Recap: Bruins 6, Islanders 3
Jan 7, 2023Cole Bardreau scored twice and Chris Terry extended his goal streak to three games on Saturday, but the Bridgeport Islanders (14-13-6-1), American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders, fell to the Providence Bruins (20-6-5-2) in a 6-3 final on Military Appreciation Night at Total Mortgage Arena.
The Islanders outshot the Bruins 39-31 but went 0-for-5 on the power play and surrendered four of the final five goals. Jakub Skarek (4-9-3) made 25 saves.
Terry extended his point streak to a season-high eight games (five goals, five assists) - the longest scoring streak for any Bridgeport player this year. William Dufour also pushed his point streak to a career-high six games (two goals, four assists) with a helper.
Bardreau opened the scoring at 15:41 of the first period when he snuck through the slot unmarked and elevated a quick release over goaltender Brandon Bussi’s shoulder in transition. Erik Brown and Vincent Sevigny had the assists. It was the first time Bridgeport scored the first goal at home since Dec. 10th.
The contest was physical from the opening faceoff and tempers boiled over just before Bardreau’s tally when Seth Helgeson and Joey Abate dropped the gloves at the 12:24 mark. They were both in the box when Bardreau lit he lamp at even strength.
Justin Brazeau, who had two goals and an assist for the Bruins on Saturday, wasted no time knotting the score early in the second, ripping a second-chance effort past Skarek 1:41 into the period. The Bruins took a 2-1 lead on Brazeau’s second goal after the 6-foot-5 forward snuck between the circles and sent a wrist shot into the net at 6:37.
Bardreau pulled the Islanders back even with his second goal of the night at 13:07 of the middle frame, skating to the hash marks and deflecting Seth Helgeson’s shot from the point. Dennis Cholowski had the secondary assist.
Each of the next three goals belonged to the Bruins, who broke the game open en route to their fourth straight victory. Fifty seconds after Bardreau tied the game, Joona Koppanen collected his fifth goal of the season and Vinni Lettieri followed up with his team-leading 12th tally just 30 seconds after that. Oskar Steen pounded home Lettieri’s rebound while driving the net to make it 5-2 just 1:22 into the third.
Terry deflected Helgeson’s distant shot for his fifth goal in the last six games, and his third straight, at 11:42 of the third period to cut Bridgeport’s deficit to 5-2. Dufour recorded the secondary assist.
Mike Reilly capped the scoring with an empty netter, assisted by Bussi, at 17:35.
The Islanders went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill but suffered their 10th straight setback (0-7-2-1) and seventh in a row at home.
Next Time Out: The Islanders return to action next Wednesday, Jan. 11th with a 7 p.m. matchup against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at Total Mortgage Arena. Fans can watch all of the action online via AHLTV.