Barry Goers vs Hershey Bears 11/03/2017 (Grade B+)

Friday's shootout victory against Hershey was certainly a thriller by all accords. After a 6 goal second period for Rochester the Bears clawed their way back in to the game forcing overtime with only 5 minutes to go. And for the second night in a row Cornell played the role of hero in the shoot out with a game winning goal. I'm glad to see he is giving coach Taylor a reason to put him in the line up because he has been less than impressive during regulation. However, one player that continues to impress this year is top prospect Brendon Guhle. He took on some major responsibility on the power play taking the majority of the point shots. Most of them were low and generated long rebounds, but on one occasion he was able to pick out the top corner and tie up the game in the second frame.

Another Amerks defenseman who continues to impress is Barry Goers. The new addition has been a very important cog in the machine with the absence of Paetsch, Faulk, and Fedun in the lineup. It's difficult to say a defensemen fulfilled their duties in a game where 6 goals were allowed, but his grade is a B+.

Offensively, I thought Goers did a great job and was able to make a positive impact on the game. While on the point, he chose not to take many shots opting to let his partner do most of the heavy lifting. Considering he was partnered with Guhle it was probably the right choice. Barry also picked all the right times to aggressively pinch and kept the puck in every time. He even skated the puck behind the opposing net at times (reminiscent of Fedun last year). What I liked most about his game was his ability to sneak forward during the opposing breakout and cut off passing lanes. He forced a couple turnovers early that led directly to instant offense.

Defensively, Goers was certainly busy. His first call to action came only 44 seconds into the game. Sadly, he was not up to the task. On a 2 on 2 he gave his man too much space and he was able to get off a shot from the high slot. Goers was unable to get his body in front of it and served more as a screen than anything else on the play. The result was a quick opening goal for the Bears. Fortunately, he learned from his early mistake and in similar situations for the rest of the game his man didn't come close to getting off a shot. Goers also did a serviceable job in front of net tonight. Outside of his first mishap he actually blocked a lot of shots and angle control was phenomenal, especially when shorthanded. The only area he struggled with was fending off the the 6ft 7' 235 pound Mathius Bau in front of goal. Goers did his best to lift Bau's stick but he was an immovable object on Friday (Hudson Fasching actually did his best impression and notched a great net front goal).

Overall I love what Goers has been able to do since he has arrived in Rochester. Even when others return I think he has the capability of a top 4 defensemen and I love the way he is gelling with Brendan Guhle. He would have to become a bit more consistent and incorporate more shooting into his game if NHL aspirations are in his future, but regardless he is a fantastic piece to have in Rochester.