Adapting: Lehigh Valley postgame

I mean, is there a better situation for any hockey player than Josh Ho-Sang in a five-on-three?

Let alone two of them back-to-back?

An assist and his first pro goal for Ho-Sang on those two power plays, a five-game scoring streak.

“It was a great pass,” Ho-Sang said of his goal; Jon Landry’s pass came from the top of the right circle to Ho-Sang in the left for a one-timer. “I was fortunate. A five-on-three, I’ve been part of those my whole life.”

And if the offensive skill is obvious, ther all-around game continues to develop.

“He’s been gradually improving since Game 1, Game 2,” Brent Thompson said. “He still has some of those junior habits, swinging, making the right play with the puck, as far as defensively, coming out of the zone. He’s taking steps in the right direction.

“His offensive instincts,” Thompson added, “are off the charts.”

Cripes.

Ho-Sang said the adjustment has been made easier by playing the same teams; after tomorrow, the Sound Tigers will have played five out of seven games against Springfield and the Phantoms.

“I think I’ve been getting better every game,” Ho-Sang said.

For the team as a whole, this was an interesting one. I made the press-box joke that on a night like this, turnovers are contagious. Both teams committed them, and both teams capitalized. The Sound Tigers did more capitalizing than committing and got the win.

“At the end of the day, we definitely turned the puck over too much,” Thompson said. “You can see that teams who don’t manage the puck well, it’s in your net.

“It’s no secret.”

T.J. Brennan put a couple of passes on Bridgeport sticks in the third period. Those ended up in the back of the Phantoms net.

They’ve got a winning streak.

“It’s going to be a work in progress,” Thompson said. “Looking at the way the chemistry in the room is, I believe the guys care about each other. The effort is always there.”

……

Kyle Burroughs declined to comment on the collision that earned him 15 penalty minutes. “It’s incidental contact,” Thompson said. “I hate seeing it, seeing anyone get hurt, and Burroughs is a little banged up too, but it was definitely not meant.” Tony Androckitis reports that Martel was at least walking postgame.

Five defensemen, then, for 43 minutes. Scott Mayfield was playing every other shift for a while. Thompson asked how he was feeling afterward; Mayfield said he was ready to go again.

Thompson said they’re still waiting to get Markison’s tests done, but he thinks Markison will be out awhile.

Agent Allan Walsh dropped a couple of tweets about the Islanders’ carrying three goalies. Walsh represents Jaro Halak and J.F. Berube (and P.A. Parenteau), notes Arthur Staple.

(Loved Arthur’s Matt Martin story, especially Martin’s line about what he’d do if the Islanders were in the playoffs longer than the Leafs.)

Prescout. Familiar by now. On the other side, first point as a Penguin for Ryan Haggerty, though reportedly he left early.

Trumbull’s Alex Vazzano signed a PTO with Binghamton today, though the chain reaction that opened the hole came from horrible reasons.

Yale opened the season with a win over Sacred Heart.

And tonight was Jamie Koharski’s last game as a referee.

Michael Fornabaio