Power failure

Sure. Now my wireless card works, now that I’ve run back to the office in a compy-based panic and rewritten the box score on our system. It’d be symbolic enough if the Sound Tigers suddenly scored a power-play goal right about now in the room.

As Jack Capuano said, “one goal’s not gonna win you a game.” The power play went 0-for-5, including an 0-for-4 (with strays on either side) in the second period, putting eight PP shots on Jonathan Bernier, who stopped them all. Capuano thought there could have been more traffic in front of him. Some of Bernier’s toughest saves came through traffic; a Flood left-point shot comes to mind, as does a Greg Moore deflection that skipped on goal, where Trevor Smith almost got it again.

Didn’t happen, though. Bridgeport pulsed a little early, tied the game on Jesse Joensuu’s goal on the rush with Greg Mauldin (off Jon Gleed’s fourth assist in two home games), and then took a penalty and gave up a power-play goal and never got even again. The Sound Tigers had a little stretch in the third where they kept winning draws, kept putting shots on Bernier off those draws, and kept watching him cover up. Then Joensuu went in the box, and Manchester outshot them the rest of the night.

Which is kind of funny, seeing as how the Monarchs somehow made 17 shots count.

Of all the stats not to have, by the way: Don’t have handy the team record for fewest shots against in a game. This wasn’t it; Philly took only 16 on Feb. 27, Bridgeport’s last visit to the Spectrum. When it was stuck on 13 for a while, I was getting nervous, particularly without Internet access. Will have to poke around. Edit: We have winners: 15 shots on goal, three times: Nov. 23, 2001, vs. Albany (a 2-1 OT win, though Albany took no shots in OT); March 6, 2002, at Quebec (a 5-3 win for Rick DiPietro); Oct. 30, 2004, at Wilkes-Barre (a 1-0 loss).

Nathan Lawson wasn’t sure if Geoff Walker kicked his first-minute goal in. I didn’t see a kick from where I was, but others not far away thought he did.

All kinds of ex-filing: The Habs recalled David Desharnais for his NHL debut, a professional road that began in Hershey a couple of years ago. Max Gratchev gets a PTO in Binghamton. Backup-only Sound Tigers goalie Sebastien Laplante has retired.

Mike Sharp and Lindsay Kramer have stuff on the AHL’s first outdoor game, finally official for Feb. 20 in Syracuse. (Abbotsford’s here that night.)

Jonathan Bombulie’s blog has moved under spam pressure. He has a bit there on a team suspension for Dustin Jeffrey; there have been a few of those there the past couple of years.

Miikka Kiprusoff gives us an “if I ain’t startin’, I ain’t departin’” moment for a new generation (and sport).

Fun ‘n’ games from xkcd.

And RIP, Abe Pollin.

The team is off Thursday, and I’ve got football anyway, so if nothing crazy happens, see you Friday. Happy Thanksgiving.

Michael Fornabaio