Unable to solve their special teams problems, and searching for a solution to the Jean-Sebastian Aubin mystery, the veteran-laden Hershey Bears made a sly decision; they relied on a talented trio of rookies to do all the hard labor, but still eventually fell to the Philadelphia Phantoms in a shoot out at the Wachovia Spectrum, 4-3.
The all-rookie line, consisting of Oskar Osala, Matthieu Perreault, and Francois Bouchard, was the only line able to produce, combining for three goals in the last ten minutes of the game, with Osala netting a pair and Perreault tallying the game-tying goal with 1 minute, 57 seconds to go in regulation. Osala, despite receiving the glory for his goal-scoring, was quick to compliment his linemates. “It’s two Frenchies, ya know. They’re so skilled and so quick so I just try to skate there and make room for them and keep my stick on the ice and be ready for the shot.”
Ending one of the roughest stretches of their schedule, which saw them play four games in five nights, head coach Bob Woods sang the praises of his third-line young charges. “Give the young guys credit; they came out and gave us a lift and they were pretty unbelievable in the third period,” he said. “When you get into a situation where you are 4-in-5 (games), or 3-in-3, and two of the guys did not play last night, so they had a little bit more energy, so you look for your young guys to be a spark sometimes, especially in situations like that.”
Bobby Goepfert, made his second start in the net for the Bears, and like his first start in Albany on Friday, this contest also ended with a shoot out verdict. Goepfert was solid, if not spectacular in net for Hershey, making 31 saves, and stopping three of six shoot out attempts. Woods, who has had some concerns of late regarding his number one net minder, Daren Machesney, found little fault with Goepfert’s outing. “He played good; we’d like to not give up as many goals, but I don’t know that I really fault him on any. I don’t think there was a bad goal.“
Though the Bears were able to strike with alarming consistency on the power play in the early stages of the season, the sirens are now sounding in alarm rather than celebration. During their last four encounters, the power play unit has struggled mightily, failing to convert on their last 29 opportunities. When asked about the next step in the recovery process, Woods offered no magical solution. “I don’t know. It will probably be the main focus this week. We are going to have to tear it down and rebuild it,” he said. “Some guys are fighting the puck right now and when you’ve got key guys fighting the puck, it’s tough to make things happen.”
There is no denying the struggles of the team at this juncture, and many are quick to offer complicated advice. However, perhaps Finnish-born Oskar Osala said it best last night, when asked his thoughts on the club’s recent scoring struggles. “(We need to) go back to basics and just make it so simple. It’s not rocket science…everybody knows that.”