Well, that was fun.
A little bit of everything, from big-time heavyweight bouts (got a kick out of Matt Carkner saying he hadn’t seen Josh Gratton in a while) to crazy near-comebacks (lots of postgame talk about how those bouts got things sparked, “got a little jam back in our step,” Aaron Ness said) to what Bridgeport would’ve loved to see called goalie interference on the goal that proved to be Manchester’s game-winner, Justin Auger on top of Stephon Williams (who, with the NCAA championship game going on, may’ve been flashing back).
But hidden in the box score will be a couple of assists that make this happen:
Bridgeport scoring
| Plc | Name | GP | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Justin Mapletoft | 240 | 47 | 83 | 130 |
| 9 | Aaron Ness | 276 | 23 | 97 | 120 |
| 10 | Matt Donovan | 180 | 32 | 87 | 119 |
| 11 | Ben Walter | 133 | 40 | 76 | 116 |
(Through 4/11/15, MCR. Italic: defenseman record.)
“It’s obviously pretty cool,” Ness said. “(Donovan’s) a good hockey player. There are a lot of good hockey players on that list as well. It’s been a good career here. I’ve played on some good teams with a lot of good players. They’ve made it easy.”
Brent Thompson has gone on all year about what Ness has meant to this team as a leader by example.
“He’s captain for a reason,” Thompson said. “His day-to-day approach, how he feels about our situation: He wears his heart on his sleeve. I can’t say enough great things. He’s a first-class hockey player and a first-class person. We’re lucky to have him as captain. It’s unfortunate we’re in the situation we’re in. Congratulations to him.”
…..
I know I’ve burned myself on this before, but I’m pretty sure this time: Three game misconducts for two fights in a night plus one for a secondary altercation equals four game misconducts in that category, equals a two-game suspension for Brett Gallant. (Might’ve been worth it for those two fights with Paul Bissonnette.)
Thompson was kind and said he had the luxury of video on the goaltender-interference call — though he said he thought it live, too. And after the goal, he and others at the Bridgeport bench were looking up at the video board and got a second look, too. They wanted the goal disallowed — as Thompson said, not even necessarily a penalty called on Justin Auger — but didn’t get it from Mark Lemelin. If they get the call, obviously, who knows what happens from there. But they didn’t, so on we go.
Manchester’s magic number to clinch the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy is two: Only Utica and Rockford remain alive. The Monarchs can do it with a win (any sort) Sunday; or an overtime loss coupled with a Utica loss of any sort; or a regulation loss coupled with a Utica regulation loss and a Rockford loss of any sort.
The Big Club needed a win to pass Washington and claim home ice in the first round. Had leads; didn’t hold ’em. See you in DC. The Rangers draw Pittsburgh.
To pile on, Jamie Benn scored four points tonight, the last in the dying moments, to take the Art Ross Trophy away from John Tavares.
Westport’s Mike Paliotta made his NHL debut tonight for Chicago, and he picked up an assist — a quick chip up the boards out of the right corner, with Andrew Shaw bumping a man to let it get out of the zone — on a Patrick Sharp goal.
Charlotte’s Kyle Hagel gets the Yanick Dupre Award as AHL man of the year.
Providence wins the NCAA title, its first. So Bridgeport remains the cradle of champions. (Well, not really. But Union and Minnesota Duluth won after playing regionals here, and Yale and now PC have won within two years of playing regionals here.)
Tip of cap to Robyn Regehr.
Game 73 tomorrow.