"I don't think we played that well," Comrie said after practice Thursday morning. "You have to compete every night, and Ted wants our line to be competitive every time we get on the ice ... Our line struggled a little bit. We can't lose focus because it was one game where we didn't play as well as we should have. We've played pretty well as of late, and we've just got to get back to making plays and keeping things simple. We won't worry about the score. We'll worry about our work ethic."
"Yeah, we took a little break," captain Guerin said of the benching Thursday. "Our line was awful. We generated nothing, and we were on the ice for two goals. Everybody is subject to that. It's going to happen to everybody at least once during the year. Ted doesn't have to say anything. Actions speak louder than words.
Newsday: Greg Logan's Thanksgiving day blog is a full update on what's going on with Freddy Meyer.
“It was an interesting month to say the least,” Meyer said of his time away from the Islanders. “I’ve never experienced anything like that before, but I’ve come to learn it’s part of this business. I’m not the first guy to get bounced around to a few teams in a short period of time. You’ve just got to take it in stride.
“I got the phone call from my agent that I was heading back east. I spoke to Snowy while I was at the airport, and he said, ‘Welcome home.’ It’s been good.”
NYI Fan Central Comments:
About time Logan got a comment from Meyer. Not many players are placed on waivers, go to another conference, then the AHL, then are reclaimed and we do not even know where they practice.
Boston Herald: Rich Thompson previews Islanders-Boston home/home, reports Tim Thomas will be back in goal and defenseman Matt Hunwick from Providence was recalled.
Newsday: Neil Best has an article on the NHL network and how it relates to the Islanders, a local radio show on the club, and some games on Chinese radio that was posted here a while back. He also reported on Billy Jaffe becoming a father and told our fans who cannot find the games to go to nyoverflow.com.
InsideCollegeHockey.com: Jess Myers has an update on Kyle Okposo even though the Gophers as a team are struggling.
"I'm back," Okposo said after last Saturday's 4-2 Gopher loss to Alaska Anchorage. Okposo's face displayed a shy smile that betrayed his dislike for talking about individual accomplishments after a team loss. "I think I'm starting to play well. I feel like I've got a pep in my step and I'm starting to play like the player of old."
"We've got to start bumping guys, being more physical and just getting a little jam to our game," Okposo said. "We've got to be making plays, making short passes, making the right plays at the right times. We do that a lot. We do that at many points in the game, but there are some points where we don't do those things, and it comes back to haunt us."
Washington Times: Corey Masisak on Thursday reported on the Capitals firing coach Glen Hanlon and replacing him with AHL coach Bruce Boudreau.
NYI Fan Central Comments:
Considering how well they played with injuries to open the season it's surprising the Caps struggled this badly with the improvements they made last summer to a hard working roster already. Semin being out was a problem but the hard working edge that was their trade mark the last few seasons seemed to be missing for far too long and this was a change I thought was a week away at best. Atlanta is back at five hundred and playing well even though I though the wrong person was fired.
Hanlon had a very long run in Washington, his teams did not win but worked very hard for him. I wonder how much blame Poti and Kozlov share in this. Personally I would have fired George McPhee because he brought in the players. Poti had a terrible turnover recently in a one goal loss.
Ct Post: Michael Fornabaio's Friday article is on the Sound Tigers record when they fail to hit the three goal mark in games.
Ct Post: Michael Fornabaio had two blog updates, one on the Sound Tigers being in last (seventh place) but with many games in hand and only a few points out of second and how they have responded in the past when at the bottom of the standings.
It is frustrating," centerman Ben Walter said. "Everyone's working hard, playing hard, drawing penalties. We go out on the power play, and we're not putting the puck in the net. "The guys who are counted on for scoring, myself included, have to get the job done."
"We had a few of those," Capuano said. The puck just wouldn't go in, though the Sound Tigers generated chances with help from their young defensemen. Andrew MacDonald and Dustin Kohn — a late addition when Drew Fata went down with back spasms — joined the rush and protected their defensive end as well. "They did the job. They played well," Capuano said. "Their gaps were good. They played really well."
Hartford Wolf Pack at Bridgeport Sound Tigers
WHEN — Tonight, 7:30
WHERE — Arena at Harbor Yard
ON THE AIR — No radio; Webcast and B2 Networks Internet pay-per-view at www.soundtigers.com
NYI Fan Central Comments:
If I'm in Howard Saffin or Garth Snow's spot here, I'm watching the Sound Tigers three games this weekened very close.
It's time for this group to step up or some pressure should be on head coach Jack Capuano's status. This team has not have major injuries, the top prospects have not been called up beyond Ben Walter and for the most part have played with a roster surplus that Greg Cronin, Dave Baseggio and Steve Stirling did not have as they played games shorthanded in the past at times. First place is basically over for the season considering the Phantom's record.
This roster on paper should be much better than what it has shown to this point and they are not responding. It's great Hershey's goalie had to be their best player on Wednesday and sometimes a goalie does steal a game but the Sound Tigers have had a few very bad trends this season that seem to indicate a problem that speaks to the coaching.