News

The Bears came oh so close to earning their first points of December in the CCHL but the Pembroke Lumber Kings scored a powerplay goal with just 1:21 remaining in the game to hand the Bears a tough 4-3 loss Sunday night in Pembroke.

After dropping a 3-1 drecision to Pembroke at the Bears Den on Friday night Smiths Falls was determined to stop the losing streak at the Pembroke Memorial Centre Sunday night. The Bears got off to a bad start as Pembroke converted a 2 on 1  at 0:45 of the 1st period as Brendan Browne scored to give the Lumber Kings a 1-0 advantage. The Bears responded well and settled down as they carried much of the play in the opening 20 minutes. Browne scored his 2nd on a powerplay at 16:52 to increase the lead to 2-0. Pembroke outshot Smiths Falls 13-9 as Smiths Falls took both minor penalties in the period.

A resilient Bears team continued to press Boyd DiClemente in the Pembroke net. At 9:29 Nic Coates (Smiths Falls ON) scored from the slot for his 9th goal of the year. Cole Busschaert (Kingston ON) and Ryan Gibson (Sydenham ON) were credited with the assists. Browne took the Bears momentum away when he scored his 3rd of the night for a natural hat trick at 10:50 of the 2nd period. The Bears outshot the Lumber Kings 13-6 while Pembroke took the 2 minor penalties handed out in the stanza.

The Bears showed no quit as they quickly erased the 2 goal deficit early in the 3rd period. The team's leading scorer, Busschaert scored his 18th of the year on a powerplay to draw the Bears with a goal at 2:05. The assists went to Brett Garvey (Ashton ON) and Michael McKenney (Smiths Falls ON). Kris Lalonde (Almonte ON) scored his 2nd of the season just 51 seconds later as he was set up by Hunter Garlasco (Mahwah NJ) and Kyle Dowdall (Perth ON) to knot the score at 3-3. The play went end to end at that point as the teams went for the win. The Bears had both a 2 minute and a 4 minute powerplay that despite some good pressure could not score the go ahead goal. Later in the period it was Pembroke's turn as the Bears took a couple of minor penalties back to back. The 2nd penalty turned costly as Salim Mahi-Beaudry scored at 18:39 for the eventual game winner. The Bears outshot Pembroke 14-12 while Pembroke was penalized for 8 minutes to the Bears 4 minutes.

Bear Facts

Powerplays    Bears 1-6    Pembroke 2-4

Penalty Totals    Bears 8 minutes on 4 infractions    Pembroke 12 minutes on 6 infractions

Shots     Bears 36    Pembroke 31

Game Length     2:02

Attendance    869

3 Stars

1st Star    Brendan Browne (Pembroke)

2nd Star    Salim Mahi-Beaudry (Pembroke)

3rd Star    Cole Busschaert (Smiths Falls)

Next Game    The Bears head to the Ed Lumley Arena in Cornwall on Thursday for a 7:30 pm encounter with the Colts.

**Note* The Bears do not play at home this Friday night as they enjoy a rare Friday night off.