Sports stats



AHL Bridgeport Islanders

The Bridgeport Report - Week 25

March 27, 2018 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Bridgeport Islanders News Release


BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - The Bridgeport Sound Tigers (32-26-5-3), proud AHL affiliate of the New York Islanders, continued their second-half push with a two-game split last weekend as the club completed a four-game road trip. Leading scorer Travis St. Denis remained hot and added four points (two goals, two assists) to his outstanding sophomore season, giving the Quinnipiac University product a team-best 41 points and 22 goals (tied for 22nd in the AHL).

The Sound Tigers are nine points out of a playoff spot with 10 games left in the regular season, trailing only the fourth-place Charlotte Checkers, whose magic number is "12". That's the same as Bridgeport's elimination number - combination of points missed by the Sound Tigers or collected by the Checkers.

St. Denis assisted on Casey Bailey's eighth power-play goal of the season Friday night, but the Sound Tigers opened the weekend with a 4-1 loss to the Syracuse Crunch (41-19-3-4) at the Oncenter War Memorial Arena. Sebastian Aho, who was loaned by the Islanders on Thursday, also earned a helper in his first AHL contest since Jan. 10, while former Sound Tiger Carter Verhaeghe scored twice to pace the Crunch. Between the pipes, Kristers Gudlevskis (11-14-5) made 26 saves in his return to Syracuse, where he spent four years prior to a trade last July. It capped a two-game sweep of the season series for Syracuse.

The Sound Tigers bounced back with a convincing 6-3 win against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (32-26-5-3) on Sunday afternoon, scoring six-plus goals for the sixth time in 2017-18. St. Denis and Ryan Bourque each potted two goals and Ryan Hitchcock celebrated his first pro tally in a penalty-riddled affair, while Eamon McAdam made 24 saves to earn his third victory (3-1-0) in six AHL appearances this year. The contest also included 17 combined power plays and 74 total penalty minutes, highlighted by a pair of second-period fights between Tom Sestito against Yanick Turcotte, and Ben Holmstrom versus Garrett Wilson . The Sound Tigers went 3-for-11 on the man advantage (setting a season high for most power-play opportunities in a game) and 4-for-6 on the penalty kill. It was Bridgeport's first victory at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza since Apr. 2, 2016.

The Islanders' top affiliate returns to Webster Bank Arena this Wednesday with a 7 p.m. matchup against the Hershey Bears (28-31-4-5), who were eliminated from playoff contention following a 4-2 loss on Sunday. The action shifts back to the road Easter weekend for a Friday-Saturday doubleheader against the Springfield Thunderbirds (28-33-5-1) and Hartford Wolf Pack (30-30-5-3), respectively. Fans can follow all of the upcoming action via the Sound Tigers Radio Network and AHL Live, beginning with the pre-game show 15 minutes prior to each listed start time.

The week ahead:

Wednesday, Mar. 28 vs. Hershey Bears (7 p.m.) - Take advantage of $1 hot dogs presented by Hummel Bros. and $5 draft beers for those 21 and older, courtesy of Budweiser, when the Sound Tigers host Hershey for the final time this season. Both terrific concession specials will be offered at all first-level concession stands throughout the evening and great seats are available now!

Friday, Mar. 30 at Springfield Thunderbirds (7:05 p.m.) - The Sound Tigers travel to MassMutual Center for the fifth and final time this season, looking to snap a five-game slide at the venue. Bridgeport is 4-5-0-0 against Springfield this season, but hasn't won in Massachusetts since March 29, 2017. The eighth-place Thunderbirds have already been eliminated from playoff contention.

Saturday, Mar. 31 at Hartford Wolf Pack (7 p.m.) - The Sound Tigers and Wolf Pack complete their 10-game season series on Saturday night at the XL Center. Bridgeport has dominated the series (6-1-1-1) and outscored Hartford 35-18 thus far, including a 4-0 shutout in their last tilt on Feb. 18.

News and notes:

Power Up: Casey Bailey has nine points (five goals, four assists) in his last 10 games and all but one of those have come on the power play. He scored Bridgeport's lone tally in Friday's 4-1 loss to Syracuse with a one-time blast from the left circle and added a power-play assist on Sunday, giving the fourth-year forward a team-best 19 points on the man advantage (eight goals, 11 assists). In addition, Bailey has helped the club score at least one power-play goal in eight of its last 10 games and go 13-for-44 over that span (29.5%).

Points in Pairs: Ryan Bourque helped the Sound Tigers snap their winless drought on Sunday with his fourth two-goal effort of the season. In fact, it was the ninth two-point performance of the season for Bourque, who is second on the team in multi-point games (nine) and fourth on the club in scoring. Eighteen of his 30 points have come in pairs and his 12 goals this season are the most in a year since 2014-15. He has five goals (seven points) in his last six games and Bourque is also tied for the team lead with a plus-13 rating.

Next Generation: The Sound Tigers have added three promising young players this month, including Yale University product Ryan Hitchcock (ATO), who is off to a tremendous start in his pro career. The 23-year-old opened the scoring with his first pro goal against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Sunday and added an assist, which was very nearly his second goal that rang off the crossbar and bounced to Travis St. Denis. Hitchcock also collected three helpers in his second pro game on March 15 and currently boasts five points (one goal, four assists) in six contests. In addition, the Sound Tigers have agreed to terms with defensemen Ryan MacKinnon (University of Prince Edward Island) on an AHL deal through 2018-19 and Tyler Mueller (UMass-Lowell) on an amateur tryout (ATO). Mueller made his pro debut on Sunday and recorded two penalty minutes.

Quick Hits: Travis St. Denis has 14 points (nine goals, five assists) in his last 11 games... Josh Ho-Sang has seven points (2g, 5a) in his last nine games... Bailey is tied for fifth in the AHL with 184 shots this season... Seth Helgeson is fourth among AHL defensemen with 113 penalty minutes... Each of the last 10 games will take place against Atlantic Division opponents... AHL STANDINGS.

Team leaders:

Games played: Ben Holmstrom, Casey Bailey, Seth Helgeson (66)

Goals: Travis St. Denis (22)

Assists: Tanner Fritz* (27)

Points: Travis St. Denis (41)

Plus/minus: Kyle Burroughs, Ryan Bourque (+13)

Penalty minutes: Seth Helgeson, Ross Johnston* (113)

Power-play goals: Travis St. Denis (10)

Shots: Casey Bailey (184)

* = Currently playing with the New York Islanders

Affiliate report:

The New York Islanders (31-35-10) were mathematically eliminated from the postseason Monday night following a 3-0 loss to the Florida Panthers at Barclays Center. Former Sound Tiger Christopher Gibson made 38 saves, but the Islanders offense couldn't pull through in the club's third straight loss. Another former Sound Tiger, Andres Lee, saw his four-game point streak come to an end (five goals, one assist), but he continues to lead New York with a career-best 38 goals in 76 games this season. John Tavares paces the team with 78 points (33 goals, 45 assists). The Islanders return to action tonight with a 7:30 p.m. matchup against the Ottawa Senators in Ontario.

The Worcester Railers H.C. (31-26-4-4) pocketed three points in a trio of games last week and carried a six-game unbeaten in regulation streak into their weekend finale, but suffered a 3-0 loss to the Reading Royals on Sunday. One day prior, former Sound Tigers Josh Holmstrom and Mike Cornell each scored in a 4-1 victory against Reading to aid in Worcester's playoff push. The Railers are 16-7-3 in their last 26 games and currently rank fifth in the North Division standings, five points out of a playoff spot behind the Wheeling Nailers. Worcester returns to action on Wednesday with a 7:05 p.m. matchup against the Adirondack Thunder, one of just seven games remaining in the regular season.

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 27, 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