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This series will also feature two great opposing antagonists/yappers, Louis Robataille for Hershey and Maxim Lapierre for Hamilton. Here’s how the Hamilton Spectator describes Lapierre: “a great skater and forechecker who arrives in the other player’s face with unnerving velocity.” I think Louis, even in his certain limited minutes the next 10 or so days, has to be excited.

Hamilton Head Coach Don Lever is well aware not only of Lapierre’s limitations but of Bruce Boudreau’s preparation for him:

“[Lapierre] still has to focus on the fact that there is a puck on the ice. The verbal thing may work for the first game or so and throw somebody off but we’re dealing with champions who have been through it all.

Lever said the Bears will be ready for Lapierre’s yapping because he learned it from Peter Vandermeer, who was with the Dogs last year and is now in a Hershey uniform.”

In its notes on the series Thursday, the Hamilton Spectator also paid close attention to coaching ties:

“Chances are good the Bears will have an excellent scouting report on the Bulldogs. John Anderson, coach of the Chicago Wolves, the team Hamilton beat out in the Western Conference final, is one of Hershey coach Bruce Boudreau’s best friends.”

There’s another excellent scouting source for Boudreau: Caps’ goaltender Olie Kolzig, who’s mentored Price in Tri Cities as the team’s owner, and had hands-on instruction with him during the NHL lockout.

To prevail, Hershey will have to continue its gaudy success at getting ahead and playing with the lead, as falling behind a netminder of Price’s ability is never a wise idea. It must also continue to get balanced scoring, although it may be too much to expect Mike Green to continue his Paul Coffey-like production this postseason (Green is 12th in AHL postseason scoring.) In net, Freddie Cassivi is heating up and reminding Bears’ watchers of his unearthly performance last postseason. He needs another strong series, as Hamilton, while no offensive dynamo, nonetheless possesses skill up front and is further dangerous skating with three-straight-upset MoJo.

Prediction: more close hockey for Hamilton, but Bears in six.       

More previews: Tim Leone in the Patriot News; Mike Vogel of the Caps; and “The AHL’s Answer to ‘Hockeytown”