Looks like Allan Rourke is getting an emergency recall because of Freddy Meyer IV’s broken finger.

Dubie won’t be up for as long as we thought. The previous TSN reports proved to be incorrect as Greg Logan is reporting Ricky should be back for Friday’s game against Buffalo. Great news for Isles fans.

Well it looks like the Sound Tigers split their two-game set with the Pirates today as they lost 5-2.  I was not on hand unfortunately because I’m back in Hershey (surprise! surprise!) covering the Binghamton Senators.

Sens lost AGAIN in the third period, this time it was kinda close 3-1.  Coach Cameron was definitely not happy tonight.  Odd, he was nice with me after they lost 6-1.  Maybe blow-outs are preferred?

Kelly Guard played pretty well today, as did the B-Sens defense until those two late goals.

Met Ed Gonser from the AP today.  Doubt he will be reading this, but if he does, it was very nice to meet him and I hope to run into him soon.

If anyone hasn’t seen Dubielewicz’s new goalie mask, it pays tribute to past Isles history and it’s a BEAUT!  I only saw one side of the mask, which was laying on his lockerroom shelf, that had an image of Denis Potvin lifting the Stanley Cup from the Isles first cup victory.  But on the forehead?  The dreaded FISHERMAN!   It reminds me a lot of Eric Fichaud’s infamous fisherman mask.  Brilliant idea by Dubie to say the least.

Tough Isles loss to the Rags today.  As usual, the goaltending was spectacular and that damn Straka-Jagr-Nylander combination bites the Isles again.  This puts them tied with the Hurricanes and the Habs for the final playoff spot in the East.  It’s not gonna get any easier so the Isles need to take any points that come their way.

That’s all for now…time for the long drive back home.

Until then…

Hey all. Apologies for the lay-off. Life seriously went from dull to ten times of hectic in the span of two months. But it’s good to be back in Bridgeport as the Sound Tigers will take on the Portland Pirates at 7pm today.

Big game in terms of the playoff race for the sound Tigers. They moved into a tie for the last playoff spot yesterday as a result of their win in Bingo and Albany’s SOL in Hamilton. Today the River Rats take on Syracuse, which should be an easy win for them, so it is must win for the Tigers. Here’s the playoff race as it looks now:

Early word coming out of Bridgeport is that Blake Comeau will be back in the lineup after missing a good month or so with an ankle injury. Boguniecki missed last night’s game due to an illness and will not dress tonight as well. Add Drew Fata to the list of injured with back spasms.

Be back in a few with the pre-game warmup line combinations…

So I apologize for being absent yesterday.  I was quite exhausted and slept most of the day when I got off of work after spending the previous night traveling back from Hershey.

~Speaking of Hershey, the B-Sens were handed another crushing loss this time, losing 6-1.  Kyle Wilson finished the Hershey scoring with a natural hat trick (all which came in a span of seven minutes!).  The hat trick actually helped him earn AHL Player of the Week honors.

~Yesterday was affiliation-mania as two teams announced partnerships
**Chicago Blackhawks and the new Rockford Icehogs agreed to a 10-year agreement.
**Edmonton and the Springfield Falcons signed a 3-year agreement.

~Looks like Wade Dubielewicz is staying in Tampa with the Islanders incase Rick DiPietro can’t go.  I’d expect Dubie to return to the Sound Tigers on Friday when they travel to Binghamton.

~I’ll be spending tomorrow in Hershey covering the Springfield Falcons for the Springfield Republican, then Saturday in Bridgeport doing the NYSD thing, and then back in Hershey on Sunday for Bingo so I got a busy rest of the week ahead of me.

Best to all…time to tune in the Isles.

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…

Looks like Jeff Tambellini is getting a recall.  don’t know what the exact reason is, but Associate coach Jack Capuano confirmed it after the game.  Sound tigers should be getting in another forward but they did not know who right away.

Yes, you read that right; I’m in Hershey, PA right now.  Got myself a stringer job covering the Binghamton Senators for the Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin.  This is my first paying gig, so I’m actually a little nervous going into tonight’s game.  All the luck will be much appreciated!

Onto the B-Port news, Clear Day Rosters were announced yesterday, and here’s Bridgeport’s, courtesy of Michael Fornabaio’s blog (http://soundinoff.blogspot.com/):

Goalies – Wade Dubielewicz, Billy Thompson

Defensemen (8)– Rick Berry, Chris Campoli, Drew Fata, Jamie Fraser, Bruno Gervais, Tomas Malec, Allan Rourke, Mark Wotton

Forwards (12) – Eric Boguniecki, Jeremy Colliton, Blake Comeau, Jamie Johnson, Ken Magowan, Masi Marjamaki, Frans Nielsen, Petteri Nokelainen, Brandon Nolan, Jason Pitton, Steve Regier, Jeff Tambellini

In residence – Gregg Johnson, F; Nick Martens, D; Dustin VanBallegooie, D; Stephen Wood, D… and Matt Reid, F, who is apparently up from South Carolina.

**Sound Tigers lost another tough one last night to the WBS Penguins 5-3.  That’s their fifth loss in a row, and not the way they wanna be playing going into a playoff race.  It now puts them only 3 points ahead of Albany in the playoff race.  Granted, this is without Comeau, Colliton, Berry, and Fata, but one has to be concerned with the downhill turn the Tigers are taking.

Most likely I’ll be back Monday, as I have some family matters to attend to tomorrow.  Until then, stay classy…

T…