February 13, 2006

Break... what break?

So, the Olympic break has started. Do you know what this means? This means that for two weeks, I can type to you about the AHL and feel ABSOLUTELY NO SHAME that I am very "eh" on the NHL this season. (Not that I feel any shame or guilt about it anyways, because honestly, the AHL is way more fun then the NHL) I can type to you about how Jordan was thisclose to a shutout on Friday, or how they were so excited to see us in Manchester on Saturday even though it was a game that was decidedly not pretty, and I can tell you that I had no idea what was going on in the Boston/Tampa game Saturday and that I am OK with that, and as I type all this, I feel as FREE AS A BIRD and I have ZERO GUILT.

God, I love the Olympic break. (I think it goes without saying that the coverage of the Olympics on SVO will be ultra-light. Mostly because the AHL doesn't break for the Olympics.)

So, we'll backtrack a bit- Jess came home with me after the Providence game on Friday, and Saturday afternoon, we picked up Rachel after work and headed to the Big V for the Manchester/Providence game.

Eklund started, which didn't surprise us. It didn't thrill us, either, though I was interested in seeing what kind of goaltender Blatny was worth. Brian was 0-8 against Manchester going into this game. He's now 0-9, and 0-1-0 in a Bruins uniform. Overall season stats: 5-12-1.

Brian allowed 4 goals on the 12 shots he saw (within the first period and half of the second). He was pulled a little less then halfway through the second, and Jordan took his place. You have never seen three girls cheer so loudly. I want to like our new goaltender; I really do. However, when he has me wishing that Andy Raycroft was back down on a conditioning assignment, well, then, there are problems.

Jordan didn't fare much better against the Monarchs, though from past experiences at the V, once the crowd gets fired up and once the team gets on a roll, they bring new meaning to the term "home ice advantage." (Except in the playoffs. [Ooooh, BURN! It's funny because it's true.]) Whether Brian had stayed in net or not, it was not going to be a pretty 30 remaining minutes of hockey. Manchester scored two more goals on Jordan, going on to win the game 6-3. (Jordan saw 13 shots, made 11 saves, and played 31:19. Brian saw 12 shots, made 8 saves, and played 28:28.)

Providence saw goals from David Lundbohm, Ben Guite, and Pascal Pelletier. Assists came from Tyler Redenbach, Mike Schutte, Jason MacDonald, and Mark Stuart (Pascal's goal was unassisted). Manchester saw goals from the usual crew- Connor James, Matty Ryan (2), Petr Kanko, Brendan Bernakevitch, and Jeff Tambellini.

Providence was 1 for 5 on the power play, and held Manchester to nothing for three power plays. All three stars were from Manchester- Matt Ryan, Petr Kanko, and Brad Smyth.

It was not a very fun game to be at for us, mostly because it was just ugly, and I would not have wanted to be on the bus ride back to Providence. I wasn't, though, and Rachel, Jess, and I headed back to my place where we proceeded to laugh ourselves silly until 5am. When we finally woke up, we were snowed in, so we proved once again to ourselves that you can a) talk hockey all day long and never tire of it, b) can actually do nothing more then watch television all day long, leaving a prone position only for food or drink, c) you can laugh so hard that your jaw starts to hurt and you are crying, and d) Mtv DID play entire music videos once, because I have several on tape. So they're mostly Limp Bizkit, so what? The point is, Mtv DID play music once.

Boston returned Eric Nickulas to Providence at the start of the break. From pBruins.com:

Providence Bruins right wing Jason MacDonald and defensemen Jonathan Sigalet and Mark Stuart will be at Smokey Bones Barbeque & Grill in the Providence Place Mall on Tuesday, February 14 for the second "Tip-A-Bruin" of the season. The event will run from 6:30p.m. to 8:30p.m. and is open to the public.

Providence Bruins defenseman Scott Ford and goaltender Jordan Sigalet will be skating and signing autographs as part of an open skate at the Sovereign Bank Family Skating Center on February 15th from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The admission fee is $5. If you need skate rentals the combined fee is $8. A slice of pizza and hot chocolate is included in the admission fee. No hockey sticks will be allowed on the ice during the skate. The Skating Center is located on America's Cup Avenue in downtown Newport. This event is open to the public.

Heather | 12:41 PM | 1
filed under: game-related || p. bruins