Unbroken?

For the most-vocal readers who were having problems (and for me, stuck in the same, um, boat), the Real Blog appears to be back to something resembling normal in all browsers. Please let me know (with a comment over there or an e-mail) if you are still having dramatic problems accessing the blog. Otherwise, we're stowed again.

While the NHL saga burns on...

that. Thanks for commenting there.

A couple of switches today for Bridgeport, one necessitated by illness: Casey Cizikas, under the weather, had the morning off to see a doctor. Jason Clark filled his spot with Nino Niederreiter and Colin McDonald. One other change: Mike Halmo and Brett Gallant swapped places from this weekend's lines.

Yesterday's ECHL transactions had Kael Mouillierat signing with Idaho. Yannick Riendeau, briefly on Bridgeport's roster after the Cantin/Mottau/Rolston trade, signed with Stockton of the ECHL (h/t Jason Guarente).

New Canaan's Max Pacioretty is coming back from Switzerland. Mark Katic got a four-game suspension over in Germany (more, albeit translated).

As seen on yesterday's Chat: I haven't had the time to sit down and really evaluate all this, but it's fun to ponder idly: did the Dark Ages really exist? This paper says no; the count just skipped about 300 years. (h/t Eric Barker, who's so worth the follow.) There is a book about that period in Europe -- which, I guess, presumes the Dark Ages did actually exist -- that I've been dying to read but haven't had a chance to get through. Taken it out of the library about four times in the past two years. Someday.

And RIP, Bo Field and Chris Serino.

More... or less (and chat Tuesday, 1:30)

This copies this. Please comment there. The chat should be on both.

Turned out the Sound Tigers didn't skate today. They'll go the rest of the week in preparation for the Penguins. We'll do a chat tomorrow (Tuesday) at 1:30 p.m. The box will appear here at some point today. And tip of cap to Milford's Doug Coby, Whelen Modified Tour champion.

Penalties and Providence

Please comment here. Thanks.

They gave up three power-play goals in Hartford, but as Scott Pellerin said, it wasn't really their worst PK night.

Tonight was pretty good. Six Providence chances, on which Bridgeport outscored the Bruins 1-0 and was only outshot 6-3.

"We've got a lot of energy," Brandon DeFazio said.

They used it to take away second chances, to limit first chances, and to rush out two-on-one in the first period and tie the game on a rebound, Ty Wishart chip to Brock Nelson up the right wing, shot-save, rebound-score.

They had a couple of bounces go against them on the power play last night, and the other one was a five-on-three.

"We wanted to respond," Nelson said. The PK gave them some momentum. They took a lead on the power play, then scored a couple of goals in the third.

They're 2-0.

"It's been a great weekend for us," game-winner Jon Landry said. "We played really hard. We jelled together as a team. We're getting the results we're looking for."

....

Two points for Watkins and DeFazio thanks to the empty-netter. Another good game for Nino Niederreiter, who got props from his teammates, Pellerin said.

Coach's decision, Pellerin confirmed, on Matt Donovan. "We've got a lot of depth positions. That's the message we're sending to the guys. Everybody has to play to their level, max out their level. If not, there are times you're not going to play."

Pellerin said the training staff and the management decided it was best, given Anders Nilsson's illness, to give Kevin Poulin the start. That was best for the team. And when did that decision become final? "About 20 minutes before warmup," Pellerin said. Poulin said he was unfazed. He looked to have an early bobble or two but made some good saves.

Nelson had a shift on the penalty kill where he took out about 15 seconds on his own, working one-on-four to Michael Hutchinson's right. "Brock, for a young player, is a solid two-way player," Pellerin said. "He's going to find his offensive side. I think you saw some of it this weekend. He's a guy I'm looking forward to working with. ... He's a guy you can put in all different situations."

I'm pretty sure I hate my three-stars selections. Just so you know. (I mean, they're fine, the players. My selections. You know.)

Prescout. A goal for Trevor Smith, but a winning goal for Hugh Jessiman. WBS plays next Friday at Springfield, so equitable travel for some reason. (In fact a 3-in-3 for WBS next weekend, where that's BPT's only game.) I think that one may force Jason Iacona to change his Twitter avatar, if I followed correctly the bragging that went up and down I-81 this week.

Adirondack put up 48 shots and six goals on Chad Johnson and Portland. Five combined points for Schenn and Couturier. Meanwhile, the defending Calder Cup Champions In Exile won their Syracuse home opener. Springfield won, too. Albany did not.

Team's off tomorrow. More (I think) Monday. And we'll chat on Tuesday.

Company

Comments here please. Thanks.

It looks better in person, promise

The banner is hung -- same design, new colors, to the right of the 2002 ones -- as is one honoring team doctor Ken Dressler, between the Canadian flag and the Yale banner; he'll also be honored on-ice before the game. The ribbon board isn't complete yet, but the ad boards that were at that level -- at the bottom of the suites, hanging over the lower bowl -- have been moved up to the top wall, next to the scoreboards on either side of the rink.

More interesting is on the ice, where it appears Nathan McIver's debut comes at the expense of Matt Donovan. Presume we'll hear more about that after the game, though I don't think it's injury-related. He was on for two of the three goals yesterday as well as the play that turned into the penalty shot.

Arriving in town for Bridgeport's home opener are the Providence Bruins. Had thought Nilsson might be the man tonight, but Poulin led them onto the ice. One to scratch each way, though Cantin and Trotman looked to be the ones.

BRIDGEPORT
F: Niederreiter-Cizikas-McDonald (A)
Ullstrom-Sundstrom-Persson
DeFazio-Nelson-Kabanov
Gallant-Watkins-Riley
D: de Haan-Wishart (A)
Ness-Landry
McIver-Hamonic (A)
(Cantin-scratch)
G: Poulin
Nilsson

PROVIDENCE
F: Caron-Camper-Bourque
MacDermid (A)-Whitfield (C)-Knight
Sauve-Spooner-Tardif
Florek-Hanson-Cunningham
D: Krug-Cohen
Bartkowski-Miller
Exelby (A)-Warsofsky
(Trotman-scratch)
G: Hutchinson
Svedberg

R: R. Fraser. L: Colby, Galvin.

Ryan Fraser returns -- and returns with his wife and 6-month-old son.

It strikes me way too belatedly that Webster Bank's colors would've fit much better with the original colors. Oh well.

Kiddie comeback

This copies this. Please comment on that. Thanks.

They really could've gone either way after that first period. You know? Play a great period, outchance them, dominate them at even strength, trail 2-0? That can turn ugly as easily as it can turn into something like this.

They turned it into something like this. They never stopped coming. They got the puck low and attacked the net. They worked to draw penalties; after an 0-for-3 start, they capitalized in the second. That opened the door. They scored on the rush. They scored in the slot. They scored off broken plays, maybe karmic payback for the way the Whale took the lead.

Mostly, they scored.

"(The Whale) capitalized on bad bounces," Brock Nelson said. "Coach wasn't too disappointed." With 19 shots, Bridgeport had to "settle down and finish those chances. We were able to do that."

Nelson helped set up Nino Niederreiter's goal on the rush, battling with Micheal Haley on the wall before the puck went ahead two-on-one. Guys like Niederreiter, Colin McDonald, John Persson, Brandon DeFazio battled for the puck or for position.

How those young forwards responded to the pro game was going to be a big question of the season. For the first 60 minutes, at least, they responded pretty well.

...

Was impressed with Kirill Kabanov, especially in the second period. The penalties shook the rhythm of the rolling of the lines, and he wasn't playing special teams. Couldn't have been easy to get into the flow. But he had a very strong start to the second.

"I was nervous a little bit in the beginning," Kabanov said. "Coach started trusting me a little more, gave me a little more ice time, and my partners were great tonight. All the team had really good efforts. We deserved that win."

Scott Pellerin realized Kabanov may not have gotten the time he'd normally get.

"He forechecked very well," Pellerin said. "His attention to detail and teamwork, I'm really happy with the way he played."

Fifth time Bridgeport has scored five goals in a period, and the first time in almost three years. The second time, as tweeted earlier, was here, six years ago Saturday: I think it might've been the Wolf Pack's opener, but Bridgeport played the night before in Binghamton. That was the night Blake Comeau scored five points after posting four the night before. Sorta-fun fact about those five five-goal periods? Bridgeport trailed by two goals heading into three of them. (Tied in the other two.)

Pellerin on Win 1: "I really enjoyed it. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous." He got lots of support from his assistants and the trainers, he said. "Everyone was together. The players were really accountable all game long." Bridgeport is 7-4-1 in openers, including 4-3-1 on the road and 2-0-1 here. (That "1" is something called a tie. Ask your parents.)

I told a friend after the first that Chris Kreider reminded me of those kids who get kicked out of Pop Warner for being too good.

Prescout. They led; they didn't win; they had 10,000 show up to watch, so not bad.

Connecticut high school schedules were posted Thursday on the new CIACSports.com. Hamden-Fairfield Prep at the arena on Feb. 2, 1 p.m.; Norfolk in town that night. Think I might stick around after the morning skates?

Kenny Reiter finds himself one of three goalies in Fort Wayne, Justin Cohn notes.

And RIP, Bill Jauss and Beano Cook.

Getting it started

From here: Thanks for commenting there.

Season 12 begins in Hartford, facing a guy who's played more games for Bridgeport than all but three men. (He also has more penalty minutes than all but one. We'll see if Micheal Haley starts his race up the Hartford list tonight.)

Both teams had seven defensemen for warmup; looked like McIver and Niemi were the odd men out.

BRIDGEPORT
F: Niederreiter-Cizikas-McDonald (A)
Ullstrom-Sundstrom-Persson
DeFazio-Nelson-Kabanov
Gallant-Watkins-Riley
D: de Haan-Wishart (A)
Donovan-Hamonic (A)
Ness-Landry
(McIver-scratch)
G: Poulin
Nilsson

CONNECTICUT
F: Kreider-Newbury (A)-Kolarik
Yogan-Jean-Miller
Wiebe-Tessier-Segal (A)
Grant-Haley-Thomas
D: Collins (A)-Gilroy
Vernace-Pyett
Klassen-Parlett
Niemi-scratch)
G: Missiaen
Stajcer

R: Hersey, Lemelin. L: Galvin, Redding.

Trevor Frischmon tweeted his destination this afternoon, by the way: Graz, Austria.

Opening-night stream

Yep, opening night and the blog's still a mess. This post copies this one. Please leave any comments there. Thanks for your patience.

The Rangers tweeted this afternoon (@NYRangers) that they'll be streaming tonight's game free of charge at their Blueshirts United site. So, I guess, don't buy on AHL Live.

Three A's tonight. Pellerin reiterated he's not in any hurry to slap a 'C' on anyone; he'll see how the leadership plays out, whether that takes a couple of weeks or longer. Poulin was first off. Hamonic appears to be in; they'll dress seven defensemen for warmup.

More pregame.

Camp almost over/preseason chat

This post copies this original. Please leave comments there. Hey, should we do a weekly chat again? Yes, we should. Let's start with preseason fun Thursday at 1:30. ChatBox below.

A routine 3.5-hour drive to the Island this morning. Took almost two hours to get to Westport alone. Figured I'd make it in time for Thursday's practice.

Survived, though, and arrived just in time for the end of Wednesday's practice. Pairs were apparently pretty familiar; Travis Hamonic wore a red no-contact jersey, and though Scott Pellerin still wasn't sharing specifics, he sounded hopeful Hamonic and maybe Max MacKay would at least be available Friday. MacKay skated on his own, Pellerin said. The lines were the same as yesterday's, apparently (other lines at the first tweet). The three Swedish forwards were in yellow, which drew some comment as appropriate.

Pellerin said the plan is that everybody still in camp is going to make the trip up to Bridgeport and start the season here. As far as captains, "if you look at our team, we've got a really strong leadership group," the coach said. He said he'd talk to Garth Snow and the other coaches about it, but "I'm not in any rush to name a captain at this point."

The team has a mobile app. My phone can only call people, so I'll leave the reviews to you guys.

The Rangers report that Cam Talbot won't be ready for the opener. Here's how the Whale lined up today, from Jim Cerny.

Lindsay Kramer reports that Trevor Frischmon is going to Austria. Abbotsford released Kael Mouillierat from his tryout, destination unlisted. He was on Idaho's season-ending roster. Meanwhile, Rick DiPietro's going to Germany.

Providence sent Simsbury's Tommy Cross to South Carolina, reports Mark Divver, also noting that Chris Bourque is Mike Souza's brother-in-law.

New Binghamton beat writer Matt Weinstein is on Twitter and on the blog. Did I ever link to new Adirondack beat writer Diana C. Nearhos? If not, Twitter; blog. (Tim McManus will still be writing, as it turns out.) Yes, I've got a blogroll to update.

From the Canadian Press' Chris Johnston, Brett MacLean is doing well, though he's had to retire after this summer's scare. (There's also a new look at the AHL site, as you'll see at that link. My bookmarks still work, and the page formats in Internet Explorer, so I give the redesign a big thumbs up.)

Interesting New York story from the Times.

And RIP, Budd Lynch, Larry Block (h/t Jonathan), and Alex Karras.

Reunions, many miles away

This page copies this original. Please leave any comments there.

A couple of alumni notes, with help from Elite Prospects: Tomas Marcinko to HC Kosice*, where he played before jumping to the OHL as an 18-year-old. And Matt Keith apparently goes to Austria, joining a team with quite a few familiar names. Per Katie Strang, the team where Keith had been, HC Karlovy Vary, will add Andrew MacDonald. His old defense partner, Dustin Kohn, is also on that roster.

Ray notes in the comments that Pascal Morency is listed with Arizona in the Central League (along with former Sound Tigers (briefly) and Danbury Trashers (somewhat longer) defenseman Mario Larocque). From a quick tour of those lists, Allen has Kip Brennan, Darryl Bootland and Scott Howes; Missouri has Riley Emmerson, who was here briefly before the ATOs arrived in 2011; Tulsa has former Sacred Heart forward Matt Gingera; and Denver lists Eddie Campbell, who apparently joins Brad "Shooter" Smyth (and literal one-time Sound Tiger Luke Fulghum) with coach Derek Armstrong. Wonder if Brent Thompson is thinking about taking a lockout deal down there.

Meanwhile, speaking of SHU, I no sooner noticed that Patrick Knowlton was in Fort Wayne than Patrick Knowlton wasn't in Fort Wayne anymore. (Appears Blake Kessel starts in Trenton.)

And from the Island -- you know that team that's going to be showing up in Bridgeport sometime Thursday night? -- a whole new set of line combos. Travis Hamonic still listed day-to-day there.

*-A long time since we Fun With Babelfish'd (with Google Translate): "Represented Slovakia at the World Championships in the twenty years between 2007 and 2008." Time stands still. Also, "In the summer, he decided to return to Europe, as he was in the Swedish fashion." Which sounds like a fantastic euphemism for something, no? "How's your son?" "Hadn't you heard? He's in the Swedish fashion." "Ah, say no more."

Moving day

This post copies this original. Please leave comments there. Bridgeport sent Kenny Reiter to Fort Wayne today, leaving 16 forwards, eight defensemen and the Poulin/Nilsson goaltending tandem in camp. Some dramatically different line combinations from today's practice. (Had missed that former Sacred Heart captain Pat Knowlton is in camp with Fort Wayne.)

Texas released Scott Howes from his tryout, Hundred Degree Hockey reports. Jordie Johnston was sent to Greenville. But Kael Mouillierat survived one round of cuts in Abbotsford, notes the Abbotsford News.

Second (exh.) game liveblog

This post copies this original. Please leave comments there. And sorry again for the delay. Live doubleblogging is harder than I thought. Thanks for your patience.

Welcome to Saint Anselm College.

Sullivan Arena even has a New Haven Coliseum feel: the benches are on opposite sides, with the home bench next to the penalty boxes. No stands behind the visitors, though. Section 14 is an emergency exit and the New England College banner.

Lineups shortly, though we've got some assumptions. The game is streaming tonight on the Isles' Web site with Phil on the call and Jamie on the camera.

Here's this morning's story from the paper, partly on Ty Wishart and partly on Bridgeport's depth on defense. Speaking of which, the Department of Defense would like me to note that I should've called Fort Dix "Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst."

Providence let Art Bidlevskii go, Mark Divver reports. Meanwhile, Matt Gilroy is going to Hartford, from Larry Brooks.

LINEUPS
BRIDGEPORT
F: John Persson-David Ullstrom (A)-Colin McDonald (A)
Nino Niederreiter-Brock Nelson-Kirill Kabanov
Mike Halmo-Johan Sundstrom-Sean Backman
Brett Gallant-Jason Clark-Max MacKay
(Matt Watkins-scratch)
D: Matt Donovan-Travis Hamonic (A)
Aaron Ness-Jon Landry
Marc Cantin-Nathan McIver
G: Kevin Poulin
Kenny Reiter

MANCHESTER
F: Richard Clune-Marc-Andre Cliche (C)-David Meckler
Nikolay Prokhorkin-Andrei Loktionov-Jordan Nolan
Tanner Pearson-Jordan Weal-Brian O'Neill
Andy Andreoff-Linden Vey-Tyler Toffoli
D: Andrew Bodnarchuk-David Kolomatis
Jake Muzzin-Andrew Campbell (A)
Thomas Hickey (A)-Nick Deslauriers
G: Martin Jones
J.F. Berube

R: Binda. L: MacDonald, Ross.

--Takes 20 seconds to get the puck out of the neutral zone off the draw, but it's on.

--Brandon Kozun didn't take the first rushes and was listed as a scratch, but he's apparently playing for Manchester. Not sure who's scratched instead. (Prokhorkin, apparently)

--Poulin has had to make some good saves one-on-one. He's been sharp.

--McDonald and Ullstrom nearly connect on a short-handed rush that draws a hooking penalty. The penalty goes on the wrong side. Both penalties get cleared. McIver's penalty time goes back up... but at 1:21 instead of 1:01. The Bridgeport bench yells "hey!" in unison in midseason form.

--A parade of penalties ends with Kabanov fanning on a one-timer off a Hamonic setup. They trade penalties one more time in the last 1:15. No score after one. Monarchs outshoot them 12-5. Spent more time in their end in the first than they did in long stretches of last night's game.

--Still Poulin and Jones for the second. Bridgeport's a man short on the bench. Think it's MacKay.

--Niederreiter takes an elbow from Andreoff. Getting quick repairs at the bench.

--Hamonic missing, too -- didn't see him go.

--Poulin remains very sharp.

--Halmo fought Andreoff as the latter got out and got an unsportsmanlike minor. Gallant fought. MacKay and Hamonic haven't returned. Bridgeport had nine on the bench and five on the ice for a bit.

--Behind the play, Clune had Ness down and was throwing at him. Cantin jumped in as the officials got there to break it up.

--Clune gets a double roughing minor and the game. Cantin gets just two.

--Still scoreless after two. Bridgeport carries 18 seconds of penalty time to the third. Poulin has 25 saves. Bridgeport has 11 shots.

--Hamonic and MacKay will not return. Not disclosed what happened.

--Counterattack off a blocked shot for Manchester, and Jordan Nolan scores on a wrister from the right circle 28 seconds into the third. 1-0 Monarchs.

--Five and a quarter periods into the preseason, and Kabanov looks frustrated already. It's not long after he slams a door before Loktionov and the Monarchs make it 2-0.

--Nolan and McIver go at it at 7:07; both land a couple of good ones.

--A 2-0 Manchester final. Final shots 41-17 Manchester, so 39 Poulin saves.

--Scott Pellerin said Hamonic and MacKay were taken out with "slight little injuries. ... precautionary reasons." Hamonic declined to comment.

Will format and have a little more after a ride:

Bridgeport 0 0 0--0
Manchester 0 0 2--2

First Period -- No scoring. Penalties -- Deslauriers, Mcr (elbowing), 2:12; McIver, Bpt (interference), 9:49; Muzzin, Mcr (hooking), 10:48; Niederreiter, Bpt (high-sticking), 12:27; Nolan, Mcr (goaltender interference), 12:57; Niederreiter, Bpt (hooking), 18:45; Toffoli, Mcr (slashing), 19:11.

Second Period -- No scoring. Penalties -- Andreoff, Mcr (elbowing), 6:18; Halmo, Bpt, minor-major (unsportsmanlike conduct, fighting), 8:40; Andreoff, Mcr, major (fighting), 8:40; Cantin, Bpt (interference), 12:35; Gallant, Bpt, major (fighting), 15:15; Kolomatis, Mcr, major (fighting), 15:15; Bodnarchuk, Mcr (interference), 15:15; Cantin, Bpt (roughing), 18:18; Clune, Mcr, double minor-game misconduct (roughing), 18:18.

Third Period -- 1, Manchester, Nolan 1 (Loktionov), :28. 2, Manchester, Loktionov 1 (Kolomatis, Kozun), 4:28. Penalties -- McIver, Bpt, major (fighting), 7:07; Nolan, Mcr, major (fighting), 7:07; Donovan, Bpt (holding), 17:23.

Shots on goal -- Bridgeport 5-6-6--17. Manchester 12-13-16--41.

Power play opportunities -- Bridgeport 0 of 7, Manchester 0 of 6.

Goaltenders -- Bridgeport, Poulin 0-1-0 (41 shots-39 saves). Manchester, Jones 1-0-0 (9-9), Berube (10:56 second, 8-8).

Attendance -- 617. Referee -- Binda. Linesmen -- Ross, B.MacDonald.

.....

The promised "more later":

"I thought our energy level just wasn't there at the start of the game," Scott Pellerin said. "We were a little flat. I thought we responded, came and played and battled."

Aaron Ness agreed about the start. "We just took too long to find our legs," Ness said.

The results never quite changed for Bridgeport, facing a strong Manchester lineup. They didn't generate many scoring chances at all, got outshot 41-17. "Manchester's a solid defensive team," Pellerin said, and he'd know them as well as anybody. "They had a lot of experience. I thought our guys responded."

No one has jumped out at Pellerin, surprised him compared to what he saw in practices, he said. There are tweaks to be made, work on firming up the command of the systems, now getting a couple of key players fully healthy.

For Ness, "it's nice to get a couple of games and get back in the flow." For a guy like John Persson, it was just getting back into game-speed competition for the first time since That Night in Hartford. "High-tempo -- it felt good," he said. "I'm very excited to get it going. It's been slower, with the lockout, but it was a good week for all of us."

Especially for Bridgeport's goaltenders, who stopped 73 of 76 in two nights. Kevin Poulin looked darn sharp, and said he'd been working with Mike Dunham and Steve Valiquette on shots just like the ones he got tonight, which made them feel routine.

"I felt great," Poulin said. "I had a great summer of training, a couple of practices -- I felt right, but actually, I was a little nervous for the first shot."

He stopped it and at least 24 more before they beat him. Poulin's goals against were on a rush (might well have been odd-man, definitely in quick transition off a blocked shot) and on a good-play, bad-angle rebound by a quite skilled player.

"He made some Grade-A saves all night long. He kept second chances to a minimum," Pellerin said. "It's good to see that from both our goaltenders."

There was quite a bit of mixing and matching, between the penalty parade and the absence of MacKay for a good piece of the night. Different combos, different positions.

Linkage here and there: our bit on Brock Nelson from Saturday's paper. A few of the Monarchs came over to greet Pellerin after the game; Ian Clark asked him about it as part of his story.

So that's the preseason. Well, that was a whirlwind 26 hours, huh? Hoping to get at least one more chance to see the group before they get to work for real. We'll again keep an eye out as best we can from afar.

...

Saint Anselm's mailing address says Manchester. Apparently some datelines from there say Manchester. Google Maps says Goffstown. Ian's dateline said Goffstown. I assume I was in one of two places tonight. I know where it'll be a week from Friday night: the state capital.

Oh, yeah: I'm fine with calling that an infield fly. But you don't care.

First (exh.) game liveblog

This post copies this original. Sorry for its belatedness. I think I have an easier way to do both at the same time, and maybe it'll work better in the near future. Or maybe we'll figure out why the blogs fail in IE. That'd be even easier. As I said on Twitter the other night, the techies who can figure that out get my undying gratitude until at least... well, Saturday, now.

The Sound Tigers get their preseason going without a full unit-plus that'll be big opening-night pieces. The first two-touch game of the year (well, gamenight, anyway) rages behind me. They're already talking about shaky wireless. The excitement pulses.

As long as the wireless lasts, I'll try to toss up liveblog-type thoughts here as the game goes on rather than subject Twitter to it, though some stuff may wind up tweeted, too (especially if the wireless doesn't last.)

The Bridgeport lines and pairs, per Jamie's preview and this morning's appearances, are as they have been through the first week of camp. On the Providence side, we'll see, among others, Tommy Cross of Simsbury, who made his pro debut last year against Bridgeport. Sadly, no Art Bidlevskii, who played last night.

BRIDGEPORT
F: Nino Niederreiter-Brock Nelson-Kirill Kabanov
Mike Halmo-Johan Sundstrom-Sean Backman
Brandon DeFazio-Matt Watkins (A)-Blair Riley
Brett Gallant-Jason Clark-Max MacKay
D: Calvin de Haan-Ty Wishart (A)
Aaron Ness-Jon Landry
Marc Cantin-Nathan McIver (A)
G: Anders Nilsson
Kenny Reiter

PROVIDENCE from Mark Divver
F: Justin Courtnall-Kyle MacKinnon-Tyler Randell
Lane MacDermid (A)-Christian Hanson-Alden Hirshfeld
Justin Florek-Trent Whitfield (C)-Bobby Robins
Matt Pistilli-Max Sauve-Kelsey Wilson
D: Torey Krug-Colby Cohen (A)
Matt Bartkowski-Damon Kipp
Kevan Miller-Tommy Cross
G: Niklas Svedberg
Adam Morrison

Matt Bain is with the team up here. Now the Islanders' trainer, he'll be helping out new trainer David Stickney, as long as that league decides not to play.

"Trouble With the Curve" in the afternoon. Not bad. Had its moments. Eastwood fixes many of the others. And who doesn't love Amy Adams? And beforehand was an ad/interview set for "Les Miserables," followed by trailers for "Lincoln" and "42." Yes now please.

Sound Tigers are wearing what appear to be their regular uniforms, including the blue road sweaters.

--Braintrust in the house: Garth Snow, Jack Capuano, Brent Thompson, Eric Cairns.

--Doug Weight here, too, apparently.

--Referee: Geoff Miller. Linesmen: Bob Bernard, Chris Aughe.

--Nelson wins the draw, and it's on.

--Riley-Robbins off the draw on the second shift. One or two middling shots apiece. On that first shift, Nelson took a lead pass for a partial break and tried a drop pass. Somehow got it back and was stopped.

--Gallant beats Randell pretty decisively on the fourth shift.

--Bruins score first on a long-side wrister on the rush. Bridgeport had it in deep but the Bruins came up the right side. McIver goes with Kelsey Wilson a minute later, both throwing bombs.

--Think we get our first hybrid icing as Halmo comes out of the penalty box (a trip), with a Bruins defender a half-stride ahead of Kabanov at the dots.

--With Hanson (who scored Providence's goal) off for a hook, de Haan makes a nice confident move past Whitfield down the left wall and puts it to the front for Niederreiter. Svedberg holds it out.

--The net isn't held down very well, and that plays a little part as Bridgeport ties it just after a power play expires. Halmo carries in, it goes around to CLark in the right circle, centered to Sundstrom as the net gets knocked off slightly; Sundstrom scores, clearly would've been in with the net in place. (Though apparently it's announced as Clark's; we're upstairs behind glass and can't hear it.) Referee Miller points good all the way. Tie game.

--After Cohen hooks Kabanov and spins him into the boards, Halmo scores on his own rebound on the power play. 2-1 Bridgeport with 29.8 left in the first.

--So ends the first period. Shots 14-14.

--First goal changed to Sundstrom's.

--Bridgeport just had a short-handed three-on-two with both defensemen up in the rush. Cantin stopped up high, Bridgeport regrouped as Providence countered.

--Nilsson with a nice stop on a skate-redirect with the B's on a power play. Providence put Morrison in goal shortly after the midpoint.

--Morrison gives the puck away on that power play, Niederreiter takes it and beats Morrison to make it 3-1 at 13:03.

--It's still 3-1 after two. Shots 22-21 Providence unofficially.

--Nilsson leads them out for the third.

--It's been a pretty steady third. They had to kill a Wishart high-stick, but two quick Providence penalties gave them a short five-on-three. Not giving up lots of chances.

--Backman has drawn a couple of power plays in the third going to the net. This one with three minutes left.

--Sound Tigers win 3-1. Nilsson makes an unofficial 34 saves. Pretty solid all-around effort.

--Here's your dumb stat of the day: This breaks a nine-game road preseason losing streak. Their last exhibition win on the road was against Providence, Sept. 27, 2006, at URI.

Postgame:

A semicomplete and honestly partly unofficial box (didn't take down the unofficial numbers when they changed goalies, sorry):

Bridgeport 2 1 0--3
Providence 1 0 0--1

First Period -- 1, Providence, Hanson 1 (Florek), 2:44. 2, Bridgeport, Sundstrom 1 (Clark, Halmo), 13:45. 3, Bridgeport, Halmo 1 (DeFazio, Wishart), 19:30 (pp). Penalties -- Riley, Bpt, major (fighting), :24; Robins, Pro, major (fighting), :24; Gallant, Bpt, major (fighting), 1:49; Randell, Pro, major (fighting), 1:49; McIver, Bpt, major (fighting), 3:45; Wilson, Pro, major (fighting), 3:45; Halmo, Bpt (tripping), 4:02; Hanson, Pro (hooking), 7:22; Providence bench, served Robins (too many men), 11:43; Cohen, Pro (hooking), 18:53.

Second Period -- 4, Bridgeport, Niederreiter 1, 13:03 (sh). Penalties -- DeFazio, Bpt (slashing), 4:58; Sundstrom, Bpt (unsportsmanlike conduct-diving), 5:26; Krug, Pro (slashing), 5:26; Watkins, Bpt (hooking), 11:53; Wilson, Pro (tripping), 13:43.

Third Period -- No scoring. Penalties -- Wishart, Bpt (high-sticking), 3:14; Florek, Pro (tripping), 4:03; Bartkowski, Pro (slashing), 5:40; Hanson, Pro (hooking), 17:00; Riley, Bpt (holding), 18:00.

Shots on goal -- Bridgeport 14-7-14--35. Providence 14-8-13--35.

Power play opportunities -- Bridgeport 1 of 7, Providence 0 of 5.


Goaltenders -- Bridgeport, Nilsson 1-0-0 (35 shots-34 saves). Providence, Svedberg 0-1-0, Morrison (10:25 second), saves unavailable.

Attendance -- N/A. Referee -- G. Miller. Linesmen -- Bernard, Aughe.

"I knew coming in, the way training camp went, our compete level down low, one-on-one, I knew it'd be a little adjustment for the guys," Scott Pellerin said. "After the first period, everybody got into it."

And it was really a solid team effort. They got pucks deep and kept them there. Pellerin felt he got a little bit of everything from the different lines. There are some systems things that need tightening, but he seemed pleased.

"We had a good week of practice," Mike Halmo said. "We executed in drills. It took a while for us to settle in today. We gave up a goal early in the game and we got to work."

He got the puck deep, got it to Jason Clark, who got it to Johan Sundstrom, and the game was tied. He got the puck from Brandon DeFazio on the power play and scored on his own rebound. Nino Niederreiter took advantage of a Providence miscue and scored an easy shorty.

And Anders Nilsson was… good-rusty, apparently.

"I felt kind of rusty in the first period, actually," said Nilsson, beaten only on an odd-man rush in his first actual game since the day after St. Patrick's Day. "In the first period, I had to think, what should I do in different situations? As the game went on, I felt better and better. I didn't have to think about things."

It worked out to 34 saves. "He covers the net so much," Pellerin said, pleased with the way Nilsson controlled his rebounds.

I was trying to dredge up the memories, but it seemed as if Nilsson was a little feistier in the crease than I remembered, putting the stick into the midsection of Kyle MacKinnon on the way through (which turned into a brief scuffle between Halmo and MacKinnon), giving a hard shove to a P-Broon backing in on him. He said that wasn't something he was doing consciously. "I had a lot of energy. I hadn't played in a while," he said with a laugh. "Hopefully I can keep that going, being aggressive. Usually when you play aggressive, you play good.

"As long," Nilsson added, "as I don't take any penalties."

Speaking of, three fights in the first four minutes. Always fun. "Gally, Riley, McIver, they set the tone," Halmo said. "We kept it rolling from there."

A lot of different players on special teams. The penalty kill included Sundstrom, Sean Backman, DeFazio, Matt Watkins, Nelson, Niederreiter at times.

More tomorrow.

Blue vs. Yellow (exh.)

This page copies this original post. Please leave any comments there.

The New England Sports Center's URL is NES.com.

Wait, what?

Thursday's game against Providence is there. Directions from Bridgeport, pretty well usable for anywhere that'll take you through Hartford on the way (think you can cut off that last U-turn, but I imagine you'll find it from there), or just plug "121 Donald Lynch Blvd., Marlborough, Mass." into your GPS or favorite maps service.

Friday (at 6 p.m., remember), they're up at Saint Anselm College against the Monarchs. Depending who you ask, Sullivan Arena is in ManchVegas or Goffstown. It's a ride either way. General directions (I've never gone that way, through Leominster and Milford, N.H., so if you want a more pure-highway route, try this one but watch for traffic at the 495/Connector interchange), or head toward "Rundlett Hill Road, Goffstown, NH 03102" and hope for the best.

We'll get what we can from both (Twitter here; not sure about Internet situation in either place, but we'll do what we can). Looking forward to seeing them in action.

....

Speaking of Twitter, as the new year gets closer, I've tossed some ideas around about it; I know at least a few of you follow along (some for all three years, and thanks for that). A thought or two or three:

--Would you guys prefer a separate in-game-tweet account? (No guarantees that in-game stuff wouldn't go on the main account at times -- port in a storm if wireless is down, etc.)

--I'm behind the curve on this, I know, but I'll try to use #bst this year. What bugs me is I look at that search and see a lot of tweets about British Standard Time, some stuff I can't decipher, and some filth I'm not sure I want to understand. Having lived through the Cass Tech takeover at #ctfb (@spbowley and friends are talking ConnecticuT High School FootBall at #cthsfb now, if you are interested yet somehow haven't noticed the switch), I'm marginally concerned, but we'll deal with it in the meantime. (#stigers? four more characters, but...)

--I like putting the warmup lines on the blog and then tweeting a link. Anybody out there really prefer them tweeted? Should that be instead or as well? If you want them tweeted, mind if I go Tim Leone style and just use the numbers?

Let me know your thoughts, whether on the main post or, um, on Twitter.

....

And RIP, R.B. Greaves.

A few midweek links

This post copies this original. Please leave any comments there. Thanks for your patience.

Here's today's story on Anders Nilsson; since it showed up on the Web already, here's Wednesday's story on Eric Boguniecki. And neat stuff from Jamie on the team's trip to Fort Dix.

Elsewheres, Chris Roy says Ben Guite is in camp with Portland.

Back to work, again

This copies this original post. Please leave any comments there.

After a team-building Sunday at Fort Dix, Bridgeport was back on the ice Monday on the Island. Kevin Schultz checks in with Calvin de Haan, who's back with Ty Wishart in camp. Ness-Landry and Donovan-theonlyrighty also looks pretty familiar, you'll recall. Jason Clark skated but Casey Cizikas didn't; they still say day-to-day on him with the groin.

Here's our Nino Niederreiter story from Sunday. Another couple of stories sometime during the week, maybe as early as Tuesday, hopefully before the exhibition game.

Tyler McNeely signed with South Carolina (ECHL), the team announced. Jordie Johnston's tryout in Hartford was a quick success.

Wild news from the Bears: Adam Oates will be co-coach in Hershey for the duration of the lockout.

And RIP, Arthur O. Sulzberger and Eric Hobsbawn.