Per the Caps' website, the Caps have signed Jay Beagle to a two-year entry level contract.
Financial terms were, as usual, not disclosed but it's probably safe to say he'll earn around the league minimum. Beagle has emerged as one of the top scorers for the Bears, picking up 32 points (18G, 14A) in 54 games played this year - for more scouting info you can check out Talk Hockey to Me, a Bears-centric blog with plenty of dirt on (and plenty of gameday pics of) Beagle.
And the Caps reassigned Sami Lepisto to Hershey today - again - in preparation for John Erskine's impending return after missing six games with an upper body injury. It's a good news/bad news type of thing, really. The good news, Sami gets to go back to the Bears and get more playing time, something that is obviously much better for young players than press box time...but Erskine is back.
Question: does Erskine have compromising pictures of Boudreau? Sure, he's played slightly better of late but slightly better than painfully bad is still painfully bad. I just don't see his positives as compared to someone like Steve Eminger, who is likely on his way back to the press box.
Puzzle.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Chocolate Update
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Smackdown in Hershey
Apologies for the lack of recaps and previews this weekend - I've fled the confines of DC for the chocolatey hills of Hershey, Pennsylvania, where I'm immersing myself in all things Bears for a few days. Hopefully the Caps can pull out a win tonight to restore my faith but I'd be lying if I said I didn't need a little mental break.
So I headed off to Hershey yesterday where I met up with fellow hockey lunatics Teka (a Bears/Penguins fan) and Nadine (a Flyers fan). Needless to say, much hilarity ensued as we tried to convince one another that our respective teams were not, in fact, evil. You can guess how successful that was...
This morning we trekked over to Giant Center and caught the Bears' morning skate, which although optional was fairly well attended. The boys were in high spirits, having dispensed with the Baby Pens last night, and it was nice as always to see the familiar face of Ben Clymer among the smiles.
The Hersheyness continued with a sightseeing tour of the town. Local landmarks visited: the one Starbucks in town, Chocolate World (where we were accosted by a Hummer driver from New York...a rude New Yorker, go figure), and the local strip mall (including a happenstance sighting of the Bourquemobile).
And then tonight. The main event. Bears. Phantoms. A Caps fan, a Bears/Pens fan, and TWO Flyers fans. Who will win? Who will lose? Who will come out alive? Tune in tomorrow...hopefully...
Friday, October 05, 2007
Clymer Confusion
So the confusing saga of Ben Clymer continues, as Tarik is reporting that he has been recalled and will clear waivers tomorrow at noon. Whether that means he has actually cleared waivers or that if he clears, it will be tomorrow at noon is just one of the questions we have right now.
Is Semin's injury worse than we were made to believe? Is there a trade pending that would free up a roster spot? Is someone else, i.e. Sutherby, injured? Are the Caps hoping that some other team will just take him off their hands, even at a cost of half his salary? Will Susan ever get her memory back after the horrible car crash that left her with amnesia and two dead fiancés? And who is Brett's real father?
Just when you thought you could get comfortable on the couch/bar stool and watch the Caps open the season with no worries in the world, this happens. And no one seems to know anything, so basically I'm merely the messenger, letting you know that...well, no one seems to know anything.
It's a riddle wrapped in a mystery tied with an enigma and covered in red, white and blue. Stay tuned.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Clymer to Hershey
The Caps continued to make cuts today, as Ben Clymer cleared waivers today and has been assigned to Hershey. Should he be called up he would again be subject to the waiver wire, and any team that picked him up at that point would only be responsible for half his salary.
More later...
Thursday, June 07, 2007
No Sweet Repeat
14,285 fans are screaming at the top of their lungs tonight in Copps Coliseum, home of the Hamilton Bulldogs - your 2007 Calder Cup Champions.
So one final time, altogether now: B-E-A-R-S Bears Bears Bears...woo.
This just isn't my year.
Monday, June 04, 2007
All Eyes On Ontario
Big hockey night around the leagues tonight, so get those bottles of beer cooled, those remotes warmed up, and that computer humming - lots to see!
- First up, the Hershey Bears make their first postseason visit to Hamilton for a game 3 tilt against the Bulldogs. After a flat start by Hershey and a stellar goaltending performance by Carey Price in Game 1, the Bears roared back (sorry, had to do it) to even up the series with a win Saturday night.
Can the boys from Chocolatetown take a 2-1 lead in the wilds of Ontario? Who knows...I can say this, though - I would get comfortable, this series could be a long one. Start time is 7:30 so plan for puck drop about 15 minutes later, probably about the time that Doc Emrick is perfecting his combover for tonight's NHL broadcast. You can catch all the thrilling AHL action online through B2 Networks.
Also, be sure to submit your questions at caldercup.com for our very own fauxhawk king, Mike Green, who steps into the AHL Chat Room tomorrow to face the firing squad. Want to know how AHL playoffs are preparing him for NHL life? Curious about his sudden scoring prowess? Dying to know just what hair products he uses? Send those inquiries along and see what he says!
(If someone actually does submit that hair product question and it gets picked I'll send you a cookie...)
- And then, the main event...a reinvigorated Ottawa team takes on a Pronger-less Ducks squad as they attempt to tie the series at two. We've had two really good, evenly played games and one 1-0 slaughter by the Ducks, so it's a toss-up what kind of a game we'll see tonight.
Here's a few things we'll definitely see, though:
- Eddie Olczyk will call at least two penalty calls "bad calls" and scoff about them long after the penalty is expired
- Chris Neil will yap at someone and try and get them to drop the gloves before the puck is even dropped
- J.S. Giguere will drink out of a straw...hey, at least he's graduated from the sippy cup
- Chris Pronger will be in the press box - I'm guessing he'll be heavily sedated to prevent him from trying to decapitate any of the media; luckily there are only two or three of them, so they'll be able to keep some empty chairs between them
- Jason Spezza will make a beautiful play then promptly turn over the puck, à la Alexander Semin
- Ryan Getzlaf will say a bad word right when the camera has his face in close up
- Bryan Murray will stand behind the bench, arms crossed, glowering at something - whether he's happy or not
- At least five crazy Sens fans dressed as Roman warriors will appear on camera throughout the night
- Arnold Schwarzenegger will not drop the puck to start the game. Thank god.
Playoff action hot and heavy all over the place? Can you feel the excitement? CAN YOU?
...meh. Sort of.
- Just a quick note about the Blogger Playoff Pool - I've got one poor sucker's Caps post (pending final approval) but am still awaiting the other two.
You know who you are, guys...it's best just to get it over with, do it quickly and painfully, like ripping off a band-aid. And pouring acid over it. Then throwing on a Caps jersey.
See? Not so bad! :)
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Da Bears
It's so quiet right now I swear I just saw tumbleweed fly across the NHL website. It's that calm before the storm where everything about the upcoming series has been said, all the matchups analyzed and overanalyzed, all the key factors pointed out and pounded into our brains, and now all we can do...is wait.
Tap our fingers impatiently on the table.
Watch bad reality television.
Maybe hum a little tune.
Or we could *gasp* watch hockey! Now bear with me, because this may sound a little crazy, but did you know that not only is there hockey being played this very night, but said hockey is also of direct interest to Caps fans?
Capitals-related postseason hockey. I kid you not.
Tonight the Hershey Bears look to close out the sweep of the Manchester Monarchs and advance to the Calder Cup Finals for the second straight year. At the same time the Hamilton Bulldogs will attempt to take care of some unfinished business and do what they couldn't do last night - eliminate the Chicago Wolves.
It's just very exciting, kids. Lots of layers to this one, too:
- The Bears have only lost two games this postseason, both in overtime. Their opponents, the Manchester Monarchs, had up until this year never won a playoff series...so you have to think that everything else is just gravy and they'll just roll over. (Hey, a girl can dream.)
- Meanwhile out West...ish...Hamilton is en route to their third Calder Cup Final appearance in franchise history, provided they can take care of those pesky Chicago Wolves, although we know them better as the baby Thrashers.
- Fun fact that I uncovered - the Bulldogs clinched their first appearance in the Finals with a win over Albany exactly ten years ago tomorrow. Their opponent in that championship series? The Hershey Bears. Freaky.
- More semi-interesting tidbits -
- 3 of the top 10 scorers in the AHL playoffs so far are from Hershey. That's not completely unexpected, but consider the fact that the Bears have played 13 games, fewer than any of the other three remaining teams. The top two scorers are both from Chicago, while Manchester has 2 of the top 10 as well and poor Hamilton only has one. The Baby Pens and the Baby Bruins each somehow snuck a player in to the top 10...go figure.
- Of the top 20 scorers, Hershey has five: Fleischmann, Barney, Wilson, Steckel and Mike freakin' Green. Love it.
- In the last two postseasons, Hershey has lost only 7 games - 3 of those losses came in overtime (including both losses this year), 2 losses were by one goal, and 2 were by two goals. Only once were they shutout. Is that good? That seems good to me. I don't know.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
Some Time-Delayed Thoughts
- Splattered octopus on the ice = gross. Hasek skating over to look at a splattered octopus = absolutely disgusting. Slinky-backed freak of nature.
- If the annoying trumpet guy in Detroit doesn't learn how to play "Hava Nagila" correctly, I'm going to take his horn and shove it down his throat. (For those of you curious as to how it should sound, click here. And please resist the urge to yell "Charge!" at the end. I promise no one does that at weddings.)
- Ron Wilson needs to find the fire that has propelled his team through the standings and into the postseason, because it certainly wasn't there today. They looked sloppy in the two periods that I saw, and while Detroit may not be as scary as they once were, they're still a damn good hockey team. Sloppy just isn't going to cut it. Neither is consistently giving up a lead. Or bad puck movement by the goaltender. Let's face it, 99% of what they did today needs to be reversed upon returning to the Shark Tank or they'll be golfing with the Devils faster than they can say "Jaws".
- Are there different rules in Motown about standing up during play? Every time the camera pans back to reveal the crowd, people are moving in and out of the rows freely as though nothing was going on. It's pretty funny to watch the camera guys try frantically to find an angle that doesn't include people's heads, though. Lots of extreme close-ups at the Joe.
- Ray Emery got into a fender-bender on his way to the airport and for some reason its making headline news. Must be a slow news day.
- Say what you want about guys like Emery, Alfredsson, Heatley, and their importance to this Ottawa team, but in my mind the unsung hero of the Sens' run to this point would have to be Chris Neil. I love to hate him and he does have a penchant for those questionable, borderline hits, but the guy is a momentum shifter and can be a heck of a hockey player when he wants to be. He is the quintessential checking line forward and worth his weight in gold so far this postseason. Plus I like watching him grin with that huge gap in his teeth, it makes me giggle.
- John Vanbiesbrouck gets my unanimous vote for tonight's Mr. Pessimistic Award. From about the 10 minute mark of the third period on, he was railing on the Devils - picking on Lamoriello, their defense, Brodeur, and the team in general. It's strange, too, because they were only down by 2 goals - not an overwhelming gap by any means, especially in the postseason. I'm no Jersey fan, but even I was getting annoyed with Beezer (although I always get annoyed by Beezer).
- Tonight's NJ-Ott game really brought to light the fatal flaw in the Devils time-tested game plan. It's all well and good to focus on defense, rely on your future Hall of Fame goaltender, and muck up the neutral zone. But what happens when your vaunted defense gets sloppy and slow? What happens when a potent offense breaks through the sludge at center ice? What happens when your goalie not only can't make the big saves but also lets in some softies? We saw what happens...you get knocked out in 5 games. Live and learn.
- I didn't get to watch this one at all, but it looks like the Bears shut out the Baby Pens 2-0 in Wilkes-Barre to take a stranglehold 3-0 series lead. Get out those brooms, I wanna see a sweep! Ready? All together now...B-E-A-R-S Bears Bears Bears WOOOOOO!!!
- And finally, the most important question of the night: what the HELL happened to Peter Schaefer's hair??
Friday, April 13, 2007
B-E-A-R-S BEARS BEARS BEARS WOOOOO
Monday, April 09, 2007
How Sweet It Is
The end of the regular season is always a little rough on me. The Caps are out of the playoffs, the playoffs haven’t started yet, and so I find myself seeking out other sources of hockey entertainment. Sure, I could watch Miracle for the 3000th time, but I swear I’m about two viewings away from believing I’m one of the members of the USA Hockey team. (“CapsChick, Washington DC...I play for the United States of America!”)
So after months of casually tossing around the idea, my roommate and I decided to finally get off our butts and go see a Bears game live. We piled into our little zipcar (shameless plug in hopes of getting free stuff) and headed up I-83 into the mountains of Pennsylvania, passing tiny towns and wide open farmland on our way. It was good to get out of the city, away from the memories of the season that might have been, away from the cold into...well, colder.
As we crossed the Maryland border into Pennsylvania, I was struck by a wave of giddiness and greeted by a sea of mullets.
I kid, I kid. (Kind of.)
But I was excited and proceeded to bounce in my seat for the rest of the drive...by the way, not something I’d recommend doing if you’re actually the one driving, although it did make for a thrilling car ride. We passed signs for Harrisburg – 58 miles, 34 miles, 22 miles...then we started seeing signs for Hershey attractions. Suddenly we were behind a car with Pennsylvania plates and a sticker that said ‘HBH’. Hershey Bears Hockey. Follow that car!
Our little caravan grew as we drew closer to the arena, and I started spotting people in the cars around us clad entirely in Bears’ gear. I don’t really know why we were so excited by that – maybe it’s just the sight of people who actually love hockey, something so rare in this football-mad area. Walking through the parking lot towards Giant Center we passed cars with Hershey Bears vanity plates and bumper stickers, families dressed in matching Hershey jerseys, kids waving foam bear claws excitedly, all hoping for a Bears victory to cap off their weekend.
"Game on." "Game on!"
Freddy comes up big
The deadlock was finally broken when Tomas Fleischmann scored for the Bears and the home team took a 1-0 lead into the locker room. After a scoreless but equally penalty-filled second period, the Bears would extend their lead with a goal by rookie Kyle Wilson off a pretty passing play from Flash and Klepis. The Penguins rallied back to pull within one late in the game, ending Cassivi’s shutout bid and making the Bears pay for taking too many penalties. Steckel then scored an empty-netter to put the game out of reach.
It was really an interesting experience and there are some things that stick out at you right away. The speed of the game is much more leisurely than NHL games. Many of the players’ abilities are clearly at a lower level. Plays aren’t so much planned out as they are spontaneous reactions to something the other team did. Guys have more of a tendency to simply whack at a puck when in a battle, be it along the boards or at open ice. There is a lack of basic hockey awareness, of a vision on the ice that you see in the NHL – guys know where their teammates are at all times, where the open ice is, and more importantly, where the opponents are. Not so much at the AHL level.
Still, the game was entertaining and the Bears really dominated the Penguins after what was a bit of a rough first period. They controlled rebounds well in front of Cassivi who was sharp in his own right, and they had some nice plays that forced the WBS goalie to come up big at times.
It was also an interesting look at some of the guys we’ve seen down in DC this year in a completely different setting. There’s a confidence and a swagger to their game and a smoothness to their skating that is missing in some of their teammates. Flash and Klepis were making nice passes and dancing around the defense with an agility we have yet to see from them consistently in the NHL. If they are ever able to keep that in their game and make the transition to the Caps, they will be very scary to play against. Schultz played his usual solid but invisible game, which is fine by me, and Green actually looked like a defenseman out there.
Schultz sporting #6. A good omen maybe?
But others stood out too, some guys that may not have worn a Caps jersey yet this season but could be seeing time with the club as soon as next season. Kyle Wilson was very impressive, and the finish on his goal was really beautiful. Quintin Laing was also sharp, and Joey Tenute was a feisty little bugger all game long.
Kyle Wilson pots the eventual game-winner - 2-0 Bears!
I’m going to assume that everyone was a bit sleepy after church and too much chocolate (or in my case gefilte fish and matzah), because it was a bit mellow throughout the afternoon and I’ve heard that it usually gets pretty raucous. I’m sure once the playoffs start up things will get a bit more interesting. Funny thing is that it was still noisier than Verizon Center. Fans do a good job of just starting up random cheers throughout the game to keep at least a buzz running through the crowd, something I've noticed was lacking at Caps games.
I will take Horn Guy over the dozens of air horns in attendance any day, though – it sounded like a herd of dying cattle.
Bears Win!!
