Gibson outstanding but Sound Tigers fall
December 20, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Bridgeport Islanders News Release
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - The Bridgeport Sound Tigers looked for revenge against the Portland Pirates but were shutout 3-0 on Sunday night at Webster Bank Arena.
A late period goal and two empty netters sealed the loss for the Sound Tigers. Third star of the game Christopher Gibson made 32 saves in the defeat while Bridgeport only notched 23 shots on goal.
Portland dominated the beginning of play not allowing Bridgeport a shot on goal in the first 10 minutes. At 10:44, Matt Carkner received the first shot with a slapper but Pirates goaltender Mike McKenna made a pad save.
Things got a little scrappy at 12:54 when a few punches were thrown by both teams. Justin Vaive received the sole penalty, which was for boarding. Portland got a few solid opportunities but Gibson came up big and kept the game scoreless.
Portland thought they took the lead with a little less than five minutes to go in the first and started celebrating but Gibson found the puck right in front of the goal line.
The uneventful period concluded while the Sound Tigers notched only four shots on goal.
Jesse Graham took a trip to the sin bin for crosschecking at 7:34 of the second period and the Sound Tigers defensive unit was strong. Although the penalty kill was mostly in the Sound Tigers' zone, they allowed no shots on the net.
At 16:23 into the second Tony Turgeon was called for charging. The highlight of the power play was a powerful slap shot from Jesse Graham from the top of the left circle that was just wide.
The period ended just like the first one, scoreless. The Pirates led in shots 23-10.
Portland almost took the lead when Garrett Wilson had a 2-on-1 opportunity but Gibson made a spectacular save on the odd man rush.
Joe Whitney deked through traffic and Collberg tried to tip the puck in for the first goal of the night, but failed. Seconds after Brent Regner took a trip to the box for holding and the Sound Tigers returned to the power play at 5:24. Scott Mayfield had an opportunity but his shot was blocked.
Justin Florek took a tripping penalty with just over five minutes left in the third. Portland finally found their opportunity when Mackenzie Weegar, who was positioned right between the two faceoff circles, released a slap shot top shelf just below the crossbar. Assists were awarded to Shane Harper and Brent Regner.
A few minutes later Bridgeport pulled Gibson, which proved to be trouble. With just over a minute to go, Wayne Simpson went on a breakaway and scored an empty netter.
Just a few seconds later, Wilson scored an empty netter of his own and no further scoring was needed. Mike McKenna received his first shutout of the season with just 23 saves.
The Sound Tigers will look to break their losing streak when they take a trip to Lehigh Valley to take on the Phantoms on Saturday. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
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