The Washington Capitals weren't the only team back in action on Saturday night, as the boys of Chocolate Town opened their own season. 

The Capitals' AHL affiliate Hershey Bears their 88th season in front of 9,193 fans on Saturday night in a 5-2 loss to the Syracuse Crunch. 

To say that this was a physical, penalty-filled affair would be an understatement. Physicality is a staple in Syracuse's game, and they definitely were looking to throw the Bears off from the opening draw. Bears forward Ethen Frank commented on Syracuse's physical play, noting that Hershey was out hit throughout the game, 

Bears goalie Clay Stevenson stopped 34 of 38 shots- an AHL career-high. He looked sharp in the season opener, making numerous key saves throughout. 

The first period ended scoreless as both teams shook off early-season rust. Syracuse came out throwing the body early- which was met in kind by Hershey for the most part. It was evident that several of the Bears newcomers weren't ready for the kind of physical game Syracuse played. Frank noted this in his post-game presser, stating "They just out-bodied us, so I think we’ve got a little redemption coming tomorrow. So I hope that we’re ready to put on our work boots and get in nice and dirty in the corners and be a little more physical..."

Penalties were another theme of the night. While Hershey was held off the board on the power play, going 0-for-3, Syracuse capitalized on 3 of the 6 power plays they were afforded, including an extended 5-on-3 and a 5 minute power play in the third after Ivan Miroschnichenko was given a minor, major and game misconduct. After the game, Head Coach Derek King noted Stevenson's excellent play to keep the Bears in the game in addition to the penalties, saying "I know we have a really pretty good goalie there, so I don’t know how long we’ll have him, but we can’t take that many penalties, that’s all. I thought we did a good job. The 5-on-3, I thought we had it. It just goes in like that, you know, it’s going to happen, but this is a good hockey league, we can't afford to take that amount of penalties. Killing five minutes, killing 5-on-3s."

Ethen Frank kicked off the scoring for the game and season with an early second period goal, outworking the Syracuse defenceman for the 1-0 lead. Not content with one, Frank followed up a few minutes later with a deflection off a Louie Belpedio blast from the point to give Hershey a 2-0 lead.

The lead was short-lived, as Syracuse clawed back into the game with a pair of power play goals, including one on an extended 5-on-3 man advantage. They would take the lead in the third, including a power play goal while Hershey was killing off the Miroschnichenko major. A second power play goal by Syracuse was waved off due to a high-stick. They would add an empty-netter late in the third to seal the game.

Both teams won't have long to wait for a rematch- they are back in action on Sunday in Hershey for a 5pm rematch.

Bears Standouts:

- Ethen Frank notched goals one and two for the season. He looked sharp throughout the game and was a clear leader on the ice.

- Andrew Cristall also notched his first two points in the AHL, getting a pair of assists on Frank's goals. He played quite well in his first game, with quite a bit of tenacity. 

- Ivan Miroschnichenko didn't tally any points on the night, managing just two shots before being ejected from the game for roughing and elbowing penalties midway through the third. 

- Clay Stevenson looked locked in most of the game, stopping 34 of 38 shots, which is the most he's faced in his AHL career. He made numerous key saves throughout the night, including several on the extended 5-on-3 in the second, and five-minute penalty kill in the third.