(or is that “crown me”?)
In nine seasons, the Sound Tigers had lost 15 games by five or more goals. They’ve done it three times in the past week. Only once before had it happened in back-to-back games: The lockout year, Oct. 27, 2004, at the Wachovia Center, then Oct. 29 at Manchester, both 5-0 losses on the way to what’s still the longest scoreless streak in team history.
And if you like dumb coincidences, the Sound Tigers’ penalty-kill percentage after that Philly game was 79.7 percent. Today? 79.7 percent. (And as tweeted earlier, Bridgeport opponents started the season 4-for-40 on the power play — 2-for-30, in fact. Since that 4-for-40, they’re 10-for-39.)
Two refs tonight, and an interesting combo: Geno Binda, who worked last night’s game, is joined tonight by Marcus Vinnerborg, the Swedish ref who’s in his first season in North America.
The game is on a radio station — Web site here — if you don’t want to go to AHL Live. Of course, if you go too early, you’ve got to listen to talk radio.
(Actually, 6:49 p.m., sounds like it’s NOT on that radio station. There’s something on AHL Live, at least.)
(Actually, 6:54, on AHL Live there’s some kinda talk radio, so maybe there’s just no pregame show tonight. Oh well.)
–Poulin in goal, tweets Jamie. Appears the only change otherwise is Anton Klementyev in for Brett Motherwell.
–It’s on.
–That was quick. At 55 seconds, Dalpe scores on the rush.
–Certainly looks like the Sound Tigers’ lines are the same and the pairings are usual. Meanwhile, every time Bridgeport is around the Charlotte net, doesn’t it seem as if the Checkers go on the rush five seconds later?
–After Charlotte kills a Bridgeport power play, Nic Blanchard deflects home a 2-0 lead for the Checkers with 7:29 left in the first.
–It sounded from the P.A. background that they didn’t credit Blanchard with the second goal, but in the meantime, Dalpe finishes off a play off a turnover at 13:50. It’s 3-0 Charlotte.
–They’re teasing a Jason Dawe/Jeremy Yablonski story later on.
–Norfolk, which comes to Bridgeport tomorrow night, is in Glens Falls tonight. The Phantoms are struggling more than Bridgeport.
–Off a couple of bodies, apparently, Bridgeport gets on the board. Tony Romano has goals in three out of four games. It’s 3-1 late in the first.
–And that’s what it is after one. Bridgeport outshot Charlotte at least 16-8. On the board, per the call, at Dalpe’s second goal Bridgeport had just a 7-6 shots edge. So that would be 9-2 in the last 6:10.
–Intermission reading: Raffi Torres feature from Vancouver.
–My folks drove to Florida soon after they were married. I cannot tell you how many times, if they were listening to these commercials, I would have heard them sing Hardee’s 1970ish jingle. The burgers are apparently charcoal-broiled.
–Mirroring the first period, maybe, Robin Figren’s shot goes off Murphy’s glove and in for a 3-2 game. Figren has two goals in three games after that long drought.
–Mark Wotton’s assist on the Figren goal gives him 83 assists as a Sound Tiger, tying Justin Mapletoft for fourth all-time, one behind Jeremy Colliton and six behind Steve Regier.
–Samson post and in late on a Dustin Kohn tripping minor. Charlotte leads 4-2.
–Three assists for Osala… I think. Charlotte just struck again. 5-2.
–Goal was Riley Nash’s. Elsewhere, Aaron Portzline tweets that Greg Mauldin has his first NHL goal, short-handed against Columbus.
–Here we go again — no, not that kind of again — Bridgeport scores late. Rhett Rakhshani gets the goal with 9.6 seconds left to send the Sound Tigers to the dressing room down only two. And sounds like there’s a big scrum to end it.
–Kohn and Terry get slashing penalties at the end of the second, so they’ll begin the third at four-on-four.
–Oskar Osala deflects Casey Borer’s shot for a 6-3 lead. Four points for the former Bear.
–So that’s 26 goals in five games, 31 goals in six.
–Brandon Svendsen puts in a rebound for a 6-4 Charlotte lead.
–Those 31 goals against in six games is one shy of the team record for a six-game stretch, set the first six games of 2005-06. That includes an 8-1 loss at Wilkes-Barre to open the season and an 8-3 home loss to the Penguins. In between were a six-GA game and three four-GA games, so 26 goals against in five games ties the team record.
–This is truly a historic run here. The team had never given up six or more goals in three consecutive games. They did it four times in seven games leading up to the infamous New Year’s Eve game, 2006. They did it four times in eight games late that season (remarkably, with a home shutout against Portland in the middle). They’re still in this one, but it’s getting late. Kevin Poulin goes off, and the Sound Tigers will get a power play.
–Right off the draw, Bridgeport scores to make it 6-5. Reese took the shot, apparently a tip.
–Colliton credited with the deflection.
–Charlotte gets it in, gets a Bridgeport icing, keeps Poulin in the net after that and holds on: Charlotte 6, Bridgeport 5. It’s hard to call this better than the last few, but, well, at least they were in this one.
–Denis Hamel ties it and wins it in overtime to end Adirondack’s 10-game losing streak. The Admirals come here shortly.
–First thing out of Jack Capuano’s mouth: “Shoulda won that one.” The chances were there, he said.
On the goals against: “I think it was a combination of a lot of things. The first one’s a shot off (Poulin’s) glove. The power play was from the hash mark, in the corner. I’m really only concerned with a couple of them. Obviously we’ve got to take care of our own end. A couple were shot-tips from the point, good traffic.
“We’re a young team. We’re still learning. We’ve got young goalies, young defensemen, some guys are only young guys getting an opportunity to play. There’s going to be some growing pains, but I’m not concerned too much.”
Shot-blocking needs to be better, too, he said. “We could have been in better lanes” on the deflections, “and not only the forwards, but the defensemen.”
Charlotte’s quickness and transition was obvious in the prescout. But: “We got 16 (shots) in the first. The second, we got behind a little bit but battled back.”
Wondered, since they picked him up down there, if Campbell would be coming north with them; he is.
Romano and Rakhshani went to the net. Romano, with three in four, “Tony’s understanding, he can’t be a perimeter guy. If he wants to earn respect from the coaching staff, from his teammates, he can’t turn the puck over. He’s got to go to the hard areas.”
Elsewhere, Greg Mauldin quotes.
Back at it tomorrow. Then four games in six nights, and then it’ll be a quarter of the way done.
….
Live Ticker Day 2:
It’s baby time for the alumni? Cail MacLean is missing a South Carolina road trip to await his first kid, the Post and Courier reports.
Works for me.
Ever play Civilization, the very first edition? As fascinating as this is, I look at it and see a fascinating version of a Civ replay. “Ukranian civilization destroyed by Poles!”
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