AHL Bridgeport Islanders

Sound Tigers earn win

February 28, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Bridgeport Islanders News Release


Bridgeport, Conn. - Tied at one entering the third period, the Sound Tigers buried two goals within the first two minutes to earn a 3-2 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and pass them for second place in the East Division with 78 points. Janne Pesonen opened the scoring in the opening frame for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, but former Penguin, Kurtis McLean tied the score with four minutes remaining in the second. Mike Iggulden and Jesse Joensuu tallied one minute apart from each other, giving the Sound Tigers a 3-1 lead. Deryk Engelland would pull Wilkes-Barre/Scranton within a goal, but the Penguins could not put the equalizer past Sound Tigers' starting goalie, Nathan Lawson who finished the game with 28 saves, to preserve the 3-2 victory. The Sound Tigers are now 35-17-3-5, placing them in second place in the division, one point ahead of the Penguins.

Pesonen broke the scoreless tie with about four minutes remaining in the first period for the Penguins. Alex Goligoski wristed a shot that Lawson knocked down with his blocker but Pesonen collected the rebound and tapped it past the Sound Tiger net-minder for his 18th goal of the season. Mark Letestu had the second assist on the goal to give Wilkes-Barre/Scranton the 1-0 lead.

The Sound Tigers poured on the offense in the middle frame but Wilkes-Barre/Scranton goalie, Adam Berkhoel held the fort most of the way. McLean would finally break Berkhoel's shutout bid at the 16:20 mark when he slammed a shot off the left post and past Berkhoel to tie the score at 1-1. Joensuu carried the puck into the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton zone and backhanded a shot on goal from the right wing boards. Berkhoel made the initial save but parked out in front was McLean, banging the rebound in for his 15th marker of the season. Dustin Kohn had an assist on the game-tying goal.

Iggulden would give the Sound Tigers their first lead of the game, 1:44 into the final twenty minutes of play. Joensuu dug a puck out of the left corner and centered it in front to Iggulden who caught it in his skate, then pulled it to his fore-hand. Curry had already committed to Iggulden, thinking the Sound Tigers' leading scorer would one-time the puck, leaving Iggulden to an open net to shoot at and give the Sound Tigers the 2-1 lead. About a minute later, Kohn would rip his third goal of the game over Berkhoel's blocker to give the Sound Tigers a two-goal advantage at 3-1. Micheal Haley and Sean Bentivoglio had the assists on the play. Engelland would tack on one more goal for the Penguins late in the third period but Lawson would hold the fort the rest of the way, stopping a total of 10 shots in the period to give the Sound Tigers a 3-2 win.

On the man-advantage tonight, the Sound Tigers finished 0-for-5 while going 5-for-6 on the penalty-kill. The Sound Tigers out-shot Wilkes-Barre/Scranton by a 33 to 30 margin.

Tomorrow evening, the two teams will drop the puck and go right back at it, concluding a home-and-home series at the Wachovia Area at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Face-off for the contest is set for 5:05 p.m. The Sound Tigers will return home on Tuesday to take on the Norfolk Admirals at 7 p.m. For tickets or information on how to receive group discounted tickets, contact the team's front office at (203) 334-GOAL or e-mail info@soundtigers.com.

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