Preview: Islanders vs. Rocket
Oct 22, 2022The Bridgeport Islanders (2-1-0-0) celebrate a new season at Total Mortgage Arena with back-to-back games to open their home schedule this weekend. The Islanders host the Laval Rocket (1-2-1-0) tonight at 7 p.m. and the Hartford Wolf Pack (0-1-1-0) on Sunday at 3 p.m. Bridgeport will look to build on consecutive wins including a 5-4 overtime victory against the Providence Bruins on Friday night.
LISTEN LIVE: https://bit.ly/BridgeportIslanders
WATCH: AHLTV.com
HOME IS WHERE THE PARTY IS
Tonight is the 22nd home opener in team history and you’re invited to kick off the party with Isles Fan Fest from 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. The Total Mortgage Arena Plaza, located directly outside the main entrance, will host food trucks as well as a street hockey rink and the acoustic duo, “The Hooch,” will perform live. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the first 2,500 fans will receive a 2022-23 magnet schedule. The game also features the inaugural series of Bridgeport Islanders Mystery Pucks, where a limited number of replica pucks, signed by various players, will be available for purchase.
LAST TIME OUT
William Dufour scored his first two professional goals including the game-winner in overtime to lift the Islanders to a 5-4 win at Providence on Friday. Dufour bookended the game with his first pro goal just 92 seconds into the contest and the exclamation point at 2:11 of overtime. Samuel Bolduc, Hudson Fasching and Andy Andreoff also scored, while Cory Schneider (2-0-0) earned his second straight win with 25 saves. Two of Bridgeport’s goals came on the power play (2-for-4).
VIEW FROM LAVAL
The Montreal Canadiens’ affiliate wraps up a two-game road trip tonight before opening a season-long, six-game homestand on Wednesday. Laval is still looking for its first win on the road (0-2-0-0) following a 2-1 setback to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last night. Gabriel Bourque scored the only Rocket goal, his fourth of the season in the final four minutes of regulation, which ties him for the league lead with five other players. Cayden Primeau made 21 saves. Tonight is the first of two meetings between the Islanders and Rocket, with the other coming Mar. 22nd in Quebec.
VIEW FROM HARTFORD
The New York Rangers’ affiliate was swept by Charlotte on opening weekend, but recorded one point in an overtime loss in North Carolina on Oct. 14th. The following night, Hartford fell behind by three goals and suffered a 3-1 loss in the rematch. Veteran forward Turner Elson’s late power-play goal was the only Hartford tally. The Wolf Pack had Friday off before hosting Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this evening. Sunday’s matchup is the first of 12 meetings between the Islanders and Wolf Pack this season, and the first of six at Total Mortgage Arena.
DU-SCORE
William Dufour was selected in the fifth round, #152 overall, of the 2020 NHL Draft by the New York Islanders. The 20-year-old forward, who scored his first two pro goals on Friday, led the Saint John Sea Dogs with a career-high 56 goals (led all QMJHL players) and 116 points in 66 games last season. He was named QMJHL Player of the Year and QMJHL MVP before winning the 2022 Memorial Cup and MVP honors there too. In August, he helped Canada capture gold at the World Junior Championships, becoming just the 25th player to ever win both the gold medal and Memorial Cup in the same season.
SHOTS SHOT SHOTS
Bridgeport has outshot its opponent in all three games this season. The club fired 43 shots at Bruins goaltender Keith Kinkaid on Oct. 14th, their most in a regulation loss since Oct. 31, 2021 against Hartford (also against Kinkaid). The Islanders recorded 31 shots last Saturday in Springfield and another 32 shots on Friday in Providence. They rank fourth in the AHL in shots per game (35.33).
TERRY TIME
Veteran sniper Chris Terry led the Islanders with 30 goals last season and it took him barely five periods to find the back of the net in 2022-23. The five-time AHL All-Star scored last Saturday’s game-winning goal just 16 seconds into the second period. It was #264 of his AHL career, placing him in sole possession of 33rd place all time. With an assist last night in Providence, Terry has 10 goals and 17 points in his last 14 games dating back to March 27th.
QUICK HITS
Bridgeport earned points in 10 of its 12 games against North Division opponents last season (8-2-0-0)… After tonight’s game against Laval, they won’t face another North Division team until Nov. 25th at Rochester… Samuel Bolduc recorded his second career multi-point game on Friday (one goal, one assist)… The Islanders enter the weekend ranked fifth in the AHL on the penalty kill (15-for-17, 88.2%).
SUNDAY FUNDAY
Doors open at 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon and the first 2,500 fans will take home an Islanders rally towel. In addition, all kids ages 12 and younger will get in for just $10 with the purchase of an adult ticket during each Sunday home game this season. The Sunday Kid’s Day offer is available online or at the Yale New Haven Health Box Office. All fans with a military ID and seniors 65 and older will receive a $5 discount when purchasing tickets at the Yale New Haven Health Box Office for any one of the 36 home games.