Recap: Checkers 7, Islanders 1
Mar 10, 2023The Bridgeport Islanders (26-23-7-1), American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders, fell to the Charlotte Checkers (33-20-3-2) in a 7-1 setback at Bojangles Coliseum on Friday.
Kyle MacLean recorded his seventh goal of the season at 13:18 of the first period, but the Checkers struck twice in the first, three times in the second, and scored two more goals in the third. Jakub Skarek (10-13-3) made 28 saves.
Thirteen different Checkers had a point in the contest including Calle Sjalin who tallied the opening goal at 8:10 of the first period. Sjalin closed in on the left side and deposited a rebound after Cameron Morrison turned and whipped a shot off Skarek’s pad from above the right circle.
MacLean answered just over five minutes later with the help of Ruslan Iskhakov and William Dufour. Iskhakov settled Dufour’s pass in the slot and dragged to the right hash marks, creating space for MacLean, who asked for the puck and ripped a shot stick side on Mack Guzda. MacLean and Iskhakov both have points in their last two games.
Charlotte scored each of the next six goals and improved to 3-1-0-1 against the Islanders this season. The game winner came less than a minute after MacLean’s tally, courtesy of Henry Bowlby at the 14:01 mark. Bowlby led all players with two goals on the night and was one of six Checkers with a multi-goal performance.
The Islanders went 0-for-2 on the power play and 6-for-7 on the penalty kill in a rough and rowdy game. It included 63 combined penalty minutes, 47 of which were accessed to Bridgeport. The Islanders were outshot 35-17.
Next Time Out: The Islanders and Checkers meet for the third time in four days and complete their six-game season series tomorrow night at 6 p.m. inside Bojangles Coliseum. Fans can watch all of the live action via AHLTV.com.