SOUND TIGERS FACEOFF
ICE CHIPS
WRAPPING THE YEAR: The Bridgeport Sound Tigers lost 32 Tuesday at Hartford after spotting the Wolf Pack a 30 firstperiod lead. Otto Koivula and Andrew Ladd (his 10th in 22 AHL games) scored for the Sound Tigers. Bridgeport goalie Jakub Skarek stopped all 15 shots he faced after coming in for Jared Coreau to start the second period.
WEIRD HISTORY: Kieffer Bellows became the second Sound Tiger, and the first in almost 18 years, to notch a hat trick in a loss when he got three in the third period of Saturday’s 43 overtime loss to Springfield.
Jason Krog scored Bridgeport’s first three goals on Jan. 26, 2002, at home against the Worcester IceCats as the Sound Tigers built a 51 lead. They blew it and lost 65 in regulation. Justin Papineau, who’d be a Sound Tiger the next season, tied the game with 6:45 left, and Eric Nickulas won it with 1:34 left.
Eric Boguniecki had two assists in the IceCats comeback, part of his AHL MVP season. He, too, went on to play for Bridgeport and has been the Sound Tigers’ assistant coach since 2011.
MORE WEIRD HISTORY: Bridgeport went into Tuesday without allowing a powerplay goal in five games. Part of the reason: It only faced 13 power plays in those five games.
Though the Sound Tigers’ total powerplays against, and their differential between power plays for and against, aren’t all that remarkable — they’re in the top half of the league in both, but not by much — they’ve already played six games this year in which they’ve faced one or zero power plays. That’s a significantly high, and sort of strange, number for something that typically happens two or three times in a full Bridgeport season.
Hartford scored on its second power play Tuesday to end the Sound Tigers’ streak at 14.
NUMBERS HURT: Our irregular feature: By our count and to our knowledge, Bridgeport has lost 237 mangames to injury or illness (including Josh HoSang, reported ill Tuesday night). Three games shy of the halfway mark, that’s more than the fullyear total from 11 of the Sound Tigers’ first 18 seasons.
Bridgeport at least got Simon Holmstrom back from an upperbody injury on Tuesday after 13 games.
WEEK AHEAD FRIDAY AT BINGHAMTON, 7:05 P.M.
The new decade (by one definition, at least) begins just as the last one (by that same definition) did, with a threeinthree on the road. Bridgeport had best stop the similarities there: It lost all three, in Providence, Hartford and Worcester, Jan. 13, 2010. If the similarities continue, though, they can take heart: The 200910 Sound Tigers won at Springfield the next Friday, and guess where Bridgeport will be on Jan. 10, 2020? PLAYER TO WATCH: Veteran centerman and captain Ben Street has been a pointagame player for the Devils.
SATURDAY/SUNDAY AT HERSHEY, 7/3 P.M.
Kind of strange that the Sound Tigers will be done with visits to a division rival already, and that all three visits there will come within 23 days. But here it is. (Of course, they’re done with visits to Charlotte, too, done on the second weekend of the season, but that’s a little different trip.) The Bears went 101 in December, including a 52 win over Bridgeport. PLAYER TO WATCH: Brian Pinho, who scored the overtime goal to eliminate Bridgeport in the spring, has six points in seven games.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“We have a little mixture of everything. We’re a hardworking line. We like to play simple hockey, but we bring out the creativity and the skill when we feel it’s necessary. We have a good mixture of skill and hard work, which leads to success.” —Kieffer Bellows, on his line with Matt Lorito and Colin McDonald
TIGER OF THE WEEK KIEFFER BELLOWS
He did it again: Scored against Hartford, scored a hat trick against Springfield and has kept up a remarkable roll.
CONNECTICUT CONNECTION MICHAEL PALIOTTA, BINGHAMTON
The former Westport resident is in his first season in the Devils, his seventh organization in six seasons. The 2016 Calder Cup champion has played 21 games for Binghamton with two assists.
OUT ON THE ISLAND
Three onetime Sound Tigers of three different vintages scored goals in the New York Islanders’ thirdperiod comeback Sunday at Minnesota. Ryan Pulock, up in the NHL since the start of 201718, started it. Matt Martin, up since 201011, scored the winner. And Tom Kuhnhackl, who has spent a couple of brief stints with Bridgeport each of the past two seasons, added some insurance late.