–Score a little more. This is a recording, BST-10. Three of their five goals are from defensemen. “Two goals are not going to beat these guys,” Jack Capuano said.
–Stay out of the box. Dustin Kohn didn’t like the call that led to the winner, said Alex Giroux took a dive and tossed his head back. They had to kill five other power plays, too, and 15 others in two games. (They have killed those, by the way. Imagine these power plays with last year’s playoff PK troubles?)
–Take what they give you. “We’ve got a few areas to work on,” Andrew MacDonald said. “We’ve got to keep pucks to the outside. We can’t be using the middle as much if it’s not there.”
–Get one on the power play yourself. Kohn got lucky, looking for Flood in the other circle and instead finding a diving Patrick McNeill. “We’ve got to stick to the game plan, and try to find a way to score on the power play, too,” MacDonald said. “We’ve got to win the special teams.”
–Score in the third period, where Hershey has a 4-0 edge in two games.
–Catch a break. They played the best team in the AHL all but even in two games — had they survived that last 68 seconds Wednesday, and let’s be fair and say that’s not a given, it would be a pair of 3-2 games, one each way –and they come home with not a thing.
The teams have played 124:08. Hershey has led for 13:54. Bridgeport has led for 75:47 (24:34 by two goals). Bridgeport is 0-2.
“Obviously it would have been nice to get a game here, but I think we played pretty well,” Kohn said. “All we can do is keep working hard. … Focus on what’s in our control, and that’s (Saturday) night.”
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Who saw Nathan Lawson go down? Seemed as if no one did. They took him to the hospital, but word was it was only cramps. (“Only,” he says.) As Andy tweeted during the game, Garth Snow is merely psychic. That’s the only reason he called Mikko Koskinen up from Utah. He can foresee cramps.
Lost: The nice work Tomas Marcinko and Trevor Smith did behind the net to get the puck to Kohn for the first goal.
Speaking of Utah, the Grizzlies were, at last look, getting it handed to them, 7-2 in the third. Dustin Friesen was plus-3 for Idaho. Mike Morrison had 35 saves.
Attendance: 10,112. That’s the second-biggest crowd ever to see a Sound Tigers playoff game (the clincher in ’02, 15,132). It’s actually the 10th-biggest crowd to see a Sound Tigers game, period, regular season and playoffs.
Albany won again at home, only a few minutes’ less dramatically, to go up 2-0. Manchester came back at Portland in Game 1. Rumor has it stuff happened out west. (Like Blake Geoffrion joining the pro ranks.)
Kevin Constantine is out in Houston. What, we gotta get the chart going before the first home playoff game?
Must-see: Catch a falling star. (RT @ValleyIndy)
And RIP, Arthur Mercante Sr.