Last practice. Ended with one more seven-puck shootout; the forwards won this time, and no one hit Christopher Gibson in the neck, so a solid finish.
Scott Eansor didn’t practice. He’ll wind up losing the last 13 games of the year to the upper-body injury he suffered when Tyler Lewington got up and punched him in Hershey, the night before St. Patrick’s Day, the last time Bridgeport controlled its own destiny. “It’s day-to-day,” Brent Thompson said; “he can come in and do his workouts, but I think right now it’s just best to relax and start preparing for next year.”
So they’ve got 13 forwards (Thompson said he had heard nothing about the possibility of Arnaud Durandeau’s coming in for a few days after Halifax was swept out of the QMJHL playoffs) and 10 defensemen (if Parker Wotherspoon’s available; he has at least been practicing) for the last road trip of the year. From the pairs’ order of appearance, looked as if David Quenneville makes his pro debut alongside Kane Lafranchise.
Awesome awards news when we got upstairs: Scooter Vaughan is this year’s Yanick Dupre Award winner for his community work. Yesterday, Garret Sparks was named the league’s top goalie. Rookie of the year follows later this afternoon.
Speaking of awards, another plug if you haven’t voted for the Fake Team Awards.
Hat tip to Christian Gardecki for catching that Owen Sound took Ayden Letang in the OHL’s Under-18 Priority Selection. His dad, Alan, the first Sound Tigers captain, is an assistant coach there; so is ex-Tiger Jordan Hill. While we’re at it, onetime New Haven Nighthawk Dale DeGray is general manager. (Pretty much every part of this paragraph makes me feel old.)
After Winnipeg beat Minnesota last night in Game 1, NBC Sports tweeted the Jets’ 1995-96 team photo with some very familiar faces.
And when Hershey honors Humboldt on Saturday when the Sound Tigers visit, they’ll sadly be honoring 16 lives lost. RIP, Dayna Brons.