Better than Monday, which is a low bar, but still.
“The start wasn’t terrible. We were doing some of the right things,” Ben Holmstrom said. “One goal kind of turned into two. Maybe a bad break here or there on a couple of them, but it’s still a loss.”
A lot of penalties, he noted, breaking the rhythm. On the other hand, they killed a 1:57 five-on-three late in the second, and Steve Bernier thought that might give them a spark in the third. Nothing happened in the third period. Like, almost literally. I had three lines of notes before a couple of late penalties.
“I thought we actually worked hard. Some unlucky bounces,” Brent Thompson said. “Definitely there were more positives than negatives. Take that, turn the page and move on.”
About all they can do. Lehigh Valley coming in Saturday. Bridgeport has been in second place since Nov. 10. That could be on the line by then.
…..
It was a weird day, as I think I mentioned 37 times on Twitter. The first felt a lot more even than either the score (2-0) or the shots on goal (8-3). It was 5-0, and then it could’ve been 5-3, 5-4 by the time the penalties hit late second. “Morning game,” sure, but still.
And then at the end of the second period, with the kids screaming the countdown, Jeremy Smith knocks down and covers a Ryan Haggerty shot with a couple of seconds left. The clock runs down after the whistle, because who could hear the whistle. Jeremy Smith and a couple of Sound Tigers skate to the dressing room. The referees put 1.2 seconds back on the clock. (Which I’m not even sure was enough.) They have to go fetch Smith and the skaters from the dressing room to drop the puck. Weird.
Jeff Kubiak returned after 11 games and played quite a bit, both special teams, even strength. Said he felt good. Ryan Bourque forced a turnover that got him a breakaway early on; Kevin Czuczman’s hook got Kubiak a penalty shot on which he missed the top corner. “I think he’s a huge asset,” Thompson said. “He did a great job on the penalty kill, got a breakaway, generated a couple of chances offensively. It’s nice to have a big body that can protect the puck down low, and a really good stick. He gave us a little boost.”
Thompson said they’ve yet to discuss whether Devon Toews or Michael Dal Colle plays Saturday against the Phantoms. Toews at least was in the house today watching.
Speaking of all-stars, a few changes, including Jordan Szwarz going for Providence.
The PHPA caught up with Scooter Vaughan.
Jeff Jacobs with a must-read on Darien goalie Henri Pfeifle’s awesome goalie mask and the story behind it.
And RIP, Russell Baker.