Bridgeport outshoots the Bulldogs 36-14 over the first 58 and a half minutes of this Game 7, though Ken Sutton blocks an early Jani Rita rebound that would’ve had a chance to slip through. The Sound Tigers pretty much dominate things. But they have nothing to show against Marc Lamothe, who has stopped everything, including a golden Raffi Torres rebound chance in the third period. “I think one thing we doubted was if we were going to score on this guy,” Torres said afterward.
But then, with a minute and a half left, Torres shrugs off Bobby Allen to score off his own blocked shot, beating Lamothe on the 37th shot with 1:27 remaining in regulation. Empty-netters from Jason Podollan and Juraj Kolnik secure a 3-0 win on this Wednesday night at Harbor Yard and a trip to the Calder Cup Final.
Game 1 is Friday against the Western Conference champion Chicago Wolves, the seventh seed but a battle-tested, veteran club. Some hack predicts a Bridgeport win in seven games.
Not to spoil it, but Bridgeport has not won a best-of-7 series since this night.