AHL Bridgeport Islanders

Sound Tigers Go 1-1-1

Published on March 7, 2005 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Bridgeport Islanders News Release


The Sound Tigers went 1-1-1 in a stretch of three games in four nights last week. They lost an overtime thriller 4-3 on the road the Philadelphia Phantoms Wednesday and were blanked by them 4-0 at home Friday before setting a pair of franchise records in a 4-1 home win over the Norfolk Admirals Saturday. The Sound Tigers finished last week in sixth place in the East Division with 55 points and a 26-29-2-1 record, including 20-8 at home, 6-21-2-1 on the road and 6-3-1 in their last ten games.

WED MAR 2nd at PHI, 4-3 OTL: COLE JARRETT had a shorthanded goal and two assists, BRENDAN YAREMA had a power-play goal and an assist, CHRIS CAMPOLI scored once and DIETER KOCHAN made 35 saves as the Sound Tigers rallied from 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 deficits before falling 1:51 into overtime. DENNIS SEIDENBERG opened the scoring and notched the game-winner while JON SIM and BOYD KANE also scored for Philadelphia. The Sound Tigers were 1 for 4 on the power play and 4 for 4 on the penalty kill. The Phantoms had a 39-16 shots on goal advantage.

FRI MAR 4th vs. PHI, 4-0 L: R.J. UMBERGER and JOHN SLANEY had a goal and an assist apiece, JOSH GRATTON and JONI PITKANEN scored once each and NEIL LITTLE made 33 saves for his second shutout of the season and 200th career AHL win for Philadelphia. DIETER KOCHAN made 18 saves for the Sound Tigers who were 0 for 6 on the power play and had a 33-22 shots on goal advantage. The Phantoms were 2 for 4 on the power play.

SAT MAR 5th vs. NOR, 4-1 W: JUSTIN MAPLETOFT scored the fastest goal to start a period or game in team history tallying on the first shot of the contest at the 14 second mark. JUSTIN PAPINEAU made it 2-0 just 1:17 later and Mapletoft added another goal late in the opening frame. DIETER KOCHAN set a team, season mark with 18 third-period saves en route to breaking his own single-game, all-time, franchise record with 49 saves. The Sound Tigers were 0 for 5 on the power play. MATT KEITH scored for Norfolk who was 1 for 10 on the power play and had a 50-20 shot advantage.

SOUND TIGERS PLAYER OF THE WEEK – F/D COLE JARRETT

Jarrett battled through an illness to notch a shorthanded goal, three assists and four points in three games last week. The Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario native also showed his versatility by playing both forward and defense as the Sound Tigers skated a man short in two of last week's three games, including Saturday's home win over Norfolk. Jarrett finished last week with two shorthanded goals, one of which was also a first goal; ten assists; 12 points and 45 penalty minutes in 39 games. A request for review has also been submitted that would, if approved, give him credit for the deciding goal in the February 26th 4-3 overtime win in Albany over the River Rats.

THIS WEEK – Four Games In Five Nights

The Sound Tigers will play four games in five nights this week hosting the Providence Bruins Wednesday, the Hershey Bears Saturday and the Springfield Falcons Sunday with a visit to the Hartford Wolf Pack squeezed in on Friday.

WED MAR 9th vs. PRO, 7:05 p.m.: This will be the fourth and final meeting of the teams this regular season, the second of two at Bridgeport's Arena at Harbor Yard. The Sound Tigers are 3-8-3 all-time versus Providence, including 1-2 this season with a 1-0 shutout win at home on November 17th. The Bruins finished last week a half-game out of a playoff spot in fifth place in the Atlantic Division with 69 points and a 30-23-3-6 record, including 10-16-1-5 on the road.

FRI MAR 11th at HAR, 7:05 p.m.: This will be the ninth contest in the ten-game 2004-05 GEICO CONNECTICUT CUP, as well as the fifth and final meeting of the teams in Hartford this regular season. The Sound Tigers are 20-15-3 all-time versus the Wolf Pack, including 3-5 this season with an overtime loss and a shootout loss. They also won the most recent meeting 2-1 in overtime in Hartford on February 25th. The Wolf Pack finished last week in second place in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference with 80 points and a 38-19-2-2 record, including 25-5-1-1 at home and 6-3-1 in their last ten games. Hartford will visit the Utah Grizzlies tonight and this Wednesday.

SAT MAR 12th vs. HER, 7:05 p.m.: This will be the sixth of eight meetings of the teams this regular season, the third of four in Bridgeport. The Sound Tigers are 6-10-3 all-time versus Hershey, including 2-3 with a home win this season. The Bears finished last week in fifth place in the East Division with 66 points and a 32-27-1-1 record, including 13-15-0-1 on the road. They will visit the Syracuse Crunch this Friday.

SUN MAR 13th vs. SPR, 4:05 p.m.: This will be the first of two meetings in less than a week that will comprise the entire season series. The Sound Tigers will also visit Springfield on Friday, March 18th. They are 12-5-1 all-time versus the Falcons, including 1-1 with a road win last year. Springfield finished last week seventh place in the Atlantic Division with 39 points and a 17-36-2-3 record, including 5-22-1 on the road. The Falcons will visit the conference-leading Manchester Monarchs this Wednesday, host the Lowell Lock Monsters this Friday and visit Manchester again this Saturday.

SOUND TIGERS TEAM LEADERS
Goals – ROB COLLINS, 17 Penalty Minutes – ERIC GODARD, 251
Assists – ROB COLLINS, 28 Wins – DIETER KOCHAN, 14
Points – ROB COLLINS, 45 Goals Against Average – DIETER KOCHAN, 2.56
Plus / Minus – CHRIS CAMPOLI, +7 Save Percentage – DIETER KOCHAN, .916

SOUND TIGERS SPECIAL TEAMS; AHL RANK
Power Play – 43 for 290, 14.8%; t-16th Shorthanded Goals Against – 6; t-11th

Penalty Kill – 293 for 357, 82.1%; 22nd Shorthanded Goal For – 11; 4th

SOUND TIGERS STREAKS

The Sound Tigers are unbeaten-in-regulation in four straight road games at 3-0-1. They are unbeaten-in-regulation in five games in a row away from Bridgeport's Arena at Harbor Yard when you include the February 18th 3-2 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island.

SOUND TIGERS TRANSACTIONS

C BRENDAN YAREMA left the team Saturday after his professional tryout contract expired. • RW JOHN MORLANG was re-signed to a PTO Friday. • D ED CAMPBELL, who first signed a PTO with the Sound Tigers on January 15th, has been signed to a standard AHL player's contract retroactive to January 29th. • The Islanders reassigned RW JIM CAMPBELL to the AHL's Springfield Falcons on February 25th. • D VINCE MACRI was reassigned to the ECHL's Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies on February 1st. • D NIC BILOTTO was released from a PTO on January 23rd.

SOUND TIGERS RETURNING TO LONG ISLAND ON MARCH 23rd

Overwhelming demand for hockey at Nassau Coliseum has led to a return Long Island engagement for the Sound Tigers who will host the Norfolk Admirals on Wednesday, March 23rd at the home of the Islanders. Tickets to the March 23rd game cost $25, $15 and $10 and are available at the Nassau Coliseum box office, Islanders Team Stores, Ticketmaster outlets, Ticketmaster charge-by-phone at 203-368-1000 and on-line at www.ticketmaster.com. Sound Tigers season subscribers should call 203-334-GOAL to reserve their tickets to the game.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR & PROMOTIONAL NEWS

The Sound Tigers are scheduled to visit St. Mary's / St. Michael's School in Derby at 9 a.m. and read to students at Beardsley School in Bridgeport at 1:30 p.m. this Tuesday. • This Saturday and Sunday, March 12th and 13th will be "Scout Weekend" at Bridgeport's Arena at Harbor Yard with the annual "Scout Sleepover" slated for Saturday night. • The first 1,000 fans age 14 and under who enter this Sunday's game will receive a free Sound Tigers foam claw. • Sound Tigers wives and girlfriends will be selling red pins during Sunday's game to help promote the American Heart Association's "Go Red for Women" campaign. • There will also be an open skate following Sunday's game for fans who bring their own skates. • The Sound Tigers team mascot STORM is scheduled to take part in the Milford St. Patrick's Day Parade this Sunday as well. • Saturday, March 26th will be "Back to the Beach Night". The first 2,000 fans who enter "Back to the Beach Night" will receive a Sound Tigers / Bermuda Tourism beach towel, and one lucky fan will win a trip for two to Bermuda flying on American Airlines and staying at the 9 Beaches resort for seven days and six nights.

SOUND TIGERS ON THE AIR

All games, home and away, are web-cast live at www.soundtigers.com. Friday's game in Hartford may also be broadcast live on 600 WICC-AM depending on the University of Connecticut basketball schedule.

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE

The Sound Tigers will practice at Bridgeport's Arena at Harbor Yard this Tuesday through Saturday at 10 a.m.

Check out the Bridgeport Islanders Statistics



American Hockey League Stories from March 7, 2005


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