Today was an optional, as the nine forwards/four D/one goalie alignment probably would’ve told you. Brent Thompson reiterated “day-to-day” on the injured David Ullstrom, Jon Landry and Trevor Frischmon, and said they’d probably get tomorrow off, too, though he said Ullstrom might give it a try. We’ll see. Anders Nilsson got back on the ice for the first time, but “it doesn’t look like he’ll be practicing anytime soon with us.” Jeremy Colliton remains out.
Justin DiBenedetto on his Saturday altercation with goalie Michael Hutchinson: “Just the heat of the moment. It is what it is … Emotions run high.” He said he hadn’t heard anything about anything further from his last-five-minutes instigator penalty, which at least by rule carries a one-game suspension.
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So a quick playoffs reset (and hey, tickets are on sale):
–Bridgeport can’t finish fourth anymore (can’t catch Wilkes-Barre without winning the division), could mathematically but probably won’t finish second (by winning out while St. John’s loses out in regulation), has a slight chance of finishing fifth (lose the division to Hartford while gaining one more point than Hershey over the final three games). Still the most likely finishes: either third (the magic number remains three points after the Whale’s win Sunday at Hershey) or sixth (gaining fewer than three points while Hershey gains the same or better and the Whale wins the division).
The Sound Tigers’ possible opponents are down to the Whale (as either the third or sixth seed), Wilkes-Barre (as that unlikely fifth seed), Hershey (as the third if the Bears slip behind the Whale), Syracuse (as the third or that unlikely second), Manchester (ditto), and three other teams only as the second seed: Portland, Adirondack or Providence (Bridgeport would have to beat the Bruins in overtime Friday for that to have even a chance of happening).
–The Penguins need one point gained by them or lost by Hershey to clinch fourth. Otherwise, they’re fifth and Hershey’s fourth; no other team can be fourth. The Bears can slip no lower than sixth, which may be unlikely but isn’t impossible; they’re pretty injury-/call-up-ravaged, they’re on a five-game winless streak, they’re definitely without the tiebreaker against Bridgeport, and they’re down the season-series tiebreaker against the Whale if Hartford wins two more games in regulation this week than they do, making up the necessary four points.
–The Whale clinched their spot on Sunday but could still finish third or anywhere from fifth (that Hershey scenario) to eighth, but if — let’s just put it as “their magic number against Syracuse is three, and it’s two against Manchester” — they’ll be no worse than sixth.
–Norfolk’s 1. St. John’s is a point away from 2.
–Syracuse has a tiny bit of breathing room but probably doesn’t want to play with tiebreakers; it could finish anywhere from sixth to 11th. Manchester has good news and bad news: It has four games to play, and it has to play four games (though the first is Tuesday; two days to rest after a short ride).
–Only two games mid-week in the known conference: Manchester at Worcester on Tuesday (a Monarchs point would eliminate Worcester: if there’s a tie at Worcester’s max of 78/31, it could only be among Worcester, Manchester and Springfield, both of whom beat the Sharks in the season series), and the Whale at Portland on Wednesday.
And then a big weekend.
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We’ll chat tomorrow at 1:30. Box at the bottom.
Edit: Norfolk’s Jon Cooper was voted AHL coach of the year, the Louis A.R. Pieri Award. Imagine Brent Thompson was a candidate on some ballots.
Former Lock Monsters and River Rats coach Tom Rowe is the new coach of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.
Poking through the Central Scouting draft rankings to look for locals; Deerfield’s/New Canaan’s Alexander Gonye is 103rd, and Brunswick’s/New Canaan’s Kevin Duane is 145th among North American skaters. If you know of any others, let me know. Enfield’s Robbie Baillargeon is 50th. At 111th, Kristoff Kontos is the son of former New Haven Nighthawk Chris Kontos.
Mike Vaccaro on hockey fans.
I somehow managed to miss the Ozzie Guillen firestorm this weekend; not sure how, but still. I try hard not one of those who believes that if your political views differ from mine, you must be a jerk/idiot/reprehensible human being. That said: Jeez, Ozzie.
And finally, I don’t know, which jacket fits Bubba Watson better?
(Just to disclaim, that’s not my own copy under my name there; may be AP. I had tossed up a short bulletin on his win, and someone else updated the post.)