Six Thousand Bears Invade the Ice at the Giant Center

Hershey hosted the Hartford Wolfpack last night, and the guys wearing the chocolate and white were not the only Bears that would take to the ice during the 4-2 victory.

In support of a local charity, the fans were asked to toss teddy bears onto the ice when the Bears scored their first goal. Looking to extend their current winning streak, Hershey initiated the "teddy bear toss" just after six minutes of play with a goal from Maxime Lacroix.

The 8,000 plus in attendance propeled an invasion of stuffed bears into an airshow and onto the ice, giving both teams an additional 10-minute period of rest while the bears were removed from the playing surface.

The Bears livened the crowd five minutes into the second period when Mathieu Perreault broke away with the puck and passed it off at the last moment to leave a wide-open net for Francois Bouchard. The line of Perreault, Bouchard, and Oskar Osala are currently riding a plus-17 rating for the season. No wonder many refer to these guys as the "energy line"! The Bears took a 2-1 lead into the second intermission.

The Bears controlled most of the first period. The Wolfpack pretty much took claim to owning the second. The third, however, was a solid 20 minutes of pure hockey from the Bears.

Defenseman Patrick McNeill scored his first goal of the season in a short-handed effort after a feed from Kyle Wilson. Hartford won one back just 80 seconds later, when Simeon Varlamov was caught out of position with little defensive help.

Yet, in true Bears fashion, Alexandre Giroux found a way to steal the puck as the Wolfpack exited their zone, and reveled in the delight of putting the puck in the back of the net against a team whose jersey he once wore. With this unassisted score, the Wolfpack were deflated and the Bears went on to secure their 10th straight victory.

Other notes from the game

1. It was great to have the wonderfully talented and competent Terry Koharski officiate the game last night. He is much loved and respected at the Giant Center—eh, who am I trying to fool here...Terry could not preside over a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest.

Koharski has no consistency, exhibits terrible judgment, and clearly needs to brush up on the rules and regulations of the game.

2. Defenseman Sean Collins was missing in action, having been recalled to the Capitals due to an ankle injury to Tyler Sloan. Sean made his NHL debut last night against the Maple Leafs, and from all accounts, put in a solid effort. Well done Sean, you deserve the opportunity.

3. Steve Pinizzotto stepped up his game last night, and demonstrated that he has enough talent to remain at Hershey this season. Not only does he play the enforcer role well, but his sprawling effort to get a shot off on goal whilst being laid out horizontally on the ice shows a lot of determination and grit.

Kudos to you, Steve—here's hoping that you continue to shine.

4. Karl Alzner. Need I say more? Congratulations on your first NHL goal. Extra props for the assist on the goal from Milan Jurcina.

And furthermore, to achieve both milestones with your father in attendance at the Air Canada Centre just adds icing to the cake. I am most likely not alone in thinking that Alzner may not don the chocolate and white jersey again this season.