History was made at Giant Center tonight when the Hershey Bears set a new franchise record with their 11th straight victory, scratching out a 3-0 win over the Norfolk Admirals. Head coach Bob Woods, the club’s 22nd bench boss, was understandably impressed with the achievement, considering the recent roster shuffling.
“It’s awesome,“ said Woods, whose team who also marked their 20th win of the season. “You look at what this team has overcome in the last 2-3 weeks here, it makes it even more special, again, credit to these guys. They just refuse to lose.”
Scoring chances were few and far between in the first period, but the two best occurred within seconds of each other. Hershey’s Chris Bourque had the first quality opportunity, a slapshot from the face-off dot that was repelled by Norfolk goaltender, Mike McKenna. On Norfolk’s ensuing rush down the ice, Greg Amadio’s diving block thwarted an Admiral’s prime attempt to be the first to light the lamp. One of the premier shot-blockers in the American Hockey League, Hershey’s own Quintin Laing, appreciated the efforts of his teammate.
“He definitely takes the cake with that. He puts himself on the line every time,” said Laing. “When you’re far back like that, there’s more chance of getting hit with a high shot. When I get my blocks, it’s usually from the waist down; when he goes down, he usually gets hit from the hips up. It takes a lot of courage to do what he does.”
Well into the second period, Chris Bourque, playing center this weekend due to the absence of Keith Aucoin, netted the first goal of the game after gathering his own face-off win. After retrieving the puck from beyond the goal line, Bourque banked it off a slow-moving Mike McKenna as he tried to back into the net.
Steve Pinizzotto’s shot, with 16 seconds left in the second period, gave the Bears a 2-0 cushion.
“It was kind of a flukey bounce. It came up to the upper slot area and I just shot it. I think it was going a little extra wide, but it got hit by maybe a skate or something,” said Pinizzottto, after scoring his first AHL goal. “Usually that’s how your first one comes, kinda flukey.”
Pinizzotto, who began the season in Hershey, but ended up playing 11 games in the ECHL for the South Caroline Stingrays, was recalled to the Bears on November 22nd, admitted that it is a struggle to stay positive during his ECHL stint.
“Oh yeah, for sure it was. You kind of just have to go with it,” said Pinizzotto. “It’s out of your control and you just have to play the best you can down there and hopefully get the call.”
Graham Mink’s empty net goal with two seconds left on the clock sealed the deal for Hershey.
Bears’ net minder, Daren Machesney, second in the league in shutout wins, posted his third of the season, and third in his last four starts. In those last four outings, Machesney has an impressive save percentage of .989 and a sparkling goals against average of 0.25. Machesney’s workload was light in the first period, but by the end of the game, he had stopped all 30 Norfolk missiles.
“I’m getting used to it,” said Machesney, commenting on his light first period work load. “I haven’t got a lot of work the last couple weeks. You try to stay focused, control what you can control. You can’t control how many shots they put on you. You have to deal with them when they come.”