—Postgame edit: OK, I lied. With the win, the Sound Tigers won all four games in Binghamton (one in a shootout, which would’ve been a tie, yadda yadda, sing along). It’s only the third time they have swept an away-season-series of more than two games: 2002-03, four games at Springfield; and 2005-06, four games at Lowell, part of the legendary eight-game season sweep when they trailed for only 18:29 out of 480:17. Five other times they swept two-game road series, including wins in all four games they ever played in Saint John, New Brunswick. Now back to your regularly scheduled top-down liveblog, already completed.
–Greetings from my house on Day 1 of the Nathan Lawson Era. (Or Day 2, I guess, in hindsight.) Waiting for Webcasts to begin.
By the way, while we’ve thrown Freddy Cloutier’s name around, I’m thinking that, to get to that 2006 situation, the Big Club is going to have to lose one more goalie, sign Lawson and bring him up. Cloutier was Bridgeport’s No. 3 that year, the role Lawson had at the start. Cloutier only came up for good in early December, when Chris Madden — who had a good start and had become the de facto No. 1, before Wade Dubielewicz went for the Eye Exam That Changed Everything — went down with that torn meniscus that got worse and worse and needed surgery that got later and later. Counterfactual fun: What If Madden doesn’t get hurt? Does Dubie ever become a folk hero?
–For those who remember the Cody Rudkowsky Era, he actually popped up the other day in the Reading Eagle Wall of Honor. Maybe we ought to do this. (Nah.)
–A little pregame funkiness: Three players go into tonight with 17 goals and 27 assists. Jeff Taffe is in third because he has played 36 games. Mike Iggulden is in fourth because he (and Bridgeport) have played 40. And P.A. Parenteau is in fifth with 42 games. (Coincidentally, if you wanted to look at even-strength points alone, they’re in their correct order. And even more coincidentally, both Taffe and Iggulden have taken 109 shots.)
—Lenny DiCostanzo is officially back on the roster, again in 33.
–Out of town scoreboard: Wilkes-Barre faces Albany, and Hershey faces Philadelphia.
–Phil’s got the lines, and the top two look like late-Hartford: Smith-McLean-Lessard and Iggulden-Walter-Joensuu. Others are Bentivoglio-Sixsmith-Nikiforov, and Fritz-Packard-Morency.
–Jason Nissen again.
–Hey, underway. Here’s the leaguestat.
–Yablonski and Fritz. I’m sorry already that I’m not there. Phil’s got a heck of a call going here. It’s a good one. A long one. Darn it. Someone please get the youtube link, when it goes up.
–Oh, yeah — it’s 1-0, Bridgeport. Right. Goals. A-MacDonald through Bentivoglio’s screen.
–The top-ranked power play strikes in just 17 seconds, tying the game. Sixsmith has taken three minors in the past 24 hours; opponents have scored on all three.
–And there it goes: Alex Giroux has a goal at home, tying Brett Hull’s AHL record with one in his 14th consecutive game.
–And two and a half minutes later, Giroux scores another one for good measure. Right now, he has 21 goals in these 14 games. (Or 13 and a third.)
–Joensuu puts the Sound Tigers back on top. He went through a drought where he had just one goal in 13 games; now, he has two in the past three.
–Bentivoglio and Morency on the penalty kill. That’s different. But with Haskins and Pitton out, it’d have to be.
–Second period. The box score says Nissen called this Hamel-Packard scrum “unsportsmanlike conduct” on both. He laid the same call on Bentivoglio and Aucoin last night. It’s not the common interpretation. But it’s two minutes, either way.
–Glance out of town: Philly has tied Hershey, while suddenly-powerful Albany has a 3-0 lead on Wilkes-Barre. (Edit: WBS has a couple of goals in 33 seconds to get right back in it.)
–Five-on-three here for Bridgeport at the end of the period: kind of big. In other news, the sky is blue.
–Ah, the Internet. Fritz vs. Yablonski. Not bad, considering Yablonski was looking through his uniform system for most of it.
–How’s this for a first minute: Brett Palin gives Quad City a lead 19 seconds into the game, and then 32 seconds later, Jeff Hamilton gets tripped on a breakaway, then scores on the penalty shot. There; you have your money’s worth.
–Smith scores his 20th after Lawson, it sounds, makes a big stop on Hamel as the Bridgeport power play expires. Smith makes five Bridgeport players to score 20 two years in a row: Hunter, Collins, Hamilton and Tambellini. Ben Walter has a chance to join the club, too.
–Conboy just popped in an empty-netter with 17 seconds left, so looks like Wilkes-Barre will come to town off a couple of losses.
–While the Sound Tigers cling on through this penalty kill with Callahan in the box, Hershey and Philly have gone OT. Points for all!
–This Danny Bois cross-checking penalty should help the Sound Tigers out.
–Big comeback game for Nathan Lawson, big win after two losses in a row, and they’ll come home on short rest with a win. BRIDGEPORT 3, BINGHAMTON 1: It’s win No. 300 in team history (300-230-31T-25OTL-15SOL).
See you tomorrow.