This play coulda broken down in so many places. Bentivoglio had to get it in to Hennigar. Did. (“Benty had a great game. It was Benty’s best game of the year,” Capuano said.) Hennigar had to get it around the defenseman. Did. Joensuu had to reach back and get it, then snap it up over Aubin’s glove. Did.
Kinda pretty. And it turned a 2-1, are-they-really-getting-out-of-this-ahead period into a 3-1 almost-laugher. And it was back-to-back shifts for Bentivoglio-Hennigar-Joensuu with a goal.
And that made it easier, if not particularly easy, to get through that deadly second period; Mannino’s most-memorable stop, a miraculous toe save on Clackson, helped that a lot. Coming alive in the third allowed Bridgeport to win by four, which probably wasn’t representative after they put nine shots on Aubin through 40.
“I don’t have the reason,” Capuano said. “Maybe we’ll skate and figure it out. We can’t have slow starts. Every game is crucial.”
They’ve learned that well the past two years. But here’s what’s funny: The gamer will note that this is Bridgeport’s best six-game start yet, 4-1-0-1, nine points. The previous best was 4-2-0-0, eight points, in 2004-05, a non-playoff season. Tied for next was 3-2-0-1 in 2006-07… a non-playoff season. (Also tied was 2001-02, a very-playoff season, at 3-2-1-0, where the 1 represents this thing called a “tie,” which some of you may remember fondly.) And the next-best start was 3-3, last year, a… well, you get it.
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A regular correspondent caught that J-S Aubin had some kind of mask problem early in the third, shortly after Comeau’s goal. While Philly equipment manager Damion Parmelee took it into the dressing room to work on it, Aubin wore Scott Munroe’s orange mask. His mask came back about midway through the period.
How did Aubin keep the puck out on that first-period power-play scramble, right before the Smith goal? Skinner from the point, good enough, but then he throws out the paddle to stop McLean, and then Smith and somebody else get in there to whack at it, and it’s still out. (“Magic,” that was my hunch.)
Saw a weird kick soon after: Bridgeport dumped in down the right-wing boards, and it went past the Zamboni door OK, but then it caromed off something on the kick plate. Anyone remember that one before?
Utah wins its opener.
Wilkes-Barre had a 2-0 lead on Hershey 91 seconds in. Hershey came back, took a lead. But the Penguins knocked ’em off. So, 79-1.
*-Dave Guard, 10/19/34-3/22/91