Yesterday’s AHL transactions stretched over five pages on the league website, what with all the trades and all the papering. (The little “all” button: yet another thing I miss about the old site.) Today should be a little quieter as Bridgeport visits Toronto for the first time, not counting this one.
If you have NHL Network, fire it up at 11 and watch a little hockey. If not, you can listen to Alan at the AHL Live (audio/pay-per-view). We’ll be following him, the team, Todd Crocker and the Marlies.
This should be the box. (R: Chmielewski, R.Anderson; L: Knaggs, McCrank.) First Bridgeport game for ref Reid Anderson. They’ll have him again in Rochester. (This will be a mini-theme for the weekend.)
Scoreboard watching: None. Only game in town today. After this, the Phantoms will have a game in hand on Bridgeport, and Bridgeport will have one on all of WBS, Hershey and Providence. Of course, Providence, Hershey and Lehigh Valley all play tomorrow while Bridgeport’s off, so.
Garth Snow told Arthur Staple yesterday what no one here has quite said: Christopher Gibson’s out for the year. That had seemed to be the way to bet, but it’s been a lot of “indefinitely”s and the like.
More later.
–Eamon McAdam in net, tweets the team. Interesting. Tanner Fritz moves into Josh Ho-Sang’s spot:
BRIDGEPORT
F: Verhaeghe-Kearns (A)-Rowe
Dal Colle-Winquist-Fritz
St. Denis-C.Jones-K.Jones
Johnston-B.Holmstrom (C)-J.Holmstrom
D: Lafranchise-Pulock
Toews-Burroughs
Landry (A)-Leduc
G: McAdam
Halak
TORONTO from Todd, with some new faces, some familiar faces and some returning faces:
F: Moore-Greening (A)-Griffith
Timashov-Kalinin-Kapanen
Rychel-Gauthier-Johnsson
Leblond-Laich-Cameranesi
D: Campbell (C)-Holl (A)
Dermott-Oleksy
Nielsen-Wrenn
G: Bibeau
Windsor
R: Chmielewski, R.Anderson; L: Knaggs, McCrank.
That’s Clint Windsor, an ATO out of Brock University who played in the OHL before that. Game on up there.
Off the hop, Griffith and Campbell miscommunicate in the Bridgeport zone, letting Connor Jones out on a breakaway. Bibeau stops him 13 seconds in.
–Alan is somewhat unusually 13 seconds _behind_ the AHL Live picture. Usually ah… as I type he catches up, and just in time, as Ross Johnston and Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond go at it. (Just “Leblond” on his Marlies sweater.) A long tilt between a couple of heavies. On replay, Johnston gave him a little shove after a whistle, Leblond turned around and away they went.
–And now Alan’s behind again. That’s Johnston’s ninth fighting major, but only eight count toward the 10 that will earn him a suspension. In his last fight before today, Springfield’s Ed Wittchow was the instigator, so that one is exempt. Kyle Burroughs cross-checks Kapanen soon after; Toronto to the PP.
–Trevor Moore from the left circle over the glove off a pass from Timashov in the right circle, and it’s 1-0 Toronto at 5:46.
–Leduc gives away to Cameranesi, who breaks in alone and takes a slash from Landry that makes him lose it. Gets a penalty shot and tries a wrister from the hash marks, but McAdam knocks it down with the glove at 8:14.
–Lafranchise clear from the front of the net goes four rows deep. Second Marlies PP.
–Todd (sorry, Alan, the delay got to me) notes that Connor Jones went to the room after that (successful for Bridgeport) PK. Wasn’t sure why.
–Shots online were 10-4 Toronto not long after that PK; they’re back to 10-7 with about 3:30 left.
–But Leduc grabs Gauthier behind the Bridgeport net. Third Marlies power play of the first period.
–As that power play ends, Toews ties up a Marlie at the right post.
–Ryan Pulock scores a nice one to tie it up 1.4 seconds before intermission. Coming into the zone on the right side, he fakes a shot to freeze Oleksy coming back with him, then fires a right-circle shot that may go off a stick to beat Bibeau. It’s 1-1 after one.
–Connor Jones got tangled up with Colin Greening in the right corner on his last shift; camera panned just as Jones went down.
–Fritz starts the second period with Kellen Jones and St. Denis, so that can’t be good.
–Kapanen breakaway off a Pulock fumble, but Kapanen misses the net.
–Leblond levels Ben Holmstrom in the neutral zone, but the power play lasts 31 seconds before Rowe trips Dermott.
–Dal Colle draws a Griffith slash late in the four-on-four. Bridgeport squandered the extra-attacker five-on-four, so 31 seconds (coincidentally) of four-on-four before Bridgeport’s second power play.
–Good shift for KJones-St. Denis-Fritz draws a Gauthier interference minor. Kapanen goes off slowly on the PK.
–Off a faceoff as the penalty expires, St. Denis backhands home the rebound of a Burroughs shot to give Bridgeport a 2-1 lead 10:39 into the second.
–Shots are 16-4 at this refresh for Bridgeport in the second period.
–At that refresh, on the fourth shot, Timashov called for slashing McAdam looking for a rebound. PPs now even at 4.
–Bridgeport announces Connor Jones will not return today.
–Didn’t mention that the second period was over, so I will now, just in time for the third to begin. Bridgeport ended up outshooting the Marlies 18-9 in the second.
–Hershey adds an ATO, UAA forward Mason Mitchell.
–It’d been just about all Toronto in the third until, 11 minutes in, Fritz in transition carries up the right side and beats Bibeau short-side off the crossbar. 3-1 Bridgeport with 9:01 left.
–Toronto answers, 30 seconds of game time (with a TV time out) later. Gauthier carries wide, Leduc forces him to go around the net, comes out wide to McAdam’s left, throws it to the net and gets a bounce off a skate and in with 8:31 left. The teams trade chances right afterward, a two-on-none in tight that goes awry for Bridgeport and an odd-man rush for the Marlies that McAdam stops.
–Off Andreas Johnsson’s skate, apparently; they give the goal to him.
–Burroughs for delay of game with 4:46 left. Marlies’ fifth power play, 1-for-4.
–Pulock with a big block on Kapanen. Lafranchise gets away with one to get a clear. Toews good read gets one more clear, and Burroughs returns.
–Bibeau to the bench around 1:40 to go.
–Marlies tie it with 23.2 seconds left. As Kapanen’s going down after evading four Sound Tigers in the slot, he gets it to Andrew Nielsen.
–Overtime. #pointsforall Bridgeport lives by the last-minute goal and… well, not dies, but at least temporarily gives up the second point by the last minute goal.
–Dal Colle takes a puck away down low, sends Bridgeport on a two-on-one, and Fritz gets his second. Bridgeport 4, Toronto 3 (OT), getting out with two points.
–So Bridgeport is a point ahead of Lehigh Valley, though the game in hand for the Phantoms means they hold onto third place in the percentage standings. Bridgeport leads Hershey by five points and still has one game in hand. The Sound Tigers are three behind Providence with a game in hand.
–Seems like the usual communications problems when the team’s in Canada. If we hear more on Jones or anything else, let you know. Otherwise, guessing more Saturday, when they’re in Rochester.