Sound Tigers Edged by Devils 1-0
Mar 1, 2020
The Bridgeport Islanders (20-32-5-2), American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders, completed a three-in-three series on Sunday with a 1-0 loss to the Binghamton Devils (30-24-4-0) at Webster Bank Arena.
Devils goaltender Zane McIntyre stopped all 36 shots he faced in his Binghamton debut after he was acquired by the New Jersey Devils (from Vancouver) prior to the NHL trade deadline last Monday. It was his first shutout of the season, while another Devils newcomer, Janne Kuokkanen, scored the night’s only goal on a five-on-three power play in the second period. Kuokkanen was traded to New Jersey (from Carolina) on Monday as well.
Sunday’s game was the fifth time this season the Sound Tigers have been blanked. It also ended the two-game season series, with Binghamton winning both matchups. Christopher Gibson (7-8-5) made 27 saves in the setback.
BOX SCORE
Both goaltenders were strong all night, but especially in the first 20 minutes, with each stopping eight shots. Bridgeport had two power-play opportunities in the first frame that came up short and Jeff Kubiak rang a shot off of the post.
In the second, Kieffer Bellows was called for holding at 7:27 and Robert Carpenter aired a clearing attempt into the stands for a delay of game penalty nearly 10 seconds later. The Devils took advantage for the game’s only goal at the 9:04 mark when Kuokkanen settled Chris Connor’s pass and fired home his 14th goal of the season on a wrist shot below the hash marks.
McIntyre kept the visitors out front with several highly-athletic saves the rest of the way, including a lateral stop on Ryan Bourque’s rebound chance following Colin McDonald’s blast off the pads. The Sound Tigers outshot Binghamton 28-20 in the final two periods, but failed to tie the game.
Bridgeport went 0-for-4 on the power play and 3-for-4 on the kill. Nick Schilkey had a team-high five shots-on-goal for the Sound Tigers in front of 4,133 fans.
Bridgeport outshot Binghamton 36-28 overall.
Next Time Out: The Sound Tigers open their second straight three-in-three on Friday with a 7:05 p.m. matchup against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at PPL Center in Allentown, Penn. Fans can follow all of the live action via the Sound Tigers Radio Network and AHLTV, beginning with the pre-game show at 6:45 p.m.