Bridgeport falls just short in final game of season
April 19, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Bridgeport Islanders News Release
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - Despite a valiant comeback attempt, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers fell to the Hartford Wolf Pack 2-1 Sunday afternoon in the Sound Tigers' season finale.
The game started out slowly, with neither team getting many chances. The best opportunity of the first period came with just over nine minutes remaining, as three consecutive Hartford players got shots on Bridgeport goaltender Kevin Poulin. The Sound Tigers netminder was up to the task, however, and kept the game scoreless.
The Sound Tigers had an excellent chance to score right after a penalty on Calder Brooks expired, as they had a 3-on-1, but were unable to beat Hartford goaltender Jeff Malcolm with the shot.
The Wolf Pack finally broke the tie at 16:34 of the second period thanks to a gaffe by a Sound Tiger forward. The player tried to clear the puck to the outside, but his attempt deflected off Hartford's Chris Mueller and into the net. The goal was Mueller's 14th of the season.
A bad bounce off the boards allowed the Wolf Pack to double their lead just 11 seconds later. Kevin Poulin tried to throw the puck along the glass behind his net, but it deflected right back at him and to the front of the cage. From there, Hartford's Ryan Potulny was able to fire the puck into the open mesh for his second goal of the season.
Stephon Williams took over for Poulin to start the third period. The goaltender had his hands full, being forced to make a number of stops early in the period, but he stood tall, keeping the deficit at a pair.
The Sound Tigers had a number of good chances early in the third period to cut the Wolf Pack's lead in half, but couldn't get anything going, despite a bunch of power play opportunities.
They finally broke Malcolm's shutout bid with just under seven minutes remaining in the game, thanks to an Alan Quine snapshot. The forward fired a rocket from the top of the slot, beating the Hartford goaltender to his low glove side. The goal was Quine's 23rd of the season.
The goal seemed to give the Sound Tigers the bulk of the momentum, as they kept the Wolf Pack hemmed in their own zone for a few minutes.
Bridgeport pulled Williams for an extra attacker with just under a minute remaining in the game, hoping for the equalizer. However, they were unable to complete the comeback, falling 2-1.
Poulin made 22 saves and Williams made nine saves in the loss, as Malcolm made 26 saves for the victory. Bridgeport went 0-for-2 on the power play, and Hartford went 0-for-3.
Notes: It was Fan Appreciation/First Responders Day, with the Sound Tigers honoring fans and first responders at the game...Quine's goal gave him three points in the last two games...Ness' 45 points place him sixth in the AHL for points scored by a defenseman.
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