AHL Bridgeport Islanders

Tambellini records two points and the shootout clincher

Published on December 1, 2007 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Bridgeport Islanders News Release


Bridgeport, Conn. - For the second straight home game, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers used Jeremy Colliton's shootout goal to earn the extra point, winning tonight's game 4-3 over the Lowell Devils. Jeff Tambellini also had a goal in the shootout to go along with his two points during regulation.

The Sound Tigers opened the scoring 17:10 into the first period when Ben Walter scored his sixth goal of the season on the power-play. Tambellini, who was playing the point on the man-advantage, sent the puck into the corner where Tim Jackman outworked a Lowell defender. Jackman sent a pass in front for Walter who redirected the pass on Devils' goalie, Frank Doyle. Doyle made the first save but Walter banged in the rebound on the backhand, giving the Sound Tigers the 1-0 lead.

In the second period, Lowell' Olli Malmivaara evened the score at one just over two minutes into the period. Olivier Magnan-Grenier and Petr Vrana assisted on Malmivaara's second goal of the season. About six minutes later, the Sound Tigers broke out of their zone on an odd-man rush with Darryl Bootland leading the charge. Bootland fed a nice back-door pass to Joe Rullier, who jumped into the play, for the easy tap in goal, leaving Doyle little chance to make the save. The goal was Rullier's first this season giving the Sound Tigers the 2-1 lead. Blake Comeau also registered an assist on the goal. Lowell would go on the power-play later in the period and score a fluke goal off the stick of Noah Clarke. With both Barry Tallackson and Grant Marshall clogging the boards to keep the Sound Tigers from clearing the puck, Clarke fluttered a shot on net that Sound Tigers' net-minder, Mike Morrison did not see. The goal was Clarke's ninth of the season, tying the score at two.

It did not take long in the third period for the Devils to take their first lead of the game. Just 24 seconds in, Benoit Mondou knocked a cross-ice pass from Ryan Murphy out of mid-air, settled the puck and put it past Morrison for his third of the season. Stephen Gionta also assisted on the goal giving Lowell the 3-2 lead. Sound Tigers' leading scorer, Tambellini would even the score at 3-3 when he snapped a shot past a sprawled out Doyle, 6:05 into the final frame. Sound Tigers' defenseman, Jamie Fraser started the play for the Sound Tigers, shooting the puck on net through traffic, forcing Doyle to make a sprawling save. With Frans Nielsen jamming at the rebound, the puck squirted into the slot where Tambellini was waiting. Doyle, on his back during the scrum could not control the puck and Tambellini fired it over the Devils' goalie for his seventh goal of the season, tying the score and eventually sending the game to an overtime session.

With neither team able to capitalize in the extra frame, the game went to the shootout. Morrison stopped the first two shooters for Lowell, which opened the door for his team to claim their second straight home shootout victory of the season. Walter was the first to score for the Sound Tigers but Patrick Davis roofed a shot over Morrison's glove to counter Walter's goal and even the shootout tallies at one. In the Sound Tigers shootout victory last Sunday, it was Colliton who scored the winner and once again he did the same tonight with his second goal in the shootout this season. Colliton faked the shot and backhanded the puck over Doyle's pad to give the Sound Tigers the 2-1 advantage. Morrison would stop Clarke on Lowell's next attempt so it came down to Tambellini needing to score to seal the victory for the Sound Tigers. With his patented move, Tambellini came low made a quick fake as if he was going to his backhand and snapped the puck low to the stick side of Doyle giving the Sound Tigers the clinching goal for a 4-3 victory.

Morrison finished the game with 21 saves on 24 shots while Doyle was peppered throughout the contest stopping 53 of 56 Sound Tiger shots. The Sound Tigers were 5-6 on the power-play and 4-5 on the penalty-kill.

The Sound Tigers will travel to Springfield to skate against the Falcons this coming Friday at 7:30 p.m. Their next home game is this upcoming Sunday when the Portland Pirates skate into town for a 4 p.m. game at Arena at Harbor Yard.

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American Hockey League Stories from December 1, 2007


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