Brandon DeFazio, Scott Campbell and Blair Riley individually did several things to make this a win. Together they established what this game would be about for Bridgeport: a physical effort, a night spent deep in the Binghamton zone, which is pretty much where they spent most of the first period.
“We just try to feed off each other,” Campbell said.
“It was not just our line.”
True, but they set the tone right off the hop. A big hit on Pat Cannone led indirectly to the first power play, when Cannone, down on the ice, covered up the puck. After that power play (which moved it around well but fruitlessly) expired, Eric Gryba grabbed hold of DeFazio going to the net. That power play bore fruit.
“Coming out, we wanted to set the tone,” Campbell said. “We know how tight the standings are. We know our position. We know their position.”
The penalty kill was sharp. The power play got one early. They cut down on the turnovers that led to disaster in the past. They dominated the first; if Binghamton really set up in the zone at all before that carry-over power play to start the second, I don’t remember it. They held Binghamton to two.
And Campbell’s blast from the blue line — this one counts — was the winner. “We talked about him before,” Scott Pellerin said. “He’s very consistent, very predictable. He plays his position really well.”
Campbell had earlier been in a good spot to set up Sean Backman. And then he got one himself, finishing what he started.
……
Johan Sundstrom took a hit up high late in the first and will be evaluated.
Three consecutive games on that ice today, a Sacred Heart club game followed by the varsity game and then the AHL. They did some work on some problem spots postgame.
Jack Capuano missed the Islanders’ opener with a medical emergency. Reads from Twitter as if Keith Aucoin had a nice debut in an Islanders loss.
Prescout. Scott Howes makes his AHL season debut. Impressively, both goalies were out for extra attackers for eight seconds.
11-6?. Double yeesh. (Box score? Triple yeesh.) Edit with help: PINK RINK NIGHT VIDEO! Quadruple, quintuple and sextuple yeesh. Edit2: Joe Sullivan? Septuple yeesh.
And RIP, Earl Weaver and Stan Musial (Bernie Miklasz notes an impressive coincidence).