Sound Tigers Drop Home Opener, 5-3
Feb 13, 2021The Bridgeport Islanders, American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders, grabbed an early lead and scored twice shorthanded in their home opener on Saturday, but fell to the Providence Bruins, 5-3, at Webster Bank Arena.
Bobo Carpenter, Cole Bardreau and Kyle MacLean each found the back of the net for Bridgeport (0-3-0-0), while the Bruins (2-1-0-0) scored three times in the third period and three times on the power play.
Carpenter opened the scoring just 2:38 into the contest with his second goal in as many games against the Bruins this season. Grant Hutton fired a long shot from the right point that Carpenter deflected past Jeremy Swayman for his second goal of the year. Samuel Bolduc also logged his first professional assist.
Cooper Zech tied the game on the Bruins’ first power-play, beating Jakub Skarek from the slot at 11:40 of the first period. Skarek knocked down the initial shot from between the circles, but the rebound trickled in behind him to tie the game at 1-1.
Bardreau put the Sound Tigers back in front at 7:14 of the second period with a shorthanded tally on a mental error from Swayman. The Providence goalie skated way out of his crease to clear the puck, but sent it right to Bardreau above the right circle and he scored his first goal of the season into an empty net. However, Robert Lantosi made it 2-2 less than three minutes later with a power-play goal at the 10:11 mark.
MacLean scored his first professional goal to give Bridgeport its third straight lead at 16:48 of the middle frame. On another Providence power play, MacLean and A.J. Greer started ahead on a 2-on-0 shorthanded rush and MacLean tapped home a cross-ice pass from the right post. He also notched his first professional fight just 22 seconds later, dropping the gloves with Alex-Olivier Voyer.
Jauko Lauko, Cameron Hughes and Joona Koppanen all earned third-period goals for the Bruins to push Providence to the win, including Lauko’s first goal of the season just 29 seconds into the frame. Lauko finished with a game-high three points (1g, 2a).
The Sound Tigers went 0-for-3 on the power play and 4-for-7 on the penalty kill. Swayman (2-0-0) made 17 saves for Providence, while Skarek (0-3-0) stopped 24 shots for Bridgeport.
Next Time Out: The Sound Tigers return to action on Wednesday with a 1 p.m. matchup against the Hartford Wolf Pack at Webster Bank. Fans can follow all of the live action via AHLTV or the Sound Tigers Radio Network, beginning with the pre-game show at 12:45 p.m.