Famously — OK, not famously; this is just one of those dumb things I remember — Bridgeport was not good in the Lockout Year, 2004-05, but it had winning records against two and only two teams: First-place Manchester and first-place Binghamton.
We are not quite at that level — either level — yet here, but with five wins in six tries, any idea why Bridgeport has Providence’s number?
“Actually, no,” Brent Thompson said. “They’re a great hockey team. They always play us hard. I really enjoy playing against them. It’s a playoff atmosphere. They’re a hard-working, in-your-face team. They bring the most out of us.”
Kyle Burroughs said the same thing at first, then said some similar things after.
“We stick to our game plan,” Burroughs said. “We know we’re going to be in tough with them. We play them 12 times a year. These games, we always have to come ready to play these games. These games are fun to play in.”
They’re fun to watch, too, intense and sometimes angry but always hard-working.
“I think the best teams bring the best out of us,” Josh Ho-Sang said.
They get to do it six more times.
……
Couple of points for Ho-Sang and a pretty effective game all around. Thompson joked Ho-Sang had been watching “The Mighty Ducks” and tossed in a knucklepuck that Casey Bailey deflected in for the third goal. With a knuckler there and a changeup on the first, Ho-Sang had better stuff than most pitchers. “I got a few member’s bounces today,” Ho-Sang said.
On Ho-Sang overall today, “I was very happy with his game,” Thompson said. “The thing with Josh is he’s taking steps in the right direction. Last game, he had two solid periods, and the third wasn’t as sharp. Today, he was offensively dynamic. He was creating chances. … Again, there are things we’re working with him on. The big thing, as long as he continues to work on his 200-foot game, the offense is there.”
Very short bench at the end, Holmstrom and Stevens lines and five defensemen.
I meant to ask Thompson if he and the assistants come out of the dressing room extra-early at the start of periods against the Bruins, because Jay Leach and company are about the only ones I ever see at the bench ahead of them. Bridgeport’s staff was headed to the bench with about six minutes left in the second intermission tonight. (Part of that may have been that the intermissions were a couple of minutes longer to give the Zooperstars time.)
Elsewhere, an assist and a fight for Ross Johnston in his second NHL game and first of the year. Big win for the Big Club, which got its first five-point game for a defenseman in Ryan Pulock’s lifetime from Ryan Pulock.
Prescout. A team-record eight-game winning streak. The Marlies called up Josh Winquist from Orlando on Saturday but didn’t play him at Binghamton.
The outdoor game drew 13,091 to Hersheypark Stadium.
Worcester lost its third in a row. Matt Gaudreau has two points in two games since returning from injury.
The government’s (Politician Of Your Choice) Shutdown cost Sacred Heart a game at Air Force Saturday night. The Pios won out there Friday.
Back at it tomorrow. A 5 p.m. start, don’t forget.