Grin and Bear it

You notice a bunch of the names who are out for Hershey. Frederic Cassivi. Chad Wiseman. Dean Arsene. Lawrence Nycholat, apparently never to return.

Then you notice who's back for Bridgeport. Frans Nielsen, who adds the final component to a line that does crazy things every night. Wade Dubielewicz, who came back as if he'd never left.

And then there's the penalty kill, the old standby, with Nielsen back. (Is it telling that the most consistent thing in Bridgeport's season is the penalty kill?) The Sound Tigers held Hershey to seven shots on the Bears' first six power plays; I didn't note the seventh, but it didn't matter much by then. In fact, Bridgeport had three shots of its own on Hershey power plays.

That third line keeps getting better. Marjamaki's getting closer; Pitton keeps improving; Nokelainen keeps showing more and more what he'll become.

It isn't perfect. But it's a far cry from what it was two weeks ago. And that's a start.

LINEUPS
BRIDGEPORT
F: Tambellini (A)-Nielsen-Nilsson
Comeau-Ferraro-Boguniecki
Marjamaki-Nokelainen-Pitton
Nolan-Regier-(Griffith-scratch)
D: Fata-Wotton (C)
Mitchell-Fraser
Malec-Rourke (A)

HERSHEY
F: Giroux (A)-Tenute-Bourque
Fleischmann-Steckel (A)-Fehr
Laing (A)-Wilson-Johansson
MacMillan/Robitaille
D: Sloan-Engelland
Schultz-Helbling
Hunt-Busenberg

Regier was good to go, so Griffith was scratched; Berry was the rotating veteran.

Dubielewicz, said Dan Marshall, will go again Sunday against Providence.

And yes, when you read the story, I am embarrassed by the Peaches and Herb reference.

I had thought "Nokelainen" for the second assist on the first goal, too, but what Marjamaki said is that Nokelainen let Wotton's puck go through him to Marjamaki for the two-on-one. Nifty little play ("TSN turning point," said Wotton), and he gets the puck to Pitton for the goal.

Those who watched: How nutty was the end of that Islanders-Devils game?

Fixed the link on the Koalska/Potulny story below, in case you were perturbed by an error. ("nhttp://" doesn't work. (Non-hyper-text transfer protocol?))

Albany loses to Norfolk, which is off tomorrow to make the long trip. Bridgeport closes to three points. Looks like things got a little testy at the end of that one. (And yes, it's way too early to start the scoreboard-watching feature.)

Norfolk's week ahead: Day off, at Bridgeport, day off, at Albany, day off, home to Wilkes-Barre, at Wilkes-Barre, at Philadelphia. Have fun, boys.