Carrots and measuring sticks: Hershey postgame

That defensive-zone coverage… “terrible,” Brent Thompson said. Intensifiers optional.

“The effort is there. Our effort is great, but we work stupid,” Thompson said.

Stuff will happen; five-on-threes after weird or unfortunate penalties, two-on-ones moments after you nearly score yourself. And Hershey’s no slouch, with points in 13 consecutive games.

But it seems every time Bridgeport has a chance to make a run, there’s somebody in the other-color sweater left open somewhere.

They know they know how to do it. They’ve done it. They see other teams doing it. Thompson kind of landed on, sometimes, guys trying to do too much, like the fourth Hershey goal, where two guys went behind the net to the puck and left Casey Wellman alone.

“It’s guys just doing their job, and not trying to do everyone else’s at the same time,” Aaron Ness said. “We’re all guilty of it. We’ve got to stick with the system and trust in the system. The system’s going to help us win.”

At this point in the season, is it ever going to happen?

“It’s obviously just mental focus,” Thompson said. “Each individual has to look at himself and figure out what he wants to get out of this year, what he wants to get as a player.”

It’s getting to that point, nine points back with now 25 to play. The playoffs aren’t pipe-dreamy, but they get less realistic with every 5-, 6-spot. In a period against Providence and three each against Manchester and Hershey, the Sound Tigers were outscored 14-4.

“You see the measuring stick,” Thompson said. “We’re not there yet.”

…….

Team’s off tomorrow, so more Tuesday.

The brief regional nightmare of an 0-for-14 power-play drought ended with Cory Conacher’s goal. “We should be getting one every night,” Kael Mouillierat said. “We shouldn’t be too excited to finally get one. The power play’s got a job to do, to get one a night probably. … We’ve had enough chances.” When Ryan Pulock got hurt, the Sound Tigers were 35-for-144, 24.3 percent. Since, they’re 17-for-95, 17.9. Pulock’s getting closer, and not that his return is a given to turn that around, but the numbers sure say they miss him.

The Bears play Friday in Binghamton, so it’s not quite a true home-and-home.

The streak they’re in, interrupted by those two OTW’s last weekend: Bridgeport’s longest streaks without a regulation win:

*: W-L-T-OTL. Others W-L-OTL-SOL. a-active through Sunday

Stockton claimed onetime Sound Tigers forward Jack Combs.

And RIP, Nancy Belisle and Gary Owens.