showed his Hershey Bears teammates that he’s got their backs covered.

In turn, they are doing the same for the three-time NHL all-star.

Souray suffered a broken right hand in a fight with Adirondack’s Matt Clackson last weekend that will sideline him for up to two weeks.

Criticism, particularly in the Edmonton media, has been directed at the defenseman, who broke the same hand last season with the Edmonton Oilers, for not avoiding a fight.

“I don’t know what they expect from him,” Bears head coach Mark French said. “He’s been very good for us. That was a very physical game Saturday night.

“I think he did what he felt he had to do. I thought the timing was very appropriate for what he did. I think it shows how much he’s involved, how much he’s committed to be here. If anything, for me, and probably more important for the team, it solidified that he is a member of this group.”

Souray, exiled from the Oilers and loaned to Hershey, said he suffered a minor compression fracture that only needs healing time rather than surgical intervention. The break suffered last season against Jarome Iginla, in which the bone was displaced, was more serious.

“I’m used to the criticism,” Souray said. “You can’t please everyone once people get an opinion. I think Edmonton’s done a pretty good job, the organization’s done a good job, of trying to form an opinion of my character and my personality. Once people jump on that and make an assumption for themselves, it’s hard to do anything right. We’ve seen it before. Not just my situation. Players, they get a certain reputation and no matter what they do it just doesn’t seem like it’s enough.

“It doesn’t surprise me and it doesn’t bother me, only because that’s part of my job. It’s part of what’s allowed me to play and have the career I’ve had is to be a physical player. Unfortunately, I got hurt when it happened. But a lot of people get hurt when they come back early from a knee injury or from a shoulder injury or from anything.”

Had Souray taken a stance to avoid fighting, he’d be open to criticism for being an aloof teammate merely awaiting a return call to the NHL.

“Seven or eight months ago, when they were thinking I was one of the most important parts of the [Edmonton] team, to three or four months ago, after I had called the organization out on a couple of things, it’s led me to here,” Souray said. “You’re exactly right. It’s one of those situations where, I think, now you’ve just got to go kill them with success.

“If you come down here and you act like you’re not committed or you act like you shouldn’t be here, that’s going to show on the ice. That’s one thing I wanted to come here and make sure these guys knew is that I’m in it with them. We’re all in the same boat. We’re all here to try to make the NHL. I didn’t want anything less to show on the ice.”

Souray, who won’t be playing for the Bears when they visit Syracuse Friday night and host Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Saturday and Manchester Sunday, has impressed the locker room with his attitude and effort.

“It’s funny how the Canadians are giving him the gears for fighting, because it’s the Canadians who seem to love the fighting the most,” winger Steve Pinizzotto said.

“He’s not showing a downside at all to be down here. To have him in the lineup is huge. Clackson is a pretty tough kid. It just shows the damage this guy can do. It’s nice to see him get out there and fight, for sure.”

Souray said he broke the hand on the fight’s first swing. He then proceeded to hammer Clackson with his left.

“I’ve always tried to be a character person more than a player,” Souray said. “My play is what it is. What I have always tried to do is make sure I’m a character guy, a standup guy.

“There’s obviously never a good time to get hurt. There’s a lot of attention on this for the obvious reasons. That’s a big part of my game, playing hard and sticking up for my teammates and myself. That will never change.”

PINNER POWER



French lauded Pinizzotto for his play Saturday and Sunday against Adirondack. He delivered big hits and was a strong presence on the penalty kill.

But don’t forget the pretty goal he scored Saturday.

“I think that goal is a bit of a highlight of what Steve’s capable of offensively,” French said. “He’s got a good shot. For me, I was really pleased with his two home games. It was more back to how he needs to play. Everything was built around his physical, intense game. From that, he gets offensive chances because he’s so involved in the game.”

Pinizzotto skated out from behind the net and picked a top left corner. His 2010-11 aim is to break career highs for goals (13) and points (41), and he’s got two goals in seven games.

“I got a little patient with the puck,” Pinizzotto said. “It kind of opened up, and I just went upstairs with it. That was a good goal. It’s always good to score to get your confidence going, right?”

NOTEBOOK



The AHL announced that Harry Pidhirny, Maurice Podoloff and Larry Wilson are the other selections joining Hershey great Mitch Lamoureux in the 2011 AHL Hall of Fame class.

Syracuse has scored and allowed just 2.29 goals per game.

Manchester (5-2-0-1) and WBS (6-0-0-0) are the two hottest teams in the Eastern Conference.

Hershey’s penalty kill (.811) ranks 19th in the AHL, but that number is a bit deceptive. Either Jay Beagle or Boyd Kane, both ace PK forwards, have been out of the lineup in five of seven games. “Right now, you worry more about your structure and are the guys doing what you’re asking them to do,” French said. “I think from a structure standpoint, for the most part we are. Some of the goals have been misfortune. You’re going to give up something on the PK. We like what we’ve seen. We think it’s just a matter of time before everything comes together and it becomes a real strength for us.”