Bridgeport at Hershey, Round 3. We’re working on another project but will try to have at least half an eye on it, gruesome as that sounds now that I’ve typed it. Links: Alan calls it at AHL Live. Follow him, the team, Hershey, Bears broadcaster Zach Fisch and whoever else we can find.
This should be the box. (R: Romasko, Kaval; L: George, Pomento.)
The news of the day was obviously Jaroslav Halak on waivers.
The Bears are without Madison Bowey. Yikes.
The AHL announced a one-game suspension for Ryan Horvat for the cross-check to Steve Bernier on Wednesday.
Big win for Team USA yesterday over Russia at the World Juniors. Canada tomorrow for first in the pool.
Hard to believe it’s been 30 years for Swift Current.
RIP, Bruce DeHaven and LaVell Edwards.
More later on.
BRIDGEPORT from the team
F: Rowe-Kearns (A)-Bernier
Dal Colle-St. Denis-Fritz
K.Jones – C.Jones – Ho-Sang
Markison-B.Holmstrom (C)-J.Holmstrom
D: Cullity-Mayfield (A)
Toews-Pulock
Lafranchise-Landry
G: Williams
McAdam
HERSHEY from the team
F: C. Bourque-Stephenson-Mitchell
O’Brien-Boyd-Carey
Sanford-Malone-Galiev
Walker-Sill-Thomas
D: Ness-Lewington
Djoos-Williams
Labrie-Dietz
G: Cannata
Vanecek
R: Romasko, Kaval. L: George, Pomento.
Bridgeport scratches (believed healthy unless noted): Gibson (lower body), Burroughs (personal), Graham, Leduc, Boulton, Johnston, Verhaeghe, Winquist (lower body).
Bears say the game’s sold out.
–Ness chips away from Bernier behind the Hershey net, and three or four passes later Chandler Stephenson’s in alone. 1-0 Bears 70 seconds in.
–Baby girl for the Danis family.
–With Dal Colle off for a slash, Williams had to rob a wide-open Paul Carey in front. Did, though.
–Same exact Bridgeport unit ties it up at 10:23. Bernier circles out of the left corner and fires a pass to Mayfield, sneaking in from the right point, to put over Cannata’s glove. It’s 1-1, and Bridgeport gets a power play 27 seconds later.
–It’s 1-1 after one; shots 8-7 Bridgeport after they were 5-2 Hershey at one point. The Bears have 14 seconds left on a St. Denis slashing minor out of a battle with Stephenson off a draw.
–Went back and looked at the Bridgeport goal. Rowe and Bernier won a battle in the corner to set it up, exactly the kind of battle they worked on yesterday in practice. Sometimes it works out.
–Two Bridgeport power plays early in the second, and they take a lead on the second one, a Dietz trip of St. Denis. Kearns wins a draw, Bernier goes to the net and Toews’ shot from the right point goes in. Announced as Toews’; Alan wasn’t sure if Bernier tipped it in. Thomas called for cross-checking Cullity a little over a minute later.
–Hershey ties it late in a Connor Jones penalty, Galiev in front redirecting home Thomas’ centering pass with Sanford in front. 2-2 with 4:50 left in the second.
–It’s 2-2 after two, with the Sound Tigers ahead in shots just 15-14. Bridgeport had a late power play in which Ho-Sang’s rush helped set up a couple of scoring chances.
–Oof, Christian Djoos takes a Mayfield shot up high and goes to the room, leaving a trail of blood, Alan says.
–On a Lafranchise slashing minor, the Jones brothers nearly get the puck out but then are caught at the blue line as the Bears play it back to the circles. Liam O’Brien steps into one just inside the slot at 6:44 to give Hershey a 3-2 lead.
–Hershey takes a two-goal lead with 9:20 left. A flip took a hop on Landry, and Galiev picked it up and got in, and meanwhile two Bears got in behind two other Sound Tigers defenders. Galiev centers to Malone. And St. Denis called for a penalty with 8:30 left.
–That’s actually a slew-foot from St. Denis. Major penalty for the Bears.
–Looks like Thomas he slew-footed, and Thomas drives home a bouncing puck with 6:47 left to make it 5-2.
–And now 6-2 with 5:08 left, Bourque centers from the right side off O’Brien in front. Four PPGs for the Bears, including three in the third.
—Hershey 6, Bridgeport 2, final, and Bernier gets a misconduct at the buzzer.
–Bookkeeping: They did finally change the Bridgeport PPG to Bernier on a deflection.
–“I was very happy after two periods,” Brent Thompson said, “tied 2-2 with a pretty good hockey team. Too many penalties over the course of the game took us out of it. … Eight (power plays) is way too many. We need to do a better job on puck-clears and puck management in general.” No fingers pointed: said everyone needed to look in the mirror after that one.
He thought the slew-foot was “incidental contact, but a penalty’s a penalty. I had a major issue with the call that started it,” the Lafranchise slash that gave Hershey the power play that turned into the game-winner. “(Stephenson) toe-picked himself into the boards.” He said they try to preach discipline, but the officiating doesn’t help.
Wasn’t commenting on Halak at this point, not that I expected him to. “The big thing is we’ve got to prepare ourselves for Albany now.”
Waited out the Hershey broadcast and listened to Troy Mann’s presser, and he mentioned that he really liked their first five minutes of the third period, before the penalties began. Bridgeport had a good transition game in the first two periods, but he liked his team’s forecheck in the third. “If they don’t have the puck,” he said, “they can’t transition.” Do that, one power play, one hop, and it’s all different.
More tomorrow.