Thirty days to go: Providence pregame

It’s going to be hard for these three teams to win the division. Not impossible, just very hard. And the reason’s our old favorite: Hell is other people. This time around it’s Wilkes-Barre and Lehigh Valley, who begin a home-and-home tonight in Allentown. After this weekend, they’ll still play four more times in the last four weeks.

That’s 12 points guaranteed to those teams in some combination. Overtime games add another to the mix. So Providence, Hershey and Bridgeport, sitting eight points behind the Pens and five behind the Phantoms, will have lots of ground to make up even if those two teams split the six games in regulation.

But hey. Win your own games, and you’re in. Worry about your opponent and banners then.

Closer to the moment, my Providence preview capsule yesterday afternoon talked about how Jordan Szwarz had blown past his career highs in goals, assists and points, and how Peter Cehlarik and Austin Czarnik were up in Boston. Then Boston sent those two guys back and Mark Divver reported Szwarz is out. Fun!

Bridgeport’s lines are retweaked from the tweaks: Kyle Schempp is in for Josh Holmstrom, moving Ben Holmstrom to the right side (at a glance, first time since November). Josh Winquist is in (on the wing), so Carter Verhaeghe’s out, and Andrew Rowe is reunited with Michael Dal Colle and Tanner Fritz after a game apart.

BRIDGEPORT
F: Winquist-Kearns (A)-Harris
Dal Colle-Rowe-Fritz
K.Jones-Nowick-Markison
Johnston-Schempp-B.Holmstrom (C)
(J.Holmstrom-scratch)
D: Lafranchise-Pulock
Toews-Burroughs
Landry (A)-Leduc
G: Halak
McAdam

PROVIDENCE
F: Cehlarik-Cave-Simpson
DeBrusk-Czarnik-Acciari (A)
Porter-Kuraly-Heinen
Blidh-Asuchak-Hargrove
(M.Doherty-scratch)
D: O’Gara-Cross (C)
Grzelcyk-Grant
Breen-Casto
G: McIntyre
Subban

R: Moser. L: Gates, T.Whittemore.

This should be the box.

Bridgeport scratches (believed healthy unless noted): Gibson (lower body), Graham, Bernier (upper body), Boulton, Danforth, J.Holmstrom, C.Jones (upper body), Travis St. Denis (lower body), Verhaeghe.

Scoreboard watching (EastWatch ’17): Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at Lehigh Valley (I); Hartford at Hershey I.

Ben Moser is in Bridgeport tomorrow night, too, with Cameron Voss. Late change on the lines; was originally William Brennan rather than Kenneth Gates.

Alan asked about Bridgeport’s record on St. Patrick’s Day; it’s an exciting 3-3. But I’d forgotten that this classic here was March 17, 2006. (Obviously: hazy months.)

Michael Fornabaio