Hershey Bears Home Opener

After taking four straight road victories to start their 2008-09 campaign, the Hershey Bears were given a huge standing ovation when they took the ice at the Giant Center last night.

With a mixture of familiar faces, former players returning to Chocolate-town, and a handful of Capitals prospects, the 8000 plus fans in attendance were ready to see this highly touted team strut their stuff.

Entering this contest, both Hershey and their opponents from Syracuse had not dropped a game this season. This was the first time I'd seen the Crunch in action, but had learned through many blogs and forums that they played a smash-mouth hockey game and liked to get physical.

"The Crunch" sounds like a fitting name.

Sure enough, within the opening five minutes of the game, the first on-ice altercation occurred. Many had predicted this would take place, as some trash talking had been going on prior to the puck drop.

Before the final roster was announced prior to the season, I had some concerns over who would step up as enforcers for the Bears, especially as Robitaille and Flinn have moved on to new pastures.

Keeping Grant McNeil in Hershey was a good move, but I'm happy to see that new guys Darren Reid and Greg Amadio are not afraid to back down when needed. Dean Arsene is another player who will always throw himself to the wolves in order to protect his teammates.

Three of these four guys rumbled with the Crunch last night, and all three came out pretty strong with their offerings. We were not intimidated and we did not crumble.

Syracuse Crunch is more like "The Brady Bunch".

The Bears looked awesome last night. I have not seen them play with this intensity for quite a while. Sure, they were plagued with injuries last season and had different line-ups every game going into the last month of the regular season. However, with the depth the organization has now, every line is strong.

The Mink-Aucoin-Giroux line in particular is positively sick. I'm sure that there are several NHL teams that would kill for this line-up, let alone others at the AHL level.

Goals came thick and fast in this one. The 7-1 victory for the Bears must have echoed throughout the AHL.

An undefeated start with 29 goals scored is a phenomenal way to start the season. I certainly cannot wait to head back to Giant Center this evening for the next match-up against the Baby Pens.

Once again, the Bears can roar...they can live up to their name.

As for the Crunch last night, they resembled more of a Nestle Bar than collective bone-breakers. Let's see if we get some Penguins with attitude tonight, or just some baby flightless fowl that may be wishing they stayed home instead.