Game Recap: Bears 1, Bruins 2

The Hershey Bears controlled the puck throughout the first two periods, outworking and outshooting the Providence Bruins, but a brief lapse in the early minutes of the third period cost them, with the Bruins scoring two quick consecutive goals in mere seconds that the Bears couldn't match.

The Bears lost their fire a bit in the first five minutes of the third period, and the Bruins quickly took advantage. After the two surprise goals, the Bears seemed to wake up and put the pressure back on the Bruins. It took about five minutes for the Bears to score their first and last of the night.

Scoreless in the first two periods, the Bears had a lot of quality chances, but Bruins goaltender Nolan Schaefer always had the answers. Coach Mark French acknowledged that Schaefer was on his game tonight. He was seeing the puck very well, and French said that the Bears needed "to take away his eyes. I didn't think we did that enough."

With top scorer Andrew Gordon as well as Mathieu Perreault and Jay Beagle currently on the Washington Capitals roster, scoring goals hasn't been coming quite as easily to the Bears. French praised his team's defensive effort, but defense won't necessarily win you hockey games.
 

"We're not giving up much defensively," French said. "But the object of the game is to score goals and we've got to do a better job of that."

He later added, alluding to call-ups and injuries, "We've got to find a way to score goals with the guys we have."

Defenseman Zach Miskovic, the third star of the game (and the only Bear to receive a star), was a real presence on the ice. He had an assist on the Bears goal, and was the player who sent it on the way to the net where Andrew Joudrey was able to tip it in.

Miskovic also showed a new side of himself, getting chippy with Bruin Jeremy Reich in the first period, and later dropping him with a cross-check to the chest after he interfered with Keith Aucoin. Speaking about the altercation with Reich, Miskovic said, "He wanted to mess around with Coiner (Keith Aucoin) a little bit, and we just can't have that with one of our top players. So just trying to stand up for some of our guys and do a little extra job there."

Miskovic, who's not typically known for chippy play, was the subject of praise from his coach. French was pleased that Miskovic "physically stepped up without hesitation. I think that plays to his maturation."

Miskovic credited the experienced defensive corps on the Hershey blue line with his development. Specifically, he named Nycholat, Fahey, and Souray as the veterans he's learning from most on the defense. Should he continue on the trajectory he's on, he should be a complete and solid blue-liner for the Bears.

The Bears face the Charlotte Checkers Sunday, and former teammate Oskar Osala. The Checkers defeated the Binghamton Senators in a 4-2 victory Saturday night.

Rookie Camp Day 5: Rookie Game

 celebrating the 4-3 win (photo by me)

The rookies took the ice for the last day of their week of camp, and they hit the ice wearing brand-spanking-new Capitals sweaters.  Not the red practice jerseys of development camp, but actual home Capitals jerseys.  They certainly looked the part as they faced the rookies of the Philadelphia Flyers, and many of them lived up to the tremendous hype.

The same guys we've been talking about all week were the ones who impressed in the 4-3 win over the Flyers.  2010 third-round draft pick Stanislav Galiev opened up the scoring in the first period, with assists from Dustin Stevenson and Marcus Johansson.  

Mike Testwuide answered midway through the second period, going high glove side on Philipp Grubauer.  A few minutes later, Brandon Anderson relieved Grubauer in net so the two could get some equal work.

A major presence on the power play unit was defenseman Josh Godfrey.  Setting up on the point, Godfrey unleashed his tremendous slapshot, beating the Flyers goalie not once, but twice, on two separate power plays in the second and third periods.  We hadn't seen much of Godfrey's offensive prowess before, but Coaches French and Boudreau say that his shot is why he was drafted.  French adds that his hard shot is "probably NHL-level now" but "his five-on-five play has got to be better."

After Godfrey's goals, the Flyers came back, with Eric Wellwood and Marc-Andre Bourdon scoring on Anderson, and leveling the scoring 3-3 with less than five minutes to go in the third period.

With less than two minutes remaining, Cody Eakin led a breakaway into the offensive zone, swept around the back of the net, and potted the game winner unassisted.

But in the locker room after the game, Eakin was the picture of modesty.

"It was a perfectly executed controlled breakout.  The goalie didn’t play it, so I just kind of wrapped around to the back end and it squeaked through."

Despite the goal being recorded as unassisted, Eakin credited his teammates for the setup.

"It was kind of lucky, but it was a good chip by Mitch [Garrett Mitchell]. It was a good breakout, and it led to a good opportunity."

Coach French gave a little bit more credit to Eakin.

"Cody scoring the winning goal there, he’s the type of guy we saw last year in the Calder Cup  that relishes those big-time opportunities.  When you need him he seems to come through; I thought he was excellent in the second and third period."

Eakin's looking forward to showing his chops in the upcoming preseason games.  He knows it's "a long shot" but says,

"I’m here, I want to prove that I can play here."

Marcus Johansson didn't score any goals, but assisted on two goals and was a critical member of the power play.  Coach Boudreau also pointed out that he was "strong on faceoffs and on the puck" and was "the most consistent player we had all night."  But Johansson said that he learned a lot from playing a game as opposed to just practice:

"Well of course you learn more in games, that’s what you’re practicing for.  I try to play my game as much as I can to learn about time and to be at the right point at the right time."

On possibly making the roster, Johansson added:

"I'm going to work hard for it."

Other notes and observations:

• Trevor Bruess was excellent on the penalty kill.  He showed speed and stickhandling skill that we hadn't yet seen from him.  His fight with Zac Rinaldo wasn't exactly the bout he had with Stefan Della Rovere in development camp, but at least he made good on his promise.

• Samuel Carrier was solid on the blue line, but needs to work on his passing play.  On some passes he had trouble hitting the tape of his teammate.

• Bruce Boudreau's honorable mentions after the lengthy discussion of Eakin and Johansson (and Godfrey) were: Philipp Grubauer, Dustin Stevenson, Brett Flemming, and Patrick Cullity.

• When asked about Joe Finley, Mark French did express doubts on his playing at the AHL level next year.  He said that Finley needs to "play at a higher pace" in order to make it in the AHL.

• At several points, Flyers rookies were trying to get under the skin of Marcus Johansson - chirping at him after whistles, playing him a little more physical.  Johansson never engaged, and always shrugged it off.  In post-game interview, he proved himself extremely smart and mature.

• Alex Ovechkin stuck around for the rookie game after the vet skate in the morning, and came into the locker room after the game ended to congratulate the guys and chat with them for a few moments. The captain was all smiles, and according to Jared DeMichiel's Twitter, Ovechkin and Mike Green took the rookies out for a sushi dinner.