An “OK game,” Scott Pellerin called it, in the “they’ve been better” sense. Not their best. Both teams had times when they took over the game.
At the same time, Bridgeport had more times when it took over the game and really didn’t have a lot to show for it. The go-ahead goal in the third period came after a shift when the Bears could easily have taken the lead instead, and then half a minute later the game was tied again. And that might’ve been Hershey’s best chance to take it over for good.
The Sound Tigers had big edges early in periods (first six shots of the second, for instance) and late (they finished the second dominating the Bears down low, forcing Mark French to call his time out — much like Hershey had done in the middle of the first to Bridgeport). They pretty much controlled overtime until Tomas Kundratek took it up-ice, got behind a tired defense and scored the winner.
….
Status to be seen on Ness and McIver. Ness took Ryan Potulny’s errant stick in the mouth; they were picking up teeth as he went off the ice. McIver took a hit from Garrett Mitchell late and didn’t return; Pellerin said that was precautionary. That left them with four defensemen, and Wishart took a puck to the mouth that left them scrambling to close the wound.
Only other time Bridgeport didn’t face a power play? Dec. 19, 2003, at Worcester (the IceCats), a 3-2 win. Your referee? Jeff Smith, who hasn’t worked a Bridgeport game in 22 1/2 months, darn it.
The power play, meanwhile, goes 0-for-5 (though the double minor was reduced to, in essence, a single by a Niederreiter stick-slashing penalty). “I think we’re moving it around well,” Jon Landry said. “Teams are keying in on it now that we’ve had a lot of success on it the first 30 games.” Landry figured they need to keep it simple, “just get shots, get rebounds, get what was working at the beginning.”
Lost in the Kundratek/Dany Sabourin flood for Hershey: Ryan Stoa with a few nice plays to force turnovers, get pucks to the net. One was a goal; one almost was, until Bridgeport then broke out and scored the Brandon DeFazio goal.
Nick Niedert in the house. Seeing some of his old Reading teammates as well as some old Bridgeport teammates.
Jesse Spector on Rick DiPietro.
Reports have a few Russian players, notably Ilya Kovalchuk, looking to stay in the KHL after the end of the lockout. Call me crazy: You’re playing in the KHL despite a long-term NHL contract. Do you take a chance that you’ll somehow be able to play out the year in the KHL, agreement or no? Heck, even if you can’t, do you say, well, forget your pro-rated money this year; I’ll come back contrite in September and you can tack a full year onto my contract? (I mean, probably a field day for the lawyers, but still.)
And RIP, Richard Ben Cramer and Katie Moore.