Preview: Islanders vs. Bears
Oct 16, 2024THE STORY COMING IN
The Bridgeport Islanders (0-2-0-0) complete their season-opening, three-game homestand tonight with a 7 p.m. puck drop against the Hershey Bears (1-1-0-0) at Total Mortgage Arena. It’s the first of six meetings against the defending Calder Cup champs, and the first of three games in Connecticut. The Islanders are searching for their first win of the season after falling 3-2 to the Providence Bruins in the opener on Saturday, before a 3-0 loss to the Charlotte Checkers on Sunday. Jakub Skarek was terrific on Sunday afternoon, making 35 saves on 37 shots, but the offense struggled against former Islanders goalie Ken Appleby, who recorded his eighth career AHL shutout.
Watch tonight's game live: AHLTV on FloHockey
Listen to tonight's radio broadcast: Mixlr
$2 WEDNESDAY’S
Every Wednesday night home game will feature $2 hot dogs, $2 bags of popcorn, and $2 12 oz. cans of domestic beer throughout designated Total Mortgage Arena concession stands. These specials will be available until the end of the first period. The Islanders will play 10 Wednesday night home games this season.
VIEW FROM HERSHEY
Head coach Todd Nelson’s group is working towards its third consecutive Calder Cup championship. The Bears finished the 2023-24 regular season with more wins (53) and points (111) than anyone and beat the Phantoms, Wolf Pack, Monsters, and Firebirds in the playoffs, winning their 13th championship in franchise history. Hershey opened this season with a two-game split against Cleveland last weekend, a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals. After a 7-3 win on Saturday, the Bears suffered a 6-3 loss on Sunday despite Ivan Miroshnichenko’s first career hat trick. Hershey’s 10 combined goals in its first two games are tied for most in the AHL (with Charlotte and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton).
PIERRE POTS HIS FIRST
Pierre Engvall was assigned to Bridgeport by the New York Islanders on Oct. 7th and made his team debut on Saturday. It was his first AHL game since Nov. 17, 2019 as a member of the Toronto Marlies. Engvall, who played 318 NHL games with the Islanders and Maple Leafs over the past five seasons, made an immediate impact, scoring Bridgeport’s first goal of the season at 1:45 of the second period. In fact, going back to 2019, Engvall had scored a goal in four consecutive AHL games and had eight points over the span (6g, 2a) until he was held quiet on Sunday afternoon.
SKAREK, A STAPLE IN BRIDGEPORT’S CREASE
Jakub Skarek made his season debut on Sunday and turned aside 35 shots on 37 attempts. It was his 140th career game with Bridgeport dating back to his North American debut on Oct. 26, 2019. Skarek’s 140 appearances rank fourth on the team’s all-time list (11 behind Christopher Gibson for third) and his 44 wins are fifth-most (12 behind Rick DiPietro). A third-round pick of the New York Islanders in 2018, Skarek played 36 games with Bridgeport last season on the front end of a new two-year contract. If he plays that many games again this season, he would become the team’s all-time leader in appearances for a goaltender (currently held by Wade Dubielewicz, 164).
QUICK HITS
Cole Bardreau was named Bridgeport’s 15th captain in franchise history on Saturday, while Brian Pinho and Grant Hutton were selected as alternates... All three players are a key part of Bridgeport’s penalty kill, which has been strong to start the season (10-for-11, only goal allowed coming at 5-on-3)... Pinho, a former Bear who played his first four seasons in Hershey, scored a shorthanded goal in his 300th pro game on Saturday.
AFFILIATES
New York Islanders (1-1-1): Last: 6-2 W at Colorado, Monday -- Tomorrow at St. Louis, 8 p.m. ET
Worcester Railers (0-0-0-0): Season opener is Saturday, Oct. 19 vs. Reading, 6:05 p.m. ET