Recap: Wolf Pack 4, Islanders 1
Mar 29, 2023Seth Helgeson became the all-time games played leader for the Bridgeport Islanders (30-26-7-1) on Friday night in a 4-1 setback to the Hartford Wolf Pack (29-25-4-7) at XL Center.
Helgeson played his 369th career game with the New York Islanders’ affiliate, passing Mark Wotton’s previous mark. Fellow veteran Paul Thompson scored Bridgeport’s lone goal at 13:07 of the first period, while Cory Schneider (18-9-3) made 24 saves.
The Islanders fell to seventh in the Atlantic Division standings but continue to control their own destiny with eight games left in the regular season. Bridgeport trails Hartford by one point for a playoff spot but has one game in hand.
Thompson put the Islanders ahead 1-0 with his ninth goal of the season and seventh at even strength. Collin Adams dug the puck free from a battle along the right boards and fed Thompson in the circle, where he surprised Louis Domingue (18-12-8) with a wrist shot over the netminder’s glove. It was Thompson’s second goal in the last three games and Adams’ fifth point in his last six.
Hartford responded with four unanswered goals including three on 13 shots in the second period to secure its win. Jonny Brodzinski scored twice, his first coming just 2:10 into the middle frame to make it 1-1. Brodzinski stole the puck at center ice, began a two-on-one rush into Bridgeport’s zone, and beat Schneider’s glove from the right circle for his 19th goal of the season.
Jake Leschyshyn capitalized on the power play at the 9:49 mark to give Hartford the lead before Karl Henriksson redirected Brandon Scanlin’s slap shot from the blue line at 17:02. Lauri Pajuniemi assisted on both tallies.
Brodzinski’s second goal of the contest came with Schneider on the bench in the final three minutes. Will Cuylle directed the puck into Bridgeport’s zone where Brodzinski caught up to it and finished into an empty net.
The Islanders went 0-for-1 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill. Bridgeport fell to 5-6-0-0 against the Wolf Pack this season. All 11 meetings have been decided in regulation.
Next Time Out: The Islanders complete a four-game road trip on Saturday with a 7:05 p.m. matchup against the Providence Bruins at Amica Mutual Pavilion. The game can be seen live via AHLTV.com.