BRIDGEPORT ISLANDERS LOSE AT HOME TO PENS
BRIDGEPORT ISLANDERS LOSE AT HOME TO PENS
By: Jason Shaya, Bridgeport Islanders
Bridgeport, CT — After suffering their first regulation loss of the season to the Providence Bruins on Friday night, the Bridgeport Islanders donned their throwback Sound Tigers sweaters on Saturday, hoping for a bounce-back effort against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. A strong first period gave the Islanders a 3-0 advantage and hope for two points, but Wilkes-Barre/Scranton responded with six unanswered goals in a span of 17 minutes to earn a 6-3 victory.
An early Islanders penalty gave Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a chance to strike first, but that opportunity was quickly denied when Alex Jeffries forced a turnover and led Adam Beckman on a two-on-zero before sniping home his first goal of the season 3:37 into the game.
Beckman’s hot start to his 2025-26 campaign continued minutes later, as Cal Ritchie’s cross-crease pass found the winger for a one-timer, making it 2-0 Islanders at 7:18.
The Islanders’ attack did not let up, as Matthew Maggio’s feed from the right circle found Hunter Drew in front of the net, who tallied his second of the season and extended his point streak to three games at 9:46 of the first.
It was a tale of two games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, whose fortunes flipped at 15:05 when Ryan Graves rocketed an even-strength wrister over Parker Gahagen to cut the deficit to 3-1.
The Penguins carried that momentum into the third period, pulling within one just 1:48 in. Sam Poulin carried the puck into the Islanders’ zone and found Rafael Harvey-Pinard between the hashes, who buried his second of the season.
Poulin’s impact continued moments later, as he recovered a rebound to the right of Gahagen and buried the equalizer at 4:17.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s third-period dominance continued at 7:15 when Ville Koivunen’s first goal of the campaign gave the Penguins their first lead of the night. Danton Heinen followed with an insurance marker at 9:43, and Atley Calvert sealed the win with a short-handed goal at 12:49.
The Islanders return to action next weekend with a pair of road matchups, visiting the Hartford Wolf Pack on Friday, October 24th at 7 p.m. and the Providence Bruins on Sunday, October 26th at 3:05 p.m.
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