By Kimberly Mueller

The Manchester Monarchs and Bridgeport Sound Tigers face-off on Saturday night at the Webster Bank Arena with a lot of familiar faces on both sides of the ice.  In the off-season, the Monarchs signed Sean Backman who spent the previous two seasons with the Sound Tigers.  In return, Bridgeport inked enforcer Justin Johnson who called Manchester home for the last three seasons.  Sound Tigers’ Head Coach Scott Pellerin also served as Monarchs Head Coach Mark Morris’ assistant for six seasons before being named Bridgeport’s bench boss in 2012.

Saturday’s game will be Backman’s first time back in Bridgeport.

“It’ll be fun,” explained Backman.  “I played in Bridgeport for two years so going back and playing there, seeing some of my old teammates there; it’ll be a fun night.  You spend a lot of time with those guys in years past so being able to play against them now is obviously a little different, maybe a little strange, but I think it’ll be fun.”

The Sound Tigers have been a challenging team for the Monarchs and seems to have become quite the rival.

“I think Scott’s done a great job with his team,” said Coach Morris.  “Last year, they were a tough team to play.  I can’t really recall, it was close in the series maybe they had one more win than us, or one way or the other, but he’s done a nice job with that team.  They’ve got some guys that have moved on to the (New York) Islanders so he’s going to have a new crop of players to break in and you know we always expect that they’re going to be a real tough opponent.  Bridgeport’s a tough place to play as well.  Sometimes the ice conditions aren’t quite ideal so we’ve got to make sure we continually manage the puck properly in order to have success in that building and we’ve got to come ready to play cause Scott will have them ready to go.”

Johnson (JJ) was a key member of the Monarchs squad both on and off the season over the last three seasons.  He instantly became a fan favorite with his one-two, knock-out punches of his opponents and his gentle, caring and compassion for the city of Manchester and the community.  Johnson is in the Monarchs history books as he’s ranked ninth all-time with 392 penalty minutes.

“JJ’s a great guy; a great person,” said Coach Morris.  “I don’t imagine he’ll be getting too silly.  He understands what his role is for them.  We really don’t have that same type of heavy weight guy on our team and if he’s going to go out and try to intimidate, I think we know him well enough that we’ll keep him on the ice and make him play some hockey too.  I’m happy for him that he’s landed back in the American Hockey League and I know he deserves a lot of credit for bringing along a lot of these young guys that we have.  I have a soft spot in my heart for JJ; he’s a good person, certainly a good teammate and I’m sure he’ll bring a lot to the Bridgeport team.”

Left wing Tanner Pearson played with Johnson during the 2012-13 season and looks forward to being reunited with his former teammate.

“JJ’s a great guy,” said Pearson.  “He’s a tough cookie, that’s for sure, but it’s going to be a lot of fun seeing him on the ice and I may have a bit of fun with him.”

One player on the Monarchs roster that will likely have the biggest adjustment to having Johnson as his opponent is his former roommate Brandon Kozun.

“It’s going to be weird,” explained Kozun.  “Usually, he’s the one protecting me and he’s going to be on the other side coming against me, so it’s definitely going to be a different sight but on the other hand, I’m happy for him.  He’s doing well and I wish him all the best.

“Like I said, it’s going to be different, but it’s part of the game.  Once you get on the ice, there’s no friends.”