Bruins Stop Islanders, 6-3
January 26, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Bridgeport Islanders News Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Bridgeport Islanders (11-23-5-0), American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders, lost to the Providence Bruins (24-13-3-2) in a 6-3 final at Amica Mutual Pavilion on Friday.
Eetu Liukas, Matt Maggio and Cole Bardreau all scored, while Otto Koivula recorded a team-high two assists. Bardreau also had two points (one goal, one assist). Jakub Skarek (3-16-4) made 28 saves.
John Farinacci had two goals and Fabian Lysell collected four assists for the Bruins. Providence improved to 10-1-1-0 in its last 12 games and remains second in the Atlantic Division. The Bruins earned their fifth straight win at home.
Providence raced out to a 5-0 lead before the halfway mark of regulation, sparked by a pair of first-period goals from Farinacci and Frederic Brunet. The latter was Brunet's first professional goal that occurred at the 11:03 mark from between the circles.
Anthony Richard added a power-play goal just 1:19 into the second period. Justin Brazeau and Michael Callahan followed with insurance tallies 3:14 apart shortly after. Brazeau, who ended the night with the game-winning goal, an assist, and a career-high +4 rating, capitalized at 5:55 with the help of Georgii Merkulov and Lysell. Merkulov had three assists in the contest.
Liukas got the Islanders on the board at 18:21 of the second period when he staked to the crease and redirected Bardreau's shot form the right circle. It was Liukas' second AHL goal and first since his Nov. 19th tally against the Bruins.
Maggio made it 5-2 just 59 seconds into the third period with his first goal since Dec. 9th, and his fifth of the season. It came on the power play following Vincent Arseneau's charging penalty for running over Skarek late in the second, which led to a fight between Arseneau and Seth Helgeson. Maggio received Koivula's cross-ice pass and drilled home a one-time shot past Brandon Bussi (13-6-3).
Farinacci capped his first career two-goal performance with a power-play marker at 3:26, before Bardreau sailed a long wrist shot through Tyce Thompson's screen at 13:53.
The Islanders went 1-for-7 on the power play and 4-for-6 on the kill. The rough and rowdy tilt included two fights, 17 total penalties, and 46 penalty minutes.
Bridgeport outshot Providence 35-34, but fell to 1-7-1-0 in the season series.
Next Time Out: The Islanders return to Total Mortgage Arena for a 7 p.m. rematch against the Bruins tomorrow night, their third of three straight meetings. The game can be seen live on AHLTV.com or heard for free via the Bridgeport Islanders Radio Network, beginning with the Connecticut Lottery Pregame Countdown at 6:45 p.m.
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