Heading into Wednesday night’s game at Giant Center, the match-up between the Hershey Bears and the Springfield Falcons had the potential to be a lopsided tournament. On paper. However, it was the last place Falcons that grounded the Bears, who until recently had been enjoying the view from near the top of the standings.
After early pressure from the Bears failed to yield results on the scoreboard, Springfield’s first foray into the Hershey zone started the chain reaction of events that eventually led to their first goal.
Hershey netminder, Simeon Varlamov, making his first Giant Center start since January 14th, when he allowed 4 goals on 15 shots in one period of work before being replaced by Daren Machesney, turned an innocent looking shot into an adventure when he fumbled former Bear, Shane Willis’ soft wrister.
The Russian rookie did not stand a chance against he Falcons’ second shot of the game, a one-time power play blast from close range by Gilbert Brule at 1:44. Brule, the former first round draft pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2005 NHL draft, was setup by Ryan Stone, a long time Bears’ nemesis since the 2005-06 season when he skated for the Wilkes-Barrre/Scranton Penguins.
Stone, whose team is out of the reach of any hope of reaching the playoffs, realizes there is still work to be done, and professional pride is still on the line.
“You’re still fighting for your job and stuff like that,” admitted Stone. “We get to play a spoiler role for the rest of the way in. These guys (Hershey) are fighting for first place and you don’t want to come out not ready. You want to play your best, because you never know what will happen next year.”
On a personal level, in his first visit to Hershey in a uniform other than that of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Stone stated that this win was no different than any other victory over the Bears.
“They are a good team. I know they bring a little more to the table than some of the others, with me playing against them so often, but all of the emotions are the same,” Stone said.
Springfield goaltender, Devan Dubnyk, stopped all 14 shots he faced in the first period, but could not stop the first shot of the second period, a laser from Alexandre Giroux, his 46th goal at 43 seconds. Giroux’s goal, his team’s first 4-on-3 tally of the season, tied the game at one.
Giroux’s goal proved to be the only significant highlight of the game for the next 30 minutes of play.
Perhaps hungry for a little more action in the third, Varlamov after gloving a shot from Ryan Constant, elected to keep the play alive instead of covering for a whistle. His decision came back to haunt him when only seconds later, Ryan Potulny deflected another Constant point shot into the net, giving the Falcons a 2-1 lead.
Just 24 seconds later, the Bears answered Potulny’s goal with one of their own to tie the score at two. Andrew Gordon, who has recently clicked with constant linemate, Kyle Wilson, and new addition, Francois Bouchard, converted Bouchard’s pass for his 20th goal of the season. With his goal, Gordon became one of the six Bears to reach the 20-goal plateau this season.
“Bouchard was working down low, and we made eye contact. He had half a step on his man, and with one hand, he whipped it out in front of the net,” said Gordon. “I barely got to it; my timing was a little bit off. It was a slow pass, and I think it might have bounced off their defenseman at first. I just swung as hard as I could. By the time I connected with it, the goalie was already down because he was anticipating a harder shot.”
Gordon, while reasonably certain that injured teammate, Quintin Laing, will be inserted right back into the line when healthy, said he is enjoying the opportunity to play a part in Bouchard’s recent resurgence.
“Wilson and I played with a new left-winger just about every night until this last road trip,” Gordon said. “Then on back-to-back shifts in Toronto, Bouchard had a couple good goals and it boosted his confidence. I can’t give him enough credit; he’s doing a great job.”
Gordon’s goal was the last goal of the game, despite late power play opportunities for the Falcons in both regulation and overtime. The contest was forced into a shootout, where the Bears fell after Varlamov allowed goals to Willis, Brule, and Charles Linglet, and Dubnyk stopped three of four Hershey attempts.