Sports stats



AHL Bridgeport Islanders

Sound Tigers Endure Tough Weekend

March 31, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Bridgeport Islanders News Release


The Sound Tigers snapped a four-game, 0-2-2, streak with a 4-1 win over the Albany River Rats Friday before being shutout in two straight road games losing 3-0 to the Manchester Monarchs Saturday and 8-0 to the Hartford Wolf Pack Sunday. The Sound Tigers finished the week in second place in the East Division and fifth place in the Eastern Conference with 86 points and a 36-26-11-3 record including 21-10-4-2 at home and 15-16-7-1 on the road.

FRI MAR 28th vs. ALB, 4-1 W: With ERIC MANLOW, MARTIN CHABADA, ALAN LETANG and ERIC GODARD returning from injuries, RAY SCHULTZ and Manlow scored once, Manlow added an assist, Chabada scored twice, TRENT HUNTER had two assists, and SCOTT STIRLING made 29 saves for the Sound Tigers who were 1 for 3 on the power play while Albany was 0 for 2 and had a 30-22 shots on goal advantage.

SAT MAR 29th at MCH, 3-0 L: In a preview of a potential playoff matchup, Manchester built a 2-0 lead through one period and was up 3-0 midway through the second frame. ERIC HEALEY and DEREK BEKAR each had a goal and an assist, and TRAVIS SCOTT made 35 saves for the Monarchs. STEPHEN VALIQUETTE made 17 saves for the Sound Tigers who had a 35-20 shots on goal advantage. Both teams were 0 for 4 on the power play.

SUN MAR 30th at HFD, 8-0 L: Hartford scored five second-period goals and added three in final frame. NILS EKMAN notched a second-period natural hat trick, PATRICK YETMAN had three assists, CHRIS PITTMAN scored two goals and assisted on another, DIXON WARD and MIKE WILSON had a goal and assist apiece, RICHARD SCOTT had two assists, GARTH MURRAY scored once, and JASON LaBARBERA assisted on a goal and made 18 saves for the Wolf Pack. Hartford had a 32-18 shots on goal advantage and was 2 for 8 on the power play. The Sound Tigers were 0 for 4 on the advantage. SCOTT STIRLING made 13 saves on 16 shots taking the loss while STEPHEN VALIQUETTE stopped 11 of 16 shots in relief for the Sound Tigers. PLAYER OF THE WEEK – G SCOTT STIRLING

Stirling was 1-1 with a .913 save percentage and 2.64 goals against average in two appearance last week. He is 8-2 with a 2.73 goals against average and .903 save percentage in ten AHL games this season including 7-2 with a 2.58 goals against average and .909 save percentage in nine games with the Sound Tigers. Stirling spent most of this season with the East Coast Hockey League's Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies.

THIS WEEK – Hamilton Rematch, Three Game Weekend Mark Regular Season's Final Week The Sound Tigers will finish the 2002-03 regular season with four games in five days hosting the Hamilton Bulldogs Wednesday and Albany Friday. They will visit Hartford for the first game of a home-and-home series Saturday. The Wolf Pack will visit Bridgeport Sunday.

WED APR 2nd vs. HAM, 7:05 p.m.: This will be the second of two meetings this regular season and Hamilton's first visit to Harbor Yard since game seven of last year's Eastern Conference Finals which the Sound Tigers won when RAFFI TORRES broke a scoreless tie with 1:27 left in the game. Torres will be making his return to Bridgeport as a Bulldog Wednesday. Hamilton begins this week in first place in the overall AHL standings with 107 points and a 48-17-7-4 record including 23-10-3-1 on the road. However, the Bulldogs, who clinched the Canadian Division Championship in the end of February, are winless in their last three games, 0-2-1-0. The Sound Tigers are 1-1-1 all-time during the regular season versus Hamilton including a 2-2 road tie in December. The Bulldogs do not play again until Wednesday.

FRI APR 4th vs. ALB, 7:35 p.m.: This will be the eighth and final meeting, the fourth at Harbor Yard, between the teams this regular season. The Sound Tigers are 10-3-2 all-time, including 4-2-1 this season, versus Albany who begins this week in fifth place in the East Division and 11th place in the Eastern Conference, four points out of a playoff spot, with 68 points and a 25-34-11-7 record including 10-19-7-3 on the road. The River Rats, who will host the Binghamton Senators Wednesday, are also winless in their last seven games at 0-3-3-1.

SAT APR 5th at HFD, 7:05 p.m.: This will be the ninth of ten meetings, the fifth and final in Hartford, between the teams this regular season. It will also be the second of three meetings in a one-week span. The Sound Tigers are 10-7-1 all-time, including 4-3-1 this season, versus the Wolf Pack who begin this week in third place in the East Division and seventh place in the Eastern Conference with 83 points and a 32-25-12-7 record including 22-13-4-1 at home and 10-24-3-0 on the road. Hartford will host the Providence Bruins Wednesday and visit the Lowell Lock Monsters Friday.

SUN APR 6th vs. HFD, 4:05 p.m.: This will mark the second year in a row the Sound Tigers and Hartford will finish the regular season with a home-and-home series. Last year, the Sound Tigers beat the Wolf Pack 4-1 on April 7th at Harbor Yard to clinch the Regular Season Championship on the heels of a 2-1 overtime loss the night before in Hartford.

SOUND TIGERS TEAM LEADERS (active roster)

Goals – TRENT HUNTER, 27
Penalty Minutes – ERIC GODARD, 189
Assists – TRENT HUNTER, 37
Wins – STEPHEN VALIQUETTE, 12
Points – TRENT HUNTER, 64
Goals Against Average – SCOTT STIRLING, 2.73
Plus / Minus – B. SMITH & J. MAPLETOFT, +8
Save Percentage – STEPHEN VALIQUETTE, .906

SOUND TIGERS SPECIAL TEAMS

Power Play – 62 for 386, 16.1%; 18th

Shorthanded Goals Against – 11

Penalty Kill – 316 for 362, 87.3%; 3rd

Shorthanded Goal For – 8

SOUND TIGERS STREAKS

C JUSTIN PAPINEAU (7g,1a) had goals and points in all five games he played with the Sound Tigers before being recalled by the Islanders last Monday. • The Sound Tigers are winless in their last four road games, 0-3-1. • They have been held scoreless for 133:35 dating back to the third period of Friday's win over Albany.

SOUND TIGERS TRANSACTIONS

C JUSTIN PAPINEAU and G RICK DiPIETRO remain on recall to the Islanders. • LW GRAHAM BELAK remains with the Sound Tigers on recall from the East Coast Hockey League's Cincinnati Cyclones. • G SCOTT STIRLING remains with the Sound Tigers on a professional tryout contract.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR & PROMOTIONAL NEWS

Wednesday will be "Military Appreciation Night" at Harbor Yard. All active, retired and delayed-entry-program military personnel and families, who show proper identification at the box office, may purchase tickets for Wednesday's game at a discounted price. Members of the Armed Forces will present the colors, Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class WILLIAM TUBBS will sing the national anthem, and Marine Corps Sergeant TYSON WADE will drop the puck for a ceremonial face-off prior to Wednesday's game. • STORM, the team mascot, will visit the Alliance House Elementary School Thursday at 9 a.m. and the annual "Read-In Day" at Wilcoxin School in Stratford Thursday at 9:45 a.m. • STORM will take part in the American Heart Association's "Jump Rope For Heart" at the Winthrop School in Bridgeport Friday at 1 p.m. and at Orange Avenue Elementary School in Orange at 2 p.m. • There will be an intermission "Chuck-A-Puck" during Friday's game. • STORM and the Tiger Tunnel will be at the Norwalk YMCA for "Healthy Kids Day" which runs Saturday from 12 noon until 3 p.m. • STORM will also visit the Big Brothers / Big Sisters Bowl-A-Thon at the Fairfield AMF Lanes which runs from 12 noon until 4 p.m. Saturday. • Sunday will be "Fan Appreciation Day" at Harbor Yard with the Sound Tigers handing out their 2002-03 awards during a pregame ceremony. There will also be a "Chuck-A-Puck" and the players will toss T-shirts to fans following the game. • Bud Light will present the Connecticut State Bubble Boy Hockey Championship in the arena atrium Sunday with the final game taking place on the ice during the first intermission. • Stamford Volvo will present an on-ice shootout to win a car during the second intermission Sunday. • Sound Tigers' 2003 Calder Cup Playoff tickets are on sale with information available by calling 203-334-GOAL.

SOUND TIGERS ON THE AIR

This Tuesday's edition of "The Sound Tigers Report", from 7 p.m. until 8 p.m., will be the team's last broadcast on "The ZONE" FOX Sports Radio 1300 AM. • Starting with Wednesday's home game versus Hamilton, "News/Talk 960" WELI-AM will become the flagship radio station of the Sound Tigers' broadcast network. WELI will broadcast all Sound Tigers' games through the end of the 2003 Calder Cup Playoffs. • All Sound Tigers' games will continue to be web cast at www.soundtigers.com. • WSTC/WNLK 1400/1350 AM will also continue to broadcast Sound Tigers' road games.

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE

The Sound Tigers will practice at Bridgeport's Arena at Harbor Yard Tuesday and Thursday at 10:30 a.m. and Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 10 a.m. Please call 203-334-GOAL to confirm practice times and locations or with any special media requests.

Check out the Bridgeport Islanders Statistics

• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...

American Hockey League Stories from March 31, 2003


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.

Other Recent Bridgeport Islanders Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central