Islanders Suffer Home Loss to Bears, 3-1

Bridgeport, CT – The Bridgeport Islanders returned to Total Mortgage Arena on Wednesday night after their first two road games of the season, eager to return to the winning column against the visiting Hershey Bears. Leaving the first period with a 1-0 advantage, the Islanders were unable to maintain their lead as Hershey scored three goals in the second period to win the Atlantic Division rivals’ first matchup of the season, 3-1. 

The opening frame featured back-and-forth action as the Islanders and Hershey traded quality chances, but both goaltenders stood tall to keep the game scoreless early. At 18:06 of the first, Cam Berg broke the ice, sniping home a beautiful feed from Calum Ritchie between the hashes for the game’s opening tally. The goal marked Berg’s second straight game lighting the lamp and the Islanders’ fourth consecutive contest striking first. 

Hershey responded just 2:38 into the middle frame, as Ilya Protas burst into the Bridgeport zone untouched and lifted a slick backhander past Parker Gahagen to even the score. The Bears grabbed the lead only 72 seconds later, when a net-front scramble left a loose puck for Ryan Chesley to bury his second of the season. 

Hershey capped off a dominant second period in the final minute, as Graeme Clarke took a feed at the top of the right circle and fired a power-play wrister over Gahagen’s glove, giving the Bears a 3-1 cushion heading into the third. 

The Islanders came out energized in the third period, outshooting Hershey 8-4 while consistently applying pressure on the Bears’ defense. However, Garin Bjorklund shut Bridgeport out in the final 20 as the Islanders dropped to 2-4-1-0 on the young campaign. 

Bridgeport hits the road for a Friday night matchup against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at 7:05 p.m., before returning home Sunday to face the Springfield Thunderbirds at 3:00 p.m. For ticket information, visit bridgeportislanders.com. 

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