What Bridgeport needs versus what it can give up is kind of a tough thread of the needle, especially with the injuries and call-ups testing the depth a little right now. Things sound quiet as the final hour to the AHL deadline approaches.
An optional this morning, and afterward, Brent Thompson said Travis St. Denis is week-to-week. He didn’t go into detail on the MRI, but it appeared to be better than it could’ve been. Thompson also conceded that Steve Bernier, who’s already been out a month, isn’t likely to be back by the end of the regular season at least. “Losing Bernier’s a big loss,” he said. “He’s a leader, a power forward, he was leading our team in goals at the time.
“It gives an opportunity to other guys … and guys are stepping up.”
Edit4, 3:20: Reportedly nothing doing for Bridgeport. Next up is ATO season as colleges and juniors seasons wind down. Biggest name to move today was Cal O’Reilly: The Amerks’ captain was reassigned to the Toronto Marlies.
This post might’ve been up earlier, but I got distracted by Brett Gallant’s first pro two-point game. Beauties, too. He made a move one-on-two to set up Akim Aliu early in the second period. Later, he tried to get Andrew O’Brien to go after O’Brien decked a Monsters player (I think Jordan Maletta) along the boards. Gallant went back toward the bench, was told to stay on the ice and later scored on a snipe from the slot off a John Ramage feed. Why can’t Bridgeport find scorers like this? Edit: Probably as I was hitting send, Gallant went with Mike Liambas to get the Gordie Howe Hat Trick. Edit3, 2:10: Game’s first star.
Lehigh Valley and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton play tonight. The Phantoms are the team that’s played the fewest games in the division right now.
Edit2, 2:03: Hershey got Mattias Backman on loan from Dallas, with Darren Dietz going the other way in a loan-swap of defensemen.
Was a little freaked out when the AHL tweeted out this link this morning. I hadn’t thought of the name “Kirk McCaskill” in I can’t tell you how long until something reminded me early this morning about just missing McCaskill’s AHL career.
The Farmington Valley Generals won a CIAC playoff hockey game last night for the first time since Farmington and Avon/Windsor came together to form the co-op in 2011-12. Farmington, which won the Division II championship in 2005 with a kid named Bonino, last won a state playoff game when it was on its own in 2007. On that team’s roster was a kid named Paul Ryan. (Paul accurately remembered which team they beat, which team they lost to, why that team was in Division II and how silly the rule was that put them there.)
And my favorite Lou Duva line was the one where he said Andrew Golota gets up every morning at 6, regardless of what time it is. RIP.