The Hershey Bears opened the 2009-10 season Saturday with a celebration at center ice. The defending Calder Cup champions raised their AHL-leading 10th title banner and distributed the championship rings to last year's team. After the ceremony, the Bears went on to defeat Norfolk, 3-1. (For the Daily Record/Sunday News - Jim Zengerle)
HERSHEY -- The Hershey Bears unveiled their 10th Calder Cup championship banner -- the most in AHL history -- before Saturday's home opener, then they went to work.

Andrew Gordon scored a hat trick to lead the Bears to a 3-1 victory over the Norfolk Admirals at Giant Center in front of 10,075 fans.

The game was the season opener for both teams and jump-started the Bears in their bid to become the first team since 1991 to win back-to-back Calder Cup championships.

"I don't think I've ever scored two goals on an opening night, let alone three," said Gordon. "When Coiner (Keith Aucoin) hit me back door first shift, second shift, whatever it was, I thought 'It's a simpler game playing with these two.'"

Gordon found himself skating as the right wing with Alexandre Giroux and Aucoin, who finished 1-2 in the league in scoring last season while playing with Graham Mink. He also found himself enjoying that spot.

"It's great to play with those two guys," Gordon said. "It's gonna be a lot of work mentally and physically to keep up with these two. They play a lot of minutes. From here on out, I just want to play simple, win the puck battles in front of the net, and hopefully we'll have success."

"It was nice to see him get that early start," said Hershey coach Mark French about Gordon. "The power play certainly didn't miss a beat putting him on there. He's not Minker, but he's got some of the same qualities, he's got a great nose for the net, and he's got that grit level to go to the corner to get the pucks for those guys."

French wasn't alone in being impressed by the performance of Gordon, Aucoin and Giroux. Norfolk coach Darren Rumble could only salute the way the Bears played.

"I thought 5-on-5, they had a couple of shifts where they had us running around in our own zone, but other than that, I wasn't overly anxious about any part of the 5-on-5 play," said Rumble. "But their power play is unbelievable, and their 5-on-5 is going to get better, because they've got too many weapons not to."

While Gordon, Aucoin and Giroux were generating the offense, at the other end of the ice, rookie goalie Braden Holtby made the most of his professional debut.

Holtby unexpectedly drew the start in goal when Michal Neuvirth, last season's Calder Cup MVP, was sidelined by a hip flexor. Holtby, who joined the Bears from juniors at the end of the 2008-09 regular season, spent the entire playoff run with Hershey, although he was limited to simply practicing with the team. Saturday night, he stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced in posting the win.

"He's a confident kid," French said about Holtby. "Although he wasn't overly busy, he handled things when they got to him."

"I was pretty excited

The Hershey Bears unveiled their 10th Calder Cup championship banner -- the most in AHL history -- before Saturday's home opener. (For the Daily Record/Sunday News - Jim Zengerle)
when I heard the news (Friday, that he would be the starter)," Holtby said. "It would have been nice for Neuvy to be part of this game on the ice because of the work he did last year, but at the same time, it was a good experience for me. It was fun out there."

It didn't take long for the Bears to give Holtby some breathing room. About a minute and a half into the game, Norfolk's Brandon Bochenski was whistled off for tripping. With just more than 30 seconds remaining in the man-advantage, Gordon went to the corner of the net, Aucoin saucered a quick pass to him, and Gordon just had to tip it in.

Gordon added his second goal at 15:12, reaching into a scrum in front of the net to swat a rebound into the corner. Norfolk tried to

Hershey's Andrew Gordon (10) falls toward the ice as he shoots the puck past the Norfolk goaltender Saturday during the home opener at Giant Center. Gordon netted a hat trick as the Bears beat the Admirals, 3-1. (For the Daily Record/Sunday News - Jim Zengerle)
bounce back in the second period and pretty much controlled the early part of the period with an aggressive forecheck and a relentless cycle. But while the Bears struggled at times to gain control of the puck, Norfolk was unable to generate any sustained scoring chances, and Holtby kept the Admirals at bay.

Norfolk's lone goal came early in the third period when Blair Jones beat Holtby to the stick side with a rebound before Holtby could slide back across the net. Gordon answered that goal with his third of the game midway through the period, backhanding a rebound past goalie Dustin Tokarski.