It was tough to tell this morning exactly where the Sound Tigers were going, lineup-wise, outside of a goalie and some obvious scratches. Brent Thompson wasn’t even committing then to six or seven defensemen.
If they do go that way — there are seven on for warmup, the team tweet says so, and Tim Wallace was out a little later than the rest of the forwards today — it looks like it’d be the first time the team starts that way since Dec. 15, 2012, at Norfolk, when Jordan Hill stepped in for an injured Brock Nelson. Hill played some forward later that year. Scooter Vaughan started several games as a forward and went back on defense later on. There was that game a couple of years ago where Jesse Graham played one shift on the wing and then swapped with Kevin Czuczman for the rest of the night. Mark Louis played some right wing that season. But straight-up seven defensemen, it’s been a while. Parker Wotherspoon rushed on the left with Jake Bischoff to start; they were the other way around yesterday morning, but either way.
Eamon McAdam stretches his consecutive games streak to five, only 143 behind Ben Holmstrom once the captain takes his first twirl tonight. That passes Steve Regier’s 147 consecutive games, which sure seems like the team record. There’s an active AHL streak that’s a mere 101 ahead of Holmstrom’s, though, and perhaps continues to 249 tonight in San Diego. Name’s familiar. (Hat tip to Jason Chaimovitch on that. Last scratch: Dec. 29, 2013.)
BRIDGEPORT
F: Verhaeghe-Kearns (A)-Rowe
Dal Colle-Stevens-Nowick
Johnston-Winquist-(Wallace-scratch)
K.Jones-B.Holmstrom (C)-J.Holmstrom
D: Lafranchise-Pulock (A)
Toews-Burroughs
Wotherspoon-Bischoff
Cullity
G: McAdam
Williams
PROVIDENCE
F: DeBrusk-Czarnik-Mueller
Heinen-Szwarz-Simpson
Blidh-Cave-Porter
Hargrove-Fitzgerald-Randell
D: O’Gara-Cross (C)
Grzelcyk-Grant
Breen-McAvoy
(Arnesson-scratch)
G: McIntyre
Subban
R: Schlenker, T.Koharski. L: Brennan, K.Gates.
Bridgeport scratches (believed healthy unless noted): Gibson (lower body), Landry, Leduc, Bernier (upper body), Boulton, Cammarata, Fritz (lower), Gaudreau, Markison, Schempp (upper body), St. Denis (lower body), and one more (Edit: Wallace).
Scoreboard watching (EastWatch ’17): Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at Lehigh Valley; Hershey at Rochester.
Terry Koharski will have Sunday’s game in Bridgeport as well.
Chatting with Alan about Wotherspoon in 43 reminds me that now there are two Bridgeport defensemen who used to wear 7 who don’t anymore, though there is a defenseman in 7. Killing me.