Game Day: Islanders vs. Phantoms
Jan 29, 2025THE STORY COMING IN
The Bridgeport Islanders (10-27-2-2) are in the midst of a stretch in which seven of eight games are on the road, but tonight is the exception, as the Islanders return to Total Mortgage Arena to face the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (20-17-5-1) at 7 p.m. It’s the Islanders’ second straight game against Lehigh Valley following a 2-1 loss in Allentown last Saturday. Chris Terry scored his 12th goal of the season and team-leading sixth on the power play, while Olle Lycksell had both goals for the Phantoms including the game winner with just 1:13 to play. Hunter Miska (0-2-0) made 21 saves, as the Islanders finished their four-game road trip 2-2-0-0. Bridgeport opens another three-game road trip on Friday.
Watch tonight's game live: AHLTV on FloHockey
Listen to tonight's radio broadcast: Mixlr
ISLANDERS VS. PHANTOMS
Tonight’s game is the third of six meetings between the Islanders and Phantoms this season, and the second of three in Connecticut. The series is knotted 1-1-0-0 so far, with the home team winning each of the first two games. Henrik Tikkanen (3-9-0) made 21 saves for his first AHL shutout and Bridgeport dominated from the start in a 5-0 win on Jan. 12. The Islanders went 2-2-1-1 against the Philadelphia Flyers’ affiliate last season.
VIEW FROM ALLENTOWN
Head coach Ian Laperrière’s team has lost three of its last four games, but defeated the Islanders, 2-1, at home on Saturday. The Phantoms ended a “3-in-3” series with a 5-1 setback to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Sunday afternoon, in which Cooper Marody scored their only goal and Alexei Kolosov (1-4-1) made 30 saves. 2025 AHL All-Star Olle Lycksell was held off the scoresheet for the first time in his last seven AHL games, but still has seven goals and four assists over that span. He is tied with 2024 All-Star Samu Tuomaala for the team lead in scoring (27 points) despite playing just 28 AHL games this season. The Phantoms are fifth in the Atlantic Division, four points ahead of Springfield and two points behind Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
GOING STREAKING
Sam Bolduc and Liam Foudy each carry season-long, five-game point streaks into tonight’s contest. Bolduc has assists in each of his last five games (1g, 7a), while Foudy has five goals and nine points (5g, 4a) in his last five. Foudy saw a career-long, four-game goal streak come to an end on Saturday, but recorded a secondary assist on Chris Terry’s third-period tally. He jumped to second on the team in scoring (28 points) and Foudy’s 15 goals also rank second on the club behind AHL All-Star Brian Pinho (17).
TERRY KEEPS CLIMBING
Chris Terry has five goals in the last five games, including his 12th of the season in Lehigh Valley on Saturday. It was his 69th career goal with Bridgeport in just 168 games. He is fifth on the team’s all-time list, just two goals behind Jeff Tambellini (2005-09) for fourth. Terry is four points behind Otto Koivula (2018-24) for second all-time in points. The five-time AHL All-Star has a team-leading 36 points, 24 assists, and 10 multi-point games in 40 appearances this season. He is tied for 11th in the League’s scoring race.
QUICK HITS
Jakub Skarek was recalled by the New York Islanders on an emergency basis on Monday... He is looking to become the third Bridgeport alum to make his NHL debut this season (Isaiah George and Marc Gatcomb are the others)... William Dufour celebrated his 23rd birthday yesterday... Matt Maggio played his 100th professional/AHL game on Saturday… The Islanders have scored a power-play goal in five straight games (seven goals total during that span).
AFFILIATES
New York Islanders (22-20-7): Last: 5-2 W vs. Colorado, last night -- Tomorrow at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m. ET
Worcester Railers (16-19-2-4): Last: 3-1 L at Maine, Saturday -- Next: Friday vs. Adirondack, 7:05 p.m. ET