Recap: Bruins 3, Islanders 1
Oct 14, 2022The Bridgeport Islanders (0-1-0-0), American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders, frequently tested the Providence Bruins (1-0-0-0) with 43 shots on Friday, but suffered a 3-1 loss in their season opener at Amica Mutual Pavilion.
Providence goaltender Keith Kinkaid made 42 saves including 19 in the third period. Fifteen of the Islanders’ chances came between Chris Terry and William Dufour (pictured), who made his professional debut. Jeff Kubiak scored Bridgeport’s lone tally early in the second period.
The division rivals didn’t give an inch for much of the first 14 minutes, with neither team finding the back of the net until Georgii Merkulov altered Connor Carrick’s shot past Jakub Skarek at the 13:59 mark. Just 87 seconds later, Fabian Lysell capitalized on a blast from the left wing. Chris Wagner added a third tally 37 seconds later on a wrap-around that beat Skarek’s fully-extended leg pad to make it 3-0.
Kubiak got one back with a rebound goal at 4:17 of the second period. Cole Bardreau and Kyle MacLean teamed up near the right corner after Dennis Cholowski’s shot sailed wide and Kinkaid gave up a loose puck for Kubiak in front.
The Islanders outshot Providence 32-15 during the final two periods, but the combination of Kinkaid’s strong performance and an empty power play (0-for-4) kept the score 3-1. However, Bridgeport’s penalty kill was tremendous, ending the night 6-for-6.
Skarek (0-1-0) made 28 saves on 31 shots.
Next Time Out: The Islanders continue their season-opening road trip tomorrow night with a 7:05 p.m. matchup against the Springfield Thunderbirds at MassMutual Center. Catch all of the action for free this weekend via AHLTV, or listen to the game live on the free Mixlr app at www.bit.ly/IslesRadio.