Recap: Islanders 5, Rocket 2
Oct 22, 2022Chris Terry, Simon Holmstrom and Andy Andreoff combined for eight points on Saturday night to lead the Bridgeport Islanders (3-1-0-0), American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders, to a 5-2 win against the Laval Rocket (1-3-1-0) in front of 5,673 fans in their home opener at Total Mortgage Arena.
Terry (one goal, two assists) and Andreoff (three assists) each had a trio of points, while Simon Holmstrom scored his first two goals of the season. Jakub Skarek (1-1-0) made 28 saves. Hudson Fasching and Ruslan Iskhakov also found the back of the net, as the Islanders won their third straight game.
The Islanders opened the scoring just under eight minutes into the first period when Terry rush down the ice and found Holmstrom in front for his first tally of the season. Holmstrom redirected the pass around former Bridgeport goalie Kevin Poulin, who ended the night with 24 saves for Laval. Samuel Bolduc had the secondary assist, one of two points in his second straight multi-point performance.
The Montreal Canadiens’ affiliate replied less than six minutes later when Anthony Richard forced a Bridgeport turnover and fired a wrist shot around Skarek to make it 1-1 at 14:22.
In the final two minutes of the first, Fasching found the back of the net for the second straight night, giving Bridgeport a one-goal advantage heading into the first intermission. Arnaud Durandeau and Seth Helgeson were credited with the assists at 18:17.
The Islanders killed off two penalties in the first half of the second period and then used that momentum to extend their lead on Terry’s second goal of the season. It came just as a Bridgeport power-play expired at the 15:39 mark. Terry’s fourth point of the year (two goals, two assists) was assisted by Andreoff and Iskhakov.
The Islanders started the third period shorthanded due to Parker Wotherspoon’s roughing penalty after time expired in the second, which set up a Rafaël Harvey-Pinard on the power play. The Laval forward cashed in on a rebound goal from the doorstep to make it 3-2 just 1:25 into the third.
Iskhakov capitalized on a loose puck out front for his second goal in his fourth career game to make it 4-2. Both Andreoff and Bolduc tallied their second assist of the night at 6:25 of the third to regain Bridgeport’s two-goal lead.
With just over three minutes left, Holmstrom ended the scoring with an empty-netter for the 5-2 final.
The clock hit zero with the Islanders getting outshot (30-29) for the first time this season. They went 0-for-3 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill.
Next Time Out: The Islanders host the Hartford Wolf Pack tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. to conclude their three-game weekend series. Doors open at 2 p.m. and the first 2,500 fans receive a free rally towel. All games this season can be heard live online through the Bridgeport Islanders Radio Network, or seen via AHLTV, beginning with the pre-game show 20 minutes before puck drop.