AHL Hershey Bears

P-Bruins still dancing, Phantoms win and Larsen lights it up

Published on May 16, 2005 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


The 2005 Calder Cup playoffs are down to the final four, and three of the four clubs that are still standing are not much of a surprise. Most prognosticators of this postseason certainly aren't surprised that the Chicago Wolves are still dancing. No real shock either that the Philadelphia Phantoms made quick work of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to advance. Even Manitoba, which pulled somewhat of an upset against Rochester isn't all that surprising. The Moose have a very strong club. But Providence? Let's a have a show of hands: Who thought the P-Bruins would be the Atlantic Division playoff champion? If you put your hand up, you're lying. Manchester, Hartford and even Lowell seemed to be legitimate contenders for the Calder when the playoffs got underway. All of them had at least 47 wins and at least 100 points. Providence had one more win than the BEARS during the regular season, and only Wilkes-Barre and Hamilton had fewer wins of the 16 teams that made the playoffs. Yet, the Bruins blew Lowell away on Saturday night after dispatching Manchester to the golf course in the first round. Andy Hilbert picked up his third four-point game of the 2005 Calder Cup Playoffs Saturday in Game 5 and goaltender Hannu Toivonen finished the night with 29 saves. The P-Bruins now face Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference Finals beginning this Friday night at the Wachovia Center.

It was pretty much business as usual in the Western Conference, as the Wolves and Moose advanced over the weekend. Some would make the case that Rochester losing in the Division Finals was an upset, but those two teams were pretty evenly matched. When the BEARS traveled to Rochester in late March and won 6-1, I thought the Amerks could be pretty beatable once the postseason got underway. Rochester had the goaltending and a fairly good defensive corps, but Randy Cunneyworth's club wasn't going to explode any scoreboards with the offense they possessed. It was a tough environment for Rochester to contend with at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg. The attendance was 15,015, the fifth largest crowd to witness an AHL playoff game. The Moose are now 6-0 at home this postseason, but they will open on the road at Allstate Arena in Chicago this Thursday night. The Wolves advanced by downing the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks 4-1 on Saturday night, with former BEARS forward Brad Larsen netting the game-winning goal.

With the loss absorbed by Cincinnati Saturday night, the speculation in the Queen City and throughout the American Hockey League the last few weeks apparently is about to become reality. A report in today's Cincinnati Enquirer states that an announcement will be made later today that the club's eight-year affiliation with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim is ending. Quoting Cincinnati Mighty Ducks President/CEO Pete Robinson: "We're looking around to see what all of our options are. We're committed to preserving the AHL in Cincinnati and expect to have an announcement in regards to next season and beyond in the coming days." Sadly, without an available NHL affiliate, it doesn't appear that there will be hockey in southwest Ohio next season. On a personal note, it's a little tough for me to see hockey departing from the Cincinnati landscape. One of my biggest thrills in my career was going back to Cincinnati to broadcast a game for HERSHEY in November of 2002. It was my first game going into that building working for the BEARS, and a lot of memories came flooding back when I walked in that night. A lot of my family and friends came to the game, and my pal and former color commentator Greg Waddell did the game with me on 92.7 that night. After spending three years in the Mighty Ducks organization, I really feel for everyone there if they are indeed without a team next season.

You may have noticed via the AHL's website that the new team in Omaha has a name for it's franchise. While it looks a little awkward at first glance, there is a lot of history behind the game. The Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights take to the ice this fall as the primary affiliate of the Calgary Flames. What is the Ak-Sar-Ben part you may ask? Well, in addition to being the backward spelling of Nebraska, The Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben Foundation is a 110-year-old philanthropic organization with programs that focus on celebrating our heritage, recognizing and fostering volunteerism, and developing new projects that benefit the community, state and region. The history of the team dates back to the 1930's, according to the team's website. "The history of professional hockey in Omaha, Nebraska dates back to the Great Depression when a civic organization dedicated to community good were searching for new ways in which to boost the city out of economic hard times. The Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben, Nebraska spelled backwards, were on the look out for ways to promote Omaha and take a prominent position with other cities in the region such as Kansas City, Minneapolis and St. Paul. Professional hockey was quickly identified as one of the forms of entertainment that would distinguish Omaha as a more attractive location in the Midwest. During the winter of 1938-39 the wheels were put in motion to bring professional hockey to Omaha. The 10-year-old Ak-Sar-Ben Coliseum would be the home of the newly formed club simply referred to as the "Omaha hockey team" in the beginning by the local media. By the day of the first game, they had become known as the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights in honor of the benevolent society who helped bring the team to town. Although shortened to just Knights, the original uniform's crest was an AK inside an O for many years." The newly incarnated Knights will play this fall at the Omaha Civic Auditorium.

My in-box was filled to the brim most of this past week, I appreciate you all taking the time to write. Our first letter this week comes to us as a first-hand account of the Binghamton Senators and their collapse in the first round.

Hey John,

From the fans point of view, the Sens just didn't care. That's the way they played games 3, 4 & 5. It was like we were back at the beginning of the season when there was still a possibility that the NHL would play this year. These guys - the highly praised NHLers - played with one eye on the ice in Binghamton and one eye on the CBA goings on. And yes, they are all out golfing now!

That said, Andy Chiodo was amazing, but I'm still rooting for Philly. I took Manitoba to win it all, but that's because they are the only Canadian team in. My other choices are Rochester & Lowell.

I did make it to the Giant Center this year. Came down Feb 5 and watched Eric Perrin score 28 seconds into overtime.

Just wanted to drop you a line. Have a great summer and I look forward to your emails.

Rachel Jenkins

Vestal, NY

Rachel, from what I've heard, that's a pretty accurate assessment. I think back to the game at GIANT Center on December 29 when HERSHEY won 7-3 and Sens wunderkind Jason Spezza was a minus five. There were too many nights that club went through the motions, which is sad because they probably had more talent there than anywhere in the league this season. I thought they would kick it in during the playoffs, but obviously that wasn't the case.

Hey John,

Bears and Company ever consider doing a video webcast? When the Bears were in Wilkes Barre, watched the entire game on my high-speed internet connection. I was happy to pay the 6 bucks. Can't let them get one up on us!

David Eckman

York PA

David, the webcast was an experiment done in conjunction with the league during the second half of the year in select AHL cities, and Wilkes-Barre was one of the test markets. I could see the league doing it on a much wider scale in the near future, but I also know they had some kinks in the system they needed to work out. I completely agree with your sentiments about not letting W-B getting one up on us. I don't like the Penguins beating us at anything, I don't care if it's a BEARS vs. Penguins Yahtzee game.

John,

I have been a season ticket holder for the bears for a couple seasons now, having the Caps as our affiliate is great. I just have a few questions for you. Do you know if any players from last year's team will still be playing for Hershey this year? Another question do you think Maxime Ouellet will be in net for us or not? Thank you for your time and keep up the good work.

Paul Werner

Womelsdorf, Pa.

Paul, I would say Ouellet is a possibility, but we're a long way from knowing the make-up of next year's team. You might see a couple of guys from last year's team hang around, but they would have to be available to be signed (read: free agents). I wouldn't want to speculate too much on who might be back because there's still a lot of uncertainty with the NHL labor situation. The problems up top make the free agent pool a little muddier down here. Once the playoffs end, we should start to see some movement around the league.

John:

Listen to your away call of the game most every game. Never will forget your exciting call at the end of late March game this season when Svatos scored the winning goal with less than two seconds left in the third. Can you provide any news on Eric Perrin's recovery from the injury suffered in the final season game? Any insight on the chances us of seeing Dennis Bonvie back in Hershey next season? Thank you.

Anna M. Harrisburg

Anna, Eric broke a bone in his leg when he was hit by a shot in the first period in Game 80. He's doing well, I saw him last week and he told me the boot he's wearing will be off soon and he'll wear an air cast for a couple of more weeks after that. As for Dennis, that's a question a lot of people are asking. Just like everyone else, the BEARS and Capitals will begin to evaluate which veterans will make up HERSHEY'S roster in the fall. Each team will have only five veterans next season instead of six per AHL rules, so the BEARS and all teams in our league will have to pick their veteran players with care. I would expect that in a few weeks when player movement starts, answers to all player movement questions will start to become available.

Hey John,

I'm a huge Caps and Bears fan in Annapolis MD, that spent the locked out season listening to every Bears game online. You are completely my favourite announcer. You'd think I'd have listened to some Portland games, alas their announcer lacked your panache. I hope Arsene will be back next season and if (God forbid) he's injured, you two can set something up again. I loved having him running colour to your play by play.

Anyhow, I just wanted to say that the Caps and Bears signing the affiliation was one of the greatest days of my life, and I hope it's a long and prosperous partnership, for both teams. Keep up the great work, John! If I'm not in the house, I'll be listening online!

Tiffany Annapolis, MD

Tiffany, I think a lot of people in this area echo your sentiments, the Caps and BEARS is a good marriage. I hope that the Caps and the rest of the NHL are all up and running this fall again. Thanks also for the kind words about Deano and myself. I believe that's the first time that panache has even been used in reference to me.

Dear John,

What do you think is attributing to Brad Larsen's success with Chicago this season? Seems he's on fire this post season. Give us some of your thoughts. Thanks.

Dottie Bell Lancaster

Dottie, you're very observant, it has been a good postseason thus far for Mr. Larsen. When most fans in BEARS nation think of Brad Larsen, they think of all the injuries he had when we was here, but he has been amazingly healthy this season. He played in 75 regular season games, and also scored 26 goals. He's second on the team in scoring during the playoffs with four goals and nine points. I think it's safe to say that his veteran leadership and scoring touch is paying off for Chicago. While on the subject of ex-BEARS and Chicago, Tim Wedderburn is fourth on the team in plus/minus through two rounds of the playoffs and has chipped in a couple of assists.

E-mail whatever is on your mind (questions, comments, bad jokes, Calder Cup playoff thoughts, chicken recipes, you'd be surprised at some of the stuff I get) to jwalton@hersheypa.com. Have a great week, we'll talk to you next Monday.

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American Hockey League Stories from May 16, 2005


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