A scheduled 7:30 start in Norfolk, where apparently the weather’s bad enough for them to send out the “yes, we’re playing tonight” press release this afternoon.
We’ll as usual have Pete Michaud up on Norfolk’s broadcast. Following Twitter reports from Jamie, Pete, the Ads’ official feed and their play-by-play account.
Jamie’s tweets earlier today indicate a Kevin Poulin start once again and a Kirill Kabanov return. The box will be here; Jamie Koharski both nights, if all goes according to plan.
(That’s an awful lot of K’s.)
Big Club plays tonight in Boston with Rick DiPietro in net. We’ll probably have an eye on that, too.
If you missed it last night, Nail Yakupov scored in the closing seconds and set off two Twitter firestorms over the next 16 hours or so: One, over his celebration; two, over people’s use of the word “celly.” (For the record, I’m fine with both in limited amounts, and both were more than appropriate here.)
From yesterday, your eight Sound Tigers whose only Bridgeport goal was a game-winner: For the moment, the list includes Chad Costello (in Hartford on Dec. 27) and Scott Campbell (last weekend). It also includes defensemen Jody Robinson, Jon Gleed, Brandon Gentile and Stephen Wood, and going back further, forwards J.F. Caudron (one goal in two games) and Mike Omicioli (one in four games, though five assists to go with it).
P.K. Subban plans to be at Ingalls Rink on Saturday as the Bulldogs honor Mandi Schwartz.
Cartoonist/man/myth/legend Stephan Pastis is coming to Madison on March 2. May have to blow off Sacred Heart-UConn/Bridgeport-Adirond…I mean… boss? (cough) Think I’m getting sick March 1.
More in a bit.
–Jamie’s first-goal tweet has Hill and Watkins out along with those who didn’t travel. That’d leave seven defensemen including Marc Cantin.
Recent history would indicate something like:
BRIDGEPORT
F: Persson-Nelson-Niederreiter
DeFazio-Campbell-Riley (A)
Costello-Combs-Kabanov
Gallant-Backman-Halmo
D: Donovan-Wishart
Ness-McIver (A)
(Jackson-scratch)/Cantin-Landry (A)
G: Poulin
Nilsson
NORFOLK, via Pete:
F: Caputi-Maroon (A)-Etem
Brittain-Wagner-Sexton
Letourneau-Leblond – Pelley (A)- Mitchell
Rosehill-Kurtz-Kennedy
D: Smaby-Guenin (C)
Guentzel-Clark
Parent-Vatanen/(Schaus-scratch)
G: Andersen
Bobkov
R: J. Koharski. L: Murray, Hamlett.
We’ll update and correct as needed. Word from down there is that the game may be delayed a few minutes.
–Jackson and Schaus are out, per the tweets.
–Game on… and with the Campbell line keeping it in for a long time, he gets his second goal at 1:13 on a scramble around Andersen. So now he’s off that list: back to seven. Game on, 1-0 Bridgeport.
–After a Bridgeport penalty kill, Gallant and PL3 have what I think Pete at one point called a pretty even fight. Sounded like it.
–Just taking a peek at the gamesheet, Riley’s wearing an ‘A’ tonight.
–Koharski briefly checked out a Persson shot but apparently confirmed it hit the crossbar. Still 1-0 around the midpoint of the first.
–A Brock Nelson hit (from behind, they say on the Norfolk call) on John Mitchell precipitates a McIver-Kurtz fight in the last minute of the first period. It ends 1-0 Bridgeport. Shots 16-13 Norfolk. Pete notes seven of those 16 came on a pair of power plays.
–Admirals announce they’ll let fans exchange tonight’s unused tickets. Nice move.
–Persson was the only Sound Tiger with two shots in the first period, plus he put one off the crossbar. He’s denied again by Andersen about 15 minutes into the second period. Norfolk has killed the first Sound Tigers power play of the night, and it’s still 1-0. If you’re wondering, no Sound Tiger has only two goals that have both been game-winners.
–Sound Tigers outshoot them 15-8 in the period and now have a 28-24 lead, but the real lead remains 1-0 after two.
–Persson’s up to five shots through two.
–The Admirals tie it up at 7:00 of the third, a second rebound by Patrick Maroon. 1-1.
–Josh Brittain puts Norfolk ahead 3:39 later after Maroon takes the puck in the corner and sets him up in the right circle. Sounded like the shot got iron on the way in. 2-1 Norfolk with 9:21 to go.
–Shots in the third were 3-2 Norfolk about five minutes in, according to the last refresh of the gamesheet that I have. They’re now 11-5, 11 minutes in. This is completely on me, by the way, as I had just gone to look up the date of that 1-0 game against Albany in 2004, when Blaine Down scored 30 seconds in.
–Kabanov goes off, reportedly, gingerly after a hit from Mat Clark; later, Maroon gets called for goaltender interference with 3:58 to go. Interesting that Dennis McEwen brings up the Cizikas overtime play again from Dec. 14. The replay, if I remember, showed him getting thrown into Andersen by Mat Clark.
–Power play expires, so under two minutes to go.
–Hmm. Mitchell gets an elbowing penalty with 7.4 seconds to go. Nelson takes the draw against Pelley — Niederreiter’s shot is blocked, and that’s it: Norfolk 2, Bridgeport 1, final. Two goals in under four minutes does it.
–Two good periods, Scott Pellerin said. And then: turnovers, mistakes in coverage. An old song. “It cost us two goals.” They battled back, he said, but no such luck. Too many turnovers. “It’s tough when the defense is pinching,” he said, “but you’ve got to make that play.” I mentioned that Persson sounded more involved at the offensive end than he had been lately, and he agreed. “He was in the play. He was physical.”
Kabanov apparently was OK after that hit late in the game. Overall: “You could tell his timing was a little off,” Pellerin said, but his game was fine. “I asked a lot of him coming back. He played a lot of minutes tonight, on the power play.” Asked about Watkins; he said no decisions on tomorrow’s lineup yet.
Speaking of which: Right back here tomorrow.