Well I’m back in Hershey, PA today stringing for the Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin covering the Binghamton Senators today. Here are some quick thoughts…

~How bad have the Islanders looked lately? The defense, which has most of the year looked pretty strong looks like a pee-wee team out there.

~Speaking about bad, Dunham has looked very lost out there as well. His lateral movement has been god-awful as of late as was evident on those two wrap-around goals by Neil (Ottawa) and Jokinen (Florida).

~According to Newsday, if Ricky isn’t ready to go against Tampa on Tuesday, Dubie is gonna get the nod. I think that’s smart. Dubie looks solid in net, and confident as well. Something Dunham doesn’t look like he has…

~Bridgeport lost 6-3 in Norfolk after taking one there the previous day. Consider that a success since only 5 teams have won there before the Sound Tigers came into town. They’ve kept pace with Albany though, still one point behind. Here are the standings…

~Big game for the Tigers today in Philly as they visit the Phantoms. A lot of tensions should be running high as a result of what happened last game which I like to dub “Fight Night at the Bridge”.

~I appreared on the premier episode of Hockey Night on Long Island yesterday (around the 31:30 mark). Best of luck to Alex & Steve on the show, they did a great job interviewing me and I highly recommend checking out their show next week and for the weeks to come.

~Happy Birthday to the Stanley Cup today which turned 115 years old.

I’ll be back after the Sens/Bears game with some arbitrary (I really had a desire to use that word) thoughts….

Until then…

Tom…

Just a quick little post today, Drew Fata and Wade Dubielewicz saw NHL action last night.  Dubie was thrown into action hastily after starting goaltender Mike Dunham let in a big 5 in Ottawa.  Dubie looked sharp, stopping all 8 shots that came to him.  And congrats are in order to Fata for his first NHL goal last night.  It’s tough that it didn’t mean much game-wise, but for any NHL player, it’s a special moment.

Cheap plug: For those that have some time tomorrow during the hours of 3-4, I’ll be appearing on Hockey Night on Long Island, a new online talk show dedicated to the New York Islanders.  I’ll be taking questions from callers so feel free to call in!  You can only listen by clicking on this link: Hockey Night on Long Island

Tom…

Here are a list of call-ups and send downs:

~With Rick DiPietro getting his head kicked in, Wade Dubielewicz is getting an emergency recall incase Ricky can’t play. This is a big blow to the sound Tigers as they are embarking on their most important road trip of the year. Mike Mole will get the call-up from Pensacola to backup Billy Thompson.

~Jeff Tambellini is back with the Tigers after serving another short recall incase Viktor Kozlov wasn’t good to go.

~Rob Rankin was released from his PTO.

~Cam McCaffrey and Lance Galbraith have been signed to PTO’s and will join the team tonight in Albany.

Eric Boguniecki was named the AHL’s Player of the Week today. He was well deserving of the honor after two straight 4-point nights, which included a hat trick yesterday against the Calder Cup Champions. This was probably the best weekend of his professional career and congratulations are in order to him.

Jeff Tambellini is back up with the Isles after going back and forth from the Bridge to the Island back to the Bridge this weekend. According to Mike Fornabaio, RW Cam McCaffery is being brought up from ECHL’s South Carolina. 190 PIMs last year for him, so he’ll bring some grit to the lineup.

We’re getting recognized again, and a big thanks to Michael Fornabaio, Sound Tigers beat writer for the Connecticut Post. He’s got a fantastic blog and I highly suggest checking it out by clicking his name. I’ll add it to my links on the sidebar. I’m glad someone appreciated the M*A*S*H reference!

I joked after the game that the Sound Tigers lockerroom should be called the M*A*S*H unit. Along with Brandon Nolan, Jeremy Colliton, Blake Comeau, and Jamie Frasier; here’s what happened today…

~Drew Fata hurt his ankle but continued to play through it. He looked to be having a tough time turning on it in the first period but looked better there on in.
~Jamie Johnson took a high stick to the face late in the third period, no penalty was called, but Johnson was fine.

~Mark Wotton seemed to hurt his wrist right after Johnson got hit in the face. Wotton left for the bench, but seemed fine in the lockerroom.

~Masi Marjamaki blocked a shot on his knee and had to wobble to the bench just two minutes after Wotton got nailed. No word on his condition..

~After undergoing a series of x-rays, Petteri Nokelainen was diagnosed with a broken index finger and will miss around 4-6 weeks.

~Allan Rourke was walking around the lockerroom after the game after taking a slash on the foot Saturday night and hopes to play Wednesday in Albany. He’s listed as day-to-day.

Last thing they need is Jamie Farr running around in a dress! (Hey! I may be 23 years old but I can still make classic TV references!)

Albany continues to keep pace with the Sound Tigers after scoring five in the second period, beating Syracuse 5-2. The Sound Tigers still hold the one point lead on Albany heading into a big 4-point game on Wednesday between both teams. Here’s the playoff picture as it looks now:

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Things didn’t seem to get better for the Phantoms Boyd Kane. First, Jamie Koharski slaps him with a 10-minute and a game misconduct on Saturday, and tonight gets the same from Terry Koharski. To think, he got off light today and scored the game-tying goal for Philly.

Finally, I’d like to express my sincerest thanks to Patrick Williams for plugging this blog on probably what is the best AHL blog on the net today. It’s great to see that even in its infancy this blog is getting noticed and I have to thank those who read this. I suggest you to go visit Patrick Williams blog on SLAM! Sports - There isn’t a better one out there and you won’t be disappointed. I’ll make sure to add it on the links sidebar as well.

That’s all for now…

Hershey Bears - 4
Bridgeport Sound Tigers - 5

SCORING
First Period - HER, Giroux 37 (Hedlund, Klepis), :22; BRI, Boguniecki 19 (Wotton) - PP, 6:08; HER, Reid 1 (Bourque, Milam), 18:17

Second Period - BRI, Boguniecki 20 (Fata, Tambellini), 6:00; BRI, Boguniecki 21 (Malec, Wood) - PP, 17:55; BRI, Tambellini 25 (Marjamaki, Berry) - SH, 19:47

Third Period - HER, Arsene 2 (Klepis), 2:08; BRI, G. Johnson 3 (Boguniecki, VanBallegooie) - PP, 8:24; HER, Giroux 38 (Bourque, Milam) - PP, 12:06

PENALTIES
First Period - BRI, J. Johnson (Hooking), 1:11; BRI, Berry (Hooking), 1:44; HER, Wedderburn (Holding), 5:43; HER, Sloan (Cross Checking), 10:25; HER, Klepis (Hooking), 20:00

Second Period - BRI, Fata (Holding), 3:44; HER, Sloan (Tripping), 12:16; HER, Engelland (Interference), 16:10; BRI, J. Johnson (High Sticking), 18:47; BRI, Pitton (Hooking), 19:54

Third Period - HER, Brennan (Hooking), 7:21; BRI, Marjamaki (Hooking), 11:28; BRI, Fata (Tripping), 11:37

GOALTENDING
Hershey - Daigneault (29 shots, 24 saves)
Bridgeport - Thompson (35 shots, 31 saves)

SHOTS
Hershey - 9-13-13 = 35 shots
Bridgeport - 11-13-5 = 29 shots

A - 5502

THREE STARS
1. Eric Boguniecki, BRI
2. Jeff Tambellini, BRI
3. Alexandre Giroux, HER

OFFICIALS
Referee: Chris Brown (86)
Linesmen: David Spannaus (8), Luke Galvin (2)

Here are the line combinations for Bridgeport tonight.  Seven d-men again today…
Forwards:

Boguniecki-Nielsen-Tambellini

Regier-G. Johnson-Magowan

Marjamaki-J. Johnson-Rankin

Martens/Pitton

Defensemen:

Berry-Fata

VanBallegooie-Wotton

Wood-Malec

Goaltenders:

Thompson

Dubielewicz

Intermission reports and boxscores to follow!

As a result of last night’s wild game against the Phantoms, both Allan Rourke and Petteri Nokelainen join the Sound Tigers injured list for now.  Rourke took a slash on his foot while setting up for a faceoff and had to be helped off the ice.  He will undergo x-rays today.  Petteri Nokelainen also took a slash on the hand in the first period and suffered a possible broken index finger pending x-rays today.

Jeff Tambellini is also back after a brief emergency recall stint with the Isles last night.  He logged 7:23 of ice time with no shots.

More with today’s pre-game warmup line combos soon…

Philadelphia Phantoms - 4
Bridgeport Sound Tigers - 5

SCORING
First Period - No Scoring

Second Period - PHI, Grant 4 (Ross, Slaney), 13:51; PHI, Zingoni 15 (Meloche, Slaney) - PP, 17:08

Third Period - BRI, Regier 15 (G. Johnson, Boguniecki), :49; BRI, J. Johnson 3 (Magowan, VanBallegooie), 1:48; BRI, Rourke 5 (Wotton, Boguniecki) - PP, 6:35; PHI, Cullen 14 (Timonen, Slaney) - PP, 9:07; BRI, Boguniecki 18 (Wood, Wotton) - PP, 12:38; BRI, Nielsen 15 (Regier, Boguniecki) - PP, 17:00; PHI, Meloche 9 (Ellison) - SH, 17:17

PENALTIES
First Period - PHI, Grenier (Slashing), 2:09; PHI, Grant (Roughing), 9:20; PHI, Ellison (Boarding), 17:07

Second Period - PHI, Printz (Hooking), 2:45; PHI, Kane (Slashing), 10:38; BRI, Boguniecki (Hooking), 15:22

Third Period - PHI, Zingoni (Hooking), 4:32; PHI, Meloche (Hooking), 5:16; BRI, J. Johnson (Hooking), 7:46; PHI, Pisellini (Fighting - major), 11:08; BRI, Pitton (Fighting -major), 11:08; PHI, Morrison (Boarding), 11:39; PHI, Kane (Hooking), 12:09; PHI, Guenin (Elbowing), 13:38; PHI, Grant (Minor Charging, Misconduct), 16:14; PHI, Kane (Minor Unsportsmanlike Conduct, Misconduct, Game Misconduct), 17:00; PHI, Bench (Unsportsmanlike Conduct), 18:54; PHI, Cote (Double Minor Roughing, Misconduct, Game Misconduct), 19:36; PHI, Ellison (major Fighting), 19:36; PHI, Grenier (Major Fighting, Game Misconduct), 19:36; BRI, Berry (Major Fighting, Game Misconduct), 19:36; BRI, Fata (Major Fighting), 19:36; BRI, Magowan (Tripping), 19:36; PHI, Bench (Gross Misconduct), 20:00

GOALTENDING
Philadelphia - Munroe (30 shots, 25 saves)
Bridgeport - Dubielewicz (33 shots, 29 saves)

SHOTS
Philadelphia - 8-14-11 = 33 shots
Bridgeport - 6-9-15 = 30 shots
OFFICIALS
Referee: Jamie Koharski (84)
Linesmen: Paul Simeon (66), Glen Cooke (6)

Hey all…

I’m currently in Bridgeport for tonight’s game against the Phantoms of Philadelphia.  Silly me forgot his power cord so I’m running under limited battery power on my laptop.

The sound tigers have signed RW/LW Rob Rankin from the Pensacola Ice Pilots to a PTO to replace Jeff Tambellini in the line-up tonight.  Like last night, the Tigers are dressing seven d-men.  Here are the pre-game warm up line combinations :

Forwards:

Nielsen-Boguniecki-Regier

Pitton-G. Johnson-Magowan

Nokelainen-Marjamaki-J.Johnson

Rourke/Rankin

Defensemen:

Berry-Fata

VanBallegooie-Wotton

Wood-Malec

I’ll try to be back for more during the intermissions, that is if my laptop doesn’t die….