Sports stats



AHL Bridgeport Islanders

Sound Tigers Face Crunch Tonight

March 23, 2018 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Bridgeport Islanders News Release


SYRACUSE, N.Y. (March 23, 2018) - The Bridgeport Sound Tigers (31-25-5-3), proud AHL affiliate of the New York Islanders, continue a four-game road trip tonight with their only visit to the Oncenter War Memorial Arena in Syracuse, N.Y. The Sound Tigers will face the Syracuse Crunch (39-19-3-4) at 7 p.m. with hopes of snapping a two-game slide, including a 4-1 setback to the Providence Bruins in their last outing on Sunday. Bridgeport fired 45 shots at goaltender Zane McIntyre (two shy of a season high) that afternoon, but only John Stevens found the back of the net 16 seconds into the second period and Providence scored three times in the opening 12 minutes to set the tone. The Sound Tigers are seven points outside of a playoff spot with two games in hand on the fourth-place Charlotte Checkers (12 games remaining).

RADIO: www.bit.ly/BSTRadio

ONLINE VIDEO: www.ahllive.com

TIGERS VS. CRUNCH

Tonight's game marks the second and final meeting between the Sound Tigers and Crunch this season, and the only matchup in New York. Syracuse earned a 3-2 victory at Webster Bank Arena on Feb. 11, led by Dominic Masin (one goal, one assist) and All-Star forward Mitchell Stephens (one goal, one assist). Dennis Yan scored the game-winner at 8:01 of the third period. On the flip side, Travis St. Denis and Michael Dal Colle each netted a power-play goal for the Sound Tigers and Christopher Gibson made 23 saves on 26 shots.

VIEW FROM SYRACUSE

Benoit Groulx's club is on a three-game win streak and five-game point streak (4-0-0-1), and is one of just two teams to have already clinched a playoff spot. In fact, Syracuse is 7-1-1-1 over its last 10 games and continues to establish itself as one of the most dominant teams in the Eastern Conference. Last time out, Olivier Archambault scored twice and Mathieu Joseph logged three assists in a 5-2 win against the Laval Rocket on Saturday. Mat Bodie and Gabriel Dumont also collected three points each (one goal, two assists), while Connor Ingram made 19 saves for his team-best 17th win of the season. Joseph continues to lead Syracuse in scoring with 46 points (14 goals, 32 assists) in 61 games, which is also fourth most among AHL rookies. The Crunch are in the midst of a six-game homestand that runs through Mar. 31.

HISTORY IN THE MAKING

The Sound Tigers had played 1,316 regular-season and 59 playoff games without ever coming back to win when trailing by four goals until they did it twice in a row, capped by last Thursday's 6-4 win against Rochester. Travis St. Denis was the main reason why, recording Bridgeport's second hat trick of the season and the first natural hat trick for a Sound Tigers forward since April 2, 2016 (Alan Quine). Plus, St. Denis' five-point night was only the fifth in team history behind Blake Comeau (Oct. 13, 2006), Jeff Tambellini (Apr. 4, 2008), Greg Mauldin (Feb. 13, 2010), and Ryan Strome (Nov. 1, 2013).

REINFORCING THE BACK LINE

The New York Islanders loaned Sebastian Aho to Bridgeport on Thursday and the first-year defenseman is expected to play tonight (first AHL game since Jan. 10). Aho recorded 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in 30 games with the Sound Tigers earlier this season and proved to be one of the AHL's top blue liners. He became the first defenseman in Sound Tigers' history to score a hat trick (Nov. 5 at Providence) and was named to the 2018 AHL All-Star Classic in January, but was unable to attend due to a call-up with the Islanders. The Umea, Sweden native collected four points (one goal, three assists) in 22 games with the Islanders, including his NHL debut on Dec. 31 against the Colorado Avalanche.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

The Sound Tigers have added three players this month, including defenseman Ryan MacKinnon, who signed an AHL contract on Tuesday that extends through 2018-19. MacKinnon spent each of the last three seasons at the University of Prince Edward Island, where he received First All-Star Team honors this year before turning pro with the Worcester Railers of the ECHL. He had nine points (two goals, five assists) in nine games with Worcester. In addition, Ryan Hitchcock was signed to an amateur tryout (ATO) out of Yale University on Mar. 8 and has three assists in four pro games. Tyler Mueller also agreed to terms on an ATO out of UMass-Lowell on Mar. 11, but has yet to make his debut.

QUICK HITS

Travis St. Denis has eight points (five goals, three assists) in his last six games... Casey Bailey has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his last eight outings - all but one of those on the power play... Josh Ho-Sang has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his last seven games... Bridgeport is 8-5-1-1 against North Division opponents this season... The Sound Tigers are just 2-5-0-1 when recording at least 40 shots in a game this season... Bridgeport allowed a season-high 43 shots in Sunday's loss to Providence.

AFFILIATE REPORT

NHL: New York Islanders (31-33-10): Next vs. Chicago Blackhawks - Tomorrow, 7 p.m. ET

ECHL: Worcester Railers (30-25-4-4): Next at Reading Royals - Tonight, 7 p.m. ET

Don't Go It Alone: Whether it's a corporate outing, a fundraiser, or just friends getting together, a group outing with the Sound Tigers will guarantee an unforgettable experience filled with fast-paced action on the ice, great music, promotions and contests at an affordable price. The Sound Tigers have a variety of packages and promotional events to offer. Please call the team's front office at 203-345-2300 ext. 7 for more information on the benefits of bringing your group to a future game!

Check out the Bridgeport Islanders Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from March 23, 2018


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