Recap: Penguins 6, Islanders 3
Apr 7, 2024William Dufour recorded a goal and one assist, but the Bridgeport Islanders (24-36-6-1), American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders, suffered a 6-3 loss to the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins (34-22-8-1) at Total Mortgage Arena on Saturday.
Matt Maggio and Daylan Kuefler also scored for the Islanders, while Ty Smith had four assists and Austin Rueschhoff buried a hat trick for the Penguins.
Jakub Skarek (no decision) made 13 saves before he was relieved by Ken Appleby (10-10-0) midway through the second period. The Penguins outshot the Islanders 33-20 during the contest.
The Penguins came out firing, scoring three first-period goals and breaking the ice just 2:59 into the game. Vinnie Hinostroza took a shot from the right circle that looked to be going wide, but redirected off an Islander skate and into the back of an open net for a power-play goal. Smith and Owen Headrick recorded the assists.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton extended its lead just 1:59 later with a goal from Evan Vierling, finishing off a two-on-one rush. Corey Andonovski slid a pass over to Vierling, who snapped a shot past Skarek on the back door. Smith received the secondary assist.
The Penguins added another goal 8:06 into the first period with Rueschhoff’s 11th tally of the season, coming on the power play. Radim Zohorna fired a shot from the bottom of the left circle that bounced off Skarek, landing in the slot before Rueschhoff shoveled it home. Smith recorded his third assist of the period.
The Islanders got on the board before the first intermission when Kuefler redirected a Dufour shot from the right circle past goalie Ludovic Waeber. Dufour sparked the play with a great takeaway at the blueline to create the set-up, finishing off the first period scoring.
Bridgeport cut its deficit to 3-2 with Dufour’s 15th goal of the season and second in as many games, coming 12:11 into the second period. The Islanders maintained possession off a face-off win in the offensive zone and Dufour snapped a shot from the top of the left circle, going bar down on Waeber. Sam Asselin received the assist.
The Penguins added to their lead 3:07 into the third period with Rueschhoff’s second goal of the game. Hinostroza threaded a seam pass to Rueschhoff, who found himself in alone before firing a shot past Appleby from the bottom of the right circle. Smith was credited with his fourth assist of the game.
Xavier Ouellet extended Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s lead 6:31 into the third period, ripping a shot past Appleby from the left point, coming directly off a face-off win from Jagger Joshua.
The Islanders got back on the board 9:44 into the period with Maggio’s 15th goal of the season. Ruslan Iskhakov took a shot that was blocked by a Penguin forward, bouncing directly to Maggio, who fired another chance past Waeber. Grant Hutton recorded the secondary assist.
Rueschhoff finished off the hat trick scoring an empty-net goal with 23 seconds left in the game.
Bridgeport finished the game 0-for-4 on the power play and 3-for-5 on the penalty kill.