Gimme of the week: After being off for the Super Bowl on Sunday and again on Monday, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers skated. And skated. And skated some more.
They’d gone through a practice already, which included three people who weren’t included on Saturday, to differing degrees of involvement. Ryan Strome, feeling OK, took practice in a red no-contact jersey. (Pierre-Marc Bouchard turned around to shout “lower-body injury”.) He’s expecting to be OK for the weekend. (The obligatory caveat to everything in this post: It’s Tuesday. We’re all day-to-day, etc.)
One step closer: Andrey Pedan, out of red and into defensemen’s blue. It was his first full-contact practice, and he said he got through it fine; he’s medically cleared, Scott Pellerin said. They’ll keep an eye on him this week, but he could be available. And it looks like Johan Sundstrom’s about ready to go.
Awaiting official word on a Marc Cantin suspension for the hit on Sean Collins on Saturday. Pellerin reiterated what he’d said Saturday, that he wasn’t sure what Cantin should do in that spot, coming out of the penalty box and finding Collins there. Edit: The league just announced a four-game suspension for Cantin. That follows the three-game suspension he served last month for the match he received for the hit on Brendan Shinnimin.
Bridgeport is off until Saturday. Both of the upcoming weekend’s opponents play tonight, though, Albany at Springfield, Adirondack at Hartford.
Beanpot rivals, pro teammates: fun ensues on Twitter.
Looks like the Pirates stay in Portland for five more years.
Via old buddy Dan Hickling on Twitter, a Hockey News story on Manon Rheaume’s son, the goalie… Or, as we’d call him around here, former New Haven Senator Gerry St. Cyr’s son, the goalie.
The Bowery Boys on the Kosciuszko Bridge.
And RIP, Jason Pagni and Philip Seymour Hoffman.