HERSHEY, PA- Philipp Grubauer, seen here earlier in the season, again earns first star honors against the Adirondack Phantoms in a 2-1 regulation win (Kyle Mace- Sweetest Hockey on Earth)
It’s the home stretch of the 2012-13 regular season and the Hershey Bears entered Friday on the outside looking into the playoff picture. With the Norfolk Admirals, Connecticut Whale and Manchester Monarchs also in action, a pair of out of town losses combined with a Bears win could up rise Hershey back into playoff potential.
With a Connecticut 3-2 loss later followed by a Norfolk 6-1 road defeat, a bright light of opportunity shined on Hershey to make a rising dash in the standings. Rather than melting under the pressure of a must-win game, NHL Trade Deadline addition Michael Latta scored a late-game third period goal to give the Bears a 2-1 win over the Adirondack Phantoms.
HERSHEY, PA – Jeff Taffe scores in the second period during Hershey’s 5-2 victory over the Phantoms (Kyle Mace – Sweetest Hockey on Earth)
Eyeing his tenth “W” in his first American Hockey League season, Philipp Grubauer drew the start for the Hershey Bears against the Adirondack Phantoms. In front of another sell out crowd of 10,856 at Giant Center, Grubauer stopped 36 shots as the Bears cruised to a comfortable 5-2 win against the Phantoms.
HERSHEY, PA – Ryan Potulny celebrates his second period goal during Hershey’s 3-0 win over Adirondack (Kyle Mace – Sweetest Hockey on Earth)
When the Hershey Bears and Adirondack Phantoms last met on November 24, 2012, the Bears began heading south in the standings after dropping a 3-1 decision. It was Hershey’s sixth loss in their previous seven games in a slumping month of November.
Since then, the Bears have battled over the .500 mark in the standings and entered Saturday’s action against Adirondack with a chance to win their 25th game of the campaign. Philipp Grubauer stonewalled the Phantoms for his first AHL shutout in a 3-0 win at Giant Center.
Corporal Shawn Petterson drops the puck before tonight’s Bears-Phantoms game (Photo courtesy @PhantomsHockey)
It has been no lie the Hershey Bears have been struggling of late in November. The Bears hopped the bus to head north to Adirondack Saturday morning, while being victims of defeat in five of their last six games. The Bears fired 24 shots on net, but the power play was no where close to effective in a 3-1 loss to the Phantoms.
Joel Rechlicz fights Oliver Lauridsen in Hershey’s 6-3 win (All photos by Kyle Mace)
After a tough road trip up to St. John’s, the Bears were looking to bounce back with a three in three this weekend. Friday night was the first of that three in three as the Bears face offed against the Adirondack Phantoms. It was like any other Bears-Phantoms game: penalties and goals. This time the Bears came out on top, 6-3.
Welcome to the second week of Snapshots! This week I headed up to New England to check out the Bears face-off against the Providence Bruins and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Below the jump, I have photos from warm-ups and the game from the Providence game and warm-up photos from the Bridgeport game. And wait until the end for a two bonus photos!
Photo by @matthewhscher
Just over a week ago we asked you to send us your photos from the 2012 AHL Outdoor Classic between Hershey and Adirondack, and boy, did you guys rise to the occasion!
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Bourque celebrates his short-handed goal against the Phantoms. All photos by Kyle Mace.
It’s hard to follow a huge game like the Outdoor Classic, but with the same teams playing, it makes for an interesting rematch. Speaking of the Outdoor Classic, have you checked out Kyle’s recap and amazing photos?
Unlike last night, the Phantoms scored the first goal of the game. Andrew Rowe scored by banking a shot off of Danny Richmond. Not a whole lot Richmond or Dany Sabourin could have done.
The Bears tied it up late in the same period with a patented Chris Bourque short-handed goal. It was a big goal for his 20th of the season.
I had the privilege of shooting Friday night’s 2012 AHL Outdoor Classic in Philadelphia for Sweetest Hockey on Earth. After taking 2,500 photo that day, I decided to share 70 of my favorites. (And if you have not checked out our photos from Bears Morning Skate at Citizens Bank Park, you really should)
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Braden Holtby looks on as the Adirondack Phantoms celebate their OT win (Photo by Kyle Mace)
It was a night to remember, but also forget. With a goal scored by Chris Bourque early and one by Graham Mink late, the Bears looked like they were going to win the 2012 AHL Outdoor Classic. But that was not the case as Adirondack scored two late goals, including the game winning overtime one, as they went on to beat Hershey 4-3 (OT.)
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