By: Alan Fuehring, Bridgeport Islanders
HERSHEY, Penn. (November 15, 2024) – The Bridgeport Islanders (3-9-1-1) exploded for a season-high six goals on Friday, including four on nine shots in the third period alone, spreading the wealth and dominating the Hershey Bears (10-4-1-0) in a 6-1 victory at Giant Center.
Fourteen different Islanders found the scoresheet.
Fredrik Karlstrom scored twice for the second time this season, while Chris Terry logged two assists in his 1,000th professional game. Tyce Thompson and Matt Maggio recorded one goal and one assist each. Jakub Skarek (3-5-0) backstopped the win with 28 saves.
The Islanders came out firing to open up a three-game road trip, scoring two goals on 18 shots against goaltender Clay Stevenson in the first period. Thompson struck first at the 6:54 mark when he drifted in from the right circle and hammered home Cam Thiesing’s centering pass south of the goal line. Heavy pressure forced a loose puck to Thiesing deep in the Bears’ zone, where we twisted a backhand pass to the front for Thompson’s first goal of the season.
Less than four minutes later, Karlstrom redirected Wyatt Newpower’s point shot just 14 seconds into Bridgeport’s initial power play to make it 2-0. Terry earned the secondary assist at 10:33, making a difference in his milestone contest.
Ethen Frank cut the Bears’ deficit in half with his AHL-leading 11th goal of the season at 8:09 of the second period. Frank used his speed to blow past the Islanders’ defense and cut in on the net, opening up to his forehand and giving Skarek his only blemish of the night.
Bridgeport held a slight 2-1 edge entering the third period but slammed the door shut with an impressive final frame. Karlstrom made it 3-1 with a perfectly placed wrister near the left faceoff dot that he whistled into the top corner at 2:06. Justin Gill earned the secondary assist for his first AHL point, which came in his second game.
Marc Gatcomb extended his goal streak to a career-high four games 46 seconds later. He shot out of a cannon over the Hershey blue line, received a pass from Calle Odelius in stride, and slipped a backhand attempt under Stevenson for his sixth goal of the season. Odelius recorded the primary assist for his first AHL point as well.
Sam Bolduc got in on the party with a power-play goal at 15:44 to push the Islanders’ lead to four. Former Bridgeport captain Aaron Ness was accessed a double minor for high sticking about two minutes prior, and Bolduc, while quarterbacking the man advantage, wristed a lengthy shot through a Julien Gauthier screen and past Stevenson. Bolduc’s third goal of the season made it 5-1.
Maggio added the final tally at the 18:22 mark. Brian Pinho advanced the puck to Terry, who accelerated and dragged it through the left circle before setting up a tap-in backdoor goal.
The Islanders were solid on both sides of special teams, going 2-for-7 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the kill. Bridgeport led in shots 36-29 and improved to 1-2-0-0 against the Bears this season.
Next Time Out: The Islanders continue a three-game road trip tomorrow night with a 6:05 p.m. puck drop against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. The game can be heard for free via the Bridgeport Islanders Radio Network or seen live on AHLTV on FloHockey, beginning with the Connecticut Lottery Pregame Countdown at 5:45 p.m.
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