On Saturday the Hershey Bears recorded their first shutout of the season in a 2-0 win over the Charlotte Checkers. Vitek Vanecek made 25 saves in goal as the Bears handed the Checkers their first loss of the season.
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The Capitals and the Blues met in St. Louis on Tuesday night for the first of two preseason meetings, with the Capitals ultimately winning with a 4-0 shutout.
It was an intense game, with plenty of heavy hitting, Capitals goals, and feisty fisticuffs. I had a front row seat to the action on the ice and in the penalty box.
Here are some of the highlights that didn’t make it onto the Instagram story during the game.
The Washington Capitals won their first game of the preseason on Tuesday, but the Blues’ physicality took a toll. The Caps lost Michal Kempny to injury and fought twice in the game.
After watching Hershey teammate Nathan Walker get hit high, Liam O’Brien finally had enough, asking Patrick Maroon to get these hands 13:05 into the second period.
The Big Tuna didn’t win the spirited bout, but O’Brien’s participation left NBC Sports Washington’s Craig Laughlin mightily impressed.
“That’s one of the best (fights) I’ve seen in the last couple of seasons, toe-to-toe,” Locker said.
On Saturday, the Capitals took to the ice at Medstar Capitals Iceplex for the second day of training camp. With the camp roster and invites split into three group, each group spent time doing on-ice practice, off-ice training, and video review.
Although the roster has gone through their first cuts, such as sending first-round draft pick Alexander Alexeyev back to his junior league team, Saturday’s practice featured everyone. Alexeyev, who had an impressive training camp, was in Group White with Caps vets Braden Holtby, Nicklas Backstrom, and TJ Oshie. Group Red paired goalies Pheonix Copley and Ilya Samsonov, both of whom are in the running to be number two in the net behind Holtby this season. Group Blue featured Alex Ovechkin and the Caps’ Russians, who along with Tom Wilson were on the celebratory end of a competitive two-on-two drill–Ovi was jumping up and down on his skates celebrating the win.
Friday afternoon, the Washington Capitals announced that they have re-signed forward Liam O’Brien to a one year, two-way contract.
O’Brien had filed for arbitration, but ultimately settled with the Capitals prior to his arbitration date on July 23. His contract carries an AAV of the league minimum, $650,000.
At 5pm, the NHL’s mandatory deadline for players to file for arbitration passed.
Restricted free agent Tom Wilson, the Capitals last remaining high profile unsigned player, opted to not file.
Friday was #NationalPuppyDay and the Hershey Bears celebrated the holiday the best way possible.
The Bears posted a video of its players holding, hugging, and kissing tiny puppies from Susquehana Service Dogs.
“We had the BEST DAY EVER with our friends from @SSDOGS,” the Bears wrote on Twitter.
Here are my 11 favorite stills.
Tom Kazukynas is a longtime RMNB reader. Several members of his extended family recently went to Bears-Sound Tigers game. He sent this writeup and shared these photos in an email below.
As the Capitals and Rangers faced off on Rivalry Night Wednesday, the Hershey Bears took on the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in a semi-rivalry matchup just 60 miles up the road in Connecticut. The Bears ultimately dropped the game, losing 3-1, but in the meantime Mr. Olympian Chris Bourque continued his campaign to impress his fanbase with a surprise giveaway and signing for a young fan.
Midway through the second period of the game, Bears head trainer Dan “Beaker” Stuck noticed a few fans wearing Caps jerseys just behind the bench. He called them over and handed up a game used stick from Chris Bourque.
The Capitals took a stumble into the holiday break after back-to-back road losses against the Arizona Coyotes and Vegas Golden Knights. But it looks like the boys still had a relaxing break with friends and family. Here’s what your faves of the past, present, and future Caps were up to this break.
On Sunday, December 3, the Hershey Bears held their annual teddy bear toss game at the Giant Center.
Fans are encouraged to bring teddy bears to the game and throw them on the ice immediately after the home team scores its first goal. The stuffed animals are then donated to hospitals and local charities during the holidays.
Hershey’s teddy bear toss was initiated by a goal from Liam O’Brien in the second period. While there is nothing better than getting plunked in the head with a pink teddy bear during a goal celebration, the photos of Lucas Johansen and Mason Mitchell being swallowed whole by mountain of stuffed animals is a close second.
