Preview: Islanders Bid Farewell to 2023
Dec 30, 2023
THE STORY COMING IN
The Bridgeport Islanders (9-17-2-0) bid farewell to 2023 with a 6 p.m. puck drop against the Hartford Wolf Pack (15-7-5-0) at XL Center tonight. It’s the third of 10 meetings between the in-state rivals and the second of five games in Hartford. The series is knotted at 1-1-0-0 following Bridgeport’s 5-4 win just eight days ago. William Dufour scored twice in the first period and Cole Bardreau punched home the difference maker in the final eight minutes of regulation that evening.
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ABOUT LAST NIGHT
Ruslan Iskhakov cruised in on a breakaway and scored an incredible between-the-legs, overtime-winning goal last night, lifting the Islanders to a 6-5 win against the Springfield Thunderbirds on the road. Otto Koivula helped set up the highlight-reel tally, one of a career-high four assists on the night, which tied a franchise record. William Dufour scored twice for the fourth time in his pro career, while Dennis Cholowski had three points. Grant Hutton added two points in his first game with Bridgeport since Nov. 22nd. Henrik Tikkanen (1-0-0) made 29 saves to earn the win in his AHL debut.
VIEW FROM HARTFORD
The Wolf Pack sat idle last night after a 3-1 setback in Springfield on Wednesday. Because they didn’t play, Hartford fell back to fourth place in the Atlantic Division standings, tied with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and just one point behind both Providence and Springfield. The Wolf Pack are led offensively by Alex Belzile with 26 points in 27 games (11 goals, 15 assists). He has three goals in his last three games.
FOLLOW THE LEADER
Ruslan Iskhakov recorded his team-leading eighth multi-point game of the season last night and added to his totals in several other categories. Iskhakov earned an assist for the fourth straight game and carries his longest scoring streak of the season into tonight’s contest. No one has had a longer points streak for Bridgeport this season. The 22-year-old forward leads the Islanders in goals (9), assists (14), points (23), shots (71) and game-winning goals (3), and has six points in his last four contests (two goals, four assists).
KOIVULA’S FOUR-POINT NIGHT
Otto Koivula was named the AHL’s Third Star of the Night after recording a career-high four points, four assists. He tied a franchise record for most assists in a single game, and it was the second time that’s happened this season after Brian Pinho had four assists in Rochester on Oct. 13th. Koivula moved into second place on Bridgeport’s all-time scoring list with 165 career points and improved to third place all-time in assists (103). He has eight points (two goals, six assists) in his last five games.
STREAKING INTO SATURDAY
Cole Bardreau scored his fourth goal of the season during his 200th game with Bridgeport last night. It extended his points streak to a season-high four games (two goals, two assists), tied with Iskhakov for the longest active streak. In addition, Dennis Cholowski scored a goal for the second straight game last night, while Robin Salo and Brian Pinho each had an assist for the second straight game.
QUICK HITS
Bridgeport’s six goals last night marked a new season high... The Islanders have scored at least three goals in five straight games... Bridgeport scored twice on the power play for the third time this season and William Dufour now leads the team with three power-play goals... Dufour has five goals and seven points in his last five games.
AFFILIATES
New York Islanders (17-9-9): Last: 5-1 W vs. Washington, last night -- Next: Tomorrow at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m. ET
Worcester Railers (12-11-2-2): Last: 5-0 W at Reading, last night -- Next: Tonight at Reading, 7 p.m. ET