The Bears entered  the Christmas break with a 6-4 loss to the Kanata Lasers Friday night at the Bears Den. The Bears are now off until they resume play on Jamuary 6th when they host the Carleton Place Canadians.

Kanata jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Tanner Schroeder & Ethan Manderville. Alex Kealey (Ottawa ON) drew the Bears to within a goal before the first period ended with his 7th of the year. Nic Coates (Smiths Falls ON) and Hunter Garlasco (Mahwah NJ) drew the assists at 14:25. The Bears were outshot 12-6 and took 2 of the 3 penalties in the opening 20 minutes of play.

The Bears leading scorer, Cole Busschaert (Kingston ON) continued his strong season at 1:01 of the 2nd period when he scored his 22 goal as he was set up by Marc Shannon (Hamilton ON) and Alex DiCarlo (Niagara Falls ON). Former Bears prospect Troy MacTavish put Kanata ahead 3-2 at 3:42 of the 2nd period before Garlasco scored his 7th of the year as he banged in a rebound from a Matthieu Franche (Cumberland ON) shot at 7:53. Busschaert also drew an assist for his 2nd point of the period. The Bears outshot the Lasers 13-8 as Kanata took two of the three penalties handed out.

Kanata went back in the lead at 5:39 as Manderville scored his 2nd of the game. Bears rookie Shannon's 8th of the season tied the game at 4-4 at the 7:17 mark of the final period. Linemates Busschaert and DiCarlo drew the assists to give the line a 7 point night. Daniel McIntyre scored the eventual game winner at 12:52 before MacTavish scored his 2nd of the game at 19:25 into an empty Bears net to make the final score 6-4. The Bears outshot Kanata 8-6 in the final 20 minutes of play while taking 2 of the 3 minor penalties.

Bear Facts

Powerplays    Bears 0-3    Kanata 1-4

Penalty Totals    Bears 10 minutes on 5 infractions    Kanata 8 minutes on 4 infractions

Shots    Bears 27    Kanata 26

Game Length    2:04

Attendance     340

3 Stars

1st Star    Ethan Manderville (Kanata)

2nd Star    Troy MacTavish    (Kanata)

3rd Star    Cole Busschaert (Bears)

Next Game    The Bears host the Carleton Place Canadians on Friday January 6th at the Bears Den, 7:30 puck drop.

The Bears organization wishes the players, staff, parents, billets, volunteers, and the best fans in the league a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.