Recap: Islanders 5, Checkers 1
Dec 18, 2021The Bridgeport Islanders (9-13-1-3), American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders, scored five times for the second straight Saturday and beat the Charlotte Checkers (13-11-2-0) at Bojangles Coliseum, 5-1.
Five players found the back of the net including three goals in the first period from Cole Bardreau, Jeff Kubiak and Blade Jenkins. Michael Dal Colle and Chris Terry scored in the third, while Jakub Skarek (6-6-2) made 28 saves.
The win evened the season series at 1-1-0-0 and snapped Charlotte’s three-game win streak.
Bardreau’s second goal in as many games gave the Islanders a lead just 2:17 into the contest. Erik Brown hurried down the left wing and circled behind the net before centering a pass for Bardreau’s backhand finish past Checkers goalie and Connecticut native Spencer Knight, who made his AHL debut.
Grant Hutton also earned a helper on Bardreau’s goal and he assisted again less than six minutes later on Jeff Kubiak’s first goal of the season. Hutton found Thomas Hickey at the left point, where he floated a shot towards the net that Kubiak tipped down and past Knight.
Jenkins’ made it 3-0 at the 11:27 mark when he finished Bardreau’s centering pass from the doorstep.
Carson Twarynski got the Checkers on the board at 10:15 of the second, but Dal Colle and Terry each responded with a third-period goal en route to the 5-1 final. Dal Colle, in his first game back from injury since Halloween, sent a backhand shot into an empty net after Knight misplayed the puck behind his own cage 43 seconds into the period. Terry’s one-timer from the right circle capped the scoring at 6:43.
The Islanders went 0-for-2 on the power play, but 3-for-3 on the kill. Bridgeport outshot Charlotte 32-29.
Next Time Out: The Islanders return to action tomorrow with a 1 p.m. rematch against the Checkers at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, N.C. Fans can follow the action all season long via the Bridgeport Islanders Radio Network and AHLTV.