Point given

Hugs all around for Matt Koalska in the hallway after the game. Had he converted on a couple of big chances, the reception might not have been so chummy. (Well, probably even then.) The man was going end-to-end, deking around guys, going to the net. No luck, though.

His teammates -- the current ones -- had just enough to get a point out of this one, though not the bonus point.

It's not a three-goal lead, but you don't want to give up a two-goal lead with eight and a half to play. Take these three games -- Philly, Worcester at home, and here -- and that's two points lost themselves, two points given to Philly, one point given to Worcester and one point given to Hershey. Heck, just take tonight and the 2-0 lead given away here last month, and that's two points Bridgeport has given the Bears already; the Sound Tigers could be just two points out of third, giving two games in hand.

Is it too early to be talking standings? Probably. But too many points start slipping... Anyway.

Time of possession would be a fun stat to have tonight. Most of the game was spent down in the Bridgeport end, as the shots attest. Bridgeport scored on two five-on-threes, a giveaway behind the net and an overtime breakaway. (It almost scored another empty-netter on a delayed penalty, which would have just been creepy, but the puck rolled wide.)

Robert Nilsson wouldn't play along with the line of questioning, but it seemed like he was really getting himself to the net more. He has four goals in two games, all from in tight.

And Billy Thompson kept going. Made some big saves (one really nifty glove save on Steckel out of the corner late second, when the game was tied), directed his rebounds about as well as he could. As Binghamton's goalie last year, Billy Thompson was 0-5-1 against the Bears. "That's a lot better team in front of him," Bruce Boudreau said. Man's got a point.

So does his team; just not two.

LINEUPS
BRIDGEPORT
F: Tambellini-Colliton (A)-Comeau
Nilsson-Nielsen-Ferraro
Pitton-Nokelainen-Regier
Marjamaki/Aquino
D: Fata-Berry
Mitchell-Wotton (C)
Bouchard-Rourke (A)

HERSHEY
F: Giroux-Tenute-Fehr
Wiseman-Hendricks-Johansson
Laing-Steckel (A)-Bourque
Robitaille-Koalska-(Werner-scratch)
D: Sloan-Arsene (A)
Nycholat (C)-Busenburg
Schultz-Helbling

Best Koalska interaction I caught: Marjamaki, lugging a bag, walking past with his head down, feigning lack of interest. Yeah, right. The ol' linemates greeted each other warmly. (Doesn't look like we'll be nicknaming too many lines this year, by the way. Most of them aren't staying together three shifts, let alone three months.)

In case Friday's story piqued your interest for some reason...
SOUND TIGERS WHO HAVE STARTED GAMES WITH NINE DIFFERENT LINEMATES (out of the 13 active here): Tambellini (hasn't played with Marjamaki, Aquino or Ogorodnikov); Regier (Nilsson, Ferraro, Ogorodnikov; also played with Koalska); Nilsson (Marjamaki, Pitton, Regier)
EIGHT: Nielsen (Comeau, Aquino, Colliton, Ogorodnikov); Marjamaki (Tambellini, Nilsson, Comeau, Boguniecki; also played with Koalska); Colliton (Nokelainen, Ferraro, Nielsen, Ogorodnikov); Comeau (Marjamaki, Nokelainen, Nielsen, Ogorodnikov); Pitton (Nilsson, Aquino, Boguniecki, Ferraro).
SEVEN: Aquino (Tambellini, Pitton, Nokelainen, Boguniecki, Nielsen); Ferraro (Pitton, Colliton, Nokelainen, Regier, Ogorodnikov); Boguniecki (Marjamaki, Pitton, Aquino, Nokelainen, Ogorodnikov); Nokelainen (Comeau, Aquino, Colliton, Boguniecki, Ferraro; also played with Koalska)
FIVE: Ogorodnikov (Tambellini, Comeau, Nokelainen, Boguniecki, Regier, Ferraro, Nielsen)

(Ogorodnikov's number is pushed lower because he's spent a lot of his time on the fourth line, with usually only two players.)

These numbers are out of 12, of course, because you can't play on a line with yourself. Nielsen and Colliton's numbers should basically be out of 11, because, as the top two centermen, they're highly unlikely to start on a line with each other.

Anybody else like "Atomic" by Lit? Been playing it a lot on the road this weekend. Not "Revolver" or anything, but a solid little 2001 poppy/rock album. "Lipstick and Bruises" got some airplay. The record was received so well that their label dropped them.

When interstates narrow to one lane in Pennsylvania -- and it's happening a bit out on I-78 -- the signs instruct drivers to "use both lanes to the merge" and then to "merge here -- take your turn." Hurray for Pennsylvania. If we've got to instruct people to do it the right way, then let's instruct 'em.

And finally, Hershey is the westernmost outpost on the Sound Tigers' schedule, and thus the westernmost point of coverage on this blog. Or is it?.....