So 15 seconds to go in the season. Jeff Tambellini picks up the puck behind the empty Bridgeport net. The crowd sees what’s coming. Tambellini accelerates through the defensive zone, finds clear sailing to the red and leaves Greg Moore in the dust. He cuts right across the blue line, fakes out Thomas Pock just enough to get around him but not enough to do it cleanly. The puck hops away.
The season’s over.
It’s easy to imagine that this is the final image we’ll have of Tambellini in Bridgeport. Even in some dark times, he was there to provide a little excitement. One hopes he’s off thrilling 17,210 a night somewhere next year instead of 7,210.
BRIDGEPORT
F: Tambellini (A)-Walter-Jackman (A)
Comeau-Smith-Okposo
Joensuu-Regier-Keith
Brennan/Morency
D: Fata-Ford
Kohn-Spiller
Fraser-Wotton (C)
HARTFORD
F: Korpikoski-Moore (A)-Parenteau
Byers-Anisimov-Jessiman
Gratton-Ouellette-Bourret
Fritz-(Zaborsky-scratch)-M.Taylor
D: Sanguinetti-J.Taylor (A)
Potter-Sauer
Baranka-Pock
The gamer’s on Joensuu, who actually looked pretty solid.
Dwyer’s back in Utah.
Joe Franke, the third equipment manager of the year, got a nice tribute today from the team. Well-deserved for a guy who saved their bacon midseason.
The Bears finished 4-0-1-1 to make it a runaway at the end. They actually missed Albany by a point.
Jonathan relates some of the pageantry of Bonvie Night.
Preliminary suspensions from the Hershey-Philly mess.
Syracuse won to clinch home ice against Manitoba. Rockford will play Houston with home ice. The last two spots in the West, and so who gets Chicago and who gets Toronto, are still undetermined as I write — San Antonio’s still playing — but I’ll update later on. San Antonio coughed up a third-period lead, so the Rampage finish fifth and play Toronto, while Milwaukee gets Chicago. The first round skeds are up on the AHL site.
Had never seen this Peanuts strip before. Got a kick out of it.
They’ll have break-up meetings tomorrow, so we’ll wrap ‘er up then.