Islanders Open 2021-22 Season Tonight
October 15, 2021 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Bridgeport Islanders News Release
The Bridgeport Islanders open their 21st season in the American Hockey League tonight, facing off against the Hartford Wolf Pack at the XL Center. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. The Islanders begin the regular season with four consecutive road games, including a three-in-three this weekend with stops in Hartford, Providence, and Springfield. Bridgeport will look to build on a strong finish to the 2020-21 season when the team earned points in six of its last seven games (5-1-1-0).
LISTEN ON RADIO: www.bit.ly/IslesRadio
WATCH LIVE: www.watchtheahl.com
ISLES VS. WOLF PACK
Tonight's tilt is the first of 10 meetings between the Islanders and Wolf Pack this season, and the first of five in Hartford. Bridgeport faced its in-state rival 12 times during last year's truncated schedule, going 4-7-1-0 overall and 2-3-0-0 at the XL Center.
VIEW FROM HARTFORD
Led by head coach Kris Knoblauch, the Wolf Pack finished second in the Atlantic Division last season, five points behind Providence. Tim Gettinger (9g, 10a), Ty Ronning (10g, 8a) and Jonny Brodzinski (6g, 11a) are among the returning players who finished in the top four in scoring in 2020-21, while Hartford added former Islanders forward Tanner Fritz over the offseason. Fritz is 10th on Bridgeport's all-time scoring list with 135 points (46g, 89a) in 198 career games.
SEASON-OPENING ROSTER
Bridgeport's opening night roster consists of 26 players: 16 forwards, eight defensemen and two goaltenders. Only one player is looking to make his true pro debut (Reece Newkirk), while newcomers Anatolii Golyshev and Robin Salo have also not yet made an AHL appearance. The roster features five rookies and five veterans: Andy Andreoff, Seth Helgeson, Thomas Hickey, Richard Panik, Chris Terry. The average age of the team is 25 years old.
TERRY TIME
Five-time AHL All-Star Chris Terry, who signed an AHL deal with the Islanders on Aug. 3, will make his Bridgeport debut tonight. A veteran of 12 professional seasons, Terry has played 626 AHL games with Grand Rapids, Laval, St. John's, Charlotte and Albany, recording 233 goals and 552 points. He won the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the AHL scoring champion (71 points) in 2017-18 with Laval.
PANIK AT THE DISCO
Veteran forward Richard Panik is expected to make his Bridgeport debut tonight, which will also be his first AHL game since Jan. 3, 2016 with the Rockford IceHogs. Panik came to the Islanders organization in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings for Nick Leddy on July 16. He played 48 NHL games with Detroit and Washington last season and has played 517 career NHL contests, including stints with Tampa Bay, Chicago and Arizona (88-106-194). Panik also has 53 goals and 119 points in 166 career AHL games and won the 2012 Calder Cup with the Norfolk Admirals.
QUICK HITS
Head coach Brent Thompson returns for his ninth season with Bridgeport, but will be joined behind the bench by new assistant coach Rick Kowalsky, who was hired on Aug. 3... Kowalsky spent the last three seasons as assistant coach with the New Jersey Devils and was head coach with New Jersey's AHL affiliate for eight years prior to that... Seth Helgeson is expected to be team captain for the second straight season.
AFFILIATE UPDATE:
New York Islanders (0-1-0): Last: 6-3 L at Carolina last night; Next: 6 p.m. at Florida tomorrow
Worcester Railers (0-0-0-0): Season opener is Friday, Oct. 22 at Maine
American Hockey League Stories from October 15, 2021
- Stars Name Curtis McKenzie Captain, Alex Petrovic and Andreas Borgman as Alternate Captains - Texas Stars
- Monsters Fall Short in 6-4 Loss to Crunch - Cleveland Monsters
- Crunch Rally for 6-4 Win over Monsters in Season Opener - Syracuse Crunch
- Wolf Pack Knock off Islanders 2-1 on Opening Night - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Hartford Withstands Early Flurry, Tops Islanders in Season Debut - Bridgeport Islanders
- Anaheim Ducks Recall Dostal - San Diego Gulls
- Reign Unveil Season Opening Roster - Ontario Reign
- San Diego Gulls Announce 2021-22 Season-Opening Roster - San Diego Gulls
- Hartford Wolf Pack Announce 2021-22 Season Opening Roster - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Eagles Complete Multiple Transactions - Colorado Eagles
- Penguins Name Taylor Fedun Team Captain for 2021-22 - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Heward to Helm Silver Knights to Begin Season - Henderson Silver Knights
- Iowa Wild Releases 2021-22 Opening Night Roster - Iowa Wild
- Heat Host Tucson in Season Opener - Stockton Heat
- Phantoms Announce Opening Night Roster - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Blue Jackets Assign Forward Yegor Chinakhov to Monsters - Cleveland Monsters
- San Diego Gulls Sign Francis Marotte to One-Year Contract - San Diego Gulls
- T-Birds Open Season on Home Ice Saturday & Sunday - Springfield Thunderbirds
- Meet the 2021-22 Checkers - Charlotte Checkers
- Abbotsford Canucks Announce Pop-Up Party on October 16 - Abbotsford Canucks
- Series Preview vs. Colorado: October 15 & 17 - Henderson Silver Knights
- Bears Announce Opening Night Roster for 2021-22 Season - Hershey Bears
- Condors Announce Opening Night Roster - Bakersfield Condors
- Henderson Silver Knights Announce Opening Night Roster - Henderson Silver Knights
- Wolf Pack Kick off 2021-22 Season against Rival Islanders - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Amerks Sign Jankowski to One-Year AHL Contract - Rochester Americans
- Heat Announce Season-Opening Roster - Stockton Heat
- Moose Announce 2021-22 Opening Day Roster - Manitoba Moose
- Florida Assigns Chase Priskie and Maxim Mamin to Charlotte - Charlotte Checkers
- Cleveland Monsters Announce 2021-22 TV and Radio Broadcast Schedules - Cleveland Monsters
- Providence Bruins Announce 2021-22 Opening Day Roster - Providence Bruins
- IceHogs Announce 2021-22 Opening Night Roster Featuring 16 Rookies, Ten Blackhawks Draft Picks and Five First-Round Selections - Rockford IceHogs
- Islanders Open 2021-22 Season Tonight - Bridgeport Islanders
- Rockford IceHogs Open 2021-22 Season with Friday Night Showdown at Grand Rapids - Rockford IceHogs
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
