Bridgeport Earns Win on Cancer Awareness Day
January 18, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Bridgeport Islanders News Release
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - The Bridgeport Sound Tigers came back with a vengeance on Sunday, beating the Syracuse Crunch 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at Webster Bank Arena.
Both teams got power play chances early in the game, with three penalties in the first seven minutes, but neither squad was able to capitalize.
The game got progressively more chippy from there, as both teams delivered a series of bone-jarring hits, including a particularly violent hit that left Bridgeport's Matt Lashoff face down on the ice for a couple of minutes.
The Sound Tigers' special teams would strike first in the game, taking advantage of a kneeing penalty on Syracuse's Kevin Lynch. Kael Mouillierat snapped a laser from the right dot past Syracuse netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy, putting Bridgeport up 1-0 on its fourth power play opportunity of the period.
After a strong defensive effort from both teams to start the second and a bevy of penalties from the two squads, the clicking Sound Tigers power play scored again, increasing Bridgeport's lead to a pair. Colin McDonald made a fine slap pass to Aaron Ness on the Syracuse doorstep, allowing the captain to tip the puck past Vasilevskiy for the score.
The second period ended with the Sound Tigers up two, but it could have easily been a three-goal game had Vasilevskiy not made an amazing spread-eagle save during a Bridgeport power play to keep the contest in reach.
Bridgeport was under siege for much of the third period, but Sound Tigers goaltender Kevin Poulin put on a clinic, stopping a number of great chances from the slot and keeping the lead at two.
The Crunch would end Poulin's shutout bid at 14:52 of the third period when Dalton Smith took a long shot that deflected off of a Bridgeport defenseman and into the mesh, but that was all that they would get. Poulin would deny a number of quality Syracuse chances with their net empty, preserving the victory and assuring a split of the back-to-back series.
The game ended in fisticuffs, as a big hit after the final buzzer resulted in a brawl between the division rivals. However, only Bridgeport's Brett Gallant would end up being penalized.
Poulin made 25 saves for the victory, and Vasilevskiy made 21 in the losing effort. Poulin had an excellent game, as many of his saves were from in close. Vasilevskiy also played very well, keeping the Crunch in the game whenever they were outplayed.
The Sound Tigers return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 21 when they visit the Albany Devils in Newark, N.J. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.
Notes: The Sound Tigers went 2-for-9 on the power play...It was Cancer Awareness Night, with a cancer survivor participating in the ceremonial puck drop...There were 18 penalties called on the night.
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