| Hockey Heaven: Articles: Notebook: Team hoping to add defenseman Brismanis |
3.13.2000 Team hoping to add defenseman Brismanis Providence -- The P-Bruins are still searching for a veteran defenseman for the postseason. He could well turn out to be 6-foot-3, 210 pound Aris Brismanis, who has played for both the New York Islanders and Kansas City of the IHL this season. Providence is hoping the final details of the acquisition will be ironed out today. Brimanis, who will turn 28 tomorrow, has spent 4 1/2 years in the Philadelphia Flyers organization, mostly with Hershey Bears and the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL. A year ago, the Fredericton Canadiens acquired Brimaris late in the season. He played in eight regular-season games and in all 15 of the Canadiens' postseason games. Fredericton was eliminated by Providence in six games. Brimaris ended up with 13 points in his 15 games with Fredericton. Positive move for McCambridge This hasn't been the most productive season for Providence defenseman Keith McCambridge. In fact he didn't earn his first points (two assists) until this month. However, whenever McCambridge gets down on himself, he only has to think of what his life might have been like had his parents decided not to move from Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1969. ``They knew the situation over there wasn't the best, so my parents came to Canada,'' McCambridge said. ``Where my mom grew up was pretty rough. Right now I have a lot of my family living over there, a good Irish-Catholic family. My mom has a sister there, and I have an uncle, a Catholic priest, who lives in Liverpool.'' McCambridge last visited Northern Ireland five years ago. ``I never was around all the trouble, but you keep hearing about the problems going on and you wish things could be more peaceful,'' he said. ``When we go over there we see the nice countryside, but you also see and read firsthand about what's going on.'' McCambridge was born in the small Canadian town of Thompson, Manitoba (population 10,000) five years after his parents left Northern Ireland. Another Burns backer Count Providence leading scorer Peter Ferraro (17 goals 17 assists) among those who don't think Boston coach Pat Burns should be fired after this season. ``When I played for him (six games last year), he was a positive guy,'' Ferraro said. ``He always got the best out of his players. He was a lot like my father, who was always hard on myself and my brother (Chris), but it was always in a positive way . I don't agree that he's done a bad job. You have to remember all the good things he's done in the other years. You can't judge him on this season. That would be unfair.'' Here and there Providence center Marquis Mathieu sat out his ninth straight game because of post concussion syndrome. Also out with injuries were center Tim Lovell and defenseman Shane Belter . . . Mighty Ducks goaltender Ryan Hoople was in Providence's training camp last fall. Hoople was appearing in his 14th game for the Ducks last night and owned a 2.30 goals-against-average since being recalled from Huntington in the ECHL. He earned an assist on Cincinnati's final goal yesterday, an empty-netter . . . Following Providence's game last night, the Boston Bruins' alumni squad played an exhibition game against the CVS All-Stars. Playing for Boston were John Bucyk, Ken Hodge, John MacKenzie, Don Marcotte, Terry O'Reilly, and Andy Brickley. © 2000 The Providence Journal Company |