Arrived here at the remodeled Dunkin’ Donuts Center (looks great: no longer a Donut Hole) to find Vladimir Sobotka and Martin St. Pierre on the Providence roster. That’s just a little injection of talent. (No Karsums, though.)
Bridgeport got back Yann Danis and Trevor Smith (fresh off his first NHL goal, as you guys were swell to note in my absence last night), but they flew all night and didn’t make this trip. Not sure if either will go back up, but the Islanders don’t play until Tuesday, so there’s time.
Joensuu’s back; met in passing, he said he’s feeling better. (Which is, we guess, why he’s in.) Fritz is out, and the Lee-Hillen pairing sits tonight on defense.
We’re all the way up in a corner here — not quite Wilkes-Barre, but then, what is? — so it’s a unique view.
Programming note, literally: Universal Sports, which has been showing Champions Hockey League games (Zurich SC Lions vs. Mettalurg Magnitogorsk, an oh-so-European two-leg final, Jan. 21 and Jan. 28), is going to air the KHL All-Star Game live Saturday morning at 7:50. One blog I saw mentioned a rebroadcast later (sorry for the lack of attribution) but I haven’t caught when. On whatever Cablevision package my folks have, it’s Channel 119. And, hat tip to Sam Weinman, you can also find it on universalsports.com.
No letters on the Broons’ warmup jerseys, which is good, because it was eyestrain enough reading the black-on-black letters from behind the net here. We’ll add ’em later.
LINEUPS
BRIDGEPORT
F: Nikiforov-McLean-Iggulden
Bentivoglio-Walter-Joensuu
Sixsmith-Haskins-Packard
Pitton-Marcinko-Haley
D: Skinner-Callahan (A)
Fraser-Wotton (C)
Kohn-MacDonald
G: Mannino
(Lawson)
PROVIDENCE
F: Sobotka-St. Pierre-Lehtonen
Marchand-Rabbit (A)-Reich (C)
Marquardt-Hamill-Knackstedt
Lukacevic-Nelson-Tremblay
D: Bodnarchuk-McQuaid (A)
Penner-Boychuk
May-Stokes
G: Rask
(Regan)
R: G.Hebert. L: Messier, Boyle.