Recap: Islanders 4, Bruins 2
Feb 16, 2025Tyce Thompson broke a 2-2 tie late in the third period and Henrik Tikkanen was perfect on 22 shots in relief on Sunday, boosting the Bridgeport Islanders (12-32-3-2), American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders, to a 4-2 win against the Providence Bruins (27-16-4-1) at Amica Mutual Pavilion.
Brian Pinho scored his team-best 19th goal of the season and added one assist, while Chris Terry chipped in two assists for his team-leading 13th multi-point game. Terry exits the weekend with the second most points in the AHL (46) and tied for second in assists (31).
Eetu Liukas and Marshall Warren also scored to help the Islanders defeat the Bruins for the first time this season. Nine of the club’s 12 wins have come on the road.
Warren opened the scoring with a wrist shot from the left circle just 7:56 into the game. Pinho found Terry over the Bruins’ blue line, who directed a cross-ice pass to Warren moving ahead. The rookie defenseman beat Michael DiPietro (17-7-4) short side for his second professional goal, both coming against DiPietro in Providence. DiPietro entered the game 6-0-0 against the Islanders this season, and first among all AHL netminders in save percentage (.930) and GAA (1.96).
The Bruins responded with two goals less than a minute apart against starter Hunter Miska (no decision). John Farinacci scored his seventh goal of the season and extended his point streak to five games at the 13:20 mark, before Jeffrey Viel put Providence ahead, 2-1, at 14:13. Viel’s goal came on a nasty rebound occurring when Billy Sweezey’s blue-line shot redirected off Patrick Brown’s stick and into Miska’s neck, injuring the Bridgeport goaltender and ending his day.
With Tikkanen (4-12-1) backstopping the rest of the afternoon, the Islanders scored three unanswered goals for the comeback win. Pinho made it 2-2 at 17:35 of the second period, beating DiPietro on a rebound in tight after Terry’s initial shot was kicked back.
Sunday’s game remained knotted into the final six minutes thanks to Tikkanen and a strong penalty kill during a hectic sequence early in the third. Fabian Lysell pulled ahead on a breakaway at the 5:33 mark, in which Cam McDonald hooked and slashed the Bruins forward, and both penalties were accessed. Tikkanen denied Lysell on a penalty shot (due to the hooking call), and then Bridgeport’s kill erased a two-minute Providence power play (due to the slashing minor).
That put some momentum behind the Islanders offense, which broke through courtesy of Thompson in the final 5:13. William Dufour danced around defenseman Mason Millman and fed a pass to Thompson on the left side, where he scored his sixth goal of the season, second against the Bruins, and first game winner.
Eetu Liukas sealed the 4-2 final with an empty netter in the final 54 seconds.
The Islanders went 0-for-3 on the power play, but 1-for-1 on the penalty kill. Providence led in shots, 33-29.
Next Time Out: The Islanders host the Utica Comets at 5 p.m. next Saturday for "Storm's 24th birthday" at Total Mortgage Arena. The first 2,500 fans will receive a free bobblehead courtesy of Yale New Haven Health. Tickets are on sale now. The game can be heard for free via the Bridgeport Islanders Radio Network or seen live on AHLTV on FloHockey, beginning with the Connecticut Lottery Pregame Countdown at 4:45 p.m.