A Saturday meeting between a pair of American Hockey League foes featured two line brawls, a combined 50 penalties, 248 penalty minutes, and two coaches ejected for their roles.
The Albany Devils closed out their regular season schedule with a 3-0 win over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, with an explosive final minute of the second period accounting for 29 infractions.
The fireworks started at 19:16 of the second frame when a scrum escalated into a full-blown fracas after Sound Tigers’ Marc-Andre Cliche and Devils’ Paul Thompson squared off for a tilt. Everybody on the ice grabbed a dance partner and things got messy, with Albany head coach Rick Kowalsky and Bridgeport assistant Eric Boguniecki engaging in a heated exchange at the benches. Both were ejected.
Officials called the period with the remaining 25 seconds tacked onto the third frame. Cooler heads did not prevail.
A second line brawl began after Sound Tigers netminder Stephon Williams was bowled over by Devils’ Blake Pietila who was going hard to the net. Bridgeport defenceman Kevin Czuczman tangled with Pietila behind the net and Round 2 ensued.
Pietila was assessed a major penalty for charging the goaltender. In total, 14 misconducts, seven game misconducts, too many majors to count, and 194 penalty minutes were handed down between the two brawls.
How’s that for some Saturday night action in the AHL?
Bridgeport closes its season on Sunday versus the Providence Bruins.
