Dany Sabourin made 20 saves for Hershey. (File photo by M. Richter)
TORONTO – The Bears played the Toronto Marlies in their second of three back-to-back road games Saturday, following a SO loss to the Hamilton Bulldogs Friday evening. The team hasn’t seen a lot of road action so far this season, this being the 17th time its played the role of visitor and mostly single game trips. The three-in-three trip isn’t only their second time on the road this month, but it’s also their longest stretch so far. With no rest days in between, the Bears have their work cut out for them to come out on top in game three.
In tonight’s 2-1 Toronto win, the Marlies showed spirit for the home crowd right off the drop and took advantage of an early hooking penalty from Cameron Schilling. The Bears managed to kill off the penalty, but they had some difficulty keeping the puck out of their end following their kill and fell 1-0 just four minutes into the game. Later in the first, Hershey gained control of the ice and placed some well-needed pressure on the Marlies throughout parts of the second and third as well.
Part of what gave them the opportunity to hold the ice advantage were the penalties taken by the Marlies – two in the first, three in the second – while Hershey only took three through the whole game.
Despite Hershey having the power play advantage in the game, the Marlies’ netminder, Drew MacIntyre, showed his dominance in the crease. This was an important start for him since it was his first game with Toronto since being acquired by ECHL affiliate of the Capitals, the Reading Royals. Of the Bears’ five chances on the power play, Casey Wellman scored their only goal in the second period, on their third chance.
Although MacIntyre only let in one goal, Dany Sabourin had a good game, himself – stopping 20 of 22 shots. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to carry the team over the Leafs farm club, giving Hershey their second loss of the trip and making the three day experience seem even longer for the club.
On a positive note, the trip brought the many Canadians on the club closer to home to play in front of friends and family. There was a noticeable number of people sporting Bears and Caps jerseys – including a large group chanting ‘Let’s Go Bears!” during the second period.
And all hope is not lost for this trip, either. Although the Bears were not successful in the Canadian portion of this road trip, they’re heading back to the States, where they will face the Americans tomorrow afternoon in Rochester, NY, and hopefully they will manage to bring this trip to a more positive conclusion.
Meanwhile, in Reading…
It was Pink in the Rink night! The Royals beat the Elmira Jackals, 4-3.
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Photos by @bfwc
