Wishing and hoping: Tuesday notes

Cool morning: The Sound Tigers “signed” two kids who’ve taken part in the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Saturday, March 10, is among other things Make-A-Wish night, and the Sound Tigers had Sam and Caleb as part of the team this morning, dressing in the room with the boys, out on the ice for practice, taking part in a few drills, having lunch afterward. Looked like all involved were having a blast. A few TV stations were here as well. Most media for practice since… Kyle Okposo arrived? Maybe.

Not, obviously, that most of them were watching practice; just this bozo. Unusual day in that we were in the room before practice (as the kids signed their contracts), which is the only way I knew a green jersey had been hanging in Josh Ho-Sang’s stall, on a line again with Scott Eansor and Connor Jones. (Everything was identical to Sunday, actually, except, obviously, the McAdam-for-Gibson swap in goal.) But when they hit the ice, Ho-Sang was in no-contact red. “All preventative,” Brent Thompson said. Just sore, the upper-body injury that’d kept him out.

Mitch Vande Sompel was also on in red, stickhandling a bit and even shooting lightly, and again, it wasn’t the heaviest practice ever with the kids joining them, but still. “It’s good to see Vandy go through a few drills, but at the end of the day he’s still week-to-week,” Thompson said. “We’re continuing to monitor him. Slowly and carefully.”

Devon Toews is back in town after a month away. Yes, still out for the year.

Alan’s coach’s show is tomorrow night at 7 at Vazzy’s. Eansor guests.

The Rangers traded Nick Holden to Boston for ex-Yalie Rob O’Gara, who’d been a Providence Bruins mainstay the past couple of years. Mark Divver reports that Jarome Iginla practiced with Providence this morning (though note follow-up tweet).

Anthony Stolarz is active, if not active, for Lehigh Valley.

The U.S. men found a way past Slovakia again at the Olympics, moving on to face the Czech Republic tonight at 10 Eastern (CNBC). Goal for Mark Arcobello in that one. Another win for Mikko Koskinen vs. South Korea. Overtime wins for Norway and, on a goal by Brother-of-Islander Yannic Seidenberg, Germany.

The women’s gold-medal game is tomorrow night at 11.

Michael Fornabaio