Recap: Bruins 5, Islanders 3
Jan 22, 2022The Bridgeport Islanders (14-18-3-4), American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders, scored two goals in the opening 78 seconds against the Providence Bruins (17-10-3-1) on Saturday, but suffered a 5-3 loss at Webster Bank Arena in the third of three consecutive games between the division rivals.
Otto Koivula, Arnaud Durandeau, and Kyle MacLean all scored for the Islanders, while Cole Bardreau recorded two assists and Cory Schneider (3-8-2) made 32 saves. Bridgeport fell to 3-3-0-2 against the Bruins this season.
Bridgeport stormed out of the gates with two goals just 14 seconds apart, and both within the first 1:18 of the contest, to build a 2-0 advantage. Koivula converted his eighth goal of the season at the 1:04 mark with a redirection in front of Bruins’ netminder Troy Grosenick on Grant Hutton’s point shot. Shortly after, Durandeau changed the direction of Cole Bardreau’s centering pass from the right corner for his second goal in as many days, and his sixth of the season.
Providence pulled one back at 16:33 of the first period when a wrist shot from Victor Berglund was tipped by Justin Brazeau out front and ended up behind a screened Schneider. It was Brazeau’s fifth goal of the season, which made it 2-1 entering the first intermission.
The only power-play tally of the night occurred 55 seconds into the middle frame courtesy of Providence forward Sam Asselin. His seventh goal of the season came with time expiring on Parker Wotherspoon’s roughing penalty from the first period, assisted by Jack Studnicka and Zach Senyshyn.
The Bruins outshot Bridgeport 15-6 in the second period, but MacLean restored the Isles’ advantage at 3:51 of the frame when he motored towards the net and received Bardreau’s no-look, backhand pass in stride. He held the puck for an extra second to get Grosenick out of position, and then flipped home his fourth goal of the season.
Jack Ahcan got the Bruins back even at the 12:38 mark, which began a sequence of three unanswered goals to lift Providence to victory. Ahcan skated to a soft spot between the circles and settled Asselin’s pass before capitalizing on a one-time blast around Schneider.
Eduards Tralmaks broke the 3-3 tie at 5:57 of the third period with the eventual game winner. He tucked home a forehand shot from a tough angle below the right circle, and Jesper Froden iced the game with an empty netter in the final 55 seconds of regulation.
Bridgeport had five power-play opportunities in Saturday’s tilt, but came up empty on each. The Islanders’ penalty kill was 2-for-3, and Bridgeport was outshot 37-26.
Next Time Out: Bridgeport hosts Springfield for Wizarding World Night tomorrow at 3 p.m. to conclude its brief two-game homestand. Webster Bank Arena will be turned into a Wizarding World, complete with a virtual reality wizard game, trivia and more. Click here for tickets. The game can be heard online via the Bridgeport Islanders Radio Network and seen through AHLTV, beginning with the pre-game show at 2:45 p.m.