Reich proves key in latest P-Bruins victory
01:00 AM EST on Friday, November 7, 2008
NORTH SMITHFIELD Providence Bruins coach Rob Murray always knows exactly what hes going to get from Jeremy Reich.
Character and veteran leadership.
I dont even have to look for it, Murray said after practice yesterday. Thats the kind of player he is. Thats the kind of individual he is.
Reichs leadership qualities were on full display Saturday night in San Antonio.
A loss to the Rampage after earlier defeats in Chicago and Houston would have sent the P-Bruins home from their three-game road swing without a point.
Reich helped make sure that didnt happen.
First, he gave the P-Bruins an early lead by scoring his first two goals of the season in the first nine minutes. Later in the first, he fought with San Antonios Adam Keefe. Then he polished off his hat trick with a goal in the third period of a 5-1 Providence win.
All in a nights work for the 29-year-old left winger, who spent all of last season and the second half of 2006-07 in Boston.
You couldnt ask for more, Murray said of Reich.
Reich knows that hes looked to for leadership on a P-Bruins team thats loaded with first- and second-year pros. Ive been through it, said Reich, who is in his 10th season as a pro, so I can tell the guys what to expect, keep them mentally prepared.
And while he says hes not a rah-rah guy in the dressing room, he says, Ill talk and keep the boys loose and ready.
Murray said that in Chicago and Houston he noticed the P-Bruins getting away from a few of the things that have made us successful, especially on the forecheck.
After looking at some video clips, the P-Bruins showed up ready to roll on Saturday.
Early on, the P-Bruins kept the Rampage pinned in their end of the ice for a long stretch, and ran up a 14-6 shots-on-goal advantage in the first period.
The guys in general found losing unacceptable, and said Were going to put a stop to it right now, Murray said.
NOTES: Reich said his last hat trick probably came in 1999-2000 with Swift Current of the WHL. He said hes had some two-goal games as a pro, as well as a few Gordie Howe hat tricks (A goal, an assist, and a fight.) The P-Bruins have their first three-games-in-three-days weekend starting tonight. They host the Chicago Wolves tonight at 7, visit Albany tomorrow night, and host Philadelphia on Sunday at 4 p.m. Murray said he was unsure of his goaltending plans for the weekend. Vladimir Sobotka, sent down from Boston for the weekend, is going to get loads of ice time, Murray said. Murray was happy for former Providence captain and current New York Islander Nate Thompson, who scored his first NHL goal Tuesday night in Madison Square Garden. Murray said that Thompson had a lot to learn when he joined the P-Bruins at the tail end of the NHL lockout year in 2004-05. Over the next three seasons, Thompson improved steadily as players such as Patrice Bergeron, Jay Leach and Brendan Walsh showed him what it was to be a professional, Murray said. Before last season, there was no debate about whether Thompson would be captain. He had grown into that spot, Murray said. Hes the kind of guy who could have a very lengthy NHL career.
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