
Sound Tigers Clinch Playoff Berth with 4-3 Win
April 6, 2019 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Bridgeport Islanders News Release
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - The Bridgeport Sound Tigers (41-23-6-3), proud AHL affiliate of the New York Islanders, clinched their first postseason berth in three years on Saturday with a 4-3 win against the Providence Bruins (36-25-8-3) at Webster Bank Arena.
The victory ensures Bridgeport's first Calder Cup Playoff appearance since 2016 and its ninth overall in team history. It was also the first time the Sound Tigers solidified a playoff spot at home since 2012.
Ryan Bourque scored twice for the second time this season and Travis St. Denis notched his fifth game-winning goal, while Paul Carey had two first-period tallies for the P-Bruins. Oliver Wahlstrom also scored his first professional goal in game two, just one day after Bobo Carpenter and Grant Hutton each netted their initial pro tallies against Providence.
Between the pipes, Christopher Gibson (20-11-5) made 27 saves en route to his 20th win of the season. Dan Vladar (12-13-4) made 22 saves on 26 shots for Providence.
After scoring six times last night in Providence, the Sound Tigers picked up right where they left off when Bourque netted his fifth goal of the season just 3:29 into the contest. Kyle Burroughs gathered a pass at the right point and lofted a shot towards the net before Bourque eyed the puck through traffic and deflected it out of midair to give Bridgeport a 1-0 lead.
Bridgeport extended its advantage later in the frame after Matt Lorito drew a tripping call on Jakub Zboril. During their first power play of the contest, Mitch Vande Sompel corralled a pass from Josh Ho-Sang and quickly found Wahlstrom in the left circle, where he blasted a one-timer past Vladar. With the tally, Wahlstrom became the youngest Sound Tiger to ever score a goal (18 years, 43 weeks and three days).
The Bruins responded prior to the first intermission when Carey potted two consecutive goals to tie the game. First, Carey scored his team-leading 24th of the season at 15:54 to make it 2-1. Lee Stempniak moved the puck to Carey, who skated down the right wing and made a shifty move to create space. He eventually chipped a shot upstairs to beat Gibson's blocker. Then with 41 seconds left, Jordan Szwarz guided a pass from just below the blue line directly to Carey's tape for a successful redirection.
Bourque scored his second of the game on a brilliant individual effort after entering the zone early in the second period. With two Bruins on him, Bourque crossed the blue line and fired a quick wrister below Vladar's blocker to regain a 3-2 lead.
The Sound Tigers pushed the score to 4-2 in the third period when St. Denis tapped home the eventual game-winner at 6:27. On Bridgeport's fourth man advantage of the night, Hutton snapped a point shot that squeaked through Vladar and trickled behind him. St. Denis found the puck sitting on the doorstep and made no mistake in burying for his 16th goal of the campaign.
The Bruins climbed back within one goal again at 9:06 when Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson scored his sixth of the season from point-blank range. The comeback bid was cranked into full gear when Bruins pulled their goalie with 1:31 left, but the closest they came to tying was when Peter Chelarik's shot hit the pipe and stayed out with 20 seconds left.
As the Sound Tigers clinched a playoff spot, Seth Helgeson and Mark McNeill dropped the gloves as time expired. The Sound Tigers finished the game 2-for-4 on the power play and 0-for-2 on the penalty kill. Providence led in shots 30-26.
Playoff ticket information will be available tomorrow morning. The first-round dates and opponent have yet to be determined.
American Hockey League Stories from April 6, 2019
- Nilsson, Rockford Outshoot Stars 4-3 - Rockford IceHogs
- Rampage Edge Condors for Comeback Win - San Antonio Rampage
- Stars Earn Point in Shootout with IceHogs - Texas Stars
- Iowa Drops 5-1 Contest to Milwaukee - Iowa Wild
- Wolves Clinch Central Division Crown - Chicago Wolves
- Bardreau Nets Two Shorthanded Goals in 4-2 Win over Penguins - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Eagles Drop Heartbreaker in Chicago, 3-2 - Colorado Eagles
- Bear Scores Twice in Condors Loss - Bakersfield Condors
- Senators Collect Biggest Win of Season over Monsters - Belleville Senators
- Sound Tigers Clinch Playoff Berth with 4-3 Win - Bridgeport Islanders
- Devils Take Down Marlies in Overtime, 4-3 - Binghamton Devils
- Amerks Flip the Script with 5-2 Win in Rematch with Crunch - Rochester Americans
- Eight Is Great for the Admirals - Milwaukee Admirals
- Crunch Toppled by Amerks, 5-2 - Syracuse Crunch
- Penguins Lose at Lehigh Valley, 4-2 - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Mazanec Comes Back to Haunt Pack - Hartford Wolf Pack
- San Jose Sweeps Griffins with 5-4 Overtime Win - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Carey's Two Goals Not Enough as Sound Tigers Beat P-Bruins 4-3 - Providence Bruins
- Monsters Clipped 3-1 by Senators in Belleville - Cleveland Monsters
- Checkers Clinch AHL's Best Regular-Season Record - Charlotte Checkers
- Comets Blank Wolf Pack in Road Triumph - Utica Comets
- Checkers Stumble in Loss to Springfield - Charlotte Checkers
- Hawryluk, Hunt, Dea Combine for 10 Points as T-Birds Knock off 1st-Place Checkers - Springfield Thunderbirds
- Berdin Blanks Heat as Appleton's Early Goal Holds Up - Manitoba Moose
- Third-Period Comeback Sparks 5-4 Overtime Win vs. Grand Rapids - San Jose Barracuda
- Rocket Score Four Goals in the Third Period to Defeat Hershey 5-2 in Front of 8,643 Fans - Laval Rocket
- Sabres Assign Tennyson to Rochester - Rochester Americans
- Bears Mourn Loss of Hall of Famer Roger DeJordy - Hershey Bears
- Rocket Down Bears, 5-2 - Hershey Bears
- Stockton's Offense Silenced in Manitoba - Stockton Heat
- Tonight's Game against Rockford Sold Out - Texas Stars
- Kings Assign Amadio to Ontario - Ontario Reign
- Dallas Stars Reassign Center Joel L'Esperance to Texas - Texas Stars
- Ryan Merkley Assigned to Barracuda - San Jose Barracuda
- Marlies Close out Three-In-Three in Binghamton - Toronto Marlies
- Eagles Leading Scorer Agozzino Returns to Lineup - Colorado Eagles
- Rampage Sign Jackson, Tucker to Amateur Tryouts - San Antonio Rampage
- Heat Battle Moose this Weekend in Winnipeg - Stockton Heat
- Game Preview: Bears at Rocket, 3 p.m. - Hershey Bears
- Steven Swavely Loaned to Reading Royals - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Game Day Build-Up: Senators vs. Monsters, April 6 - Belleville Senators
- Blackhawks Recall Lankinen - Rockford IceHogs
- Barracuda Battle Griffins for 3-1 Win - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Stars Strike on Late Penalty Shot to Sneak by Hogs - Rockford IceHogs
- Reign Capped by Gulls, 6-1 - Ontario Reign
- Gulls Batter Reign, 6-1 - San Diego Gulls
- Barracuda Hold-Off Pesky Griffs, 3-1 - San Jose Barracuda
- Hogs to Host Former Head Coach Martinson & Colonial Cup During Home Finale - Rockford IceHogs
- Admirals Top Wolves for 7th Straight Win - Milwaukee Admirals
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.
