Hartford drops decision to Bridgeport
March 8, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Connecticut Whale News Release
Bridgeport, CT, March 8, 2009: Jon Sim and Jeremy Colliton had two goals and an assist apiece Sunday at the Arena at Harbor Yard, to lead the Bridgeport Sound Tigers to a 6-3 win over the Hartford Wolf Pack.
The loss was the first in regulation in 10 games (8-1-1-0) for the Wolf Pack (35-24-3-3, 76 points) and it dropped them back into a tie for first place in the Atlantic Division with the Providence Bruins, who won a 2-1 game in Rochester.
Trevor Smith also had a goal and an assist for Bridgeport, and Chris Lee contributed two assists. The Wolf Pack got goals from Tom Pyatt, Patrick Rissmiller and Mike Ouellette, and P.A. Parenteau had two assists.
The Bridgeport attack greeted Wolf Pack goaltender Miika Wiikman, back in the net after Matt Zaba had played the previous 10 games, with a power-play goal only 2:09 into the game, as Sim deflected in a center-point shot by Lee. The Wolf Pack tied it on a power play of their own at 13:06, on Pyatt's 15th goal of the season. Playing the right point on the man advantage, Pyatt snapped a shot through a screen set by Artem Anisimov, who obscured the view of Bridgeport netminder Peter Mannino.
The Sound Tiger power play struck again at 10:33 of the second period, as Colliton drove the middle, and fought off Bobby Sanguinetti's check, to deflect a pass by Sim past Wiikman. The play was started by an alert pass by Mannino, who heaved the puck up the left-wing side to Sim after stopping a long shot by Hartford's Jordan Owens. Bridgeport then got a big break for a fluke goal at 14:51, giving them a 3-1 lead. Jared Nightingale went behind the net to handle a dump-in by Andy Sertich, but had the puck poked away by Sim. The puck then deflected toward the front of the net, off Wiikman's right skate and into the net. Sim got credit for his second of the game, and fourth goal in three games since clearing waivers and being assigned to Bridgeport by the New York Islanders.
The Sound Tigers increased their lead to 5-1 with two goals in the first 3:31 of the third. Colliton got his second of the game at the 41-second mark, on a shot from the slot off a centering pass from Lee. Smith, Bridgeport's goal-scoring leader, then put a low shot past Wiikman at the 3:31 mark, for his 27th of the season.
The Wolf Pack battled back later in the period with two goals in a span of 35 seconds. They capitalized on a turnover at 12:02, with Parenteau feeding Rissmiller on a two-on-one. Ouellette then scored Hartford's 13th shorthanded goal of the season at 12:37, off of a two-on-one with Jordan Owens.
Tyler Haskins created the final margin with an empty-net goal at 19:47.
Mannino made 21 saves for his first victory in four tries against the Wolf Pack on the season (1-2-1). Wiikman allowed five goals on 27 shots. Bridgeport was 2/4 on the power play.
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