Recap: Phantoms 6, Islanders 5 (SO)
Dec 28, 2022Andy Andreoff scored once and added two assists, and Chris Terry had one goal and one assist, to help the Bridgeport Islanders (14-10-5-1), American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders, secure one point in a 6-5 shootout loss to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (14-11-2-1) at PPL Center on Wednesday.
The Islanders scored twice in the first and third periods and battled back from a two-goal deficit in the final 11 minutes to get a point. Ruslan Iskhakov had a pair of assists, while Ken Appleby (0-0-1) made 22 saves in his AHL season debut.
Bridgeport remains third in the Atlantic Division standings despite dropping its sixth straight game (0-4-1-1).
The Islanders fell behind 1-0 for the fourth straight contest when Zayde Wisdom scored his first goal of the season just 4:29 into the opening period. Adam Brooks gathered Adam Ginning’s rebound near the goal line and centered a pass to Wisdom in the slot, who beat Appleby on the Phantoms’ second shot of the game. It was the first of three assists for Ginning and the first of two points for Brooks.
Bridgeport responded with two goals on two shots just 2:02 apart to take its first lead of the evening later in the period. Cole Bardreau muscled the puck past two Phantoms and to William Dufour below the hashmarks, where he beat goaltender Nolan Maier (2-0-1) on the backhand for his 11th of the season at 10:19. Dufour is tied for fourth among all AHL rookies in goals.
Sam Bolduc followed at 12:21 with his second goal in as many games, and a nearly identical tally as his strike on Tuesday. Bolduc waited at the left point and hammered a slap shot that saw its way through traffic and past Maier to make it 2-1. It was Bolduc’s sixth goal of the season.
Elliot Desnoyers pulled the Phantoms back even at 7:35 of the second period with the game’s only power-play goal. With Paul Thompson in the box for tripping, former Bridgeport forward Kieffer Bellows directed the puck to Artem Anisimov at the side of the crease, where he waited and flipped the puck near the back post for Desnoyers’ 12th goal of the season.
Terry answered 14 seconds later when he raced down the right wing and elevated a backhand shot into the top right corner for his eighth goal of the year and second in consecutive nights. Iskhakov and Andreoff had the assists, as the Islanders led 3-2 for the majority of the second.
Lehigh Valley’s Cooper Marody had two goals in the contest, which came back-to-back at 18:55 of the second and 3:40 of the third. Brooks made it 5-3 at 6:06 of the third period by jamming a shot underneath of Appleby’s pads.
Bridgeport wouldn’t leave Pennsylvania quietly though and battled back in the closing stages of regulation. A miscue from Maier in which he played the puck on a possible icing led to Jimmy Lambert stealing it deep in the Phantoms’ zone. He centered to Brown for a one-time finish, as Brown drove through the slot and notched his third of the year.
Andreoff tied the game at 5-5 with his team-leading 17th goal of the season and fourth in consecutive games. Head coach Brent Thompson pulled Appleby for the extra attacker with 1:42 remaining, and in the final 48 seconds, Dennis Cholowski snapped a shot from the blue line that Andreoff deflected home. Andreoff is tied for second among all AHL players in goals. He is tied for first among active players.
The Islanders couldn’t convert on a power play created by Tyson Foerster’s tripping minor in overtime and the contest headed to a six-round shootout, where the Phantoms outlasted the Islanders. Iskhakov and Durandeau had the goals for Bridgeport, while Bellows, Jordy Bellerive and Cal O’Reilly all scored for Lehigh Valley.
Bridgeport went 0-for-3 on the power play, snapping its stretch of three straight games with a goal on the man advantage.
Next Time Out: The Islanders face the Springfield Thunderbirds at 7:05 p.m. on Friday at MassMutual Center, their final game of 2022. Fans can watch all of the action online via AHLTV.