Recap: Islanders 4, Penguins 2
Nov 19, 2022William Dufour, Otto Koivula and Parker Wotherspoon each scored once and added an assist to propel the Bridgeport Islanders (8-3-3-0), American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders, to a 4-2 win against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (7-5-1-0) at Total Mortgage Arena on Saturday.
Kyle MacLean also recorded his third goal of the season early in the third period to break a 2-2 deadlock and ultimately help the Islanders snap a four-game slide. Parker Wotherspoon’s empty-net tally in the final minute was his first of the season.
Cory Schneider (6-1-1) made 30 saves and now shares third place in the AHL in wins.
Pittsburgh’s affiliate jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 5:32 into the first period on a Ty Smith shot from the point that filtered through heavy traffic on the power play. It came after Seth Helgeson was called for interference. Smith’s fourth goal of the season overall marked his third on the man advantage, tied for most on the Penguins’ roster.
The first period ended with the Penguins ahead 9-6 in the shot column, maintaining their one-goal lead. Bridgeport came up empty on two power plays in the opening 20 minutes, but its man advantage came to life after that.
Dufour answered with his second power-play goal of the year at 4:50 of the middle frame. He skated over the Penguins’ blue line and curled above the left circle before firing a shot past goalie Filip Lindberg. Koivula and Samuel Bolduc were credited with the assists on the rookie’s fifth career goal. Bolduc’s assist gave him the league lead in power-play points among defensemen with eight (one goal, seven assists).
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton regained its lead with three minutes to go in the second period when Sam Poulin took a breakout pass from Valtteri Puustinen and snuck it past Schneider. The lead was short lived as Bridgeport battled back to tie the game again before the intermission.
Corey Andonovski was called for holding with just under a minute to go, which led to Bridgeport’s second power-play tally of the period. Wotherspoon’s shot was blocked by traffic, but Koivula swept home the rebound at the 19:42 mark. Wotherspoon and Dufour were given the assists.
Just 4:27 into the final stanza, MacLean caught Cole Bardreau’s rink-wide feed above the left circle and placed a perfect wrist shot past Lindberg’s blocker to make it 3-2. Paul LaDue also picked up an assist, his second point of the season.
The Islanders survived a couple of late penalties and a 6-on-5 Penguins’ advantage with their net open. In fact, Wotherspoon converted for the first time this season after sending a shot into the unoccupied cage from his own end.
Bridgeport finished the game 2-for-5 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill. Lindberg (2-3-0) made 26 saves and the Penguins outshot the Islanders 32-30.
Next Time Out: The Islanders complete their three-game weekend series tomorrow afternoon with a 3:05 p.m. matchup against the Providence Bruins at Amica Mutual Pavilion. The game can be seen on AHLTV.com and heard via the Bridgeport Islanders Radio Network, beginning with the pre-game show at 2:45 p.m.