Sound Tigers Face Hartford in Fourth Straight Tilt
Apr 17, 2021
The Bridgeport Islanders (3-13-1-0) return to the road this afternoon to face the Hartford Wolf Pack (10-6-1-0) for their fourth straight game and the third meeting in five days. Today's 1 p.m. matchup is the ninth of 12 games between the in-state rivals this season and the fourth of six inside the XL Center. Hartford leads the series 6-1-1-0 and has won each of the last five meetings. In addition, Hartford carries the AHL's longest active winning streak into today's tilt (seven games), while the Sound Tigers will try to snap a seven-game winless skid (0-6-1-0).
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LAST TIME OUT
Blade Jenkins earned his first professional goal to open the scoring at 12:32 of the first period on Thursday, but the Sound Tigers came up short in a 4-2 loss to the Wolf Pack at Webster Bank Arena. Jenkins’ first goal came on a rebound from the right circle after Ryan MacKinnon’s initial shot hit the body of defenseman Patrick Sieloff. It dropped at Jenkins’ feet and the 20-year-old rookie beat goaltender Adam Huska. Cole Bardreau also scored his team-leading seventh goal of the season, while Ken Appleby (1-2-0) made 21 saves.
VIEW FROM HARTFORD
The Wolf Pack are on a seven-game winning streak, which is their longest of the season and also the longest active win streak in the AHL. Head coach Kris Knoblauch's team defeated Bridgeport on Tuesday (5-4) and Thursday (4-2) this past week, and has now outscored opponents 22-9 in its last four games (36-15 on its current winning streak). Three players are on a scoring streak of at least five games (Ty Ronning, 7; Darren Raddysh, 7 and Morgan Barron, 5), while Barron leads the club with nine goals and 17 points in 17 games. Hartford's power play leads the AHL at 31.3% (20-for-64) and has scored at least twice in six of its last seven games.
STREAKING INTO SATURDAY
Kyle MacLean enters today's tilt on a career-best four-game point streak (one goal, three assists), which is tied for the longest scoring streak for the Sound Tigers this season. Tom Kuhnhackl also had points in four straight games from Mar. 15th to Mar. 31st. In addition to MacLean's point streak, he also has one assist in each of his last three games, which is the longest assist streak for the team this season. He's currently tied for fifth on the club in scoring (six points in 16 appearances) and tied for sixth in helpers (four).
QUIET STARTS
The Sound Tigers and their opponents have combined for just 15 first-period goals this season, fewest in the AHL by six. Bridgeport has scored four goals in the opening frame and has allowed 11. Hartford has the next highest total (14 goals for, seven goals against).
ADAMS AGREES TO TERMS
The Islanders announced Wednesday that forward Collin Adams has agreed to terms on a two-year, two-way contract beginning in 2021-22. The 22-year-old completed a four-year career at the University of North Dakota this past season, where he set career highs in goals (14), assists (20) and points (34) in 29 games. He ranked second on the Fighting Hawks in each of those categories and led all players on the team with a plus-22 rating. Adams helped North Dakota win the 2021 NCHC championship and was named to the NCHC All-Tournament Team. Adams was drafted by the Islanders in the sixth round (#170 overall) in 2016.
HEADING DOWN THE STRETCH
The Sound Tigers will have just six games left in their 2020-21 season following today’s action. Three of those contests will be against Hartford and the other three will take place against the Providence Bruins (14-4-1-0). Three will be at home and three will take place on the road.
QUICK HITS
Tom Kuhnhackl has points in six of his last eight games (two goals, four assists)... Ryan MacKinnon and Bobo Carpenter each earned their first assists of the season on Thursday, lending a hand in Blade Jenkins' first pro goal... Bridgeport’s four goals on Tuesday snapped a string of five straight games with two goals or less… Thursday's game was the fifth time in the Sound Tigers' last seven games that they've allowed at least four goals... Mike Cornell made his season debut on Tuesday, playing right wing with Carpenter and Erik Brown… Yanick Turcotte was loaned to the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL) and Brett Neumann was loaned to the Allen Americans (ECHL) on Tuesday.