Sound Tigers Lose 4-3 In Springfield
March 18, 2005 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Bridgeport Islanders News Release
SPRINGFIELD, MA - The American Hockey League's Bridgeport Sound Tigers, top affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, lost 4-3 on the road to the Springfield Falcons Friday in a wild game that saw five of its seven goals scored in the third period.
The Sound Tigers opened the scoring on the power play when Bruno Gervais blasted a slap-shot through traffic for his fifth goal of the season off assists from Chris Campoli and Justin Mapletoft 14:49 into the first period.
Springfield tied the score at 1-1 on Craig Darby's seventh goal of the season off assists from former Sound Tiger Jim Campbell and Ryan Craig 3:34 into the middle frame.
The Falcons took their first lead then extended it with a pair of quick goals early in the third period. First, team captain Shane Willis scored his 17th of the season off assists from former Sound Tiger Derek Bekar and Justin Kelly at the 1:49 mark to make it 2-1. Then, Kelly tipped in a cross-slot feed from Bekar for his second tally in as many games just 2:43 later to make it 3-1 with Willis also assisting on the play.
Gervais pulled the Sound Tigers to within 3-2 with a shorthanded goal, his second marker of the game and sixth of the season, off assists from Rob Collins, his team-leading 30th helper and 50th point, and Campoli.
Springfield regained the two-goal lead at 4-2 when Mike Egener pinched from the point to chip home his third goal of the season off assists from Jason Jaspers and Evgeni Artukhin with 7:22 left to play.
The Sound Tigers pulled back to within 4-3 just 54 seconds later when team captain Ed Campbell notched his first goal of the year on a funny play. Steve Regier's stick snapped in half, with the bottom piece flying up into the crowd, on an attempted shot from the right point, but Campbell was able to jam home the loose puck with Cole Jarrett also assisting on the play.
The Sound Tigers then pulled goaltender Dieter Kochan in favor of an extra attacker with less than a half-minute left to play but were unable to tie the score.
Willis was the first star of the game, Kelly the second and Gervais the third. Kochan made 27 saves in a losing effort while Falcons netminder Brian Eklund made 24 with Springfield outshooting the Sound Tigers 31-27. The Sound Tigers were 1 for 3 on the power play and 3 for 3 on the penalty kill.
The Sound Tigers will finish a stretch of four straight road games when they visit the Manchester Monarchs tomorrow at 7:35 p.m. and the Albany River Rats this Sunday at 4 p.m. Both games will be web cast live at www.soundtigers.com. Tomorrow's game will also be broadcast live on 600 WICC-AM.
The Sound Tigers will also host the Norfolk Admirals at the Nassau Coliseum on Long Island this coming Wednesday, March 23rd at 7:05 p.m. before returning home to Bridgeport's Arena at Harbor Yard to host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins next Friday, March 25th and the Hartford Wolf Pack on Saturday, March 26th.
Information regarding Sound Tigers ticket packages and marketing opportunities is available by calling 203-334-GOAL or logging on to www.soundtigers.com. Groups, organizations, companies, etc. that are interested in having a member of the Sound Tigers appear at an event are invited to call 203-334-GOAL.
• Discuss this story on the American Hockey League message board...
American Hockey League Stories from March 18, 2005
- Phantoms defeat Worcester 4-2 - Adirondack Phantoms
- Bears defeat Binghamton in a wild one 3-2 - Hershey Bears
- Sound Tigers Lose 4-3 In Springfield - Bridgeport Islanders
- Nathan Horton to sign autographs at blood drive - San Antonio Rampage
- Road Runners assign pair to Greenville - Edmonton Road Runners
- Rampage announce Clear Day roster - San Antonio Rampage
- Maple Leafs Announce Clear Day List - Toronto Marlies
- Rampage raise more than $9,000 for Spurs Foundation - San Antonio Rampage
- Penguins announce Clear Day roster - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Bulldogs announce Clear Day roster - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Utah Ends Six-Game Home Stand Tonight Versus Houston - Utah Grizzlies
- Griffins announce Clear Day roster - Grand Rapids Griffins
- Lock Monsters announce Clear Day Roster - Albany Devils
- Copabanana to unveil burger named after Phantoms' Umberger - Adirondack Phantoms
- Senators announce Clear Day roster - Binghamton Senators
- Wolves Announce Playoff Roster - Chicago Wolves
- Monarchs Announce Clear Day Roster; Host Wolf Pack Friday - Manchester Monarchs
- River Rats Unveil Clear Day Roster - Albany River Rats
- Falcons Face Sound Tigers at Nest Tonight - Springfield Falcons
- AHL releases 2005 Clear Day rosters - AHL
- Houston in Utah tonight - Houston Aeros
- Aeros announce Clear Day roster - Houston Aeros
- Mighty Ducks announce Clear Day roster - Cincinnati RailRaiders
- Wolf Pack Announce Clear Day Roster - Connecticut Whale
- AHL Quick Hits - AHL
- Bears travel to Binghamton tonight - Hershey Bears
- Grizzlies Acquire Defenseman Mike Garrow - Utah Grizzlies
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.
