Former Bears relish return; more from Springfield game

Posted on March 4, 2012 by kfreeman

The homecoming of sorts did not end the right way for erstwhile Hershey Bears who now play for the Springfield Falcons.
Alexandre Giroux, Andrew Joudrey and Greg Amadio were back in Hershey Sunday night and absorbed a 2-1 overtime loss at the hands of the Bears.
To a man, though, all three were glad to be back in Hershey, if only for one night.
Many former players have returned and unless they’re all pulling our legs, they almost all have good things to say about Chocolatetown.
“It’s always nice to play in front of 10,000 people,” Giroux said. “In our barn, we usually have 2,000 or 3,000, so there is a lot of energy here. It’s fun to be back.”
Giroux said it’s difficult playing against players you played with for many years.
“They are friends and then now you have to hit them,” he said.
After the game, Joudrey also talked about the Giant Center atmosphere and the warm ovation he, Giroux and Amadio got at the start of the game.
“It was a lot of fun, great to be back,” he said. “The ovation was humbling. It shows what Hershey is all about. They do things the right way.”
Hershey’s Chris Bourque was a bit tongue in cheek when asked whether he chatted with Amadio on the ice.
“No, we were all busness tonight,” Bourque said. “Greg gives death stares out there. Don’t want to say too much to him. He’s got a pretty vicious stick. I didn’t want to feel that on my ankles.”
Amadio said gettting special recognition prior to the game’s start “meant a lot.”
“So many good memories here,” said Amadio, who played on the Bears’ two most recent Cup teams. “Winning the Cup on home ice in 2010, all those memories definitely came back.”
***
Although the Bears have won two in a row, Hershey coach Mark French didn’t sound completely happy with his club in postgame comments.
He was asked about Hershey’s team defense in light of the two wins and a close loss last Wednesday in Norfolk.
“I thought our team defense was OK,” he said. “I thought our puck management wasn’t as good as it had been in the two previous games. We had to spend a lot more time in our d-zone, especially in the second period.”
French was right abot that. The Bears were guilty of some giveaways but were saved by goalie Dany Sabourin’s play and the fact that many Springfield shots missed their mark. But the more time an opponent spends in your zone, the greater the possibility that a goal will be scored or you’ll incur a penalty.
“We were chasing the puck rather than possessing the puck and that’s a dangerous trend for us,” he said. “We did all right structurally once the defense broke down but that’s not how we want to play.”
When asked to rate Hershey’s penalty-kill, which went 5-for-5, French said the Bears took some undisciplined penalties to create the shorthanded situations.
“If there is a positive from it, our penalty-kill was good and has been good all year,” he said. “But again, we shouldn’t be putting ourselves in that position.”

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Thoughts on Yvonne Kauffman’s final game

Posted on February 23, 2012 by kfreeman

Midway through the second half of Wednesday night’s Commonwealth Conference women’s basketball semifinal playoff game at Lebanon Valley, there was contact between an E-town player with the ball and an LVC defender.
Two simultaneous whistles. One official called a foul on the defender from LVC, the other a player-control foul, or charge, on the player with the ball from E-town.
With no discussion between the two refs, the charge against the E-town player stood.
This incident came, mind you, came as the Flying Dutchmen were building an lead. At the same time, E-town wasn’t finding any success with its shots, so the frustration was there long before the play in question.
So when the call went against the Blue Jays, E-town coach Yvonne Kauffman rose to protest.
At that point, I’m thinking, wouldn’t it be great (read: off, funny, ironic) if Kauffman got T’d up in her final game? (Kauffman is retiring after 42 seasons at the Blue Jays’ helm).
I’m also thinking, Kauffman probably could have straddled the edge and gone over it and not gotten a technical foul. All three referees were on the floor at the start of the game when the folks at LVC honored Kauffman for her lengthy career. She was presented flowers by LVC coach Todd Goclowski and every one of the LVC players gave her a hug, which was certainly classy.
So, in light of the circumstances, Kauffman may have been able to get away with anything.
How would you like to be the official who gave Kauffman a technical foul in her final game of a 42-year career?
True to form, however, Kauffman voiced her displeasure and then continued to coach the game.
And while the game didn’t turn out the way she would have liked _ the Blue Jays lost 69-47 _ Kauffman was proud as she exited the women’s basketball stage.
Proud that her team was able to earn a postseason berth, proud of the way her team fought against a nationally-ranked foe and proud of the players who will return next season to continue what has been built over the just-completed season.
This is my 28th season of covering women’s basketball in Lancaster. I have known no other E-town College coach. I’ve watched Kauffman’s teams will a national title in scintillating fashion (1989) and I’ve seen her teams struggle.
Through it all, Kauffman was long on enthusiasm and grace.

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F&M’s Alexa Barbush: Centennial Player of the Year

Posted on February 21, 2012 by kfreeman

FROM THE CENTENNIAL CONFERENCE:

Alexa Barbush was named Centennial Conference Player of the Year and earned a spot on the All-CC First Team that was announced on Tuesday. Allison Bauer and Megan Pauley both earned Honorable Mention. The team is voted on by the conference’s coaches.

Barbush (Etters, Pa. / Trinity) became the fifth Franklin & Marshall player to receive CC Player of the Year honors. Sarah Meisenberg ’09 won the award in 2008, Dana Johns ’06 and Amy Abernathy ’04 earned it in back-to-back years in ’04 and ’05, while Amy Kreitz ’02 was F&M’s first CC Player of the Year in 2001. The first team honor is the first for Barbush as she earned honorable mention accolades last year.

Barbush leads the Diplomats and is ranked second in the CC with 16.5 points per game, while leading the conference with 3.3 steals per game. She is also second all-time in steals for F&M with a total of 261. Barbush has reached double-figures 17 times this season, including six 20-plus point performances. The junior guard is four points shy of 1,000 points and would be the 13th Diplomat to achieve this accomplishment.

Bauer (Lancaster, Pa. / Conestoga Valley) picks up her first postseason honor from the conference. She ranks third in the CC in three-point shooting percentage at 39.4 percent and is eighth in F&M history with 80 treys. Bauer has scored in double-figures on nine occasions this season with one 20-plus performance. Her career-high 23 points in the Immaculata game highlighted the senior this season.

Pauley (Audubon, Pa. / Agnes Irwin School) received Honorable Mention for the second year in a row. She put together eight double-digit performances with one 20-plus game, two double-figure rebounding performances, and one double-double on the year. Pauley leads the Diplomats with 2.7 assists per game and ranks second on the team in rebounds with an average of 7.6 per game. She garnered her career-high in rebounds against Randolph-Macon, grabbing 18 boards. Her season-high points came against Muhlenberg when the senior scored 20 points.

The Diplomats now have the third most first-team selections with 12.

F&M is the second seed for the CC playoffs this weekend, the Diplomats play Muhlenberg at Johns Hopkins on Friday. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.

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Observations and notes after Hershey’s 5-1 win over Wilkes-Barre Scranton

Posted on February 12, 2012 by kfreeman

— After the Bears failed to score on a seven-minute power play, which included an imbedded 5-on-3 for two minutes, and, after Hershey’s fourth line of Garrett Mitchell, Kris King and Andrew Carroll scored a third-period goal, Hershey coach Mark French was asked why he didn’t put the trio on the ice during the power play.
French grinned at the suggestion but in his post-game, the Bears coach praised the play of the “energy” line.
“This is the fourth straight game in which they were on the ice for a goal,” he said. “They do a very good job defensively, they play the right way, they give us a physical presence and they reward you with goals.”
Mitchell smiled when presented with the prospect of having played on the power play.
“We know our role,” he said. “The last couple of games, we’ve played our role pretty well. Sometimes, we get ourselves in trouble when we deviate from that plan. If we stick to it, good things will come.”

— With three assists, Chris Bourque forged a tie with normal linemate Keith Aucoin for most points (70) in the league. Bourque has gained on Aucoin, who’s spent the last week with the Capitals.
“I definitely wouldn’t have these numbers if I wasn’t playing with him because we’ve had some really good chemistry this year,” Bourque said. “It’s been a good year offensively and I’m happy about that but there’s a long way to go.”

— Ryan Potulny had a pair of goals and an assist Sunday night. He has has produced six goals and six assists in eight games against the Penguins. He talked about the weekend, which saw Hershey grab five of six available points in the standings.
“It was important for us, especially playing division teams like that,” he said. “Playing Wilkes-Barre is like a four-point game. We had good jump (tonight) and the intensity was good all weekend.”
On the upcoming five-game road swing:
“Sometimes it’s fun to go on the road. You’re staying at the hotel, have dinner together with the guys. You’re in a hostle rink and the fans get on you, so it’s going to be character games for us. It will help us build as a team.”

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F&M Women’s Hoops: Comeback win vs. Gettysburg

Posted on February 8, 2012 by kfreeman

The Franklin & Marshall women’s basketball team figures to be right where it needs to be with the end of the regular season around the corner. The Diplomats are solidly in the playoffs and are looking to hang on to second place … .
Wait a second.
After filing my story for the print edition, I checked the standings. McDaniel, with a 6-11 record, upset the Centennial Conference’s top team, Johns Hopkins, which was 14-2, 76-74 Wednesday night. That result, coupled with F&M’s win, puts the Diplomats one game behind the Blue Jays for the top spot in the conference.
The Dips have three games remaining. One of them is against Hopkins (in Baltimore, Tuesday, Feb. 14). So, F&M shouldn’t let go of those first-place hopes just yet.
Should F&M finish first or second, it would be the team’s highest finish since 2007-08 when they tied for first with a 14-4 mark. The Dips’ 15 wins, achieved before the Gettysburg win, was the most since 2008.
And after Wednesday night’s win against Gettysburg, the Diplomats seemed poised to compete not only for the top spot but for a strong playoff run.
Against the Bullets, they staged a comeback from an eight-point deficit and scrapped their way to a lead they wouldn’t lose.
F&M coach Kirsten Richter on the key to the comeback: “Gettysburg was getting a lot of second-shot opportunities so I think we started limiting that a little more. I think we settled down a little on offense. Instead of trying to force a drive that wasn’t there, we worked and looked for a better shot.”
Showing great patience in their halfcourt offense was a must for the Dips. Gettysburg was quick to close driving and passing lanes. Shooting from the perimeter loosened things up but not much. Many of F&M’s possessions were accompanied with the Diplomat bench counting down the shot clock from 10.
“We work on that,” said Richter, smiling.
On two straight possessions with under three minutes remaining in the game and F&M holding a slim lead, the Dips turned the ball over on a shot clock violation.
For me, after watching many a women’s basketball game, it would seem like the counting down from the bench might just push the players on the floor into panic, thuis resulting in a poor shot.
“Honestly, it’s helpful,” said F&M guard Allison Bauer, talking about the bench’s verbal shot clock help. “The first couple of times, it’s nerve-wracking. But (when they do that) you don’t have to keep looking up at the clock. So, then, when there is 10 seconds, you look for the next best shot.”
OTHER NOTES:
—Wednesday’s game proved that on any given night, a different Diplomat (or several of them) can have a big impact. The first time F&M played Gettysburg, Diplomats’ leading scorer Alexa Barbush had 23 points. Wednesday, Barbush managed just two and F&M won the game anyway.
—Bauer and Liz Snyder headed upcourt with a two on one after a Gettysburg turnover. Bauer, dribbling on the right side, sent a behind-the-back pass to Snyder, who hit the layup.

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Grid extra: Donegal tops Pequea Valley

Posted on October 3, 2011 by kfreeman

     Donegal’s football team survived a tug-of-war football game at Pequea Valley last Friday, getting the go-ahead score in the final minutes of regulation on Johnnie Martin’s fourth TD of the game.
Some post-game observations, from the Donegal side of things, and Pequea Valley’s ………

     Donegal’s defense showed it has made some improvement since the beginning of the season. It held Pequea to seven points for three-quarters of the game and 267 offensive yards, which is some 40 yards less than it had averaged entering the game.
     “I thought they played well against Lancaster Catholic (a 21-14 Donegal defeat),” said Donegal coach Jeff Polites. “We tackled well in that game and the defense kept us close. Against Pequea, the players really bought into the game plan, read their keys and flew to the ball. There were a few breakdowns and Pequea got some long gains but the kids are starting to believe in the game plan and they are focused on what they need to do.”

***

     At 3-1 heading into the game, Pequea Valley was already off to one of its best starts in the 14-year history of the program. The Braves looked to build on that start when it hosted Donegal in their first home game of the season. The team’s scheduled season-opener against Octorara was shifted to Solanco’s field a couple of weeks ago due to heavy rains.
     So, in an odd occurrence, Pequea’s first game of the season was also the night it celebrated Homecoming. And, PV was playing its second game in five days, after playing Annville-Cleona the previous Monday.
     The Braves’ offense couldn’t find the success it had found in its 38-6 win over the Little Dutchmen. In fact, PV’s lone TD prior to the fourth quarter came on Chad Tyson’s 42-yard run out of punt formation.
     The offense came alive in the fourth quarter but it could only catch up to Donegal not surpass it.
     The Braves’ defense was hurt by Donegal’s buck sweep out of the Wing-T formation. PV just couldn’t get a handle on stopping it.
“We held them for a little while but (Donegal halfback Johnnie Martin) got loose and they hurt us on big plays,” said PV coach Evan Breisblatt. “Martin’s a great player. My hat’s off to the kid.
     “But our guys fought their butts off and I have to do a better job coaching them up.”
     One of the keys to Pequea Valley’s strong start has been the team’s acclimation to the no-huddle offense. Watching that offense work is intriguing for the image it brings to mind.
     After the ball is set by the official, each of the offensive players get into position and then checks his wristband for the play. When all of the players are doing this at once, it reminds me of businessmen standing on the platform in the train station, all of them checking their wristwatches at the same time.
     “We’ve been working on it since March,” Breisblatt said. “It’s what we do. I’ve been associated with teams that have run it and we feel comfortable running it. We’ve have worked non-stop on it.”
     “I get more used to it (with each game), especially with the more experienced players helping me out,” said PV quarterback Chad Tyson.
     Pequea Valley is spending the week prepping for Lancaster Catholic. The Braves play at Rossmere Stadium Friday.
     “We’re not going to quit,” Breisblatt said. “We’re going to keep coming at people.”

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Hershey to play at Cititzens Bank Park

Posted on September 26, 2011 by kfreeman

When the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers leave the ice at the end of the coming season’s Winter Classic, late in the day on Jan. 2, 2012, pro hockey staged outdoors won’t be over for the season.
The ice will remain on the field at Citizens Bank Park long enough for the Hershey Bears to take on the Adirondack Phantoms at 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 6.
The American Hockey League has staged several outdoor games over the last several years but never on the same surface used by the NHL in the same season.

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Hempfield claims Spartan Invitational

Posted on September 16, 2011 by kfreeman

Black Knights: Spartan Invitational champs

In a girls’ volleyball tournament attended by some of the top teams in the state last weekend, Hempfield came away with the victory, defeating Parkland 2-0 (25-14, 25-19) in the final to win the Spartan Invitational at Garden Spot.

 The Black Knights, ranked No. 1 in the latest PVCA Class AAA poll, defeated Manheim Central (2-1), Spring Grove (3-0) and Council Rock (3-0) in their pool. Hempfield topped Southern Lehigh in a one-game quarterfinal (25-22) and defeated Allentown Central Catholic, 25-22, 27-25 in a semifinal match, before taking on third-ranked Parkland.

 Other L-L League teams in the tournament – Penn Manor, Garden Spot and Manheim Central – all finished just out of the playoffs.

 Here are the tournament results:

 1. Hempfield D3 AAA 2. Parkland D11 AAA 3. Allentown Central Catholic D11 AAA / Brandywine D3 AA 5. Southern Lehigh D11 AA / Bishop Shanahan D1 AAA / Spring Grove D3 AAA / Berks Catholic D3 AA

Finals – Hempfield def. Parkland (25-14, 25-19), Semis – Hempfield def. Allentown Central Catholic 2-0 (25-22, 27-25), Parkland def. Brandywine 2-0 (25-16, 25-17), Quarters – Hempfield def. Southern Lehigh (25-22), Allentown Central Catholic def. Berks Catholic (25-16), Brandywine def. Bishop Shanahan (25-19), Parkland def. Spring Grove (25-18)

Pool Old Gym – Hempfield 8-1, Spring Grove 6-3, Manheim Central 3-6, Council Rock North 1-8
Pool C – Allentown Central Catholic 7-2, Brandywine 7-2, Penn Manor 4-5, Wilson 0-8
Pool B – Bishop Shanahan 6-2, Berks Catholic 5-3, Garden Spot 4-4, Pennsbury 4-4, Archbishop Wood 1-7
Pool A – Parkland 9-0, Southern Lehigh 4-5, Exeter 3-6, Avon Grove 2-7.

 

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Weather forces postponement of Ephrata Tournament

Posted on September 8, 2011 by kfreeman

By Kevin Freeman

The week’s rains and subsequent flooding have caused the postponement of Saturday’s Ephrata Tournament, which was referred to in my previous post.

The tournament is moving from Saturday, Sept. 10 to Saturday, Oct. 1 with a start time of 8:30 a.m. Teams participating, including host Ephrata, are Cocalico, Lampeter-Strasburg, Lebanon, Elco, Conrad Weiser, Governor MIfflin, Reading, Muhlenberg, Fleetwood, Palmyra and Oley Valley.

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Spartan Invitational to host many top volleyball teams

Posted on September 7, 2011 by kfreeman

Some of the top girls’ volleyball teams in the state will be in New Holland Saturday to take part in the Spartan Invitational, hosted by Garden Spot’s volleyball team.

One state champion, Hempfield (AAA), a state runner-up, Clarion (A), and a trio of state tournament semifinalists, Seneca Valley (AAA), Brandywine Heights (AA) and Southern Lehigh (AA) will participate, as will local teams Penn Manor and Manheim Central, as well as the host Spartans. Berks Catholic, which is a new school from the combined Reading Holy Name and Reading Central Catholic, will play. Holy Name took home the Class A state title last season.

“The tournament started at Hempfield (which will host its own tournament with statewide premier teams on Oct. 22) and then we picked it up,” said Garden Spot coach Denny Werner. “Our goal all along is to have the best tournament in the state so we invite the best teams each season.

Other teams slated to play in the tournament are Avon Grove (AAA Quarterfinalists), Parkland (Dist. 11 AAA champs), Archbishop Wood (Dist. 12 AA champs), State College (Dist. 6 AAA runner-up), Allentown Central Catholic (Dist. 11 AAA semifinalists), Bishop Shanahan (Dist. 1 AAA quarterfinalists), Exeter (Berks Sect. 1 champs), Council Rock North (Sub 1 Nat’l Div. co-champs), Spring Grove (York League Runner Up), Pennsbury (Sub 1 Nat’l Div co-champs) and Wilson.

“It’s a chance for the girls to play against teams that are very talented,” said Hempfield coach Pat Shawaryn. “I want them to learn, see what other teams are doing and get a chance to play someone else instead of beating themselves up all the time or me beating up on them. I want to put them in a position to play the way they are supposed to play.”

Werner concurred.

“I think we learn a lot more about ourselves if we play really good teams and lose instead of playing less talented teams and win,” he said.

Garden Spot went to the East-West Challenge at Susquehannock on Sept 3 and will play in the Hempfield and State College tournaments later this season.

For more info on the Spartan Invitational, go to https://gsgirlsvolleyball.wikispaces.com/Spartan+Invitational.

Garden Spot won’t be the only L-L League site for a tournament this weekend.

The Ephrata Tournament will host Lampeter-Strasburg, Elco and Lebanon among others. The Falcon Classic at Cedar Crest will have Lancaster Mennonite and Solanco participating. Warwick will play in the Dallastown Tournament.

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