The Bears still look like the beast of the East

HERSHEY, PA – Coming off of a Calder Cup title can be a tough act to follow, especially in the minor leagues where players change teams almost as much as they change underwear. After 19 games, the Bears sit in first

place in the East Division of the AHL’s Eastern Conference with a record of 13-5-0-1 (27 points), six points ahead of the Binghamton Senators and the Norfolk Admirals. The Bears are on a 6 game unbeaten streak and are 8-1-0-1 in their last 10 games. As usual they are consistently doing it on both ends of the ice. Their offense is second in the league with 67 goals for and is tied for fourth in goals allowed (40). The oddity here is that the Bears are 22^nd on the power play but they are second overall on the penalty kill. Alexandre Giroux is up to his old tricks. He is second overall in the scoring race with 26 points, four points behind league leader Corey Locke. Andrew Gordon, despite not being on the active roster, is tied for 6^th in the league in points. Overall the Bears have seven players with 10 or more points, including defenseman John Carlson who is currently up with the Washington Capitals. Goaltender Jason Bacashihua has done very well since coming over to Hershey as a free agent. The Dallas Stars former first round pick in 2001 is fifth in the league in both the goals against average (1.84) category and in save percentage (.936). Last season’s Calder Cup hero is not doing half bad himself with a 2.34 goals against average and a .915 save percentage. The Bears have three of their next four games at home and in December Hershey will have seven of eleven games at home as well. The home cooking should help keep the team in first place heading into the New Year.  As the Bears prepare to defend their title come April when the second season begins, the rest of the league has to take notice that Hershey will once again be a tough out come playoff time. Lowell and Manchester are looking tough to beat in the Atlantic Division, while out on the Western Conference, Rochester and Texas are heading up their respective divisions with Texas holding the league’s best record with 32 points.Playoff time will come soon enough. In the mean time, sit back, relax, and enjoy the season. April will be worth the wait. Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com
Contact the photographer at  Matthew.Osterstrom @prohockeynews.com