Pelech out/All-star in the house: St. John’s pregame

You started to get the feeling that Adam Pelech might be gone for good. This wasn’t the way you wanted to see it happen: Arthur Staple’s reporting Pelech is “almost surely” out for the year from that upper-body injury.

Cripes.

So with the defensive depth taking a hit (the pairs are rearranged from recent standard), Bridgeport gets back at it on a six-game losing streak against St. John’s, featuring an NHL All-Star.

Before tonight, John Scott had played one game against the Sound Tigers: Nov. 16, 2008, a Bridgeport shootout win in Houston. He fought Mitch Fritz in the first period. His last AHL game was March 7, 2009, an Aeros home win over the Chicago Wolves.

His last game, period, was Dec. 31. Then came the trade, the uproar, the questions, and like 47 interviews in the last 24 hours, including one after the skate this morning, when it became clear that he was in tonight.

“It’s nice just to start playing hockey again,” Scott said. Nice to change the focus from all of the hoopla to getting back out there. “What it comes down to, I’m a hockey player,” Scott said. “(The ice) is where I’m comfortable.”

Neat that he’d like to wear the IceCaps’ sweater in Nashville (“I tried to keep that on the down-low,” Scott said with a laugh).

Joined in that blue, white and red: Our ol’ buddy Victor Bartley, sent down by Montreal today and in the lineup tonight. As noted last week when it seemed as if it wouldn’t matter, Bartley’s first appearance in Bridgeport in a smidgen over six years.

BRIDGEPORT
F: Verhaeghe-Kearns (A)-Beck
Wright-Quine-Halmo (A)
Vaive-B.Holmstrom (C)-Florek
Rowe-Gomes-Markison
D: Czuczman-Burroughs
Cullity-Pulock
Aneloski-Leduc
(Graham-scratch)
G: Berube
Gibson

ST. JOHN’S
F: Lessio-McCarron-Scherbak
Carr (A)-Hudon-Andrighetto
Bournival (A)-Dumont (C)-Friberg
Scott-Eisenschmid-MacMillan
D: Bartley-Lernout
Hanley-Ellis
Johnston-Dietz
(Didier-scratch)
G: Fucale
Pasquale

R: Gouin, Voss. L: K.Briganti, Colby.

This should be the box.

Bridgeport scratches (believed healthy unless noted): Milner, Carkner (lower body), Johnston (lower body), Whitney (lower body), Collberg, Jones, and apparently Graham.

Michael Fornabaio