| 23 February 2011
Bridgeport Sound Tigers (NYI)
The Bridgeport Sound Tigers have not won a game since January 22nd and it is their only win so far this calendar year even after this past week. Friday night they were blanked by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins by a tally of 2-0. Goaltender Joel Martin made 25 saves in the loss as the team went 0-for-6 on the power play. Saturday night the Sound Tigers were strong in the first period but the Manchester Monarchs scored 6 unanswered goals to top them 6-2. Martin stopped 9 shots in the opening period as Justin DiBenedetto and Eric Castonguay, who signed a PTO earlier in the day, each notched a goal to put the Sound Tigers up 2-0. In the second period the Monarchs scored 5 straight goals starting just 26 seconds into the period. Martin was pulled after letting in the 4th goal allowing Riley Gill to make his Sound Tigers debut. Gill made 19 saves in roughly 33 minutes of play.
Gill got the nod to start in Sunday afternoon’s match up against the Portland Pirates but did not last even a minute as if to set the tone for the 6-3 loss. Gill let in 2 goals on the first 2 shots he faced in the opening stanza at 13 seconds and then 41 seconds before being replaced by Martin (18 saves). The period ended with Bridgeport down 3-1 after Jean Bourbeau was awarded and scored on a penalty shot. Rob Hisey and Tomas Marcinko both scored in the middle stanza to keep the Sound Tigers on the tail of the Pirates but they still trailed by a goal after the period. The team could not find the back of the net in the third period while Portland could to get the win.
With that, the Sound Tigers fall to 19-28-3-3 on the season. They will look to snap their 9 game losing streak when they take on the Springfield Falcons, Hershey Bears and Manchester Monarchs in this upcoming week.
Portland Pirates (BUF)
The Pirates came up with two wins this past weekend with a win Friday and a win Sunday afternoon. Friday night Jhonas Enroth stopped 35 shots and the Pirates scored a goal per period to defeat the Manchester Monarchs 3-1. Mark Mancari got his 29th goal of the season to open the scoring at 8:14 of the first period. Mark Parrish and T.J. Brennan were credited with the assists on the goal. After Manchester tied it up in the middle period, Brennan put Portland back on top with under four minutes to go. Brennan then made it a 3 point night when he assisted Luke Adam’s power play goal late in the final period. The Pirates killed off 8 penalties and went 1-for-3 on the power play in the win.
Sunday afternoon the Pirates got a quick lead when they doubled up the Bridgeport Sound Tigers 6-3. Eleven different skaters earned points and five of those skaters had a goal and an assist in the win. Derek Whitmore scored just 13 seconds in and Parrish added to the lead just 28 seconds later. Enroth made 24 and both Gragnani and Brennan finished the game a +4.
The Pirates continue to battle for first in the division as they sit in second with a record of 32-15-4-1. Portland will take on the struggling Providence Bruins twice this week before playing the Manchester Monarchs Saturday night.
Connecticut Whale (NYR)
Gearing up for their outdoor game on the 19th, the Connecticut Whale had a strong week of games. Things did not start off as planned in Wednesday’s morning start game in which the Whale were stomped 9-2 by the Toronto Marlies. Both goalies from each time got ice time with Jonas Gustavsson (4 saves) not allowing any goals only playing in the opening period before Jussi Rynnas (20 saves) took over for the Toronto Marlies. Gustavsson left due to an elevated heart rate, something he has struggled with for a while. 5 combined goals were scored on both Dov Grumet-Morris (25 saves) and Chad Johnson (7 saves) of the Whale. Dale Weise and Tim Kennedy scored in the second and third period for Connecticut but there was no comeback.
The Whale were not going to be held down by another North Division team as they beat the Hamilton Bulldogs 3-2 Friday night. Weise scored just 10 seconds into the game with the Bulldogs answering over a 80 seconds later. Less than two minutes after that Brodie Dupont took back the lead for the Whale with a power play goal. The middle period was scoreless but both teams battled it out for the win in the third with Devin DiDiomete getting the game winner with a little over a minute left to go in the game. Sunday afternoon the Whale went 3-for-5 on the power play in their 4-1 win over the Providence Bruins. Kris Newbury scored at 7:39 of the first but late in the period the Bruins scored on a penalty shot to make it an even game going into the second. The Whale took advantage of all three of their power plays in the middle stanza, getting a goal on each man advantage from Dupont, Wade Redden and Jeremy Williams. Dov Grumet-Morris made 21 saves in the victory.
Connecticut is now 26-22-2-5 on the season before they match up against the Adirondack Phantoms Friday and the Providence Bruins in their outdoor game Saturday night.
Springfield Falcons (CBJ)
Despite Trevor Smith and Nikita Filatov rejoining the team, the Falcons struggled to get a win this past week. Friday the Falcons were shut out on home ice by the Worcester Sharks 5-0. The game got away from the Falcons in the second period when Gustaf Wesslau (7 saves) allowed 3 goals within the span of 1:26 minutes. David LeNeveu took over and made 18 saves in the rest of the game. Springfield failed to score on the power play despite the five chances they had. The offense that was missing Friday night was found Saturday night when the Falcons defeated the Providence Bruins 8-2. The Falcons held the Bruins to just 2 shots in the opening stanza and it was tied 1-1 after the period.
Springfield jumped out to a 5-1 lead after the second, notching 4 goals on just 13 shots and got 3 more goals in the final period on 11 shots. Every Falcons skater finished a + except for Chris D’Alvise who finished a -1.
Sunday afternoon the Falcons fell 5-3 to the Manchester Monarchs. The teams were tied through forty minutes of play before Kyle Wilson got his second of the game at 4:35 of the third on the power play. From there the Monarchs scored 3 unanswered goals to gain the lead and eventually win the game. LeNeveu made 28 saves in the loss.
Fighting to get to .500, Springfield is now 24-25-1-3. The Falcons embark on a four game home stand when they host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, Manchester Monarchs and Worcester Sharks in the upcoming week.
Worcester Sharks (SJS)
The Sharks may have only played one game this weekend but they were certainly busy. Wednesday night the club completed a trade with the Devils organization sending Steve Zalewski and Jay Leach to Albany. The Sharks acquired Michael Swift and Patrick Davis in the exchange. In his Sharks debut Friday night, Daren Machesney made 25 saves to blank the Springfield Falcons 5-0. The first 20 minutes of play were scoreless but the Sharks scored 4 goals in the second period to take control of the game. Andrew Desjardins scored twice in the victory and Dan DaSilva had a 3 point night with a goal and two assists.
Worcester is now 25-18-26 on the season. The Sharks continue on their five game roadie as they travel to talk on the Rochester Americans Wednesday before the facing off against the Albany Devils, Springfield Falcons and Providence Bruins this weekend.
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