The lead was half-written, about how the only thing more appropriate than a blown 3-0 lead tonight would be a blown 4-0 lead on the day they were eliminated. Turnovers… It would have written itself.
But they saved themselves this time. Got some help from the Penguins, but they saved themselves.
Walter draws the penalty on Nasreddine, the power play doesn’t work, Nathan Smith has a breakaway that Joey MacDonald stops, and then Smith barrels into Walter on the boards for Penalty 2, except WBS never gets it back, the Sound Tigers set up, and five seconds after Nas comes out of the box…
…it’s almost as if they never blew a 3-0 lead.
There are at least two more days of winter.
BRIDGEPORT
F: Tambellini (A)-Walter-Jackman (A)
Comeau-Smith-Okposo
Regier-Colliton-Keith
MacArthur-(Dwyer-scratch)-Fretter
D: Fata-Ford
Kohn-Spiller
Fraser-Wotton (C)
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON
F: Stone (A)-Gove-Wallace
James-Smith (C)-Filewich
McLean-Letestu-Minard
(Bissonnette-scratch)-Daoust-Bonvie
D: Nasreddine-Lannon (A)
Goligoski-Engelland
Ardelan-Lovejoy
So endeth games against the East Division (barring miracles and four-to-seven more). Record in the division: 26-20-1-1. (Bonus points given away with overtime/shootout wins: six, including three to Philadelphia, but none to Bingo or Hershey — none of those 16 games even went OT, and the Sound Tigers were 8-8 in them.) Record against the other division, with three to play: 13-14-0-2 (four points given, two to Hartford).
Albany clinched third place. Philly will play home games next Friday/Sunday; Phil Janack notes that, if it’s Albany, those’ll likely be Games 2 and 3, because the Rats will open at home on Wednesday, regardless if it’s against WBS or PHI.
Providence clinches first overall with its win (37 for Pelletier) and Chicago’s good-gravy-what’s-that loss to Toronto. (One and one for Jaime Sifers.) Scott Gordon is coach of the year, BTW, and this year, he actually won it.
Nielsen: right now they’re working on the shoulder, physical therapy. There may still be a chance, but it doesn’t sound likely, that he would play at some point. And Trevor Smith had been with his ill grandfather this weekend; he passed away this morning.
Here’s a bit on Barrie losing to Belleville. At least, what popped up on the RSS feed this morning.
Walter’s and Tambellini’s scoring streaks ended. Walter’s run has made his season the eighth-best, scoring-wise, for a Sound Tiger (20-42-62). One point puts him in sixth. He needs six assists to tie Collins’ record of 48. Tambellini needs seven goals to tie Hamilton’s record of 43. Not likely, of course, but…