AHL Bridgeport Islanders

Playoffs Start Tonight At 7:05 P.M.

Published on April 20, 2006 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Bridgeport Islanders News Release


WILKES-BARRE, PA - The American Hockey League's Bridgeport Sound Tigers, top affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, will begin the 2006 Calder Cup Playoffs tonight when they visit the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at 7:05 p.m. in the first game of their best-of-seven East Division semifinal. Game two will be in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this Saturday at 7:05 p.m. with game three scheduled for this Sunday, April 23rd at 3:05 p.m. at Bridgeport's Arena at Harbor Yard. The complete series schedule is:

Game One - Thursday, April 20th in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at 7:05 p.m.
Game Two - Saturday, April 22nd in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at 7:05 p.m.
Game Three - Sunday, April 23rd at Bridgeport's Arena at Harbor Yard at 3:05 p.m.
Game Four - Tuesday, April 25th at Bridgeport's Arena at Harbor Yard at 7:35 p.m.
Game Five - Wednesday, April 26th in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at 7:05 p.m. (if necessary)
Game Six - Friday, April 28th at Bridgeport's Arena at Harbor Yard at 7:35 p.m. (if necessary)
Game Seven - Saturday, April 29th in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at 7:05 p.m. (if necessary)

Fans can listen to the live web-cast of all Sound Tigers games on-line at www.soundtigers.com and can watch all AHL games live on the Internet via the B2 Networks pay per view.

Sound Tigers playoff tickets cost as little as $11 for children and $16 for adults and can be purchased at Bridgeport's Arena at Harbor Yard box office, by calling 203-368-1000 or on-line at www.ticketmaster.com. Sound Tigers Playoff Gift Packs-- which include four tickets, an autographed puck and four SportsCenter of CT activity passes --are also on sale for as little as $69.

The Sound Tigers have also announced that Long Island fans can purchase a special $16 round-trip fare on the Port Jefferson Ferry during the playoffs. Advance purchase is required through New England Tours by calling 631-473-5138 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The last ferry will also wait until 15 minutes after the end of the game or 10:30 p.m., whichever comes first, to depart following weekend playoff games at Bridgeport's Arena at Harbor Yard. Log on to www.bpjferry.com to find out more.

This will be the second playoff meeting of the Sound Tigers and Penguins. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton rallied from a three-games-to-one deficit to beat the Sound Tigers in the 2004 East Division semifinals. Five of the seven games in that series, including all four at Bridgeport's Arena at Harbor Yard, were decided in overtime.

The Sound Tigers were 5-5 in this year's regular-season series versus the East Division Champion Penguins, who actually won the series by virtue of a standings point gained when one of the Sound Tigers' victories came in a shootout. The Sound Tigers are 15-12-1 all-time versus Wilkes-Barre/Scranton during regular-season games.

This is the fourth trip to the playoffs in five years of existence for the Sound Tigers who are 4-3 all-time in postseason series and 20-16 in playoff games. After winning the AHL's Regular Season Championship in their first year of play in 2001-02, the Sound Tigers advanced to the 2002 Calder Cup Finals before losing to the Chicago Wolves in five games, the last of which was decided in double overtime in Chicago.

Despite finishing the 2005-06 regular-season with more than half of their roster either on NHL recall to the Islanders or out with injuries, including three players who were gone with season-ending ailments, the Sound Tigers qualified for the playoffs by finishing in fourth place in the AHL's East Division with 85 points and a 38-33-6-3 record, including 21-13-4-2 at home and 17-20-2-1 on the road, with two of their road wins coming in back-to-back visits to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on January 21st (7-0 W) and January 25th (4-3 SOW).

The Sound Tigers also bulked-up their playoff roster with over a dozen players this week. Forwards Sean Bergenheim, Jeremy Colliton, Matt Koalska, Masi Marjamaki, Robert Nilsson, Steve Regier and Jeff Tambellini, as well as defensemen Ryan Caldwell, Bruno Gervais, Denis Grebeshkov, Cole Jarrett and Allan Rourke have all returned from the Islanders. The Sound Tigers also signed right wing Blake Comeau, the big club's second pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, to an amateur tryout contract Wednesday. In addition, the Islanders have reassigned forward Luch Aquino from the junior ranks for his second stint of season with the Sound Tigers.

The Penguins claimed their first regular-season division championship this year by finishing atop the East with 113 points and a 51-18-5-6 record, including 28-8-2-2 at home, 23-10-3-4 on the road and unbeaten-in-regulation in its last five games at 4-0-0-1. The 28 home wins were most in the Eastern Conference and second-most in the league. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton also finished just one point behind the Atlantic Division Champion Portland Pirates in the Eastern Conference standings.

This is the fifth trip to the postseason in seven years of play for the Penguins who are 8-4 all-time in playoff series and 33-29 in postseason games. They have advanced to the Calder Cup Finals twice, losing to the Saint John Flames four games to two in 2001 and losing to the Milwaukee Admirals four games to none in 2004.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton has padded its roster for the playoffs as goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and defensemen Noah Welch and Ryan Whitney returned from the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins. The Baby Pens have also signed defenseman Brian Yandle to an ATO.

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American Hockey League Stories from April 20, 2006


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