FIRST PLACE BEARS WIN AGAIN FRIDAY

October 17, 2008

THE PERFECT ROAD TRIP: BEARS WIN ALL FOUR WITH WIN AT PHILLY By: John Walton The BEARS continued early season dominance, but needed to rally from three different one-goal deficits to win 5-4 Friday at Philadelphia. The Phantoms opened the scoring in the first period when Rob Bellamy scored his first goal of the season just 2:33 into the contest. HERSHEY found the equalizer when Andrew Gordon scored his third goal of the season at 8:23 from Tyler Sloan and Kyle Wilson, but Philadelphia again found a way to get in front. Jonathan Matsumoto scored his second of the season from former BEARS Boyd Kane and Danny Syvret. The Phantoms led 2-1 after one. Quintin Laing scored his first goal of the season to lead off the second, with a tip of a Dean Arsene shot. Arsene and Sean Collins each picked up their first points of the season, and the game was tied at 2-2. The BEARS had a brief lead in the second when Alexandre Giroux scored his third of the season, but the Phantoms tied the game just 15 seconds later when Syvret scored his first of the season. Philly would take a 4-3 lead to the dressing room when Matsumoto potted his second of the game at 18:16. For the first time this season, the BEARS trailed after two periods. Down 4-3 late, Oskar Osala tied the game for HERSHEY with his second goal of the season at 13:32. Osala was assisted by Mathieu Perreault and Sean Collins. With just 2:24 remaining, Dean Arsene scored on a left-point shot that proved to be the game-winner against goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin. The BEARS remained perfect at 4-0-0-0, and still possess the best record in the AHL. Notes: The 71st home opener in team history is Saturday night at GIANT Center when the Syracuse Crunch come to town. Face-off is at 7:00 p.m., with tickets still available at the GIANT Center box office, or by calling (717) 534-3911. The game Friday was the first of 12 between the two teams in 2008-09, with Hershey’s final trip to the Spectrum set for Friday, April 10. Entering Friday’s action, the BEARS have a 24-7-2-3 against the Phantoms over the last three years, including a 13-1-2-2 record at the Spectrum. Collins picked up two assists in his season debut. With his fight in the first period against Matt Clackson and his assist on Laing’s goal in the second, Arsene claimed a Gordie Howe Hat Trick in the contest. Bears Radio Network Three Stars of the Game 1. Dean Arsene (Mr. Howe, meet Mr. Arsene, goal, assist, fight) 2. Jonathan Matsumoto, Philadelphia (Two goals, nearly a third to tie it) 3. Oskar Osala (Game-tying goal in third, fourth line continues to amaze)