Three Games in Three Days This Weekend
Mar 6, 2020THE STORY COMING IN
The Bridgeport Islanders (20-32-5-2), American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders, face their eighth "three-in-three" of the season this weekend with matchups against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (24-26-2-6) and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (27-24-3-5). With all three games on the road, Bridgeport will play in Allentown, Penn. tonight (7:05 p.m.) and Sunday (3:05 p.m.), with a game at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton thrown in-between on Saturday (7:05 p.m.). The Sound Tigers enter the weekend eighth in the Atlantic Division standings, nine points behind the seventh-place Phantoms.
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LAST TIME OUT
The Sound Tigers have points in four of their last five road games, but suffered a 1-0 loss to the Binghamton Devils in their last outing at home on Sunday. Christopher Gibson (7-8-5) made 27 saves on 28 shots, but the offense couldn't get going, despite 36 shots on Zane McIntyre. It was the fifth time that Bridgeport has been blanked this season and tonight, the Sound Tigers will look for their first goal since Nick Schilkey's ninth of the year at 13:49 of the second period last Saturday against Hartford.
TIGERS VS. PHANTOMS
Tonight's tilt is the fifth of six games between the Sound Tigers and Phantoms this season, and the second of three in Allentown. The series finale will take place on Sunday afternoon. Bridgeport is just 1-2-1-0 in the series and Lehigh Valley has won three straight, including a wild 8-5 victory at Webster Bank Arena on Feb. 19. The Sound Tigers suffered a 3-2 overtime loss at PPL Center on Feb. 14, in which Travis St. Denis and Simon Holmstrom each scored in regulation, but Mikhail Vorobyev ended the night at 1:38 of OT.
VIEW FROM ALLENTOWN
The seventh-place Phantoms have lost five of seven games since the Sound Tigers last visited PPL Center on Feb. 14. On Saturday, James de Haas and Andy Andreoff each scored in the third period, but it was too little too late in a 4-2 loss to the Charlotte Checkers at home. Andreoff has scored in back-to-back games and ranks fifth on the club with 10 goals this season. Cal O'Reilly leads Lehigh Valley in points (29) and assists (23) through 48 appearances, while Greg Carey paces the team in goals (15). Alex Lyons is 20th among AHL goaltenders with a 2.67 goals-against-average in 30 games. The Phantoms complete a three-game homestand tonight.
TIGERS VS. PENGUINS
The Sound Tigers and Penguins will end their six-game season series on Saturday with their third and final matchup at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. Bridgeport is 3-1-0-1 against the Penguins and has won three straight, including a 3-2 win at home on Feb. 15. Simon Holmstrom led that way that night with his first two-goal performance in the AHL. The Sound Tigers are 1-1-0-0 in Wilkes-Barre this season following a 3-2 shootout win on Feb. 1.
VIEW FROM WILKES-BARRE
The Penguins enter the weekend on a four-game losing streak, which has dropped them six points outside of a playoff spot with 17 games left in the regular season. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is just 3-7-0-0 in its last 10 and suffered a 5-1 loss at Hershey last Saturday, in which captain David Warsofsky scored his 10th goal of the season. In fact, Warsofsky is tied for third among all AHL defensemen in goals, is tied for 13th among blue-liners in scoring (32 points) and leads all AHL defensemen in power-play goals (seven). Casey DeSmith is fourth among AHL netminders in saves (1,029), minutes played (2,241) and tied for first in shootout wins (four). Wilkes-Barre/Scranton concludes a three-game road trip tonight before hosting the Sound Tigers on Saturday.
WELCOME TO BRIDGEPORT
The Sound Tigers added forwards Terry Broadhurst and Cedric Lacroix from the Charlotte Checkers on Monday in exchange for Ryan Bourque as the AHL’s trade deadline passed at 3 p.m. ET. Broadhurst is in his eighth professional season and had seven assists in 29 games with the Checkers earlier this year. Lacroix is a second-year pro who played just 11 games with Charlotte, but also earned 26 points (12 goals, 14 assists) in 34 games with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits (ECHL) this season. Both players are expected to make their Sound Tigers' debuts this weekend.
BLUE-LINE SCORING
The Sound Tigers are one of only four teams in the AHL to be led in scoring by a defenseman. Sebastian Aho paces the club with 27 points and 25 assists, and Parker Wotherspoon is third on the team with 24 points following his first three-point outing of the season last Friday. Grant Hutton leads Bridgeport defensemen with six goals.
BARDREAU BACK IN LEHIGH
Former Phantom Cole Bardreau makes his first trip back to Lehigh Valley since signing a one-year, two-way deal with the Islanders in July. He was not with the Sound Tigers on Feb. 14 due to his second career NHL recall. He was promoted for the first time back in October and played nine games with the Isles, including his NHL debut on Oct. 19 at Columbus. Bardreau also became just the seventh player to ever score his first NHL goal on a penalty shot (Nov. 5 against Ottawa). The fifth-year forward has four points (2g, 2a) in 35 contests with the Sound Tigers this season. He played 226 career games with Lehigh Valley.
QUICK HITS
Seth Helgeson is second among all AHL defensemen with 95 penalty minutes… Last Friday’s game at Springfield was just the third time Bridgeport has won a game when trailing after the first period… Oliver Wahlstrom is third among AHL rookies in shootout percentage (2-for-3, 66.7%)... Terry Broadhurst, who was with Charlotte when they faced the Phantoms last weekend, could play four consecutive games at the PPL Center if he’s in the Sound Tigers’ lineup on Friday and Sunday.
AFFILIATE REPORT
NHL: New York Islanders (35-23-8) - Next: Saturday vs. Carolina, 1 p.m. ET
ECHL: Worcester Railers (19-35-4-0) - Next: Saturday vs. Reading, 7:05 p.m. ET