One hard bounce off the endboards. One better bounce off the endboards. And one pretty goal from a line that needs a nickname*.
Bridgeport’s 3-0 for the third time, one short of its best start.
“They played well,” Pellerin said of Ullstrom-Sundstrom-Persson. “Toward the end of the game maybe they didn’t get as much ice time as they deserved.”
They scored (with Kirill Kabanov on in Ullstrom’s place after a power play) the first goal. Then Persson forced a turnover and scored Bridgeport’s last goal.
They were opportunistic, like Niederreiter. Cizikas and Donovan got the assists, but someone should’ve asked for one for the Zamboni door (not the first time.) That gave them a 2-0 lead after a period when the Penguins had probably had the better of even-strength play.
They held on nicely, and they’re 3-0.
…
One big potential downer for Bridgeport: Calvin de Haan skated off with exactly a minute to play. He was skating away from where we sit (and we’re all the way the heck up anyway), so no sense of his facial expression, but he skated off pretty hard and was waving for the trainer with, I’m pretty sure, his right hand. He has had no luck with shoulder injuries, of course, but there wasn’t any immediate update on him after the game.
Kevin Poulin also stayed down after the second Penguins goal; he’d wound up on his stomach to stop the initial shot before Eric Tangradi shoveled in the rebound, and trainer Dave Stickney appeared to be checking on his back before heading back to the bench. Seemed to be OK. “I thought Poulin was solid,” Pellerin said. “He eliminated a lot of second opportunities. The (defense) did a pretty good job in front of the net.” Pellerin said Nilsson isn’t 100 percent. “Thought it’d be the best decision for the team to have Poulie play.”
Special teams chopped things up at times, but Pellerin was happy to get to roll four lines when possible.
Sundstrom on his first goal: “I scored in the exhibition game in Providence, but it was an exhibition game. It’s nice to get my first goal in the AHL, for sure. It’s a memory. I think I got the puck, too.”
Sound Tigers PR man Jamie Palatini noted during the week that Niederreiter’s on an AHL goal-scoring streak. Sure, it covers almost a full calendar year, but it’s six games, one short of Jeff Tambellini’s and David Ullstrom’s team record.
Prescout. Nah, wait; that’s a dull one. Try this one. Or better yet, this one, where maybe Nathan Lawson wishes he had gotten in the goalie fight. Edit: highlights.
They’re off Sunday.
*I have two ideas, but I’m petrified of both. Both for sheer cliché-hood, but for different reasons.