Recap: Islanders 4, Checkers 3 (SO)
Mar 12, 2023Ruslan Iskhakov and William Dufour each scored in a three-round shootout to push the Bridgeport Islanders (27-23-7-1), American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders, to a 4-3 victory against the Charlotte Checkers (33-20-3-3) at Bojangles Coliseum on Saturday.
Paul Thompson, Andy Andreoff and Chris Terry scored in regulation, while Cory Schneider (17-7-3) made 35 saves for his 300th professional win between the NHL, AHL and NLA (Switzerland).
Bridgeport jumped out to an early 3-0 lead with three tallies in the first 20 minutes, beginning with Thompson’s seventh of the season just 5:08 in. Jimmy Lambert centered the puck from behind Charlotte’s net, and Thompson whipped a quick shot past goaltender Jean-Francois Berube to make it 1-0. Thompson also dropped the gloves with Anthony Bitetto at 12:01, finishing one assist shy of the Gordie Howe hat trick.
About 10 minutes later, Terry and Arnaud Durandeau teamed up to force a turnover at the Checkers’ blue line before Durandeau sent a pass to Andreoff near the left hash marks for his team-leading 25th goal of the season. It was also Andreoff’s fourth goal in the last six games. His 25 on the season are tied for sixth-most in the AHL.
Terry pushed the Islanders’ lead to three with his 18th goal of the season at the 19:27 mark. Just seconds after an interference penalty ended, Terry bolted from the box and moved in on a partial breakaway, beating Berube low, glove side. Jeff Kubiak and Cole Bardreau had the assists.
Following a scoreless second, the Checkers stormed back with three goals in the third period to force overtime. Zac Dalpe netted two goals and former Bridgeport forward Cory Conacher notched his first goal with Charlotte, which came on the power play at 12:16.
The Checkers outshot the Islanders 5-2 in the five-minute overtime session, but Schneider was magnificent. He ended the night with two saves on two shots in the shootout.
The Islanders went 0-for-4 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill. Bridgeport ended its six-game season series with the Checkers 3-3-0-0.
Next Time Out: The Islanders complete their four-game road trip on Wednesday with a 7 p.m. matchup against the Hartford Wolf Pack at XL Center. Fans can watch all of the live action via AHLTV.com.