Recap: Americans 5, Islanders 4 (SO)
Apr 7, 2024
Matt Maggio scored his 16th goal of the season and Sam Asselin had two points (one goal, one assist) on Sunday, helping the Bridgeport Islanders (24-36-6-2), American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders, storm back from a 4-0 deficit to earn a point in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Rochester Americans (36-22-6-3) at Total Mortgage Arena.
Alex Jefferies and Dennis Cholowski also scored for the Islanders, while the contest marked Jeff Kubiak’s 400th professional game. Ken Appleby (10-10-2) turned aside 25 shots on the day.
Both meetings between the Islanders and Amerks went to overtime this season, with each team winning once.
BOX SCORE
Rochester’s offense came out strong, scoring three goals in the first 11:19 of the game. The Americans took the lead at the 4:06 mark with a goal from Michael Mersch, his second in as many days. The Rochester captain barreled down the left wing and fired a shot from below the circle, up and over Appleby’s shoulder from a tough angle. Zach Metsa and Mason Jobst recorded the assists.
Rochester extended its lead 6:25 later with Jobst’s 20th goal of the season. Anton Wahlberg found the former Bridgeport forward streaking in off the rush, who ripped a shot from the right circle, going five-hole on Appleby.
Just 48 seconds later, the Amerks built a 3-0 lead thanks to Graham Slaggert’s fifth goal of the season. Metsa threaded a seam pass over to Slaggert at the top of the left circle, who zipped a shot into the back of the net at 11:19.
The Amerks made it 4-0 just 43 seconds into the second period with a one-time blast from Jiri Kulich. An Islanders turnover in the defensive zone led to Isak Rosen retrieving the puck and zipping a pass to Kulich for his team-leading 22nd goal.
The Islanders refused to go down quietly, storming back with four consecutive goals of their own. Bridgeport’s first came 2:10 into the second period with a snipe from Jefferies. The Islanders rookie won a footrace and moved in on a partial breakaway, rifling a shot past Dustin Tokarski with two defensemen draped on his back. Carsen Twarynski picked up the assist.
Bridgeport cut its deficit to two goals 15:19 into the second period, with Asselin’s first goal since December 30th. William Dufour sparked a two-on-one for Bridgeport, sending a bouncing puck to Daylan Kuefler who swiped a pass to Asselin in the slot. Just eight seconds later, Maggio brought the Islanders within one with a goal for the second straight day. Ruslan Iskhakov broke into the zone before sending a pass over to Maggio, who ripped a shot past Tokarski from the bottom of the right circle.
The Islanders recorded the tying goal 11:40 into the third period with Cholowski’s seventh goal of the season and second against the Amerks. Asselin won the offensive zone face-off back to Cholowski at the left point, who fired a laser into the top right corner of the net, tying the game at 4-4.
Brandon Biro and Kulich each scored in the shootout for the Americans, securing the victory for Rochester. Maggio and Jefferies were both denied.
Bridgeport finished the game 0-for-4 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.
Next Time Out: The Islanders face the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at 7 p.m. on the road Friday night. The game can be seen live via AHLTV.com or heard for free through the Bridgeport Islanders Radio Network, beginning with the Connecticut Lottery Pregame Countdown at 6:45 p.m.