So shots were 12-3 early in this thing, and Manchester maybe wasn’t dominating the game, but the Monarchs sure had momentum and a 1-0 lead.
And then there’s a roughing penalty. And then the power play gets to work, and it’s one of those old-time classics, with the shots coming from both points and from all angles and from guys sneaking down into the circles.
“It gave us life,” Pat Bingham said. “It did all game. It has for the last couple. Hopefully, that can continue.”
The only thing it didn’t do? Score. Martin Jones got the shutout, made some great saves, made some instinctive saves, and got some help.
But the Sound Tigers kept firing.
“They PK with a lot of urgency,” Bingham said. “If the puck’s bouncing, there’s not a lot of time to take a whack at it.”
Amateur observation: There’s more authority on passes, sometimes. It’s something Bingham harped on in practices this week, and they seem more willing to whip it around.
But they’re taking shots, too. Hamonic and Kohn were gunning it on that first PP, which spent about 1:40 deep and put five shots on goal.
“It’s a matter of time before one of them goes in,” Hamonic said.
It just didn’t happen. To steal an overheard phrase tonight, if Jon Sim was on one side, the puck bounced out on the other. When they got chances — David Ullstrom in the right circle on that second-period power play, Robin Figren on that rebound late — maybe they didn’t get all of it.
Even as they approach the one-quarter mark, they’re still putting things together. They’re ravaged by injury; if Mark Katic misses tomorrow’s game and no one returns, he’ll be No. 7 of the opening-night projected 18 on the shelf. The fill-ins have done their jobs.
“Right now we’re building trust on this team,” Bingham said, “that guys can go out there, do the right things, be responsible. If they can do that, we can distribute the minutes.”
Bingham stressed that he wasn’t happy with the end result. But the execution, that, he liked.
….
One to build on for Lawson, too — his GAA fell from 5.88 to 4.93, and his save percentage went from .832 to .853 — but that all went into the gamer.
No details on Katic. Bingham said he was talking to us before he got details. I took a look back at Katic’s last shift, late in the first, and didn’t notice anything amiss. So, undisclosed for the moment. Bingham said Katic wasn’t expected to go Sunday, so we’ll see what that means for the defense. Losing a defenseman early for the second time in a week meant extra minutes for everyone, and that’s obviously a concern. They’ll need guys to step up; Anton Klementyev, let’s see what you’ve got.
Last time Bridgeport was shut out: Feb. 20, here, against Abbotsford, also 1-0.
Some sorta Versus piece taping today. Almost walked into a camera guy going to the room. That hopefully does not make the piece.
Prescout. Matt Ellis is back in town, but Jhonas Enroth is not.
Onetime Sound Tiger Luke Curtin was named to the ECHL Hall of Fame.
And finally, don’t tick off a goalie.
Loading ...
