Bridgeport falls on Pucks & Paws Night
April 11, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Bridgeport Islanders News Release
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - The Bridgeport Sound Tigers made a valiant comeback effort in the third period, but fell to the Manchester Monarchs 5-3 on Saturday night at Webster Bank Arena.
Colin Miller got the Monarchs on the board with 10:48 remaining in the 1st period. Nick Dowd won an offensive zone faceoff back to Miller, and the defenseman rifled a wrist shot past Bridgeport goaltender Stephon Williams' blocker for his 18th goal of the season, tying him for the league lead in goals for defensemen.
Manchester's Nick Ebert doubled the Monarchs' lead at 15:34 off of a nice feed from Zach O'Brien. O'Brien passed the puck to a streaking Ebert, who was able to fire a shot off of Williams' shoulder and into the mesh for his eighth goal of the season.
Bridgeport captain Aaron Ness nearly cut the lead in half just under a minute into the second period, but Manchester goaltender Jean-Francois Berube was able to absorb the shot and make the save. Colton Gillies also had an excellent chance to score from in close just a few minutes later, but he was also denied.
Manchester's Andrew Crescenzi increased the Sound Tigers' deficit to three with a power-play goal at 14:10 of the second period. Crescenzi picked up a loose rebound in front of the net and was able to slip it past Williams before the Bridgeport goaltender could react. The goal was Crescenzi's sixth of the season.
The second period was a fight-filled affair, as three scraps broke out in nine seconds. This seemed to set the tone for the rest of the game, as both teams delivered bone-crushing hits to each other for the duration.
Bridgeport's Griffin Reinhart cut the Sound Tigers' deficit to two with just over 11 minutes remaining in the game. His one-time slap shot - the result of a fine feed from Dustin Jeffrey - beat Berube glove-side for Reinhart's seventh goal of the season.
Alan Quine reduced the Monarchs' lead to one with 7:12 left in the third period. Berube was unable to handle a Ness shot and Quine was able to clean up the garbage at the doorstep, shoveling the puck into the net for his 22nd of the season. The Sound Tigers seemed to gain momentum from this, pressing their advantage.
However, the momentum the Sound Tigers had was lost when O'Brien scored his 14th goal of the season just over two minutes later. The forward fired a shot through a screen and past Williams at 14:29 of the third period, seemingly putting the game away.
Bridgeport showed they wouldn't go down without a fight however, as they once again brought the lead down to one. Kael Mouillierat fired a shot at the cage, which deflected off Berube's shoulder and into the mesh, giving Mouillierat his 23rd goal of the season.
Bridgeport pulled Williams for an extra skater with about 1:30 remaining in the contest, but Crescenzi was able to score an empty-net goal, finally putting the game out of reach for good.
Williams made 30 saves in the loss, and Berube made 25 saves for the win. Bridgeport went 1-for-2 on the power play, and Manchester went 1-for-4.
The Sound Tigers return to action Sunday afternoon, when they play Monarchs for a second straight game. Puck drop is set for 3:00 p.m.
Notes: It was Pucks & Paws Night at the game, with attendees bringing dogs to the Arena...The game was a fight-filled affair, with each team receiving four total fighting majors...Jeffrey's two assists give him 62 total points, moving him into sixth place for points scored in the AHL...Ness scored multiple points in a game for the 10th time this season...Ness is on a four-game point streak, wi th five points in his last four games.
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