Bears drop season opener in Syracuse 4-3

Nobody likes starting the season off on a losing note. Unfortunately the Bears did just that on Saturday night in Syracuse.

Things got off to a bit of a slow start after a lengthy opening ceremony that delayed the game by almost half an hour. This slow start would carry over to the Bears’ play on the ice for the better part of the entire game.

Wearing special edition 75-year-anniversary sweaters, Hershey started the game off by receiving back-to-back powerplay opportunities but failed to convert on either one of them. After killing off a penalty of their own, the Bears were rewarded with yet another powerplay opportunity, which was spoiled when Crunch centerman Mike Angelidis scored a shorthanded goal at 11:23. The first period would end with a score of 1-0 in favor of the hometown Crunch, but both teams were tied in shots on goal with 10 a piece.

Just over five minutes into the second period, the Crunch extended their lead with an even strength goal by Tyler Johnson to give the team a 2-0 lead. However, the Bears didn’t waste much time waiting for a comeback, scoring a shorthanded goal of their own at 7:26 by Garrett Mitchell and another goal, this time at even strength, scored by Barry Almeida at 14:36. Unfortunately, the Crunch broke the tie with just over a minute to play in the period and retook the lead courtesy of winger Corey Conacher. The Bears were outshot 12 to 7 in the second period, but managed to kill off the two PK’s they faced, making them 4-for-4 on the night.

Only down by a single goal, the Bears were still very much in this game going into the third period. With a win on the line, everyones tempers ran high and the sin bin became a popular place for both teams. By the end of the third period, a combined total 15 penalties were committed by both teams, 7 for the Bears and 8 for the Crunch; though it should be noted that a large part of these penalties overlapped/offset each other. Both sides were successful on the PK all but once each. The Crunch were the first to score a powerplay goal, this one a 5-on-3 PPG, after NHL send down Brett Connolly found the back of the net at 5:02. With under half of the period left to play, the Bears scored a powerplay goal of their own off of a goal by Jon DiSalvatore at 13:04. Still down by a goal late in the period, the Bears pulled goalie Braden Holtby, but failed to tally the game tying goal, making the home team the winners. The Bears were outshot 10 to 9 in the third period.

Hershey never really seemed to be able to take control of this game, but maybe that should be expected if they never even had the lead at any point during this game. It’s easy to make excuses about the fact that this was Hershey’s first game of the season, but excuses are excuses and no one likes hearing them.

Cameron Schilling, Ryan Stoa, and Mattias Sjogren all had a plus/minus of minus-2 on the night. Garrett Stafford, Dmitry Orlov, and Johnathon Kalinski were the only plus players of the night, all plus-1. Goalie Braden Holtby stopped 28 of 32 shots faced tonight, a stat that drew negativity by some.

The Bears will have just short of a week to think over this loss and prepare for their next game, which is set to be played on Friday, October 19 on the road again, this time against the Binghamton Senators.

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