By: Alan Fuehring, Bridgeport Islanders
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (November 9, 2024) – Marc Gatcomb matched his career high with two goals on Saturday night, but the Bridgeport Islanders (2-8-1-1), American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders, suffered an 8-4 loss to the Providence Bruins (5-6-0-0) at Total Mortgage Arena.
Despite an evenly played contest for most of the evening, the Bruins blew the door open with three goals in 56 seconds and four in a span of 3:07, midway through the third period. John Farinacci scored twice, while Georgii Merkulov and Vinni Lettieri had three-point efforts, racking up one goal and two assists each.
The Islanders found themselves in penalty trouble throughout the game, and the Bruins capitalized mightily, recording two power-play goals for the second straight meeting. Bridgeport’s power play went 1-for-5 on Military Appreciation Night in front of 4,239 energetic fans.
The Bruins struck first in the contest. At 12:15, Marc McLaughlin stole the puck in the left circle and fired a wrister past Henrik Tikkanen to grab a 1-0 lead. However, the Islanders responded less than six minutes later as time expired on Fabian Lysell’s hooking penalty. Gatcomb filtered the puck through Brandon Bussi’s five-hole for his second goal in as many days and his first of the contest on Saturday.
The second period saw a frenzy of offense, as each team scored three times to send a 4-4 deadlock into the third. It started 15 seconds in when Liam Foudy deked Bussi and slipped the puck past his left pad, notching his first goal as an Islander to give Bridgeport its first lead. At 2:33, the Bruins went on their first of three power plays in the frame when Julien Gauthier was accessed a hooking penalty. They capitalized when Merkulov fired a rebound into the back of the net to make it 2-2.
Gatcomb got the best of Bussi again at the 7:37 mark by receiving Wyatt Newpower’s centering pass from the doorstep and securing his second goal, and putting the Islanders on top 3-2.
The Bruins received another man advantage at 10:57 when Samuel Bolduc took a hooking penalty. Merkulov found Riley Tufte on a cross-ice feed, and Tufte snapped a wrister passed Tikkanen’s stick tying the game at 3-3. With a minute to go before intermission, the Bruins grabbed their second lead of the night when Riley Duran sunk his first goal of the season, which came shorthanded. Yet the Islanders bounced back only 22 seconds later courtesy of William Dufour, who cleaned up Tyce Thompson’s rebound from the left wing for a power-play goal.
The game remained even through the first eight minutes of the third before the wheels came off for Bridgeport. Providence dominated the final frame, scoring four times on 15 shots. Farinacci converted twice, while Ian Mitchell and Lettieri supplied the rest.
Tikkanen (0-1-0) ended the night with 25 saves in his AHL season debut.
Bridgeport led in shots 36-33.
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