HERSHEY, PA – Jon DiSalvatore celebrates his first goal during Hershey’s 4-2 win over Manchester, and clinching them a playoff spot in the 2013 Calder Cup Playoffs (Kyle Mace – Sweetest Hockey on Earth)
It came all the way down to the wire, but it game 76 of the 2012-13 regular season, the Hershey Bears clinched a spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs for the eighth consecutive season. During first intermission of the Bears-Monarchs game Sunday evening, news broke at Giant Center that the Providence Bruins defeated the Norfolk Admirals by a 4-3 count. The regulation loss eliminated Norfolk from playoff contention leaving just Hershey and Connecticut fighting for the eighth seed.
With the Connecticut Whale wrapping up their season the night before, they could only watch and hope for a Bears regulation loss. However with the final window of opportunity wide open for Hershey, they put forth an impressive 4-2 over the Manchester Monarchs to punch their ticket to the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Professional hockey games consist of a 60 minute regulation length. Some duels can be loss from the get-go, while other matches are decided by late game heroics. The Hershey Bears in dire need of a victory faced the Manchester Monarchs in New Hampshire. The New England states continue to deny the Bears of fortune in a 4-3 loss to the Monarchs.
The game was decided early with a crucial, first period scoring assembly which included three Manchester goals in a 1:49 span.
HERSHEY, PA – Boyd Kane scores the first goal of the game for Hershey during their win against the Binghamton Senators (Kyle Mace – Sweetest Hockey on Earth)
The Hershey Bears entered Saturday with only one win out of four attempts this season against the Binghamton Senators. Philipp Grubauer faced the Senators in his first career AHL game back on October 21, and fell 2-1 in overtime. Looking for his first career win against the Senators, Grubauer yielded three, but topped Bingo 4-3.
HERSHEY, PA – Ryan Potulny scores to give Hershey a 2-0 lead in their win over Norfolk (Kyle Mace – Sweetest Hockey on Earth)
December 19 marks such an important day for hockey fans not only across Central PA, but across the nation. December 19 marked the 76th birthday of Hershey Park Arena, as well as the anniversary of the birth of the National Hockey League. On December 19, 1917, four teams played the first ever NHL games. But on December 19, 2012, seven members were inducted into the new Hershey Bears Hall of Fame prior to a 4-0 shutout win over the Norfolk Admirals.
HERSHEY, PA – Dany Sabourin works out during training camp (Kyle Mace – Sweetest Hockey on Earth)
Entering into Friday, the Binghamton Senators carried in a 2-0 season record. Although it is only week two, the B-Sens find themselves in a position they haven’t been in often the past three seasons, despite winning Calder in 2011: Top of the East Division Standings. Dany Sabourin and the Hershey Bears entered the Broome County Veterans Memorial Arena for the first time this season, looking to spoil the party.
Mark French argues with the officials. All photos by Kyle Mace.
Down one game, the Bears had a chance to tie up the series before returning home.
…unfortunately it didn’t go quite as planned. I won’t upset you with the details, but the Bears left the first period down four goals. Between deflections, rebounds, and just plain getting out-worked, the Penguins owned Dany Sabourin and the first period and set the tone for the rest of the game.
Tuesday night at the Harrisburg Senators game, Bears players Julien Brouillette, Andrew Carroll, Tomas Kundratek, and Garrett Mitchell participated in a dizzy bat race. If you have never seen a dizzy bat race, it is where you set a bat on the ground, spin around it 10 times, and then run to a finish line.
Many guys were at the Senators game, including Chris Bourque, who threw out the first pitch to teammate Boyd Kane.
Photos from the guy’s Twitter’s below the jump
Dany Sabourin looks back one of Binghamton’s goals (All photos by Kyle Mace)
After a rough night against St. John’s the night before, the Bears looked to bounce back and show they were just playing an April Fools joke a day early. That didn’t seem like the case at the start of the game. With Binghamton scoring within the first minute of each period, the Bears would be down three goals at some points. It sure looked like a loss, but Hershey being Hershey they scored three goals in the third period to get the one point. That would be the only point they would get as Bingo grabbed the other point as they beat Hershey in a shootout, 6-5.
Yesterday’s AHL Clear Day deadline has come and gone. From now til the end of the season, these will be the players in the Bears lineup. Exceptions of course for call-ups and injuries. Take a look at who made the list after the jump.
Photo by Kyle Mace
Today is the day we find out who will be on the roster for the remainder of the season. For those of you unfamiliar with AHL Clear Day, here is the explanation directly from the AHL.
Only those players listed on a team’s Clear Day roster are eligible to compete in the remainder of the AHL regular season and in the 2012 Calder Cup Playoffs, unless emergency conditions arise as a result of recall, injury or suspension.
Teams may also add signed junior players or players on amateur tryout contracts after Clear Day, but only once their respective junior or college seasons are complete.
Those listed in the 22 available spots are the ones that will be able to play. If there is an injury or one of the players on the roster is called up to Washington, that spot will be filled in by a non-roster player. Those players are traditionally called the “Black Aces”. They stay in Hershey and practice with the team.
So who makes the cut?