Grit, bounceback, loss: Hartford postgame

Better, not great, and not a win. Funky finishes, with four-minute power plays and three-on-three (“that’s not playoff hockey“).

Hey, about those four-minute power plays. Those six power plays from the start of the second period on.

“You’re in your zone. It’s intense. You’re blocking shots,” Brent Thompson said. “To me, it’s a big piece of the game. On the flip side, your skill, finesse guys are out of the game, sitting for 5-6 minutes at a time waiting to get into the action.

“Our penalty kill did a great job tonight,” he added. “Our penalty kill did a great job and our power play scored the goal. Five-on-five, we need to control the puck a little better in the offensive zone, support each other.”

Bridgeport seemed unimpressed with several penalty calls. Some of the plays seemed just enough to draw a call — did Griffin Reinhart hold Danny Kristo? Probably. Did he really impede him? Probably not — just unnecessary enough. They added up. They contributed to a 25-7 shots on goal deficit after the first intermission, 15-2 after the second intermission (Ryan Pulock on the power play almost midway through the third, Justin Courtnall at a time unmarked later), 6-0 in overtime.

(Bridgeport could’ve hit the net a bit more, too, but still, not like the Corsis were pumping in the third; those were probably about 3-1 against. (In the second, maybe, a bit more than the shots indicated.))

Syracuse’s 2-1 win over Utica at the Carrier Dome put the Crunch in first place. (OK, it’s Nov. 22. What.)

……

Couple of good tilts, Andrey Pedan against Dylan McIlrath and Scooter Vaughan against Conor Allen.

Hartford’s wearing versions of its original sweaters next Friday against Norfolk. That’s pretty cool.

Prescout. Soooo, motivated or whatever. (Or shaken. Or momentum’s as good as your next day’s starter. Something.)

How about the Big Club: four points against Pittsburgh this weekend.

Syracuse drew 30,715 to the Carrier Dome for that game tonight, the indoor pro hockey game record and the second-largest crowd to see an AHL game.

Won’t be in Albany tomorrow, so liveblog here.

Michael Fornabaio