Jampacked opening-night edition

For tonight, anyway, cue the Who.

You know the one, about the other guys dancing with my girl, and the bells chime and all that. And the kids being alright (sic).*

But actually, why bury the lead? We have a new champion, folks.

Billy Thompson is now the franchise's all-time leader in goals-against average (0.00) and save percentage (1.000), among all goalies with 35 or more seconds played. Move over, Dusan!

Couldn't figure that one out, but it's apparently one of those cases where ref Frederic L'Ecuyer wouldn't give Wade Dubielewicz a minute for some kind of equipment adjustment (the bench is right below us in Bingo, but it didn't look like there was any anxious equipmenting...). So, they took a bunch of time to get Billy Thompson out of the runway, and Thompson came in, got serenaded by his old home crowd, stopped Ryan Vesce, and came out on the next whistle.

This would be the first of two things you don't see every day. No. 2: A delayed penalty being assessed at even strength when a goal was scored. Masi Marjamaki takes a penalty at the end of a Ogorodnikov penalty (14:02), and the puck goes in (16:02), and Marjamaki goes in. Of course the relatively recent addition to the rules says that, if a power-play goal is scored with a delayed penalty, take the minor off the clock and assess the penalty. I'd never seen it happens where the puck went in after the power play had expired. L'Ecuyer assessed the penalty.

So not a beautiful game, but hey, it's Game 1 (or 2 for the other side), so you cut 'em slack. Some shaky turnovers, but Dubielewicz comes up big. Some shaky shots, but enough worked (like Ferraro's, a thing of beauty). Some weak pokechecks, but some brilliant forced-turnovers leading to offense.

And then there's Comeau, who had four assists, which now that I look at it is a team record all its own; the night could have been even better if he'd converted a couple of scoring chances. But that doesn't matter. Good night for them.

Colliton getting the second 'A' surprised me -- a nice surprise, because I think the kid deserves it and will handle it well; I just didn't expect it. "Colliton, you look at him all last season, the way he handles himself, he's a leader on and off the ice," Marshall said. "He's a good leader with the young guys. ... He really knows what to say and when to say it. He's got a promising future as a leader, not just as a hockey player." Well put.

Here we go again:

LINEUPS
BRIDGEPORT
Comeau-Colliton (A)-Pitton
Nokelainen-Ogorodnikov-Nilsson
Marjamaki-Nielsen-Ferraro
(Goulet-scratch)-Regier-Aquino
D: Fata-Berry
Mitchell-Wotton (C)
Halvardsson-Rourke (A)

BINGHAMTON
F: Pecker-Hennessy-Fitzpatrick
Maloney-Payer-Robins
Luttinen-Vesce-Heerema (A)
Potulny/Ebbett
D: Allison (A)-Hedlund (A)
Komadoski-Cook
Malec-Barinka

Ultimately, those Bridgeport lines meant little. All broke up on the second shift and were only sporadically together again. Marshall said they wanted to get some kids as much time as possible. And speaking of time: the first BST Time On Ice report ever.

Not that it took too much of a guess, but the three veteran defensemen are all playing the right, since all six defensemen -- wait for it -- are left-handed shots. Those pairs stayed together fairly religiously except for special teams and their follow-up. Halvardsson played little if any special teams; Mitchell didn't play much penalty kill unless another defenseman was in the box, but he did play the power play.

Backhandedly related: One thing that jumped out at me in practice, and again now that they're together for real, is that a lot of guys are on their off wings at any given time. Of the basic combinations, it's five of eight, or four of seven (Comeau, Pitton, Nokelainen, Nilsson, and whichever of Regier or Aquino, unless one's playing center and the other's on the left). Might just ask and/or write about that this week.

Just as a sampler -- 'cause seriously, not one was identical to another -- first-period power-play units: (five-on-three) Comeau-Nielsen-Regier/Ferraro-Rourke; (five-on-four) Ogorodnikov-Colliton-Nilsson/Rourke-Fata; Marjamaki-Nielsen-Aquino/Rourke (still on)-Mitchell; Ferraro-Nielsen-Aquino/Rourke-Fata; (four-on-three) Ogorodnikov-Nilsson-Comeau-Fata; (four-on-three) Nilsson-Aquino-Comeau-Ferraro.

PK units through two periods, might've missed a couple of changes: Comeau-Pitton-Fata-Berry; Marjamaki-Regier-Rourke-Wotton; Colliton-Comeau-Fata-Berry (F's change Regier-Pitton); Marjamaki-Aquino-Rourke (change Berry)-Wotton; Colliton-Comeau-Fata-Berry; (five-on-three) Regier-Rourke-Wotton; (five-on-four) Aquino-Pitton-Fata-Berry.

And yes, Ogorodnikov is the first Sound Tiger to wear No. 71. And yes, Peter Ferraro will eventually be the first Sound Tiger to wear 42.

*-The reason this is late? Sometimes I feel I gotta get away.