By: Alan Fuehring, Bridgeport Islanders
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (December 22, 2024) – The Bridgeport Islanders (6-18-2-2), American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders, got back into the win column in their final game before Christmas, beating the Charlotte Checkers (16-7-1-2), 4-1, at Bojangles Coliseum on Sunday.
Brian Pinho, Liam Foudy, Chris Terry, and Alex Jefferies scored, while Jakub Skarek (4-8-1-1) made 29 saves. He was a third-period power-play goal away from his sixth career shutout.
The Islanders’ first of December victory snapped a nine-game slide. Bridgeport’s six wins this season have come when scoring first and reaching at least four goals.
Pinho, Jefferies, and Terry recorded one goal and one assist, while Marc Gatcomb notched two assists.
After a mostly uneventful opening period, the Islanders posted three goals in the second to take a commanding 3-0 lead. Pinho started with his team-leading 15th goal of the season, dashing to the doorstep and tapping home Marshall Warren’s tape-to-tape pass from the left wing. Gatcomb was credited with the secondary assist at the 3:10 mark. Pinho, who is five goals from his career high, has four in the last six games and three against the Checkers this season.
The Islanders added two more goals in a span of 2:07 midway through the period. Travis Mitchell launched Foudy for a breakaway with a perfect stretch pass through the neutral zone at the 8:51 mark, and Foudy beat goaltender Cooper Black’s (1-1-1) glove side for his sixth goal of the season. Shortly after, Terry gathered Gatcomb’s pass above the left circle and ripped a lengthy wrist shot past Black’s blocker for his fourth goal.
Charlotte’s Oliver Okuliar recorded the game’s lone power-play strike at 12:47 of the third period to make it 3-1. The Islanders regained their three-goal advantage with Jefferies’ empty netter in the final 54 seconds.
The Islanders, who outshot Charlotte 33-30, went 1-for-2 on the penalty kill and 0-for-4 on the power play.
Next Time Out: The Islanders return from their brief holiday break with a 7 p.m. matchup against the Providence Bruins at Total Mortgage Arena next Friday, Dec. 27th. 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 6:45 p.m.
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