Recap: Thunderbirds 7, Islanders 6 (OT)
Oct 28, 2022The Bridgeport Islanders (4-1-1-0), American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders, scored at least five goals for the fourth straight game and extended their unbeaten in regulation streak to five, but suffered a 7-6 overtime loss to the Springfield Thunderbirds (3-3-0-0) at MassMutual Center on Friday.
Dennis Cholowski had three assists, and Andy Andreoff and Ruslan Iskhakov each scored once and added a helper, while Aatu Raty recorded two assists. The Islanders produced 40 shots on goal and scored three times in both the second and third periods.
Nikita Alexandrov notched a hat trick and four points for Springfield, while Martin Frk also had four points and scored the game-winning goal on the power play at 1:17 of overtime.
Alexandrov’s first of three goals opened the scoring at 14:19 of the first period, a power-play tally on a rebound following Matthew Highmore’s sharp wrist shot. Nathan Todd made it 2-0 just two and a half minutes later with a slap shot from the right circle that beat Jakub Skarek (1-1-1).
The Islanders couldn’t solve goaltender Joel Hofer (2-3-0) on 17 shots in the first period but produced three goals on 12 chances in the second. Iskhakov ripped a highlight-reel shot into the top right corner of the net at the 4:22 mark for his third goal of the season, which extended his point streak to a career-best five games. Hudson Fasching also pushed his point streak to five games with an assist in the third period.
Alexandrov’s second rebound goal of the night made it 3-1 at 4:37 of the middle frame, but Bridgeport answered with two goals in 53 seconds to tie the contest. Simon Holmstrom created a turnover and scored on a brilliant deke, shorthanded, at the 11:51 mark before Grant Hutton guided a long wrist shot past Hofer’s blocker at 12:44.
Alexandrov completed his hat trick at 18:28 of the period with another rebound conversion, this time off Matt Kessel’s drive from the slot.
Will Dufour, Erik Brown and Andy Andreoff all scored for the Islanders in the third, while Todd and Hugh McGing capitalized for Springfield. Brown tied the game at 5-5 in the final five minutes with a goal in his season debut, 63 seconds before Andreoff’s team-leading third power-play goal gave Bridgeport its first lead. The T-Birds answered with McGing’s second tally of the season to force overtime.
A one-time slap shot from Frk in the left circle ended the game.
Skarek made 31 saves on 38 chances, while Hofer had 34 stops. The Islanders finished the night 1-for-5 on the power play and 4-for-6 on the penalty kill.
The last time Bridgeport scored five or more goals in four straight games was Nov. 3, 2018 - Nov. 10, 2018.
Next Time Out: The Islanders finish a two-game road trip tomorrow night with a 7:05 p.m. matchup against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at PPL Center. The contest can be heard live online through the Bridgeport Islanders Radio Network, or seen via AHLTV, beginning with the pre-game show at 6:45 p.m.