HERSHEY, PA – Tomas Kundratek speaks to the media at last night’s family skate at Hersheypark Stadium (Kyle Mace – Sweetest Hockey on Earth)
Last night at the Hershey Bears family skate at the Outdoor Rink inside Hersheypark Stadium, Doug Yingst gathered around the Bears and spoke to them. This wasn’t about the angles of the stadium or how the lighting will look for the outdoor game, this was about one of their teammates. Tomas Kundratek learned he was named to the 2013 AHL All-Star game in Providence.
Photo by JustSports Photography and hersheybears.com
Round ‘em up! Here are the recent happenings with the Bears:
Today, the team will depart on a road trip to visit the Manitoba Moose. ”Bear Force One” will be departing from Harrisburg International Airport. [HIA]
“The Old Barn Hockey Show” was back this week. Among the topics they covered were a case for Brian Willsie as team MVP right now, Holtby coming close to scoring, the NHL Winter Classic, former Bear Deryk Engelland signing a 3 year deal with Pittsburgh, HBO’s 24/7 recording footage with Andrew Gordon. Also of note, 1/26 against Springfield John Walton will call his 1000th game for the Chocolate and White. [Old Barn Hockey Show podcast]
You can also check out “The Old Barn Hockey Show” on their website for coverage of the NHL Winter Classic trip. Included in that is the most recent “Wednesdays with Mitch” article where Mitch Lamouruex talks about his trip to the Steel City. [Old Barn Hockey Show website]
Pennlive.com’s Derek Meluzio talks about the current situation of current and former netminders for the Bears. [Stack the Pads]
The 2011 IIHF U20 World Championship ended last night with the Russian Capturing gold. Team USA earned a Bronze. The tournament featured several Caps prospects. Cody Eakin, who has already spent time in a Hershey sweater, was named Player of the Game for silver medal winning Team Canada in the championship game. We will see more of Eakin and the other prospects in the near future. Here is one analysis of the prospects’ tournament performance from Keara Dowd. [KG's District]
Ever wonder how Quintin Laing is doing? You’re not the only one. [Rock the Red]
The Bears had some big success against the Norfolk Admirals over the last two games. Here is a breakdown of that success. [Hershey Bears Hockey Blog]
For you goalie fans, Derek Meluzio also gave us a great post this week full of links to goalie photos. [Stack the Pads]
Do you have a blog that covers the Bears? Let us know and we’ll include you in the “Chocolate Fix”.
Kyle Greentree sneaks the puck past Dustin Tokarski to give Hershey the lead. Photo by Kyle.
It’s very curious to me that when the two best offensive teams in the league play each other, the game ends up being a low-scoring event. The Norfolk Admirals are the league leaders in goal scoring but only managed to score one goal the first time they played Hershey this season.
Ironically, that was the last time Braden Holtby let in a goal. Tonight was his fourth shutout of the season. Thanks to Tim Leone for help with this stat: Holtby has now played 173 minutes and 37 seconds without letting in a goal, including two complete shutouts. While Dany Sabourin may be struggling to find his groove, Holtby is holding down the fort.
Despite winning both games against the Admirals, the Bears themselves have not been able to score as much as usual either. Kyle Greentree scored the eventual game-winner during the first period. The Bears were on the power play and Greentree shot the puck towards the goal. I think Dustin Tokarski was more concerned with Andrew Gordon‘s placement on the doorstep than with Greentree’s shot, which then hit Tokarski and deflected in.
Zach Miskovic added a little insurance during the second period. Keith Aucoin had an absolutely beautiful cross-ice pass to Miskovic who then one-timed it into the net. John Walton noted that the goal was Miskovic’s fifth of the season, but his third in the past week. It’s good to see him finding a style that works for him and feeling comfortable joining the offense. As proven in the past week, he can be quite the offensive threat.
I found it interesting that the Norfolk Admirals opted not to pull Tokarski until there was under half a minute left in the game. Interesting strategy for a team that was down two goals and about to get shut out.
Nevertheless, Hershey gains another valuable two points and downs Norfolk 2-0.