On Frozen Blog

[OFB note: We are thrilled to receive the first of what we plan on being occasional contributions from Jess Mikula, a communications associate and statistician with the Hershey Bears. Jess early in the new year has launched her own hockey blog, Thoughts on Goal, and it belongs in your list of daily hockey e-reading. Jess' insider analysis and puck passion is also published on another must-read site for Caps' and Bears' fans, John Walton Hockey.]

The Hershey Bears are tearing up the American Hockey League this season, leaving a trail of obliterated franchise records in their path.  It seems that the boys in the Chocolate and White have no trouble vanquishing any opponent they face, but beneath the rousing success of the club lies one potential asterisk to its dominance of the AHL:  Ten of the league’s 28 other teams are absent from the Bears’ schedule this season, with an entire division entirely unrepresented.

In a perfect world, the Bears would see each of the other teams in the league every single season.  Obviously that scenario represents a bit of wishful thinking, but several teams have yet to make the trek to Giant Center during the regular season.

According to Bears President/GM Doug Yingst, the schedule is a “reciprocal arrangement.  There are some teams that do not want to come east because of expense.”

Therefore, if the Bears want to take a westward road trip, those teams must also be willing to visit Chocolatetown.  The fact remains that travel by air can be, particularly for a hockey team, expensive.  A club could rack up thousands of dollars in airfare before even factoring in the cost of hotel or per diem allowances.

While Hershey can boast numerous sellouts with better than 10,000 raucous Bears’ faithful in attendance, other teams aren’t consistently drawing such large crowds.  As a result, the likelihood of seeing those teams outside of the Calder Cup finals is slim.

The powers that be — the AHL’s Board of Governors — do their best each season to compile a schedule with as much variety as possible.  By January 15, each of the league’s member clubs submits ideal dates for home games for the following season.  Teams request 22 primary dates and 28 secondary dates, with the system being ruled by seniority.

Hershey looks for as many Saturday nights on home ice as possible.  And being the oldest franchise in the league, priority dates are awarded to the Bears before other teams.

A team’s schedule must be divisionally heavy.  Ideally, the Bears would face East Division foes for 40 games of the 80-game season.  This year, however, the East Division commands a staggering 52 games of Hershey’s schedule.

This year’s Bears’ schedule unleashes a deluge of questions.  Does an eight- or 10-game series against a divisional opponent foster a level of boredom for fans?  Can the Bears still be considered as assertive a force in this league when they never play a single team from the West Division?  If Hershey is to face off against a team such as the Hamilton Bulldogs or Texas Stars (both leaders of their respective divisions) in the Calder Cup Finals, will the Bears be ill-prepared?

Intra-divisional play won’t have an effect on the casual fan who attends but a handful of games per season.  Season ticket holders, by comparison, will see Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Norfolk, Albany, Adirondack, Binghamton and Syracuse for 26 of 40 contests at Giant Center.

When asked whether the division-heavy play generates a level of familiarity fatigue, Bears Head Coach Mark French noted, “It’d be nice to see some of those teams [in the West Division] just to see how you shake up, and we see some of our divisional rivals so much that at times seeing a fresh team is nice, especially later in the year.  The fans probably hunger to see some different teams, as well.”

However, he also attributes much of the continued rivalry between the Bears and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to the schedule.

“I think anytime we play Wilkes-Barre, even if it’s the first game of the season, the rivalry is there just because of the history that the two teams have had playing each other.  I don’t think we necessarily need the amount [of games] to generate that rivalry, but I think it heightens with the games.  Familiarity breeds contempt.”

Watching Hershey embarrass its foes night after night, it can become increasingly difficult to see this team objectively.  That being said, the logo on the opposition’s chest is irrelevant, as the Bears possess double-digit leads on both their division and the conference.  Hershey continues to chase longstanding franchise and AHL records, and although a whole American league division is absent from the schedule, the Bears still possess all of the makings of a legendary team.  This roster offers a prolific assortment of offensive prowess, reliable goaltending, steadfast defense and a veritable balance of veteran leadership and rookie contributions.

As Hershey looks to take its all-star cast into a lengthy postseason, the under-represented Western Conference may not prove to be a detriment to the Bears after all.  Thanks to the wonder of multimedia, the coaching staff is able to watch video of opponents and can assess a team’s talents.  But ultimately mystery remains as to how the teams will match up against one another.  French welcomes it.

“I think some of that mystery is good,” he said.  “There’s a lot of intrigue built around that.”

The days of a solely East Coast-based league long gone, the Bears cannot expect to see all 28 AHL adversaries in one season.

As French put it, “It would be more detrimental if we tried to see every team because of the travel.  The schedule would be pretty horrendous.”