That serious crash last night got progressively more horrifying, and we woke up this morning to the news that at least 15 people lost their lives on the Humboldt Broncos’ bus. There has been reaction from around hockey, obviously, from Mike Babcock, from Ryan Pulock, from Jeremy Colliton — countless. A gofundme account has already raised over $1 million for the families. Bridgeport’s money on the board tonight goes to them as well.
As last night wore on, it felt like it was going to be unimaginable. It was.
Meanwhile… hockey.
Math again: The magic numbers of all three teams ahead of Bridgeport are two or smaller. Two for the Bruins, two for the Checkers, one for the Penguins. Any regulation loss by Bridgeport the rest of the way eliminates the Sound Tigers. Bridgeport would be done tonight with an overtime loss plus a Charlotte point against Hershey in a game that’s already underway; Checkers 2-1 late in the first at last look, though Chris Bourque had scored to help his brother out.
The Sound Tigers roll just like last night, except for the backup goalie. The Bruins are without Jordan Szwarz, which even in that deep lineup is a big loss. Rookie Kyle Keyser backs up Jordan Binnington.
BRIDGEPORT
F: Hitchcock-St. Denis-Bailey
Bourque-Stevens-Bernier (A)
K.Jones – C.Jones – Ho-Sang
Schempp-Kubiak-B.Holmstrom (C)
(J.Holmstrom-scratch)
D: Helgeson (A)-Vande Sompel
Aho-Burroughs
Lafranchise-MacKinnon
G: Gibson
McAdam
PROVIDENCE
F: Fitzgerald-Cave-Czarnik (A)
Hughes-Frederic-Payerl
Blidh-Studnicka-Hargrove
Porter (A)-Pond-Acolatse
D: Cross (C)-Clifton
Breen-Zboril
Lauzon-Postma
(Sherman-scratch)
G: Binnington
Keyser
R: Dunning, O’Donnell. L: Colby, E.Ernst.
Bridgeport scratches (believed healthy unless noted): Gudlevskis, Benoit (ill), Cullity, Mueller, Toews (shoulder), Wotherspoon (lower), Dal Colle (upper), Eansor (upper), Gionta (upper), apparently J.Holmstrom.
First Bridgeport game for referee Mitch Dunning.
Scoreboard Watching: Hershey at Charlotte, 2-1 Checkers late first; Lehigh Valley at Hartford; Binghamton at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton