Recap: Checkers 5, Islanders 2
Oct 27, 2023The Bridgeport Islanders (2-3-1-0), American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders, scored twice on the power play but suffered a 5-2 loss to the Charlotte Checkers (3-3-0-0) at Bojangles Coliseum on Friday.
William Dufour and Samuel Asselin each recorded their first goals of the season against Charlotte’s Ludovic Waeber, but the Swiss-born goaltender stopped the other 27 shots he faced in his AHL debut. Jakub Skarek (2-2-1) made 25 saves in his fourth straight start for Bridgeport. Ruslan Iskhakov had two assists.
The Islanders and Checkers rematch tomorrow at 6 p.m.
The Checkers raced out to an early two-goal lead courtesy of Matt Kiersted and Rasmus Asplund prior to the eight-minute mark. Kiersted floated a lengthy try from the left point that was initially blocked, but his second effort sailed through traffic and over Skarek’s shoulder just 71 seconds in. Asplund connected on the power play at 7:36 for his second goal of the season, extending his point streak to three games.
Dufour’s first goal of the year cut the Islanders’ deficit in half when he drove a one-time shot past Waeber’s left pad on the man advantage. Iskhakov stepped into a crisp forehand pass above the left circle that he zipped to Dufour on the backside. Iskhakov leads Bridgeport with eight points (two goals, six assists) through six games and leads the team in assists as well, one ahead of Brian Pinho who recorded the secondary helper on the play.
Charlotte added to its lead with another pair of quick strikes to start the second. Lucas Carlsson notched his second goal of the season at the 1:34 mark and Jake Wise posted his second goal in as many games at 5:52.
The Islanders got back to within two in the final three minutes of the game when Asselin redirected Dennis Cholowski’s blue-line blast for his first goal with the team. Iskhakov guided the initial pass to Cholowski to pick up another assist for his third multi-point game this season.
Quinnipiac University product Skyler Brind’Amour capped the 5-2 final with an empty-net tally at 18:06 of the third.
The Islanders went 2-for-6 on the power play and 4-for-5 on the penalty kill. Charlotte outshot Bridgeport by a nose, 30-29.
Next Time Out: Same teams, same place, but one hour earlier. The Islanders and Checkers square off in a 6 p.m. rematch tomorrow night at Bojangles Coliseum. The game can be seen live on AHLTV.com or heard via the Bridgeport Islanders Radio Network, beginning with the Connecticut Lottery Pre-Game Countdown at 5:45 p.m.