AHL Bridgeport Islanders

Sound Tigers Finish Road Trip, Open Homestand

January 27, 2003 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Bridgeport Islanders News Release


The Sound Tigers finished a seven-game road trip with a 3-0 loss to the Binghamton Senators Wednesday and opened a four-game homestand with a pair of games against the Houston Aeros losing 3-2 in overtime Friday and 2-1 in regulation Saturday. The Sound Tigers finished the week in second place in the East Division with 51 points and a 20-17-9-2 record including 2-4-1 on the road trip, 0-1-0-1 on the homestand, 11-6-3-1 at home and 9-11-6-1 on the road.

WED JAN 22nd at BNG, 3-0 L: G DAVID ST. GERMAIN made 30 saves in his first start of the season before leaving with an injury and being replaced by MARCO EMOND who signed a professional tryout contract earlier in the day. The Sound Tigers were 0 for 3 on the power play while Binghamton was 0 for 2 and had a 35-33 shots on goal advantage.

FRI JAN 24th vs. HOU, 3-2 OTL: MARTIN CHABADA and JUSTIN MAPLETOFT scored second-period goals :38 apart, but Houston tied the game late in the third period and won it :29 into overtime. CORY LAROSE had one goal, the tying tally, and two assists while RASTISLAV PAVLIKOVSKY notched two goals, the first and game winner, and an assist for the Aeros who had a 34-28 shots on goal advantage. Both teams were 0 for 2 on the power play. DAVID ST. GERMAIN made 31 saves in a losing effort.

SAT JAN 25th vs. HOU, 2-1 L: ALAIN NASREDDINE scored, and DAVID ST. GERMAIN posted his third 30-plus-save performance of the week, with 31, in a losing effort. The Sound Tigers were 0 for 8 on the power play, 6 for 6 on the penalty kill and had a 35-33 shots on goal advantage.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK – G DAVID ST. GERMAIN

St. Germain made his first three starts of the season for the Sound Tigers and posted at least 30 saves in each game stopping 92 of 99 shots for a .929 save percentage. The Brossard, Quebec native is 0-3 with a 2.28 goals against average and .933 save percentage in four games with the Sound Tigers this season. He is also 7-12-2 with a 3.09 goals against average, .892 save percentage and one shutout in 21 games with the Sound Tigers' East Coast Hockey League affiliate, the Trenton Titans, this season.

THIS WEEK – Visit To Albany Follows Four Game Homestand

The Sound Tigers will play three games in four nights this week. They will finish the four-game homestand hosting the Saint John Flames Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. and the Worcester IceCats Friday at 7:35 p.m. and will visit the Albany River Rats Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in their last game before the Dodge AHL All-Star Classic Break.

WED JAN 29th vs. SJN, 7:05 p.m.: This will be the third of four meetings, the first of two at Bridgeport's Arena at Harbor Yard, this regular season. The Sound Tigers are 5-1 all-time, including a two-game-in-two-night road sweep this past November, versus Saint John who enters this week tied with the St. John's Maple Leafs for third place in the Canadian Division with 36 points and a 16-23-3-1 record including 8-11-1-0 on the road and 5-4-1-0 in the last ten games. The Flames, who do not play again until Wednesday, are ranked first in the league taking 36.77 shots on goal for per game.

FRI JAN 31st vs. WOR, 7:35 p.m.: This will be the second of two meetings, the only in Bridgeport, this regular season. The Sound Tigers are 3-1-1 all-time versus Worcester including a 3-2 road win in overtime on January 19th. The IceCats enter this week in fourth place in the North Division with 49 points and a 19-18-8-3 record including 10-12-2-2 on the road. C JOHN POHL leads Worcester in scoring with 16 goals, 27 assists and 43 points and ranks second among AHL rookies in points and is tied for the freshman assist lead. The Ice Cats will host the Portland Pirates Wednesday.

SAT FEB 1st at ALB, 7 p.m.: This will be the third of eight meetings, the third in a row in Albany, this regular season. The Sound Tigers are 7-1-2 all-time, including 1-0-1 this season, versus the River Rats who enter this week in fifth place in the East Division with 41 points and a 15-22-6-5 record including 9-9-2-4 at home. Former Sound Tiger RAY GIROUX leads Albany in scoring with 34 points, is tied for the team lead with 25 assists and is second among the league's defensemen in scoring and is tied for third among all AHL blueliners in assists. The River Rats will host the Hartford Wolf Pack Wednesday and the Hershey Bears Friday.

SOUND TIGERS SPECIAL TEAMS

Power Play – 34 for 263, 12.9%; 25th Shorthanded Goals Against – 9

Penalty Kill – 211 for 239, 88.3%; 3rd Shorthanded Goal For – 5

SOUND TIGERS STREAKS

The Sound Tigers are winless, 0-2-0-1, in their last three games overall and, 2-8-2-1, in their last 13 games in regulation. They have been involved in three straight games and five of six in which both teams register at least 30 shots on goal.

SOUND TIGERS TRANSACTIONS

G RICK DiPIETRO and D RAY SCHULTZ joined D SVEN BUTENSCHON, LW RAFFI TORRES, D RADEK MARTINEK and RW MATTIAS WEINHANDL on recall to the NHL's New York Islanders Wednesday. D DOUG SCHMIDT and G MARCO EMOND were signed to professional tryout contracts Wednesday and were released after that night's game. G SCOTT STIRLING signed a PTO Friday. G STEVE VALIQUETTE is out of the lineup with a broken left foot.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR & PROMOTIONAL NEWS

Wives, fiancées and girlfriends of players, coaches and staff are running a "Send A Valentine To Your Favorite Sound Tiger" fundraiser to benefit the Kennedy Center through the Saturday, February 8th home game. For a $1 donation, fans can send a personalized valentine to their favorite Sound Tiger and be entered into a raffle to win a team-autographed helmet. G STEVE VALIQUETTE and LW JEREMY ADDUONO will visit Fairfield Country Day School Tuesday at 2 p.m. Valiquette will also visit Side By Side Elementary School in Norwalk Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. and St. Joseph's School in Ansonia Thursday. D TOMI PETTINEN will sign autographs after Wednesday's game. The Sound Tigers will appear on News 12 Connecticut with Sports Director BILL GONILLO Thursday at 5 p.m. Friday will be "Booster Club Appreciation Night" with special ‘eight packs' available to Sound Tigers Boosters. The Fairfield Country Day School Pinstripes will sing Friday's national anthem. There will also be a Human Puck intermission promotion Friday, and D ALAN LETANG will sign autographs after the game. The Sound Tigers will hold "Celebrity Bartenders II" on Tuesday, February 11th at 8 p.m. at Amber Jacks in South Norwalk to benefit the Children's Connection in Norwalk.

SOUND TIGERS ON THE AIR

All games are broadcast live on "The ZONE" FOX Sports Radio 1300 and at www.soundtigers.com. JUSTIN MAPLETOFT, BLAINE DOWN and Head Coach STEVE STIRLING will join Voice of the Sound Tigers BILL McLAUGHLIN for "The Sound Tigers Report" live on "The ZONE" 1300 this Tuesday from 7 p.m. until 8 p.m. The show will be broadcast live from the Booster Club meeting at Roberto's on Main Street in downtown Bridgeport. WSTC/WNLK 1400/1350 also carries road games, and fans can also email their questions and comments about the team by clicking on "Ask The Broadcaster" at www.soundtigers.com.

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE

The Sound Tigers will practice at Arena at Harbor Yard Tuesday at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday at 10 a.m. and Friday at 10 a.m. They will also skate at Bridgeport's Wonderland of Ice Thursday at 11:30 a.m. Saturday's schedule is to be determined. Call 203-334-4625 to confirm practice times and locations or with any special media requests.

Check out the Bridgeport Islanders Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from January 27, 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.

OurSports Central