It's the Bears and the Portland Pirates Saturday night at the Cumberland County Civic Center, our only visit to Maine in 2008-09. It's nice to be back in Portland, where the memories of the 2006 Eastern Conference Finals still live on. I talked with Woody a bit about that in our pregame chat tonight. That was just a special time.
Here's what's going on tonight:
-It will be Daren Machesney getting the start tonight for the Bears, with a strong hint that Neuvirth will get the nod Sunday in Manchester. Cheese had a big night in him against Bridgeport last weekend at home, Hershey will need that same kind of game tonight here in Maine.
-Line combinations this evening are back to basics. Mink, Aucoin and Giroux will anchor the top line, with Beagle, Wilson and Gordon on line 2. The rookie line is back together with Osala, Perreault and Bouchard, and the fourth liners will be G-Mac, Joudrey and Pinizzotto.
-Portland lost 3-1 Friday here against Hartford. I wouldn't have imagined it was all that bad a loss, but to hear everyone here tell it, it was a terrible effort by the Pirates. Coach Kevin Dineen held a closed door meeting for an hour last night, denying access to his room by the local media as well. Should be interesting to see how the Pirates respond to the tounge lashing they received. Jhonas Enroth, the workhorse of the Portland goaltending corps, will get the start tonight.
-Bryan Helmer will get a night off tonight to rest for tomorrow. Sean Collins will be back in this evening.
-Neglected to mention this last night in this space, but Kip Brennan is in South Carolina this weekend to get some games in. He's expected to return to Hershey once we return from New England.
-A reminder that the Hershey Bears Radio Network is now on Facebook, and a lot of you have already joined the party. Nearly 150 of you are already online and chatting up during games. I'll have your take on things at first and second intermission again tonight. Looking forward to hearing what everyone has to say.
