After a week where they just kept finding a way, Bridgeport found ways not to tonight. Put 39 shots on goal. Often seemed just on the verge of taking over, popping one in and turning this into a laugher.
It never happened. And now they’re in fifth with six games left.
“Everyone’s pissed off losing, especially now in the Sunday game,” Alan Quine said. “I think we’ve got to put it behind us and refocus on the last six games.”
As noted yesterday when they came back to beat Albany in an essentially meaningless game, the Falcons haven’t gone away. They showed up, and though Bridgeport was the better team, it didn’t find enough ways to show it. That Goalie kept making saves.
“You’ve got to give credit to Springfield. They came in and worked,” Brent Thompson said. “They worked very hard.”
….
Tyler Currier fell a fight short of the Gordie Howe Hat Trick in his AHL debut, not that he didn’t try going with Scott Mayfield after Mayfield hit Brendan Shinnimin.
Nicklas Treutle against Bridgeport: 3-1-1, 1.40 GAA, .965 save percentage. Nicklas Treutle against everybody else: 9-16-4, 3.18 GAA, .897 save percentage. Had Treutle kept that assist he was originally credited with tonight, it would’ve been his second against the Sound Tigers, and he would’ve been the Falcons’ 17th-leading scorer in the season series.
I’ll write more on Parker Wotherspoon during the week, but think the best thing you can say about him: You only really noticed him for good reasons. Pretty sure he becomes the youngest Sound Tiger at 18 years, 7 months, 10 days. Kyle Burroughs was 41 days older when he debuted two years ago. “I was really happy with his game,” Thompson said. “He was moving the puck very well. He’s a smart hockey player. Good stick. He played a good two-on-one early in the game. Being an 18-year-old kid, getting in, he did a nice job.”
Not a lot of out-of-town help for Bridgeport. Christian Djoos got Hershey to overtime, but Chris Casto got the win for Providence. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton blew a two-goal lead and then another one-goal lead to lose 5-3 to Portland. Syracuse scored four in the third, the last two by Jeff Tambellini, to beat Utica. The only really good out-of-town news for Bridgeport was that Grand Rapids beat Rochester; the Sound Tigers can’t finish behind the Amerks, who are a Utica point away from elimination. There are no midweek games of (Sound Tiger) note this week. (The only game in the conference, actually, is Utica-Binghamton on Wednesday.)
The division did tighten up a bit, though. Second to fifth is now just a four-point spread, though the Penguins, in second, will almost certainly have the tiebreaker against Bridgeport and Providence and could have it against Portland. The Penguins played today without Carter Rowney, hurt last night.
The ECHL team in Worcester will be the Worcester Railers HC.
Team’s off tomorrow. More Tuesday unless warranted.