BEARS BLAST MOOSE (AGAIN) 8-2 AT GIANT CENTER

January 23, 2010

AUCOIN’S FOUR-POINT EFFORT FUELS BEARS Hershey Sweeps Season Series with Manitoba By Jess Mikula Posting two goals and two assists in Saturday night’s contest, Keith Aucoin led the BEARS’ offense in an 8-2 victory over the Manitoba Moose before a record-breaking crowd 10,844 fans strong. The Moose struck early with a goal from Guillaume Desbiens, assisted by Mario Bliznak and Evan Oberg at 1:19. HERSHEY answered with three goals. Aucoin launched a one timer from the left circle to knot the score at one with a power play marker at 7:14. Chris Bourque and Alexandre Giroux added the assists on Aucoin’s 24th goal of the season. Jay Beagle dropped a pass to Oskar Osala after a draw to the right of Manitoba netminder Daren Machesney, with Osala finding his 12th of the year at 11:50. Beagle potted a goal of his ownâ€"his ninth of the seasonâ€"27 seconds later from Andrew Joudrey and Osala. The BEARS outshot the Moose by a 22-9 margin in the first and held a 3-1 lead after one. Aucoin netted his second of the night on a breakaway, going top shelf glove side on Machesney at 1:48, from Giroux and Bryan Helmer. Bourque fed a pass ahead to John Carlson in neutral ice, and Carlson broke into the Manitoba zone one-on-none to notch his second goal of the year at 8:07. The Moose responded with an even strength tally from Evan Rankin at 14:07, assisted by Tom Maxwell and Mathieu Schneider. The Chocolate and White maintained a two-goal advantage after 40 minutes. HERSHEY tallied three unanswered goals in the third period to bury the visiting Moose. Andrew Gordon found his 21st of the season and second in as many games with a deflection of an Aucoin slap shot at 1:05. Bourque added the secondary assist on the power play goal. Bourque scored a power play goal of his own for his 13th of the year at 11:13, with assists from Aucoin and Carlson. Boyd Kane rounded out scoring for the Chocolate and White, finding the back of the net with a wrister from Steve Pinizzotto and Patrick McNeill at 18:21. Braden Holtby backstopped the BEARS to his 15th win between the pipes this season, turning aside 31 of 33 shots. The HERSHEY power play struck three times on six chances, and the penalty kill blanked Manitoba on both of its man advantages. Bears Radio Network Three Stars of the Game: 1. Keith Aucoin (two goals, two assists) 2. Chris Bourque (one goal, three assists) 3. John Carlson (one goal, one assist) Notes: With 10,844 fans in attendance, Saturday marked the fifth sellout of the season for HERSHEY and set a new BEARS all-time regular season attendance record. Aucoin and Giroux both extended their scoring streaks to 13 straight games Saturday night. The BEARS will trek to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton next Friday night for a 7:05 p.m. start before a pair of home games. The Albany River Rats come to call for a 7:00 p.m. puck drop Saturday before the Chocolate and White host the Binghamton Senators at 5:00 p.m. Sunday night. Tickets are available at the Giant Center box office or by calling (717) 534-3911.