By: Jason Shaya, Bridgeport Islanders
Wilkes-Barre, PA— Riding a three-game point streak, the Islanders rolled into the Mohegan Arena in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to battle the Penguins for the second game in a row. Previously, on Wednesday morning, the team managed to add a point in the standings after a shootout loss at home. Now, they sought revenge in the battle for Atlantic Division positioning. During the game, the Islanders couldn’t hold a third period lead, and the team dropped the contest in a 5-3 defeat.
In the opening period, Cam Berg found the loose puck in the crease and stabbed it into the Penguins net at 15:36 lifting the Islanders to a 1-0 lead. It was his fourth goal of the season, and it was assisted by Cam Thiesing and Hunter Drew. Alex Jefferies added a powerplay goal at 17:21 when he deflected a point shot by Cole McWard past Penguins goalie Max Pavlenko. The goal gave the team a 2-0 lead after the second period.
In the final period of regulation, an early goal by the Penguins Tristan Broz sliced the lead to 2-1 for Bridgeport jut 57 seconds into the frame. Sebastian Aho tied the game at 5:38 as his point shot beat goalie Parker Gahagen locking the game at 2-2. Adam Beckman would take the perfect pass from Andrej Sustr and wired a wrister into the Penguins net for a goal in four straight games and his fifth of the season. The goal also extended Matthew Maggio’s assist streak to six games. But, the Pens weren’t done scoring and it was Aidan McDonough who tied the game at 3-3 at 14:18 made it a 3-3 game. The Pens lead the game after Atley Calvert’s wrist shot beat Gahagen at 14:13 bringing the game to a 4-3 score. The Pens added an empty net goal with just over a minute left in regulation and skated away with a 5-3 decision.
The Islanders are back home tomorrow night to play the Rochester Americans at 7:00 PM inside Total Mortgage Arena. Great seats are still available. Visit BridgeportIslanders.com for more information.
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