Bears Open 74th Season On High Note
Published on October 10, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
The HERSHEY BEARS Hockey Club, facing a road-heavy schedule to begin its 74th season in the American Hockey League, kicked it off with a pair of victories over the weekend. On Friday, Patrick Wellar provided an insurance goal to go along with first-period shorthanded tallies by Christian Hanson and Chris Bourque as the BEARS went on to a 3-2 victory over the defending Calder Cup champion Binghamton Senators. Braden Holtby turned aside 27 Senators shots in earning his first victory of the season. HERSHEY followed up that effort by posting another 3-2 win on Saturday against last season's points champion Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Keith Aucoin broke a 2-2 tie with the team's first power play goal of the season in the third period, and Dany Sabourin made 23 saves including a game-saving stop in the final 30 seconds of play to preserve the win. The road swing wraps up on Friday before the BEARS get set to welcome fans to the 10th anniversary season at Giant Center on Saturday.
Shorthanded Dandies:
The first two goals of the BEARS' 2011-12 season were anything but ordinary. Christian Hanson, in his first regular-season game in a HERSHEY uniform, scored on a shorthanded breakaway 7:20 into the contest at Binghamton. Keith Aucoin then led a second-period shorthanded rush that was finished by Chris Bourque. The BEARS currently sit atop the AHL with two shorthanded goals.
Spreading the Wealth:
Nine different players found the scoresheet in the BEARS' opening weekend, including six different goal scorers: Keith Aucoin, Chris Bourque, Kyle Greentree, Christian Hanson, Matt Ford, and Patrick Wellar. Aucoin, Bourque, Greentree and Hanson each lead the team with a goal and an assist.
Home-and-Home (Opener) The upcoming weekend will feature a battle of the East Division's only unbeaten teams, as HERSHEY travels to Hampton Roads to conclude their three-game, season-opening road trip with a matchup against the Norfolk Admirals. The Ads opened their season with a pair of thrilling home wins against the Charlotte Checkers, scoring a combined 10 goals in the two victories. HERSHEY and Norfolk will then reunite on Saturday, as the home portion of the BEARS' schedule begins with the celebration of the 10th season at Giant Center.
Being Back On Top is a Plus:
Defenseman Sean Collins picked up right where he left off at the end of 2010-11. Collins, last season's leader in plus-minus with a plus-29 rating, is tied with two other players for the league lead once again at plus-4. He finished Friday night with a team-best plus-3 and added an assist on Chris Bourque's shorthanded goal.
American Hockey League Stories from October 10, 2011
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- Whale Weekly - Connecticut Whale
- Rampage Weekly Update - San Antonio Rampage
- Kings Assign Zatkoff to the Monarchs - Manchester Monarchs
- Crunch Announce Details of Mirabito Headband Giveaway - Syracuse Crunch
- Sharks Teeth Look Sharp in Season Opener - Worcester Sharks
- Wolves Weekly Notes - Chicago Wolves
- Coyotes Recall Chris Summers from Portland - Portland Pirates
- Griffins to Battle Marlies in Home Opener - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Defenseman Taylor Chorney Assigned to Oklahoma City - Oklahoma City Barons
- Monarchs Weekly Report - Manchester Monarchs
- Phantoms Weekly - Adirondack Phantoms
- Hillside Family of Agencies Named Presenting Sponsor of Crunch Foundation Prize Wheel - Syracuse Crunch
- Rockford Unbeaten in Week 1 - Rockford IceHogs
- Sova, Young Reassigned to Kalamazoo - Albany Devils
- Troy Ward & Randy Moeller On This Week's Puska On Pucks - OSC Original by Denis Puska
- Lightning Sign LW Ondrej Palat to Entry-Level Contract - Norfolk Admirals
- Iiro Impressive in Preseason - Syracuse Crunch
- Bears Open 74th Season On High Note - Hershey Bears
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