By: Jason Shaya, Bridgeport Islanders
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – The Islanders battled the Checkers with playoff implications on the line for both squads, and Bridgeport exploded for three goals in the second period and held off a late-game Charlotte comeback to escape with a 3-2 win and two crucial points in the standings.
After a scoreless first period, the Islanders took the first lead of the evening 90 seconds into the middle frame. The puck was dumped into the Checkers’ zone by Luke Rowe before taking a favorable bounce right to the slot, where Matthew Highmore tallied his 12th of the season.
They added to their advantage at 8:56 as Liam Foudy circled the offensive zone and found Adam Beckman crashing the crease, who recorded his career-best 25th goal of the season.
With 17:41 to play in the second, Alex Jefferies’ shot deflected off the pad of Cooper Black and right to Highmore, who netted his second of the game and his 200th AHL point. The Islanders have now scored nine goals in the second periods of their last three games.
Tobias Bjornfot put Charlotte on the board 6:13 into the third period with his fourth goal of the season, followed by a tally from Robert Mastrosimone at 7:28 to cut the Checkers’ deficit to one goal. The Islanders, however, held off the Checkers for the remainder of the contest to emerge victorious.
The Islanders kick off their busy weekend with a home game against the Laval Rocket on Friday at 7 p.m. before making their final trip of the regular season to Providence for a 7:05 p.m. puck drop against the Bruins on Saturday. Tickets for Bridgeport’s game against Laval can be found on www.bridgeportislanders.com.
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