Soundin' Off

Afternoon edit: The Islanders sent Aaron Ness down this afternoon. Edit2: Cizikas up (possible NHL debut to come), Poulin down as well. Edit3: Kael Mouillierat’s agent says he’s agreed to terms.

Tim Wallace had just gone onto the ice at Webster Bank Arena for a skate after the Sound Tigers’ practice when Brent Thompson, phone to his ear, bolted out from his office to the rink.

The Tampa Bay Lightning had claimed Wallace off waivers before the noon deadline, sending him to the Gulf Coast instead of Bridgeport.

“It’s nice, obviously, a good thing that another team likes you,” Wallace said. “It’s been a whirlwind of a couple of days. I’m just going to take it one game at a time from now on.”

Wallace (this was about 12:45) was just leaving the arena and had talked to his agent but not anyone from the Lightning yet. He has a familiar face waiting for him: Nate Thompson, a good friend from back home in Alaska.

(We’d say “former Islander Nate Thompson,” but it’s Tampa; they’re all former Islanders.)

Unless I’m forgetting or misinterpreting something, the timing seems to pretty much eliminate him from coming back here. He’d have to be in the minors Monday at 3 to be sent down this year, and to do that, he’d have to be placed on waivers by Saturday and claimed by the Islanders and only the Islanders. So, good for Wallace.

(Without Klementyev, including Koskinen, not including the two in junior, and now without Wallace: 43 NHL contracts? I should recount those at some point.)

And so, Bridgeport is stuck with the cast that has won 16 of the past 18. For now. It’s logical, as Arthur Staple tweeted Wednesday, that a call-up could be coming; there didn’t seem to be a tip here about who might be going. The forward lines looked a smidgen odd, actually, until someone pointed out that Tomas Marcinko, skating with Justin DiBenedetto and Casey Cizikas, was probably a placeholder for No. 36. Well, neither Marcinko (three-game suspension announced Wednesday afternoon, if you missed it) nor Wallace will be available Friday in Springfield.

With Ty Wishart back, Bridgeport released Wes Cunningham from his PTO. Brent Thompson said he thought Calvin de Haan could play this weekend, and — “big maybe” — Mark Katic was also possible. They don’t plan to rush Rhett Rakhshani back; he seems to be doing well.

The team announced Blair Riley’s and Steve Oleksy’s AHL contracts.

Afternoon edit: Tomas Marcinko receives a three-game suspension from the league for Monday’s boarding penalty. Of note, both of the other guys who were suspended will miss a Bridgeport game: Cody Bass for a hit against Hartford, and Nathan Perkovich for his hit on Mark Parrish.

–Benn Olson is going to the ECHL again to play some more games. He’ll serve the last game of his ECHL suspension tonight, then play four games in five days for Greenville, expected to return here a week from today.

–The Islanders announced they’ve placed Tim Wallace on waivers, and they sent Ty Wishart to Bridgeport. (Not here this morning.)

–Calvin de Haan, Mark Katic and Brett Gallant continue to practice. Brent Thompson wouldn’t say yes or no on any of them yet, but they’re in the conversation again, at least, for lineup spots, depending on what the doctors and the management say in the next few days.

–Thompson said he doesn’t expect Rhett Rakhshani to play this weekend, but he said Rakhshani rode the bike today and was feeling OK.

–Blair Riley’s agent spilled the beans Tuesday night: Riley has signed an AHL deal, and we’re told today that Steve Oleksy joins him. It’s likely that others follow in short order.

Lines today were basically Monday’s, with the exception of Trevor Gillies in the spot normally held by Tomas Marcinko. Given the facts above, nothing else unexpected.

Meanwhile, Columbus, banged up in goal up and down the organization, gets Curtis McElhinney as part of a trade for Antoine Vermette. You can’t make this up: McElhinney’s out injured.

This, from this week’s Saturday Night Live, gets me every time.

A darn good class for the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

And happy 32nd anniversary.

The Sound Tigers had a goalie opposite Anders Nilsson making some big saves today. Shut down the power play entirely. (Nilsson did that, too.) And yet they refuse to start him on Saturday. Like the guy has to manage equipment or something.

Leni DiCostanzo’s fill-in goaltending notwithstanding, Brent Thompson figures he’ll need a goalie for the weekend. That man is yet to be determined, at least as of the end of practice at Wonderland. Scott Howes was back today, skating with Jeremy Colliton and Rhett Rakhshani, so if nothing else happens, they should have enough skaters, though Trevor Gillies remains out. Benn Olson moved back to defense with the lines filled out.

Edit: No goalie, but maybe more forward depth: Today’s ECHL transactions have Alaska loaning Tyler Ruegsegger to Bridgeport. He played for Thompson in Alaska last year, and he played with Rhett Rakhshani and Matt Donovan at Denver.

Bookkeeping: Tim Wallace is now a regular call-up instead of an emergency call-up (Grabner is good to go; Micheal Haley is the reported scratch, which moves him one closer to possible unrestricted free agency). He’d have to clear waivers if he remains up long enough.

Injuries to Rick DiPietro and Nino Niederreiter have created NHL opportunities for Kevin Poulin and Tim Wallace, recalled tonight from the Sound Tigers. (The big club also put Andrew MacDonald on injured reserve, right leg, mid-December to early January; they also announced Jay Pandolfo on injured reserve, though he was listed that way on game notes last week at this time). The Islanders say Poulin and Wallace are both emergency recalls.

To be determined what, if anything, that’ll mean for Bridgeport’s roster, but it’s not pressing: Bridgeport doesn’t play until Saturday*. The Sound Tigers had an extra at forward and were hoping that Trevor Gillies will be ready to go this week. Goalie would obviously be an issue if Poulin remains up the whole week, but again, not until Saturday. And lots could change in the meantime: The Islanders play twice before Bridgeport plays again. Nothing on today’s ECHL transactions, for whatever that means.

Isles draft pick Johan Sundstrom is going back to the World Juniors.

The Whale will have several of their games, including three against the Sound Tigers, air on CPTV Sports, tape delayed and edited.

Stan Drulia, former New Haven Nighthawk, moves up from Wheeling to Milwaukee as an assistant to Ian Herbers.

And hey, it’ll be Tuesday before you know it. Chat below at 1:30:

*-Just in case, a reminder that a game originally scheduled for Wednesday was moved some time ago to March 27.

It’s hard to get too high off of 10 games, especially when the difference between over-.500 and under is a goal or two. But coming back from two-goal deficits against this Whale team, under two different sets of circumstances, that’s a couple of good wins.

They played (mostly) good defense in the zone. They turned the puck over a few times to lead to Whale offense, but then again they forced Whale turnovers to create offense of their own. Kevin Poulin made 33 saves. Tim Wallace is apparently untracked. Trevor Gillies is back.

Brent Thompson hasn’t used the “consistency” line much of late, but if they can be just that, they seem to have some of the guts they need.

Then again, it’s 10 games. All of 66 to go.

….

Niederreiter got himself going off what looked like a tentative start. It took the first period or so to feel really comfortable, he said. “I felt better and better,” he said. “The last few shifts, I felt pretty good. … It’ll probably take a game or two to get back” to being as sharp as he’d like. Physically, he said, he came through it fine. He got power-play time but not penalty-kill time. And Bridgeport got only two power plays. Used the body.

Niederreiter and Colliton both hit posts.

Jamie would probably shoot me if I didn’t mention his note: The last three morning games have all featured a hat trick. Jon Sim last year in the fall and Rhett Rakhshani in the spring.

Scott Stuccio was kind enough to pass on the note that it was Wallace’s first career hat trick.

Only one other overtime goal completed a hat trick for Bridgeport: Jeff Tambellini, April 4, 2008, vs. Philadelphia. He had five points in that game.

South Windsor’s Chris Clark to Providence on a PTO, the Globe reported. Avon’s Jared DeMichiel is going to be a volunteer assistant for the women’s team at RIT.

An interesting story on Chad Starling and immigration rules.

And RIP, Gil Cates.

Arthur Staple first reported the five Islanders on waivers: Tomas Marcinko, Trevor Frischmon, Tim Wallace, Ty Wishart, Dylan Reese. That’s most of the most-likely candidates to be sent down who’d need to clear.

Sound Tigers reference in this Greg Cronin and Scott Gordon feature. Neat Kirill Kabanov story from Chris Botta.

The NY Post’s Joel Sherman this morning on the sad truth for the Mets: There is no good decision they can make on Jose Reyes‘ contract. This afternoon featured another questionable Reyes decision.

And I have yet to see “Moneyball,” but unfortunately it has already done the unthinkable: made me sympathize with Art Howe.

Katie Strang broke it a short time ago that Tim Wallace, a mainstay in Wilkes-Barre since 2006-07, has signed with the Islanders. Wallace adds some veteran presence up front. He has scored 20 goals each of the past two years for the WBS Pens. Brings grit and toughness. He hits hard.

If you’ve been around here for a few years, you probably remember some of those hits: two on Andy Sertich late in the 2007-08 season, one of which got him suspended; one on Mike Iggulden in the 2009 playoffs, which knocked Iggulden out for the series and got Wallace suspended. Bygones are, clearly, bygones.

He has played 304 games for WBS with 75 goals and 62 assists, to go with two assists in 24 games for Pittsburgh. He’ll be 27 in a couple of weeks.