Islanders Double-up Thunderbirds, 4-2
March 8, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Bridgeport Islanders News Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The Bridgeport Islanders (19-29-6-1), American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders, won their third straight game with a 4-2 victory over the Springfield Thunderbirds (25-25-3-2) at MassMutual Center on Friday.
Rick Kowalsky became the 26th AHL head coach to win 300 career games, leading the Islanders to their fifth straight victory against Springfield and their season-best third consecutive win on the road.
William Dufour, Tyce Thompson, Grant Hutton and Matt Maggio all scored, while Ken Appleby (7-8-0) made 18 saves. Hutton's shorthanded goal at 3:16 of the third period proved to be the difference and Maggio's empty-net tally pushed his goal streak to three consecutive games.
With the win, the Islanders moved to within 10 points of the Thunderbirds for a playoff spot in the Atlantic Division with 17 games remaining. Bridgeport closed to within eight points of the seventh-place Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Dufour opened the scoring just 3:42 into the first period when he slammed home Karson Kuhlman's cross-crease pass for his 12th goal of the season. On the backhand, Kuhlman curled behind the Thunderbirds' net and directed a pass through the blue paint that Dufour drilled home past the stick of goaltender Vadim Zherenko (11-8-1). Dufour is now on a three-game point streak (two goals, one assist).
Thompson made it 2-0 at the 11:15 mark with his second goal in the last five games. Thompson powered his way through the left circle and forced a path to the crease before he muscled a forehand shot past Zherenko's blocker at even strength. Both of Thompson's goals this season have come against Springfield.
The Islanders outshot Springfield 12-3 in the first period and 18-9 in the second, but allowed a goal early in the middle frame and found themselves narrowly ahead, 2-1, after 40 minutes. Joseph Duszak polished off a 2-on-1 rush alongside Mitchell Hoelscher at the 2:24 mark for his sixth goal of the season.
Bridgeport scored twice on nine shots in the third period to solidify the victory, both via special teams. Hutton recorded a terrific shorthanded goal just 3:16 in following Daylan Kuefler's instigating minor that occurred in conjunction with a fight between Kuefler and Hunter Skinner. Hutton skated to the slot, reached back to side-step an oncoming Thunderbird, and sniped a wrist shot into the top right corner. It was his second goal of the season and first shorthanded, assisted by Kuhlman.
Zach Dean deflected Ryan Suzuki's tough-angle, left-corner shot past Appleby 49 seconds later to keep Springfield within striking distance, but the Islanders were rock-solid from there on out. Maggio collected his 13th goal of the season and third in the last three games with less than 55 seconds remaining, an empty-net, power-play tally assisted by Brian Pinho and Ruslan Iskhakov.
The Islanders went 1-for-3 on the power play and 1-for-1 on the penalty kill. They finished their 12-game series against the Thunderbirds with a record of 8-2-2-0.
Next Time Out: The Islanders host the Hartford Wolf Pack for the final time this season, squaring off inside Total Mortgage Arena tomorrow night at 7 p.m. The first 2,500 fans will receive a collectors-edition Storm bobblehead when doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets to the pre-game "Hockey & Hops" event are officially sold out! Great seats for the game remain available or by visiting the Yale New Haven Health Box Office (600 Main Street in Bridgeport).
All of the action 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.
American Hockey League Stories from March 8, 2024
- Metsa, Murray Power Amerks To Overtime Win Over Crunch - Rochester Americans
- Brett Berard Notches First Career Hat Trick as Wolf Pack Beat Bruins 7-4 - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Romanov Makes 41 Saves in Barracuda Win - San Jose Barracuda
- Griffins Extend Home Point Streak to 14 Games in Shootout Loss to Chicago - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Andonovski Stuns Phantoms Late, Gives Pens 3-2 Win - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Islanders Double-up Thunderbirds, 4-2 - Bridgeport Islanders
- Anaheim Ducks Reassign Glenn Gawdin and Pavol Regenda to San Diego - San Diego Gulls
- Comets Gain Point in Shootout Loss to Marlies, 7-6 - Utica Comets
- Kowalsky Becomes 26th Member of the American Hockey League's 300-Wins Club - Bridgeport Islanders
- Barracuda Edge Stars in Cedar Park - Texas Stars
- Wolves Tip Griffins 2-1 in a Shootout - Chicago Wolves
- Monsters Stalled in 4-1 Loss to Rocket - Cleveland Monsters
- Isles Withstand Late T-Birds' Push - Springfield Thunderbirds
- Brown Scores Twice, P-Bruins Defeated by Wolf Pack - Providence Bruins
- Pens Spoil Gardner's Milestone Night - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Bears Drop Weekend Opener to Checkers, 5-3 - Hershey Bears
- Crunch Fall to Amerks, 4-3, in Overtime - Syracuse Crunch
- Penguins Sign Jaxon Castor to PTO - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Blue Jackets Recall Forward Trey Fix-Wolansky from Monsters - Cleveland Monsters
- Rangers Assign Forward Adam Edström to Wolf Pack, Forward Cameron Hillis Released from PTO - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Tampa Bay Lightning Reassign Defensemen Max Crozier, Emil Lilleberg to Syracuse Crunch - Syracuse Crunch
- Morning Skate Report: March 8, 2024 - Henderson Silver Knights
- San Diego Gulls Recall Kyle Crnkovic from Tulsa - San Diego Gulls
- Panthers Acquire Magnus Hellberg in Exchange for Ludovic Waeber - Charlotte Checkers
- Allison to Nashville for Gurianov - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Blue Jackets Assign Defenseman Jakub Zboril to Monsters - Cleveland Monsters
- Radim Simek Assigned to Grand Rapids - Grand Rapids Griffins
- IceHogs Send Marcel and Perrott to Indy - Rockford IceHogs
- Rangers Trade F Turner Elson to Minnesota Wild in Exchange for F Nic Petan - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Panthers Deal Calle Sjalin to Buffalo in Trade for Kyle Okposo - Charlotte Checkers
- Checkers Acquire Mitch Vande Sompel from Chicago - Charlotte Checkers
- Game Preview: Condors v Eagles, 7 p.m. - Bakersfield Condors
- Capitals Acquire 2025 Third-Round Pick from Carolina for Evgeny Kuznetsov - Hershey Bears
- Blue Jackets Assign Goaltender Malcolm Subban to Monsters - Cleveland Monsters
- Blues & Blue Jackets Complete Trade - Springfield Thunderbirds
- Wolf Pack Host Bruins in Key Atlantic Division Tilt - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Game Preview: Bears at Checkers, 7 p.m. - Hershey Bears
- Syracuse Crunch Loan Goaltender Brandon Halverson to Orlando Solar Bears - Syracuse Crunch
- Bridgeport Islanders Rematch Thunderbirds at 7:05 p.m. - Bridgeport Islanders
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