Portland liveblog

We’re following along from afar again and living vicariously through every mention of coffee. We’ll listen to Jeff Mannix (audio / video) and follow Chris Roy, Jeff, the Pirates and as always Corey on Twitter. The box will be here; fifth time Tom Chmielewski works a Bridgeport game in the past nine, and besides, if you beamed in last week, you’d think there were only three referees in the AHL. They’ll diversify dramatically the next couple of nights, including, if the schedule holds, a first look this year at a guy I thought did a pretty good job last year.

Links from around: First off, good wishes to Andi and Lane Lambert.

Via our buddy Sean Spillane, a story catching up with Eric Wellwood, and just how scary that moment was last year at Harbor Yard.

Vinny Prospal was about to join Utica on a PTO. But today he decided to retire instead.

Adieu, Crazy Vaclav. We’ll think of you every time we put it in ‘H’.

Meanwhile, Steve Eminger, recently released from a KHL contract, signed with Norfolk. Corey Locke, one of a heap of free-agent signings for Chicago, was traded to Abbotsford for Mark Cundari.

Mark Divver on Milford’s Mark Naclerio, tearing it up at Brown.

More in a little.

–Milner-Visentin.

BRIDGEPORT from Corey
F: Lee (A)-Strome-Halmo
Persson-Langkow-Bouchard
Diamond-Quine-Wetmore
Gallant (A)-Lowry-Vaughan
(A.Clark-apparent scratch)
D: Ness (A)-Cantin
Keenan-Mayfield
Jackson-Cornell
G: Milner
Reiter

R: Chmielewski. L: Andrews, Harper.

–From Lindsay Kramer, Richard Panik is down with Syracuse, who come to Bridgeport on Sunday.

–Game on in Lewiston.

–Cantin for a hook early, Gormley quickly from the right point through a screen, and it’s 1-0 Portland. Took 14 seconds.

–Kyle Hagel, just back from an upper-body injury, goes with Brett Gallant. A few good shots. BTW, didn’t mention that’s Portland’s Jordan Martinook working with Jeff.

–A Bridgeport power play out of a scrum goes nowhere; Portland ends up with a near-breakaway while short-handed and a couple of chances soon after.

–Dallas Jackson called for kneeing Tobias Rieder; Miele hits the crossbar through a screen soon after the draw.

–Looks like Wetmore’s in Bruton’s spot on the penalty kill. Bridgeport got through Jackson’s minor but is now killing a Cornell interference penalty.

–Portland leads 1-0, but the Sound Tigers will have 1:36 of their second power play to carry over to the second.

–Gmail was down this afternoon, and now I can’t load the box score. It’s like a personal denial of service attack.

–The old-fashioned (good) kind of shootout in Hartford so far: Prescout. It’s 3-2 Wolf Pack after one over Springfield.

–Bridgeport had a 35-second five-on-three after Summers knocked over Halmo, but Visentin stopped a couple of long shots and a few tries at the back door didn’t click. Remains 1-0 Portland after the penalties.

–Summers knocks Strome down at one end, then clips Ness up high in the other to draw a high-sticking double minor. Bouchard scores about 20 seconds into the first minor to tie it at 1.

–John Persson gets a breakaway… perhaps because Bridgeport had too many men on the ice 50 seconds into the back end of the double minor. (Persson put the puck in the net, but no goal, obviously.)

–(After the change, I’m told.) Bridgeport scores off a Portland turnover on the four-on-four; Cornell with a goal for the second game in a row. It’s the Sound Tigers’ second four-on-four goal against six for the opposition.

–Rebuffered and missed Brandon Gormley’s second PPG for the Pirates, tying it up just short of midway. It went in the closing seconds of a Langkow hook, just after the Bridgeport bench minor expired.

–Hagel goes at Marc Cantin. Looks like they stay even. But soon after, Cornell goes for a retaliatory push-down.

–Vaughan called for a double-minor for high-sticking Murphy with just over three minutes to go in the second.

–Bridgeport gets through the first minor but not the second as Rieder tips in a Murphy shot with 11 seconds to go in the period, making it 3-2 Portland after two. The Pirates are 3-for-8 on the power play. Bridgeport’s 1-for-5.

–We’re on the wrong game: Goalie fight between WBS and Norfolk, Deslauriers and Gibson, per @nafsnep. Apparently at a stoppage, Deslauriers hanging out in the neutral zone, Gibson skated by and gave him a whack, and Deslauriers dropped ’em.

–They’re about eight minutes into the third, and shockingly, no penalties either way. Milner made a point-blank save on Lessio alone in front that sounded to be the biggest chance to date this period.

–I’ll take the rap for this one. McMillan for tripping Halmo; Summers then for closing his hand on the puck as it caroms around the front of the net in the air. It’ll be a 56-second five-on-three for Bridgeport, its second.

–Visentin with stops on Halmo and Lee on the two-man. McMillan steals the puck as he comes out of the box and takes it up two-on-one; the shot’s blocked, but still. The Pirates get through it. There’s a bit over seven minutes to go.

–Hartford beats Springfield 5-2, says Twitter. The AHL box scores remain down. I sincerely hope someone in Lewiston has the old AHL game sheets. I’ll get my fax machine online.

–Hey, just as I say that, it’s back! (Of course it’s back in the middle of the second period, but whatever.)

–Visentin has made some nice saves to keep the Pirates ahead. About four minutes left.

–Bridgeport puts one in with 3:35 left, but Tom Chmielewski blows the whistle and waves it off right away. He’ll talk to the linesmen about it. Jeff thinks maybe a kick. Chmielewski will give it a look on replay.

–No goal.

–It’s announced, apparently, that the goal was disallowed for incidental contact with the goalie. Not sure what the review would be then. Anyway. John Persson hits the post a bit later.

–Milner’s off with 1:36 to go and a draw to Visentin’s right.

–Halmo crossbar from the slot c. 1:10 to go.

–Strome ties it from the high slot with traffic in front with 17.9 seconds remaining, 3-3. Mayfield and Lee on the assists.

–Some interesting chances in overtime, but still Bridgeport has only one decision (the home Binghamton loss in October) with the clock running beyond regulation. On to the bonus round for the eighth time.

–Bouchard and Quine score in the third and fourth rounds, Milner stops four of five, and the road winless streak ends at seven: Bridgeport 4, Portland 3, final (SO).

–I’m always a little worried about missing one of these somewhere, but I’ve got that as the fifth-latest tying goal for Bridgeport. All the later ones also resulted in shootouts, and they’ve won four of the five.

–Earlier in the week, Scott Pellerin had talked about changing things up a bit in practice, that they were happy with the way the team had responded at the end of three-in-threes (4-3, including wins the past two weeks against Hartford) but that they didn’t like the way they started them. Even after that, they weren’t ecstatic with the start; he didn’t like the way the defense handled Portland’s forecheck early, to mention what he mentioned. But things settled in, and he had to like that finish.

“We were talking earlier about having balance in our game,” Pellerin said. “Whether it’s emotions, the play, not getting too frustrated or too high, having that constant focus. We tried to do that. We were challenged a lot in that message at certain times.”

Milner getting the start: “He deserved it. He played well Sunday. He practiced very well, He was tracking pucks very well in practice. He earned it.”

On special teams: “Structurally, it’s a matter of inches. … You block a shot, it goes by a leg, they get a screen, they score. Gormley scores (in the second) — Wetmore’s standing beside him. To kill those penalties, you’ve got to be in a desperation zone, whether it’s diving in front, sticks on pucks. … Our guys are not at that level yet for whatever reason. They don’t understand they’ve got to do whatever it takes. It cost us a bit. (Still), you’re looking at a guy like Andy Miele who’s one of the better playmakers in the league. He made some plays.”

He didn’t seem entirely sure about what went on with the review of that no-goal, either, but it worked out. The road winless streak is over; they’ve got a chance to make it a streak in the other direction tomorrow. More then.

Michael Fornabaio