ISLANDERS LOSE AT HOME TO BRUINS
By: Jason Shaya, Bridgeport Islanders
Bridgeport, CT — After an opening-night matchup last Saturday that saw the Bridgeport Islanders fall in overtime to the Providence Bruins, the two Atlantic Division foes met once again at Total Mortgage Arena with redemption on the line. However, Providence struck early and often — including three power-play goals — en route to a 5-3 victory over the Islanders.
Providence wasted no time opening the scoring, as Billy Sweezey’s shot from the point deflected off the pad of Marcus Hogberg and right to Riley Tufte, who gave his club the lead just 37 seconds into play.
Their momentum carried onto the power play, where Alex Steeves netted his second goal of the season for Providence at 6:42, just six seconds into the man advantage.
The Islanders responded nine minutes into the period when Alex Jeffries pickpocketed Providence goaltender Michael DiPietro along the boards and centered the puck to Calum Ritchie, who backhanded home his first AHL goal in his debut with the club.
Providence’s high-powered offense answered quickly, as Patrick Brown recovered a loose puck in a net-front scramble and buried it at 10:23 to make it 3-1.
It took until the 18:38 mark of the second period for another goal, when Providence’s potent power play struck again. Steeves notched his second of the night just seven seconds into the man advantage.
The Bruins added a third power-play goal 1:26 into the third period, as Tufte tallied his second of the game with a snapshot in front of Hogberg.
Bridgeport found some power-play success of its own 7:57 into the third, when Joey Larson buried Cam Berg’s cross-crease pass for his first goal of the season, cutting the deficit to 5-2.
The Islanders added another tally in the game’s final moments, as Matthew Maggio’s one-timer deflected off a Providence defender and into the net at 19:15 to make it 5-3.
The Islanders cap off their four-game homestand tomorrow night with a Sound Tigers Saturday matchup against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at 7 p.m. Ticket information is available at bridgeportislanders.com
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