Bears Enter Thanksgiving with 4-3 Win Over Bruins
Published on November 23, 2011 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
HERSHEY, Pa. - Keith Aucoin recorded three assists, Boyd Kane and Chris Bourque had a goal and an assist each, and Dany Sabourin made 24 saves to help the HERSHEY BEARS end a four-game winless streak with a 4-3 victory over the Providence Bruins on Wednesday night at Giant Center.
It took only 18 seconds into the game for Bourque to fire a one-time pass through the legs of Bruins netminder Anton Khudobin, giving the BEARS a 1-0 lead. Aucoin set up the play with help from Kane.
The Bruins tied the game when David Warsofsky sent a shot from the right half-boards that eluded Sabourin through the pads at 8:27. HERSHEY would regain the lead at 12:59, when Ryan Potulny, playing in his first game since October 8, pushed the puck into the offensive zone and fed Jacob Micflikier on the right wall. Brett Flemming then took a pass from Micflikier and fired a low shot that skimmed along the ice and into the net for a 2-1 lead.
The two teams would battle through over 16 minutes of play in the middle frame before the BEARS got a big insurance goal from Patrick McNeill. While working on their second power play of the night, Graham Mink and Aucoin furiously battled for a loose puck in a goalmouth scramble. The puck rolled to Khudobin's left and onto McNeill's stick, where the defenseman tapped it home at 17:35 for a 3-1 advantage. The goal was needed because only 32 seconds later, Tyler Randell slammed home a pass from Craig Cunningham to cut the BEARS lead to 3-2.
Another early-period tally helped the BEARS regain their two-goal advantage. Kane collected a pass from Aucoin, skated to the left circle and sent an off-wing snap shot past Khudobin's glove for a 4-2 lead just 34 seconds into the stanza.
It would be another necessary goal as Josh Hennessy would later steal the puck from a BEARS forward and beat Sabourin with a wrist shot from the right circle at 6:59, cutting the BEARS lead to 4-3.
Khudobin would not get off for an extra attacker until the game's final minute, and the BEARS would hold on until the final horn for the win.
Sabourin improves to 4-3-1 on the season, while Khudobin drops to 7-9-1 in making 26 saves. The BEARS ended the night 1-for-3 on the power play, and 5-for-6 on the penalty kill.
The win moves the BEARS' record to 8-4-3-2 on the season.
HERSHEY will head to northeastern Pennsylvania to take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at 7:05 PM this Friday, November 25. The team returns home on Saturday, November 26 for a 7:00 faceoff against the Lake Erie Monsters. The BEARS will wear special Washington Capitals jerseys that will be auctioned off following the game for charity. Individual tickets for this and all regular-season home games are on sale now by calling (717) 508-BEAR, or by visiting ticketmaster.com.
HERSHEY BEARS season ticket plans are also on sale now by calling (717) 508-BEAR, with many different flexible plans still available. Season ticket plans start as low as $160.
NOTES: The win was the first regular-season win over Providence at Giant Center since March 1, 2009, a 6-4 BEARS victory...RW Matt Ford made a return to the lineup after a nearly three-week injury absence...C Keith Aucoin picked up his 18th, 19th and 20th assists of the season to claim the league lead in assists, and is now one point (24) off of the AHL scoring lead... RW Graham Mink and F Jacob Micflikier each extended point streaks to six games, while LW Chris Bourque now has points in five consecutive games.
American Hockey League Stories from November 23, 2011
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