. John's goalie Mikael Tellqvist makes one of his 41 saves by stopping this Andre Savage 3rd period attempt.

 

The 7641 Sports' News 'N Notes team can be contacted via e-mail at: nnn@7641.com

 

Monday January 17, 2005 (Posted Monday 10:50 P.M. EST.)

 

Bears 2004/05 Midseason Report Card

 

Forwards

 

NAME	GP	G	A	PTS	PIMS	GRADE	NOTES
Mike Amodeo	2	0	0	0	10	I	Backup muscle for Bonvie
Chris Bala	38	6	2	8	9	D+	"D" for Disappointing
Greg Barber	24	1	2	3	8	C-	Lacks scoring and grit…back to UHL
Dennis Bonvie	35	1	9	10	200	B+	Knows his role, and adds some offense
Carl Corazzini	25	9	8	17	4	B+	Sparkplug has been fun to watch
Mathieu Darche	39	15	9	24	8	B	Brought in to score goals, has
Martin Hlinka	12	1	4	5	6	C+	Effective when healthy
Sergei Klyazmin	7	0	0	0	0	I	Sent to CHL for seasoning, now in ECHL
Cail MacLean	12	0	0	0	2	C	Hard worker victim of limited roster space
David Masse	25	11	4	15	17	B-	November addition has been key on PP
Cody McCormick	14	2	4	6	34	C-	Didn't show much before injury
Graig Mischler	4	0	0	0	4	I	Lineup filler in early December
Eric Perrin	39	13	21	34	24	A-	1st Half MVP regaining 03/04 form
Andre Savage	37	5	15	20	24	C	Vet may be odd man out when Clark returns
Frantisek Skladany	15	0	0	0	2	D	No production = demotion to UHL
Mike Souza	14	1	2	3	13	C	Admirable 4th line addition from Reading
Ryan Steeves	36	2	2	4	10	C	Rookie has decent speed, forechecking
Marek Svatos	35	7	14	21	32	C	Needs to be more consistent
Jeff Ulmer	39	6	12	18	28	B-	Grinder is good at both ends

GP= Games Played - G= Goals - A=Assists - Pts= Points - PIMs= Penalty Minutes

 

Defensemen

 

NAME	GP	G	A	PTS	PIMS	GRADE	NOTES
Dean Arsene	37	1	4	5	99	C+	Top physical presence on defense
Johnny Boychuk	39	2	6	8	35	B	Best Bears rookie
Ed Campbell	1	0	0	0	0	I	Now w/ 3rd AHL team in 04/05 (B'Port)
Brett Clark	29	2	19	21	38	B	Captain was leading scorer until injury
J-F David	2	0	0	0	0	I	Lineup filler
Jeff Finger	36	1	5	6	58	C	Plays with an edge…offense coming around
Trevor Johnson	3	0	0	0	4	I	Lineup filler
Nick Naumenko	8	2	5	7	4	B+	Great pickup for Hershey
Jamie Rivers	23	4	7	11	22	B+	Valuable veteran addition to blueline
Agris Saviels	19	0	1	1	14	D	Suspect prospect
Darrel Scoville	7	0	0	0	11	I	Veteran didn't produce, traded to PBruins
Tomas Slovak	1	0	0	0	2	I	Went home after UHL demotion
Mikko Viitanen	21	0	1	1	6	C-	Noticeable improvement from last season
Martin Wilde	21	1	0	1	24	C	Has added size and grit to Bears "D"

GP= Games Played - G= Goals - A=Assists - Pts= Points - PIMs= Penalty Minutes

 

Goaltenders

 

NAME	GP	W	L	GAA	SV%	GRADE	NOTES
Peter Budaj	26	14	10	2.66	.921	B+	Needs to give up less rebounds
Tom Lawson	16	6	9	2.37	.926	C	At times, hot & cold

GP= Games Played - W= Wins - L= Losses - GAA= Goals Against Average - Sv%= Save Percentage

 

The 7641 Sports' News 'N Notes team can be contacted via e-mail at: nnn@7641.com

 

Sunday January 16, 2005 (Posted Sunday 11:50 P.M. EST.)

 

Current Bears Statistical Leaders (through 1-16-05)

 

• Games: 39 (Johnny Boychuk, Mathieu Darche, Eric Perrin, Jeff Ulmer)
• Goals: 15 (Mathieu Darche)
• Assists: 21 (Eric Perrin)
• Points: 34 (Eric Perrin)
• PIMs: 200 (Dennis Bonvie)
• +/-: +6 (Nick Naumenko)
• PPGs: 7 (David Masse)
• SHGs: 1 (Jeff Ulmer & David Masse)
• GWGs: 6 (Eric Perrin)
• Shots: 146 (Mathieu Darche)

The 7641 Sports' News 'N Notes team can be contacted via e-mail at: nnn@7641.com

 

Saturday January 15, 2005 vs. Norfolk (Posted Sunday 12:59 A.M. EST.)

 

Streaks End as Norfolk downs Hershey 3-2

 

The Norfolk Admirals, down 2-0 after Hershey scores 19 seconds apart early in the 1st period, rallied back to score 3 unanswered, 2nd period goals and drop the Bears 3-2 before 7,821 fans Saturday night at the Giant Center in Hershey, PA. The Bears saw their season-high 7-game winning streak, and 4-game home win stretch come to an end, as did goaltender Peter Budaj's personal 9-game winning streak. With the loss, Hershey (20-18-1, 41 points) now trails Norfolk (22-16-1-3, 48 points) by 7 points for 4th place in the East Division.

 

Need to Know: On the man advantage, the Bears would claim the lead just 3:29 into the opening frame. Thanks to a Marty Wilford high-sticking call at 1:50, Carl Corazzini would pocket his 9th goal of the season, crashing the crease and beating Admirals goalie Adam Munro to make it 1-0 Hershey. Just 19 seconds later (at 3:48), Chris Bala would bring the puck up the left side, drive to the goal and backhand his 6th of the season through the "5 hole" of Munro to give the Bears a 2-0 advantage.

 

Starting at 6:21 of the 2nd period, Norfolk would kick into offensive mode. After Budaj made an initial save on the Admirals' Pavel Vorobiev, Mike Brown would pick up the rebound, slipping the puck past the Bears netminder to cut the Hershey lead in half at 2-1. With Jamie Rivers serving an interference penalty for Hershey, Matt Keith would tie the contest at 2-2, picking up his own rebound in front of Budaj, and putting the puck past the Hershey goalie at 14:44 of the 2nd stanza. Mikhail Yakubov would net the game-winner at 18:36 of the 2nd, taking an Anton Babchuk feed in the slot and wristing a shot past the stick side of Budaj to give Norfolk a 3-2 lead, which would stand the final 25 minutes of the game.

 

Misc. Game Notes: Budaj (14-10) finished with 41 saves in defeat, his 1st since December 12th against Lowell. Munro (4-5-1) earned the win for Norfolk, ending with 30 saves in what was his 2nd win over Hershey this season…with an assist on Corazzini's goal, Bears C Eric Perrin extended his scoring streak to 8 games, a team high this season. In that 8-game stretch, Perrin has 14 points…Rivers, RW Dennis Bonvie, and C Marek Svatos returned to the Bears lineup, while LWs Mike Amodeo and Mike Souza were healthy scratches…Bonvie, the proud new father, fought Admirals tough guy Shawn Thornton at the 13:24 mark of the 2nd period. The bout took place behind the Bears net, with Thornton getting the 1st shot off on Bonvie. Thornton then missed with a wild right, with Bonvie responding with several unanswered rights to earn the decision. Due to an equipment problem, Bonvie did not return until the start of the 3rd period…Hershey allowed 23 shots in the 2nd period, a season-high in one period…Norfolk, which improved to 4-3 against Hershey this season, has outshot the Bears in 6 of 7 head-to-head meetings this season…Hershey fell to 11-7-1 in 1-goal games, while Norfolk climbed to 12-6-1-3 in games decided by 1 goal…just 56 seconds into the game, play was halted for several minutes as Bears trainer Dan "Beaker" Stuck tended to linesman Bob Goodman, who suffered a gash to the right side of his head.

 

Coming Up: The Bears next game will be this Wednesday at 7:30 PM, when the St. Johns Maple Leafs make their 1st of 2 visits this month to Chocolatetown.

 

 

Covered by members of the Admirals, Carl Corazzini pockets this power play at the 3:29 mark of the 1st period.

 

 

Hershey's Chris Bala (left) prepares to backhand a shot past Norfolk goalie Adam Munro, giving the Bears a 2-0 at 3:48 of the 1st period.

 

 

Norfolk's Duncan Keith misses a golden opportunity on an open net, as Bears goaltender Peter Budaj attempts to move to the left post during 1st period action.

 

 

Admirals goalie Adam Munro, who finished with 30 saves, makes this stop during 2nd period play.

 

 

Hershey's Dennis Bonvie (27) dukes it out with Norfolk's Shawn Thornton during this 2nd period donnybrook.

 

 

Bears goalie Peter Budaj reacts as Mikhail Yakubov's game-winning tally crosses the goal line, giving Norfolk a 3-2 lead at the 18:36 mark of the 2nd period.

 

The 7641 Sports' News 'N Notes team can be contacted via e-mail at: nnn@7641.com

 

Friday January 14, 2005 (Posted Friday 12:59 P.M. EST.)

 

Fraser & Company… See them at a Rink near You

 

By Jim Starr, Special to 7641.com

 

Kerry Fraser is a 30-year veteran as a professional ice hockey referee, and has been an NHL ref longer than anyone else in NHL History. Kerry started his long career in the minors, including the American Hockey League (AHL).

 

"When officiating Bears' games, the charm of Hershey impressed me," says Kerry. "The air was filled with chocolate, and the fans would fill Hershey Park Arena with deafening cheers and boos." "Hershey was definitely my favorite place to work when I was in the minors, and the Hershey people had good values too."

"In the 1979-80 series, when the Bears won the Calder Cup … me, AHL President Jack Butterfield, and AHL Vice President Gord Anziano flew on the same plane, which chartered both teams as well." "The three of us sat in the middle of the plane to help separate the two teams."

 

Like father, like son … Ryan Fraser, Kerry's son, has laced up the skates, put on the stripes, and is destined to carry on the Fraser legacy for another 30 years. Ryan is currently paying his dues in the American Hockey League, and has every intention to follow in his father's skate strides and one day officiate in the NHL.

 

"Ryan is progressing very well", says his proud Dad, Kerry. "He has demonstrated excellent judgment, game management and personal skills at the AHL level."

 

Kerry Fraser was at GIANT Center for the Springfield / Hershey match up this past November 24th to watch his son, Ryan, officiate the game. Kerry told me after the first period that Ryan was sick in his stomach.

In the second period, Ryan was high-sticked and received a cut ¼" from his eye.

 

"I warned him of this prior to taking the ice for the second period," Kerry replied. "I told him about the increased potential for injury when you're not feeling well, and I told him to keep his feet moving."

 

"The most difficult challenge is not to allow your head to buy into what your body is telling you." "If you think sick, you don't react as quickly to the danger areas on the ice."

 

"The result of this was the stick that Ryan took to the eye from a lack of reaction to move away from player confrontation." "Some experiences have to be lived first hand", says Kerry.

 

Kerry Fraser was at ice level during the 3rd period of that November 24th contest, ready to step in and finish officiating the game. In an effort to help prevent additional injuries Ryan might sustain from being too sick or dizzy, or unable to respond quickly, Kerry would be available on a moments notice.

 

Although the situation had serious possibilities, Kerry turned to me and said: "If I do need to go out onto the ice and finish the game, I will immediately need a can of hair spray!"

 

Of course, Kerry was joking and making light of his 30 year tradition and heritage of "Never a Hair Out of Place." That comment broke the tension a little among reporters, photographers and rink rats that were also standing at ice level.

 

"I was pleased that I couldn't detect any deficiency in Ryan's game during the third period", Kerry later commented. "I gave Ryan praise after the game for learning how to overcome another obstacle."

 

Kerry Fraser is no stranger to overcoming obstacles himself. In 1982, half way through the first period of a game in Edmonton, Paul Coffey hit him with a slap shot and broke the end of his fibula. Kerry insisted on finishing the game that night and officiated over two periods with a broken ankle. He was later forced to miss 6 weeks to allow his injury to heal.

 

In 1999, during the first period of a game in Atlanta, a deflected puck hit Kerry in the face, fracturing his cheekbone. The doctors forced him to put on a helmet and visor as Kerry again insisted on finishing the game regardless of his serious injury.

 

Kerry's son, Ryan commented, "I have always heard my father say on many occasions, Never let 'em know you hurt." "Over the years, I have tried to adopt that as a personal value."

 

During Ryan's early years, his childhood was full of many fond memories. "I remember all of us kids rushing to my Dad's equipment bag when he got home from trips." "He would have toys and gifts stashed away in his bag from his travels; we would all get something if we were well behaved while he was gone."

 

"Every year, my Dad would take each of us along on a special road trip," Ryan reminisces. "I had been to most major cities and NHL arenas in the US and Canada before the age of 15." "I wouldn't trade my childhood for anything!"

 

Ryan started out with a stick in his hand, playing center in youth hockey leagues. Says Ryan: "At age 13, I remember asking my Dad if I had a chance at becoming a referee in the NHL." "My Dad's response was …just as good as anyone else if you decide to work hard and use all the resources around you."

 

Ever since, Ryan has had the experience of his father to fall back on for guidance and wisdom. "He is such a great teacher", says Ryan, with admiration. "You can't fool him or make excuses."

 

"However, I have noticed," Ryan comments on a humorous note, "If I mess up or get hit with the puck, my Dad's response is … you were out of position." "But, if I see the same thing happen to him on TV, he says with a smile, it was a bad bounce."

 

Ryan is in his sixth season as a professional hockey referee, and has around 400 games under his shin guards.

 

"I am treated like royalty at every rink I go to because of the way my dad has treated other people over the years," says Ryan. "I have never met a more loyal or giving man." "He is my hero and role model in a world where they are hard to come by."

 

Kerry Fraser, and his wife Kathy, have seven children, 4 girls and 3 boys.

 

Kara: Age 14, a straight "A" student, and currently in the process of writing a novel.

 

Jamie: 22, attending Rutgers university (on a field hockey scholarship), where she is on the Dean's List.

 

Ian: 24, the most natural athlete of all the children, says Kerry. However, he loves construction work even more and is working in the iron industry.

 

Matthew: 25, has a degree in Fire Science, and is currently a firefighter in Ontario.

 

Jessica: 26, attended Manhattan College on a basketball scholarship, scoring over 1,000 points as a guard, and graduated on the Dean's List. She went on to become the youngest to earn a Masters Degree at St. John's University, and became graduate assistant coach of St. John's women's basketball team.

 

Ryan: 27, was a district wrestling champion his senior year in high school. He also wrestled two years at York College. Ryan went on to get his degree in Business and interned with the NHL front office in NYC. He is currently working in the American Hockey League as a professional ice hockey referee, and hopes to be officiating in the NHL, just like Dad.

 

Marcie: 30, attended Delaware University on a field hockey / lacrosse scholarship and made the Dean's List. No, Marcie is not a professional ice hockey referee like Ryan, but guess what? She married one, current AHL referee Harry Dumas.

 

Jim Starr is a freelance Ice Hockey Broadcaster, Video Coach and Media Relations Consultant. He can be reached at: JimStarrHockey@cs.com

 

The 7641 Sports' News 'N Notes team can be contacted via e-mail at: nnn@7641.com

 

Wednesday January 12, 2005 at Norfolk (Posted Wednesday 9:59 P.M. EST.)

 

All hands on deck as Bears sink Admirals, earn 7th straight win

 

The Hershey Bears wrapped up a 3-game road swing by downing the Norfolk Admirals 3-2 Wednesday night at the Scope in Norfolk, VA. Eric Perrin led the way on offense for Hershey, notching 2 goals, including his league-tying 6th game-winning goal, to extend his point streak to 7 straight games. Peter Budaj earned his 9th straight win in goal, turning aside 30 Admirals shots. With the win, Hershey (20-17-1, 41 points) moves within 3 points of the Admirals (20-16-1-3, 44 points), who currently sit 4th in the East Division.

 

Need to Know: With the Bears and Admirals skating 5 on 5, Hershey would strike first, with Eric Perrin netting his 12th goal of the season on a shot from the left circle at the 6:27 of the opening period. Just over 6 minutes later, Norfolk would even the score at 1-1, with Quintin Laing registering his 8th goal at 12:29. Shawn Thornton set up the Ads goal with a corner pass to center, which would find Laing's stickblade, beating Bears goaltender Peter Budaj. The Bears, though, would respond quickly, with Carl Corazzini breezing through the Norfolk defense and picking up his 8th goal of the season at 13:05, giving Hershey a 2-1 advantage. With Agris Saviels serving a holding penalty for Hershey, Norfolk's Matt Ellison would take a Rene Bourque feed and pocket a power play tally at 18:17.

 

After both teams were unable to cross the goal line in the 2nd period, Perrin would put the Bears up for good at the 16:50 mark of the 3rd period. Taking a breakaway and coming up the right side, Perrin would bury his 2nd goal of the game, beating Norfolk goalie Michael Leighton in the top right-hand corner for the game-winner.

 

Misc. Game Notes: Budaj earned his 7th straight start in net for Hershey, improving to 14-9 on the season. Leighton (9-11) ended with 26 saves for the Admirals…Perrin's 7-game point streak ties Brett Clark for a season high…RW Andre Savage earned assists on both Perrin goals…Hershey D Nick Naumenko saw his 5-game point streak come to an end…Bears D Johnny Boychuk, who earned an assist on Perrin's 1st goal of the game, finished with a game-high +3…Bears C Martin Hlinka, out since November 27th with an ankle injury, returned to the lineup. D Agris Saviels, who missed the last 13 games with a knee injury, also returned, earning an assist on Perrin's game-winning goal. LW Mike Amodeo, who suffered a shoulder injury in a fight with Albany's Cam Janssen on December 17th, was in the lineup…Hershey's Dennis Bonvie (wife due), Jeff Finger (eye), and Jamie Rivers (knee) were scratched, as were D Brett Clark (shoulder) and LW Cody McCormick (wrist)…Corazzini was called for only his 2nd penalty of the season, a holding the stick minor, during the 2nd period…after posting 17 shots on Leighton for the 1st period, Hershey could only muster 4 shots in the 2nd frame…Bourque leads Norfolk in points (25), and currently sits tied for 3rd among AHL rookies in scoring…D Martin Wilde was the only Bears skater to not register a shot on goal in the game…Hershey is now 3-3 against the Admirals this season, and overall, have won 9 of their last 10 games.

 

Coming Up: The Bears finish a home-and-home series with a 7 PM start against the Admirals Saturday night at the Giant Center.

 

The 7641 Sports' News 'N Notes team can be contacted via e-mail at: nnn@7641.com

 

Sunday January 9, 2005 (Posted Sunday 1:53 A.M. EST.)

 

Current Bears Statistical Leaders (through 1-9-05)

 

• Games: 37 (Johnny Boychuk, Mathieu Darche, Eric Perrin, Jeff Ulmer)
• Goals: 15 (Mathieu Darche)
• Assists: 20 (Eric Perrin)
• Points: 31 (Eric Perrin)
• PIMs: 195 (Dennis Bonvie)
• +/-: +7 (Nick Naumenko)
• PPGs: 7 (David Masse)
• SHGs: 1 (Jeff Ulmer & David Masse)
• GWGs: 5 (Eric Perrin)
• Shots: 137 (Mathieu Darche)

Misc. Bears Notes: The 23 Albany shots on Friday night were the lowest the Bears have allowed in a game this season…Chris Bala's +/- rating of -15 ranks tied for 7th-worst in the AHL. Former Bears D-Man Rick Berry, now skating for the Utah Grizzlies, comes in at #2 with a -20…Sergei Klyazmin, who began the season with Hershey before being assigned to the Colorado Eagles of the CHL in November, has surfaced with the ECHL's Long Beach Ice Dogs…former Bear Luke Curtin, who started the 1997/98 season with the chocolate and white before getting shipped back to Kelowna of the WHL, was named a starter for the National Conference in this month's ECHL All-Star Game, which will be played at Reading's Sovereign Arena. Former Bear Dave Farrish (1985/86), currently Head Coach of the Pensacola Ice Pilots, was named coach of the ECHL's American Conference All-Stars.

 

The 7641 Sports' News 'N Notes team can be contacted via e-mail at: nnn@7641.com

 

Friday January 7, 2005 at Albany (Posted Friday 9:35 P.M. EST.)

 

Darche's last-minute heroics spell Hershey's 6th straight win

 

The Hershey Bears continue to roll, coming from behind and besting the Albany River Rats 2-1 Friday night before 2,937 fans at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, NY. Mathieu Darche's goal with 37.8 seconds remaining in regulation sealed the victory for the Bears, who have now defeated the River Rats 6 straight times this season, and 7 consecutive dating back to last season. Peter Budaj earned his 8th straight win in net for Hershey (19-17-1, 39 points), who have gone 9-1-0 in their last 10 East Division matchups. Albany (9-19-4-4, 26 points) continues to reel, losing their 10th straight game.

 

Need to Know: After both teams played 30+ minutes of scoreless hockey in the game, Albany would hit paydirt first at the 13:25 mark of the 2nd period. Zach Parise, the AHL leader in rookie scoring, would put the 'Rats up 1-0, converting a power play opportunity courtesy of a Chris Bala tripping penalty.

 

With the River Rats' Ryan Murphy serving a 5 minute major for kneeing Hershey D Jamie Rivers, the Bears would finally get on the scoreboard, with Andre Savage evening the score at 1-1 just 1:53 into the 3rd period. Moments after Ray Schultz' high-sticking penalty had expired for Albany, Savage netted his 5th goal of the season, picking up a rebound from a Nick Naumenko shot and putting the puck past 'Rats goaltender Scott Clemmensen.

 

Hershey's Mathieu Darche would eliminate the possibility of overtime, pumping in his team-leading 15th goal of the season at the 19:22 mark of the 3rd period. After Eric Perrin's shot hit the right post, Darche would pick up the rebound, firing in the game-winner and completing the comeback for the Bears.

 

Misc. Game Notes: Budaj (13-9) ended with 22 saves for Hershey, while Clemmensen (6-12-3), who earned 1st star of the game honors, finished with 37 saves…Perrin, who earned assists on both goals, extended his scoring streak to 6 games (5 goals, 6 assists). With his assist on Savage's goal, Naumenko stretched his point streak to 5 straight contests (2 goals, 5 assists)…Bears C Marek Svatos saw his 4-game scoring streak come to an end…Hershey's David Masse, who has registered 7 goals and 9 points against Albany this season, was held off the scoresheet…Rivers, the recipient of Murphy's knee-on-knee hit, did not return…Parise scored the 1st goal in each of the last 2 'Rats/Bears meetings…Schultz, who earned the 5 minute major for high-sticking Hershey's Jeff Ulmer late in the 2nd period, left the game early in the 3rd period with an apparent wrist injury…Hershey last won 6 in a row during the 2001/02 season, when Mike Foligno's Bears reeled off 10 straight victories during the last month of that season's campaign.

 

Et Cetera: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, who Hershey will see quite frequently come later this month, could be without D Alain Nasreddine for the immediate future. Nasreddine was assessed a 32-minute gift basket from referee Scott Hoberg during the 1st period of the Friday night's Penguins/Binghamton Senators game. Included was a Physical Abuse of Official Game Misconduct penalty, which he earned from allegedly spitting at Hoberg. It wouldn't be the first time Nasreddine has been suspended for contact with an official, having been suspended for 2 games for dragging linesman Wayne Bonney to the ice during a fight with Keith Tkachuk of the Phoenix Coyotes during the 1998/99 season, when Nasreddine was a member of the Montreal Canadiens.

 

Coming Up: The Bears are off until next Wednesday, when they'll travel to the Scope in Norfolk, VA to take on the Admirals at 7:30 PM. The Bears will look to make it 7 straight wins, and even the season series with Norfolk at 3-3.

 

The 7641 Sports' News 'N Notes team can be contacted via e-mail at: nnn@7641.com

 

Wednesday January 5, 2005 at Albany (Posted Wednesday 9:35 P.M. EST.)

 

Bears make it 5 for 5 against Albany in 04/05

 

Playing their 1st road game of 2005, the Hershey Bears continued their winning ways, capturing their 5th straight win by besting the Albany River Rats 5-3 Wednesday evening at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, NY. Peter Budaj earned his 7th straight victory in net, while Mike Souza and Nick Naumenko led the offense for Hershey, each finishing with 1 goal and 1 assist. With the win, Hershey (18-17-1, 37 points) moves within 3 points of the 4th place Norfolk Admirals, and 4 points out of the 3rd place Binghamton Senators in the East Division. The Bears also moved within 6 points of the 2nd place Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, who lost a 2-1 decision to the Worcester IceCats. For the River Rats (9-18-4-4, 26 points), they dropped their 9th straight contest, and currently sit in 7th and last place in the East Division.

 

Need to Know: With Ray Schultz serving a holding penalty for Albany, Marek Svatos would put Hershey up 1-0, coming from the backdoor and putting in a rebound off River Rats goaltender Ari Ahonen's leg pads at the 6:47 mark of the 1st period. Just over 3 minutes later (at 9:57), rookie Zach Parise would even the score for Albany, tipping in an Alex Brooks shot past Bears goalie Peter Budaj for his 6th goal of the season. Parise's 27 points leads all AHL freshmen.

 

Courtesy of a Ryan Murphy holding call, Hershey would take a 2-1 lead just 1:33 into the 2nd period. David Masse, who has been a nemesis to Albany this season, struck again, netting his 11th goal of the season, which was also his 7th tally against the 'Rats this season. Thanks in-part to a Dennis Bonvie feed, Mike Souza would give Hershey a 2-goal lead, netting his 1st goal in a Bears uniform at 9:14 of the middle frame. With 5 on 5 action, Jamie Rivers would tally his 4th of the season---the eventual game-winner and Hershey's 4th unanswered goal---at 17:48. With under 1 minute remaining in the 2nd period (at 19:21), Murphy would redeem himself, lighting the lamp for Albany on a short-handed goal. After Carl Corazzini's attempted pass to Rivers was picked off at the blueline, Murphy took the breakaway and punched in his 4th of the season past Budaj.

 

On a Hershey defensive breakdown, Alexander Suglobov would cash in for Albany, registering his 12th goal of the season at 6:19 of the 3rd period, inching the River Rats closer with a 4-3 score. After Eric Perrin's faceoff win came back to the blueline, Nick Naumenko would blast home an insurance goal at 12:17, giving the Bears a 5-3 advantage that would stand the final 7+ minutes of the game.

 

Misc. Game Notes: Budaj (12-9), who improved to 3-0 vs Albany this season, finished with 29 saves. Ahonen (3-11-1) suffered the loss for the 'Rats, ending with 33 saves…Hershey's Eric Perrin has 9 points in 5 straight games (5 goals, 4 assists). Bears D Nick Naumenko extended his scoring streak to 4 games (2 goals, 4 assists). With his goal, Svatos also has a 4-game point streak (2 goals, 2 assists)…9 of Masse's 15 points this season have come against Albany…Hershey D Dean Arsene, who earned an assist on Souza's 2nd period score, fought Albany's Brett Clouthier at the 17:58 mark of the 2nd period. Among AHL defensemen, Arsene ranks tied for 2nd with 11 major penalties…the Bears are now 11-0 this season when scoring at least 4 goals in a game…dating back to last season, Hershey has won 6 straight over Albany…River Rats captain Pascal Rheaume saw his 3-game goal streak & 8-game point streak come to an end...with the Rochester Americans dropping a 4-3 decision to the Edmonton Roadrunners on Wednesday, Hershey now owns the AHL's longest current winning streak.

 

From the useless facts department: Before Wednesday's contest in Albany, Hershey last played a road game on December 15th (a 4-1 loss in Bridgeport), going 21 days in-between away games. The franchise record for longest time separating road contests belongs to the 1941/42 Bears squad, who went 24 days in-between away games. On 1/4/42, the Bears defeated the Indianapolis Capitols 4-2 before playing their next away contest on 1/28/42 against the Cleveland Barons, where Hershey left town with a 2-1 overtime victory.

 

Coming Up: The Bears will look to make it 6 straight wins, and 6 consecutive over Albany when they once again visit the Pepsi Arena on Friday night at 7 PM.

 

The 7641 Sports' News 'N Notes team can be contacted via e-mail at: nnn@7641.com

 

Sunday January 2, 2005 vs. Worcester (Posted Sunday 10:45 P.M. EST.)

 

Bears kick off 2005 with 4th straight win

 

Down 1-0 after the 1st period, the Hershey Bears stormed back to score 5 unanswered goals and down the Worcester IceCats 5-1 before 6,105 fans Sunday evening at the Giant Center in Hershey, PA. Peter Budaj claimed his 6th straight victory in net, while Eric Perrin scored 2 goals to finish Hershey's 7-game homestand with a 6-1 record. With the win, Hershey (17-17-1, 35 points) reached the .500 mark for the first time this season, and is now only 5 points behind the Norfolk Admirals for 4th place in the East Division. For Worcester (19-11-1-2, 41 points), it was their final trip to Chocolatetown, as the St. Louis Blues will farm out their AHL prospects to Peoria, IL starting next season. Their all-time series with Hershey came to an end, with the Bears claiming a 14-12-4 record over the IceCats.

 

Need to Know: At 4:48 of the opening period, D.J. King would put the IceCats on the scoreboard first, taking an Aaron MacKenzie rebound and backhanding his 3rd of the season past Bears goaltender Peter Budaj.

 

Just 45 seconds into the 2nd period, Carl Corazzini would even the score for Hershey, punching in his 7th goal of the season to beat Worcester netminder Curtis Sanford on the stick side. Eric Perrin would make it 2-1 Hershey, netting the eventual game-winner by redirecting a Nick Naumenko right point shot past Sanford at the 9:20 mark of the 2nd stanza. At 18:13 of the 2nd, with both teams skating 4 on 4, Martin Wilde's 1st goal of the season---a wrist shot from the top of the left circle---provided the Bears with a 3-1 advantage heading into the 2nd intermission.

 

Picking up a Jeff Finger rebound to the right of Worcester's net, Perrin would pocket his 2nd score of the game, beating Sanford glove-side at 10:12 of the 3rd period. With Sanford pulled in favor of an extra attacker for Worcester, former IceCat Naumenko would close the game's scoring at 18:33, blasting home his 1st of the season from the top of the right circle.

 

Misc. Game Notes: Budaj ended the game with 33 saves, improving to 11-9-0 on the season. Sanford finished with 28 saves for the IceCats, dropping his record to 9-8-2 this season…Perrin now has a 4-game scoring streak for Hershey (5 goals, 3 assists), and his 5th game-winning goal of the season ties him for 1st in the AHL in that category…Naumenko finished with a goal and an assist, and now has points in 3 straight games (1 goal, 3 assists)…Bears C Marek Svatos earned 2 assists in the win, and finished with a game high +3…Bears D Dean Arsene earned an assist on Perrin's 2nd goal of the game, his first point since 11/24 vs Springfield…this season, the Bears are 10-0-0 when scoring at least 4 goals in a game…after getting outshot 20-3 in the 1st period, Hershey responded by besting Worcester 18-5 in the shot department for the 2nd period…before Sunday's loss, Worcester had posted a 7-0-0-1 mark when leading after the 1st period…formers Bears defensemen Aris Brimanis & Brian Fahey play for Worcester.

 

Coming Up: After finishing their season-long 7-game homestand, Hershey hits the road for 3 games, starting Wednesday night at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, NY, where the Bears will faceoff against the River Rats at 7 PM. Hershey is 4-0 against Albany this season, and has claimed 5 straight over the 'Rats, dating back to last season. The Bears next home game will be Saturday, January 15th against the Norfolk Admirals at 7 PM. That night, they will try to match a mark of 5-straight victories at the Giant Center. Previously, the Bears won their final 4 home games of the 2002/03 season, as well as opening night of 03/04 to set the current record.

 

 

Worcester's D.J. King (right) prepares to backhand this shot past Bears goaltender Peter Budaj, putting the IceCats up 1-0 during 1st period play.

 

 

Bears players celebrate as Carl Corazzini's goal ties the game at 1-1 just 45 seconds into the 2nd period.

 

 

This 2nd period shot from Eric Perrin would find the back of the net, getting past Worcester goalie Curtis Sanford and giving the Bears a 2-1 lead.

 

 

From left to right, Hershey's Mathieu Darche (#18), Worcester's Brendan Buckley & Aaron MacKenzie watch as the Bears' Carl Corazzini takes a shot on net during 2nd period play.

 

 

Hershey's Andre Savage (left) & Worcester's Mike Stuart jockey for position as Martin Wilde's 2nd period shot is en route to the net, giving the Bears a 3-1 advantage.

 

 

Andre Savage (left) watches as Eric Perrin's 2nd goal of the game gives the Bears a 4-1 lead at 10:12 of the 3rd period.

 

Current Bears Statistical Leaders (through 1-2-05)

 

• Games: 35 (Johnny Boychuk, Mathieu Darche, Eric Perrin, Jeff Ulmer)
• Goals: 14 (Mathieu Darche)
• Assists: 19 (Brett Clark)
• Points: 28 (Eric Perrin)
• PIMs: 195 (Dennis Bonvie)
• +/-: +7 (Nick Naumenko)
• PPGs: 6 (David Masse)
• SHGs: 1 (Jeff Ulmer & David Masse)
• GWGs: 5 (Eric Perrin)
• Shots: 128 (Mathieu Darche)

 

The 7641 Sports' News 'N Notes team can be contacted via e-mail at: nnn@7641.com

 

Hershey Bears News & Notes Archives

 

 

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