Capitals-Bruins Winners & Losers

First off, realize that this post-game format is a cheap imitation of Mr.Irrelevant's Winners & Losers.

Dap given, now let's get on to the Capitals' impressive 4-1 win:

Winners:

Jose Theodore. Theo circa 2002 showed up for tonight's game and displayed tremendous poise throughout the game. In some games last year, Jose looked rattled and uncomfortable between the pipes. But tonight, his composure was where it should be... at an NHL level. It's like the cliché goes, 'Competition makes everyone better'.

Brooks Laich. Dating back to March 27th last season, Laich has picked up 18 points (8+10) over the span of 21 games. Laich notched his sixth career two-goal game with both goals coming on the doorstep with the man advantage.

Alex Ovechkin. In four of his first five seasons, Ovechkin has picked up a two-goal game in either the first game or second game of the season. Two goals isn't too shabby for just five shots on goal. The Backstrom-to-Semin-to-Ovechkin passing exhibition that set-up Alex's first goal was a thing of beauty. If only every team gave Ovechkin a 10-foot buffer zone to pick his corner.

Nicklas Backstrom. Nicky B. is going to make a killing by feeding Ovechkin and company. It took Backstrom eight games last season to reach three assists, something he did for the 10th time in his short career. Offense aside, 3/8 (38%) on face-offs is unacceptable.

Special Teams. 2/4 with the extra man is great, but killing off all five Boston power plays is even more impressive. Boston was ranked 5th last year in PP efficiency and we should be thankful to have guys like David Steckel and Quintin Laing on the PK.

Face-Offs. 61% (30/49) will work every night. Backstrom was the only Capital with a sub-60% efficiency. Other than Nicklas, here's how the other guys fared:

Brendan Morrison - 8/11 (73%)

Boyd Gordon - 5/7 (71%)

David Steckel - 11/18 (61%)

Brooks Laich - 3/5 (60%)

Medium:

John Erskine. He dropped the mitts when he had to and got in some good jabs in a fight that ultimately ended in a draw.

Boyd Kane. Earlier, Bruce Boudreau said of Kane: "You're asking a guy to play the best nine minutes he can." Well, Kane finished with 9:12 of TOI and was completely unnoticeable...Meaning he had a fantastic game. Somewhat of a pleasant surprise for the 48th most valuable Cap.

New Additions. Even though they were the only two forwards on the first two lines not to pick up a point, Mike Knuble and Brendan Morrison both had solid games. I did not see Knuble as much as I thought I would, but when I did see him, he was right in Tim Thomas' grill. B-Mo also played a sound offensive game, and only lost three draws the whole night.

Possession. It might have been me, but there were times when it looked like Boston controlled the tempo and play in the Caps' zone. Most noticeably during the first five minutes of the game and right after Patrice Bergeron scored. The Caps were playing good defense and were not allowing many quality shots during these short segments, but the more time spent chasing the puck, the more likely something bad will come of it. Other than this, I could not really find anything to include below...

Losers:

VERSUS. For not being a part of my cable package and for not showing more Junior Seau, the Capitals new equipment manager. It's actually for his new TV show, but ya'll knew that.

Notable Stats:

• In the third period alone, Mike Green and Ovechkin doubled Boston's shot total.
  
• The Capitals had zero giveaways the whole game. No, seriously.
• The Caps' 4-1 win in Boston was their first in regulation in 15 games here, dating back to Dec. 2 2000.

Post-Game: Capitals vs Penguins Game 7

Check out the latest from THW:

Out of all the possible headlines following Game 7, “Varlamov yanked after allowing 4 Goals” was probably not very high on that list. Yet Simeon Varlamov– the star rookie who saved the Capitals’ season in Round 1 and played brilliant in Round 2– lasted just 22:13, and was replaced by former starter, Jose Theodore.

In addition to that, I would like to thank everyone out there who has read the blog. I plan on doing some fun things in the off-season so be sure to check back often!

But really, thanks again.

Post-Game: Capitals @ Rangers Game 6

Here is the post-game from Game 6 from THW:

It seems like this Washington Capitals team performs best with their back against the wall. Once again facing elimination, the Capitals found a way to get secondary scoring and won Game 6 5-3 at Madison Square Garden.

I know I've been posting a lot at TheHockeyWriters, but as soon as Finals Week is over on May 7th, you can be assured to get daily postings here as well.

Post-Game: Capitals vs Rangers Game 5

Check it out over at TheHockeyWriters:

Unlikely hero Matt Bradley scored two goals and Simeon Varlamov recorded his second shutout in three games as the Caps dominated the Rangers in a 4-0 victory to force Game 6 in New York on Sunday Afternoon.

Read more...

Post-Game: Capitals @ Rangers Game 4

Check out my post over at TheHockeyWriters for the post-game:

Everyone knew Henrik Lundqvist would be the key for a Rangers’ series upset, and thus far, he’s done just that by stealing the show from the high-powered Washington Capitals. Lundqvist held the Caps to one goal on 39 shots, while getting offense from Paul Mara and Chris Drury along the way. A late furry by Alex Ovechkin and company fell just short as the Rangers are just one win shy from advancing to the second round.

Read more...

Post-Game: Capitals vs Rangers (Game 2)

Another inconsistent performance leaves the Caps down 2-0 in the series...so much for home ice advantage:

• Simeon Varlamov played lights out this afternoon, but still took the loss after a 23 save performance. He proved that he can start at this level and deserves to start Game 3 on Monday.
• Tom Poti was too aggressive on the 2-on-1 that led to Ryan Callahan's goal. While attempting to fend off the pass, he got caught reaching and Chris Drury made a nice pass to the wide open Callahan who put it top shelf.
• The odd man rush came about because Mike Green pinching forward on offense. He was caught out of position and Viktor Kozlov failed to realize that he should have taken Green's spot. Koz attempted to keep the puck in the zone, but was beat, and the Rangers broke out on a 2-on-1. Kozlov also picked up two minor penalties, separated by 21 seconds of ice time between penalties. He got pushed off the puck and had a horrid game.
• Speaking of Green, he needs to step his game up if the Caps want to push this to six or seven games. The Rangers are going after him. Green led the Caps with seven (!!!) giveaways and six of his eight shots failed to reach the net.
• Alex Semin wasn't much better. He picked up two stupid and immature penalties. One for a hook (go figure), and one retaliation penalty via a slash to the neck (suspension? nah, but a stick to the neck is never within the rules or remotely clean).
• Of the bright spots, Eric Fehr, Brooks Laich, and Brian Pothier stuck out. Fehr was tenacious on offense in just 8:34 of ice time. Laich showed some great moves, but still needs to get to the front of the net. Pothier played well and should have played Game 1 also.

We'll end the recap with a little numbers game:

24- Number of Capitals' giveaways (compared to New York's seven).
24- Number of Capitals' missed shots (plus 29 blocked shots by the Rangers).
24- Number of Callahan, who scored the game-winning goal in the first period and received the game's second star.

Post-Game: Capitals vs Rangers

A disappointing and somewhat predictable Game 1 leave the Capitals in a must-win scenario Saturday afternoon. Here are some post-game observations:

• Jose Theodore did what some thought he would and lost the game for the Caps. Jose allowed three goals on 11 shots in the second period, all were momentum-killers. One came 1:09 after Washington took the lead, the other two came back-to-back in under two minutes of each other.
• Jeff Schultz...Tisk, tisk. I like to be as optimistic as I can when dissecting his game, but there was certainly nothing to like about Brandon Dubinsky doing his best Nate Robinson impression on poor old Schultz.
• Sean Avery is a prick...but you knew that.
  
• Really?...no penalty on Avery for shoving Mike Green back into the Rangers' bench when the puck is nowhere in sight? Or how about when Avery tripped Green on the blueline giving Scott Gomez a clear path on net? Or Nik Antropov running over Tomas Fleischmann on that same play when the puck is 50 feet away? The refs blew a few soft calls in favor of the Caps, but swalling the whistle for the rest of the game is just flat out not fair.

There were a few bright spots for the Capitals last night:

• Congrats to Fleischmann and Viktor Kozlov for scoring their first career playoff goals.
• Nicklas Backstrom has a five-game point streak dating back to Game 4 against the Flyers. Backstrom's assist to Kozlov pulled the Caps to within one goal with :49 seconds left in the second period.
• Matt Bradley made the most of his 7:01, throwing his body around as seen here at the :15 second mark. The longer the series goes on, the more the Caps will need his physical style of play.
• Alex Ovechkin had an MVP-calibr performance. Two assists, 13 shots, and six hits in just over 26 minutes was what the Capitals needed. If Henrik Lundqvist wasn't ridiculously good, this game could have gone to the Caps.
• The Capitals dominated the face-off circle, winning 70% (46/66) of the draws. They were led by Boyd Gordon (4/5, 80%) and Backstrom (13/18, 72%). It should be noted that the Caps went 19/21 (90%) on neutral zone draws. Sergei Fedorov led the team in the neutral zone, winning 10/12 (83%) draws.
• This game did not go to Overtime, therefore Green does not need 30:47 minutes of ice time. When Bruce Boudreau gets desperate, he leaves Greenie out there, which just tires him out even more. He did have two assists, but the 25-28 time-on-ice mark should be the amount Green should receive.

There are still a few lingering questions that Boudreau and his staff need to figure out by Game 2:

Which forward should get a jersey: Gordon, Donald Brashear, or even Chris Clark?

Who is the odd man out on the blue line: John Erskine, Milan Jurcina, or Brian Pothier?

Who to start in net: Simeon Varlamov or Jose ThreeOrMore?

Post-Game: Capitals @ Flyers

Yesterday's recap can be found over at The Hockey Writers.

Post-Game: Capitals vs Thrashers

Once again the Capitals jumped out to a two goal lead, this time they held on to it just long enough to get past the Thrashers.

• Alex Semin (increased his trade value?) had a hell of a game getting a goal and two assists, all on the power play. The Caps are 6-1 when Semin has three or more points with the only loss coming against the Thrashers the first game of the year.
• Michal Neuvirth had another solid performance against another struggling team in the Southeast Division. An ideal scenario for me would to see Neuvirth/Varlamov play in 3-4 games. while Jose Theodore gets the other 16-17.
• If this was last year, Eric Fehr's goal would have been stopped. The kid's getting the confidence and lucky bounces he needs. He also got 10 goals in one season in less games (41 GP) than Brooks Laich last year and Tomas Fleischmann this year.
• We need Viktor Kozlov on this team.
• How about some secondary shooting? Laich with 7 shots, Sergei Fedorov adding in four more.
• Kari Lehtonen kinda sucked this game. He really didn't show up for this one.
• Toby Enstrom had six blocked shots...Nice. Probably the second best Swede who played tonight.
• Ilya Kovalchuck is going to score 35 goals for the next eight (or more) years. He was one shy of 30 in his rookie season (65 GP), but there is nothing except for the horrendous team he plays for holding this guy back.
• Finally, there was no Brashear-Bogosian bout, but Brash-Boulton made up for it:
  

Post-Game: Capitals vs Avalanche

"When was the last time we played down to our competition?" Boudreau said. "We've lost two games [in regulation] in our last 14 and [the Kings] won [four] games in a row on that road trip against good teams. We weren't playing down to them -- they were playing really well.

In defense of Colorado, they have beaten the Red Wings three times this year, but still find themselves in the cellar in the Western Conference. So I'm not sure if this counts as playing down to the competition, but a 4-1 loss on home ice against Andrew Raycroft should and can not happen:

• After watching Nicklas Backstrom's hit at the end of the game a few times, he left his feet and it was late (maybe some elbow action too). You want to see aggression from all players, but within the rules and code of the game.
• Nicklas Kronwall lead all players with six hits. How much you want to bet that he'd want one against Ryan Smyth back?
• The net must have looked small tonight for Kronwall, Eric Fehr, and Alex Semin who all missed chances that would have gone in on other nights.
• The 4th line was NOT good tonight. Matt Bradley was on the ice for three Colorado goals and Donald Brashear's (6:28 TOI) turnover in the defensive zone led to Tyler Arnason's third period marker.
• Jose Theodore proved why he is the 27th best goalie in the league tonight.
• David Steckel went 90% (9/10) in the face-off circle. And Backstrom must have read JP's article on him and face-offs. Nicky went 9/14 (67%) overall and 5/7 (71%) in the defensive zone.
• Its hard to believe that Brian Willsie played in all 82 games and scored 19 goals in Alex Ovechkin's rookie season. Willsie has 16 goals in the past three years.
  
• Caps had 16 giveaways compared to nine by the Avs. Turnovers lead to goals boys...
• Next Western Conference opponent would be the Nashville Predators, who will host the Caps on March 10th. Maybe Taylor Swift will be there? (Taylor Swift will be in Melbourne on March 10th and not at the Preds/Caps game...Not like I'm scouring her tour dates to see when she's coming to the DC/MD/VA area or anything).
  

Finally some pics to finish this disappointing night:

Post-Game: Capitals vs Canadiens

What else can you say about Alex Ovechkin?

"You have to try something new," Ovechkin added about the play at the center ice. "Sometimes I try in practice and people say what are you doing? Sometimes I need to changed it and it's working. It was an important game for us, an important goal especially when they score right on power play."

What?! Ovi practices these things?? Then no wonder he can do this or this. It took less than one minute for the "MVP" chants to take over Verizon Center. He's got points in 10 straight, including TWO hat tricks in that span.

Other than the Great 8, there was a game to be played that the Caps at times seem like they would dominate, but at other times, ehh, not so much:

• Nicklas Backstrom has only four shootout attempts? He's batting .500 and should be in Boudreau's top three for the shootout.
• David Steckel was more excited about his goal than Ovi was for his. Stecks' goal tied things up with a little less than three minutes left. Stecks won the draw (64% on face-offs) and went right to the net as he should, and was rewarded.
• Mike Green looked tired. His facial expression after taking an early delay-of-game penalty looked as though he was sleepy. If in fact, he wasn't sleepy, he is now after playing almost 30 minutes (!).
• Jose Theodore had a rough game. He could have stopped the Habs' first two goals, but he was off tonight. He should be happy with the overall outcome...30 saves and a victory against his former team.
• Donald Brashear showed tremendous restraint on not beating the crap out of fighting George Laraque. Besides, we all know how that one turns out.
  
• All three goals scored on the power play? That's happened three too many times this year, and it needs to stop...now.

The Caps are now nine points back of Boston and two ahead of New Jersey. Next up is Colorado, who Greener should love to play against:


Also check out a breakdown of Ovechkin's unbelievable goal.

Post-Game: Capitals @ Lightning

In a game where it seemed like everything could happen, everything did happen.

First off:

• Props to Mike Green on setting the NHL modern day record for consecutive games with a goal. 2/3 of his goals have come on the power play. Taking a quick look at the Caps schedule, and Green has got at least a goal against all of the Caps' opponents this month except Pittsburgh. Green has two assists in 11 games in his career against the Penguins.
• Props to Michal Neuvirth (remember the "hard" 't' at the end of his name) on his first NHL win in his first NHL game. His dad flew in from Czech Republic to see his son play. After the game, a fan asked for a picture with him and he responded by saying, "I flew in from Czech Republic yesterday." Maybe his son will take the time to teach him english.
• Props to Eric Fehr who has five goals in his last six games. Eric even had a game and career high of six shots on net in 13:00 minutes of ice time. He's starting to show much more confidence in the past few weeks.
• Props to RED NATION...or whatever Caps fans in other cities want to be called. The lower bowl was noticably red tonight, with Caps fans everywhere. Heck even Caps Road Crew was in attendance.

And:

• I did not approve for the Morrisonn over Alzner decision, but it paid off with Mo's goal. The Caps need their 'D' men to push each other, and with Alzner knocking on the door for playing time, Mo stepped up.
• I did not notice Kronwall a lot tonight, but when I did, it was bad. His man scored on the only goal, but other than that mishap, he fared well in tonight's game.
• Matt Smaby really decked out Ovechkin on a few nice hits tonight. He finished with a game-high four hits.
• Nick Backstrom was 3/13 on face-offs. Tisk, tisk. Backstrom MUST improve on this by late spring. He added two assists, but face-offs are crucial and 23% is pathetic.
• Semin with the goal. Semin with the hook. Every (explitive) game!
• I've noticed Tom Poti is taking more chances and skating with the puck deep into the opponents zone, but hasn't been rewarded yet. And the opponent has taken advantage of him being out of position...yet.

All in favor of starting Neuvirth tomorrow against Florida? Well, maybe not, but he looked darn good making 31 saves. Varlamov made the same amount in his last start and the goalie position looks pretty solid for the years to come.

Post-Game: Capitals @ Rangers

It's hard to believe that Marek Malik's incredible shootout goal against Washington happened more than three years ago at the Garden. Only five Capitals remain on from that team (plus Poti and Nylander from the Rangers), and unfortunately for Washington, it only took New York four rounds to beat the Caps this time:

• Mike Green. I knew something was special when he scored that coast-to-coast goal against the Avalanche in 2006. Enough with the "He's not a true 'D' man." I could care less. He's got as many goals as Sidney Crosby does....and Sidney is spotting him 12 games. Just give him the Norris already.
• Milan Jurcina looked out of position on one two three of the Rangers goals. But then again, why am I surprised?
• Shaone Morrisonn is playing his way out of a spot. The Caps got an extra defenceman for a reason, and ShaMo might be that reason.
• Alex Ovechkin was contained pretty well by Marc Staal and the rest of the Blueshirts. His 13 hits were more than double the highest hit total for a NYR player.
• Jay Beagle played pretty solid in his NHL debut...Look for a post coming up real soon about him. (Just 2/7 on face-offs, but its hard to fault the kid).
  
• It's about time Donald Brashear does something...He seems to like fighting against the Rangers. Was Bradley's fight really necessary? Oh well, the Caps need more fighting anyways.
  

Post-Game: Capitals vs Panthers

I went old school on this one and listened to it on the radio (not my choice), so there will be no post game :( .

Post-Game: Capitals vs Kings

Some games you lose, and that's that...Other games you lose and you have that sour taste in your mouth. Tonight's game was more of the latter.

• 15 seconds in, I thought the game was over. Great hustle by Brooks Laich and a great finish by Alexander Semin for his 20th. I'm sure the Caps thought they were going to run away with this one also, but the Western Conference has been their kryptonite: The Caps are 7-9 in non-conference games.
• I'm pretty sure I've said this before, but the power play needs to play defense also. Giving up shorthanded goals and breakaways are momentum killers and good teams don't allow chances when the other team is a man down.
  
• How many times has a hot goalie on a mediocre team (See: Steve Mason) come into our house and stifle our sharpshooters? Jonathan Quick stopped 41 shots, and listeners had to deal with lame puns every time Quick moved side to side.
• Alex Ovechkin's nine shots were a game-high and Ovi was rewarded with his 200th goal in his 295th game.
• Jeff Shultz- Tisk, tisk. Yeah just keep backing up, let the King's best player have his space and time to pick his target. Great scouting.
• Eric Fehr did have five shots, but didn't look that good. No worries (see image below).

Post-Game: Capitals @ Devils

My afternoon nap lasted three hours longer than I expected and that cut into the 1st period, but never-the-less, the Caps win again and here we go:

• Is it just me or do opposing teams get at least one quality scoring chance while penalty killing? 3/4 is the way it should be great on the power play, but the Caps need to eliminate ALL short-handed opportunties.
• "Mr. Circles" had his first two goal game in over a year (and was named the 1st star of the game). Had Koz not gone down, would he still get three minutes of power play time? Another groin injury? Oh boy.
• With only 18:29 TOI, Alex Ovechkin ended his streak of 20 straight games of 20 minutes or more. February is Ovechkin's lowest point to game ratio (33 to 30).
• Could a 'D' man win the MVP? We might have to be asking ourselves if Greener keeps it up. He's tearing it up with four goals in as many games.

Next up is Anze Kopitar and the Los Angeles Kings.

Post-Game: Capitals vs Senators

Sunday afternoon, Washington decided to play 40 minutes of solid hockey, before letting Ottawa back into the game before winning by a field goal.

• Alex Ovechkin might as well have clinced the MVP award this afternoon after recording his second hat trick of the season. Four shots and three hits including jacking up Ottawa's dirty enforcer, Jarrko Ruutu.
• Seven seconds of powerplay time and two powerplay goals really speaks for itself...but why let up after the first period (0-3 in last two periods).
• Tom Poti's 4:52 of quality penalty-killing was a lifesaver and sorely missed in January and December.
• Alexander Semin- 2 minutes for tripping. When will his mindless penalties outweigh his tremendous offensive talent?
• Sergei Fedorov had three assists for the second time this year. He's got 18 points in 24 games and the Caps are 3-0 when he tallies more than one point.
• Brent Johnson stat line at home: 9-0-1/2.08/.932. Makes you kind of think of this, eh?
• Milan Jurcina's five blocked shots almost gets lost in his stats for the game (+2, 2 PIM). Props.
• Eric Fehr deserves ice time, and this is not the first time I've said this.
• Jeff Schultz went +4...what? He's done that three times in his 144 game career, and is all of as sudden NOT my least favorite Capital...

To wrap it up, I've taken these screen shots:


Diehard fan:


Jersey foul? You decide:



This might as well been a Crosby jersey for what its worth.

Post-Game: Capitals @ Bruins

The Caps probably could have left Beantown with a 2-point night, but in my opinion, there's nothing wrong with an OTL against the best team in the Conference.

• Mike "FUCK YEAH" Green can thank Brooks Laich for the traffic in front on Green's goal, which should have been on the powerplay if you watch it again.
• Jeff Schultz sure had a good view of Shawn Thorton's goal. Thorton skated right by Schultz...on the backhand, while Jeff offered a weak poke check attempt.
• Marc Savard celebration= Briere fist pump + Ovechkin leap.
• Michael Nylander was off the hook for about 10 minutes before he took a dumb penalty that led to Savard's goal.
• Green and Alex Ovechkin combined for 17 shots, and Donald Brashear was the only forward not to register a shot on goal.
• Tomas Fleischmann has six points in eight games this month and had another great game last night.
  
• I trust Jose Theodore...do you?

Next up, the Detroit Red Wings.

Post-Game: Hershey Bears vs Albany River Rats

This was a very bad game from the start with the Bears giving up four goals in the first, and ended up losing 7-2 to the last place team in their division, the Albany River Rats.

• On a positive note, Alexandre Giroux scored his 29th of the season and is two games away from tying Brett Hull's record of 14 consecutive games with a goal.
• Simeon Varlamov didn't make it to the second period, getting pulled after stopping 11/15 shots through the first. He didn't look bad per se, but a change in net was necessary after a 4-0 deficit.
• Chris Bourque played hard the whole game...can't say the same about most of the Bears' players.
• The Rookie Line decided to play the third period, but not the first two.
• Scary moment when Jay Beagle went down awkwardly in the corner, but after about 30 seconds of lying motionless, face down, Beagle was on his feet and returned to the game.
• The defense struggled mightly clearing the puck out in front of the net with both Karl Alzner and Bryan Helmer suiting up for the Capitals tonight.
• Tim Clownboy and Tyler Sloan got major beef... Conboy was yelling at Sloaner in the penalty box after charging the Bears' 'D' man after the whistle, forcing him to fight. I'd call it a draw, but Sloan threw Conboy to the ground.

My man, Jerome Samoson (pronounced Sam-SONN), netted two goals including the game winner, but Michael Ryan stole the show with a hat trick by the 2nd period. Ryan finished with three goals on four shots, and two penalties (including diving). Ryan now has three hat tricks this year? Wow that seems kind of high. Even 'Rooster' only has one hat trick, and he's leading the league in goals...

Post-Game: Capitals @ Canadiens

Well I missed most of the Caps loss to the Blue Jackets yesterday, and frankly, I wish I had missed this game too. They looked tired and not ready to face one of the better Eastern Conference team. The team blew a chance to have Bruce Boudreau represent the Capitals behind the bench at the All-Star game.

• Way to go Milan Jurcina. Way. To. Go.
• Brent Johnson played well in his second appearance in the new year. The last goal was a little questionable, but he had some stellar saves to keep Washington in the game.
• The power play just looked awful. Individual performances and lack of communication doomed the Caps with the extra man.
• Tomas Fleischmann- Your goal does NOT make up for leisurely skating to the puck as Tomas Plekanec raced by you to score short-handed.
• The first goal of the game was scored by All-Star, Alexander Semin, with assists to All-Star Mike Green and Tyler Sloan.
• The Habs' All-Stars (Kovalev, Komisarek, and Markov) combined for three assists.
• I can't believe I'm saying this, but I want Jeff Schultz back. Sean Collins need to go back to where he belongs...in the AHL.
• Props to David Steckel on the penalty kill.
• Ovechkin should have never shaved...And what's up with the boo birds when he touches the puck? Are the Canadiens' fans THAT jealous of him?
  
• I'm not a fan of Andrei Kostitsin, and you should be either:

Tomorrow, I will leave Arlington, and continue blogging from school in Harrisburg. I plan on going to the Hershey Bears' game on Wednesday the 14th against the Albany River Rats, the Hurricane's farm team.