Bridgeport tries to stave off summertime in Wilkes-Barre, where it won just a couple of weeks ago. It has Christopher Gibson back. But it faces long odds. The Penguins’ magic number is one. Charlotte’s is two. Providence’s is four. It could be all over by 9:30. It could also be five points with four to go in 28 hours.
A touch under the weather, so no six hours in the car for me; hopefully OK for tomorrow. We’ll keep up in the meantime through Alan (Mixlr audio / AHL Live audio/pay-per-view). Follow Alan, the team, and a wide assortment from out there: the Penguins, Mike O’Brien, Nick Hart, Tom Venesky, Tyler Piccotti, heck, maybe even Jason.
The box should be here (R: R.Anderson, Faist; L: DellaFranco, Pomento). First Bridgeport game for Jason Faist, who has come up through the OHL and the ECHL.
Friday Scoreboard Watching: Hartford at Providence; Springfield at Laval. Three points gained by Bridgeport or lost by Hartford would secure no worse than fifth for the Sound Tigers, for what little that’s worth.
Worcester is off tonight, but it can clinch a playoff spot if Wheeling loses at Brampton. (Edit: loses in regulation, to clarify.)
Congrats to our old buddy Bracken Kearns, winner of this year’s Fred T. Hunt Award for sportsmanship, determination and dedication to the game. The all-star teams came out yesterday.
If you missed it earlier, the Islanders signed two defensemen, David Quenneville and Yannick Rathgeb.
The NHL dropped its occasional Tiebreaker Out Of Nowhere on us, if Philly and Florida wind up tied just right.
And RIP, Jonathan Pitre.
More in a bit.
–Tristan Jarry for the Pens, tweets Obie.
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON from Mike:
F: Wilson-Dea-Sprong
Johnson-Quinney-Haggerty
Sestito-Burton-Thomas
Cramarossa-Blueger-Kostopoulos (C)
D: Pedan-Bengtsson
Summers-Czuczman
Tinordi-Trotman
G: Jarry
Leighton
–Northeastern’s Adam Gaudette — or rather, Vancouver’s — won the Hobey Baker.
SOUND TIGERS say they’re the same as Tuesday, aside from the net:
BRIDGEPORT
F: Hitchcock-St. Denis-Bailey
Bourque-Stevens-Bernier (A)
K.Jones – C.Jones – Ho-Sang
Schempp-Kubiak-B.Holmstrom (C)
D: Helgeson (A)-Vande Sompel
Aho-Burroughs
Lafranchise-MacKinnon
G: Gibson
Gudlevskis
–A few minutes in, Bernier is called for a penalty in a goal-mouth tangle, but Bernier stays down awhile. He’ll head to the dressing room, Alan says, holding his wrist. Hope that’s not related to the shoulder injury that ended last season early.
–1-0 Penguins at 4:48 as Tom Kostopoulos tips home Daniel Sprong’s one-timer from above the left circle on Kevin Czuczman’s feed. But Bridgeport goes to the power play on the next shift.
–Holmstrom on in Bernier’s spot.
–The second unit answers on Mitch Vande Sompel’s goal. Josh Ho-Sang handed it off on the left side, Vande Sompel stepped up with Bourque and Bengtsson in front, and he beat Jarry short side. 1-1.
–Bernier is back, Alan notes, soon after that PPG. So more or less he just missed the one shift.
–Bourque carries in on the right, puts a shot on, Stevens grabs the rebound, takes behind the net, waits, finds Bernier crashing with a backhand pass: 2-1 Bridgeport at 11:15.
–Penguins called for too-many with 3:04 left in the first during a longish shift in Bridgeport’s end. Meanwhile, Providence is up 2-0 late in the first after getting two goals about a minute apart, Anton Blidh and Jordan Szwarz.
–Wilson and St. Denis whack at each other in the neutral zone. They’ll both go. During the PP, so no change in manpower. Pressure late in that power play, but it expires.
–Sestito had a look in the left circle late but had it knocked away. Bridgeport leads 2-1 after one.
–On his first shift after getting free, St. Denis gets tripped by Blueger. Bridgeport’s third power play, 59 seconds into the second. A few shots on that, but it was over almost before I could get it blogged.
–Providence put up another goal early in the second, so the Bruins lead Hartford 3-0. Sacred Heart’s Evan Jasper is making his AHL debut for Hartford, by the way. In the Coast, Brampton leads Wheeling 2-1 after one.
And then Vande Sompel scores again. Ho-Sang leads him into the left circle, and he wrists it short-side again on Jarry. 3-1 Bridgeport. First two-goal game for Vande Sompel.
–Blueger wins a right-circle draw cleanly, Sprong fires it high-blocker post-in, and it cuts the Bridgeport lead to 3-2 with 12:10 left in the second. Sprong hits a post later in the shift.
–The Penguins are coming hard. One scramble stayed out somehow. Another good shift was less chaotic but still dangerous. Still 3-2 with about seven minutes left in the second.
–Providence is up 5-0, so guess no help there for Bridgeport.
–Lafranchise for a cross-check on Burton with 5:20 left in the second. Meanwhile, Wheeling is down 3-2 now in the ECHL.
–3-2 Bridgeport after two.
–Early third, Bridgeport called for too many men, and Ho-Sang’s about as livid as I remember seeing him. Third Penguins power play.
–Tough to tell on a second look. Bridgeport had Holmstrom with the Joneses for a defensive-zone draw, then Ho-Sang came on as they cleared the zone; someone was by the bench, couldn’t tell if it was Holmstrom or not. Either way, while I look, Bridgeport kills it off.
–Ben Holmstrom restores the two-goal lead off a nice setup by Kyle Schempp, who carried in and went wide on Zach Trotman to get some room to get it to Holmstrom, headed for the net. 4-2 Bridgeport with 13:32 left.
–Scary stuff out of Saskatchewan, where reports are that the SJHL’s Humboldt Broncos were involved in a serious crash on the way to a game.
–Summers trips up Bailey, who’s drawn a couple of Bridgeport’s four power plays tonight. Around nine minutes left.
–Thanks to the league for the heads-up: Ref Ryan Murphy is working his last AHL game tonight.
Pens kill the penalty.
–Bailey for a hook of his own this time behind the Penguins net. Fourth power play with 5:14 left.
–Another Sprong one-timer from Czuczman on the power play; this one tipped by Blueger. It’s 4-3 Bridgeport.
–Jarry follows the rush to the bench with just under two minutes to go. Pens put one high soon after.
–Providence finishes off a win over Hartford as it gets down to 1:23 to go in Wilkes-Barre. Bruins’ magic number is two. They play Charlotte next Friday, so one of those two is guaranteed to get in.
–A Connor Jones slash with 9.8 seconds left sends the Pens to their fifth power play.
–Gibson stops Sprong through traffic off the draw. Pens get one more draw, but time runs out. Bridgeport 4, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3, final. The Sound Tigers are still in it going into tomorrow against Providence.
–On Jan. 21, Worcester was 15-19-3-2. It’s 21-7-1-1 since, including 10-1-0-1 in the past 12 games. The Nailers lost tonight at Brampton. The Railers have clinched a playoff spot.
–Evan Jasper got his first AHL point on that last Wolf Pack goal. Nice.
More tomorrow, hopefully healthier.