Power Play Clicks but Islanders Clipped by Hartford to Open Preseason
October 6, 2022 – American Hockey League (AHL) – Bridgeport Islanders News Release
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. – Daylan Kuefler, William Dufour and Ruslan Iskhakov all buried a power-play goal in the first period, but the Bridgeport Islanders, American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders, suffered a 5-4 loss to the Hartford Wolf Pack in the preseason opener at Total Mortgage Arena on Thursday.
Jimmy Lambert led all players with three points (one goal, two assists), while Iskhakov scored once and added an assist.
The Islanders’ special teams was too much to handle for the Wolf Pack early, as Bridgeport capitalized on its first three power-play attempts. The scoring started 6:09 into the first period as a penalty for Hartford was nearing expiration, Kuefler re-directed a shot from the point past Wolf Pack goaltender Olaf Lindbom.
Hartford conceded again just five minutes later after Dufour sent home a one-time shot from Vincent Sevigny, making it 2-0.
Less than four minutes later, Bridgeport added its third power play goal of the period, making the club a perfect three-for-three in the first period. After a secondary assist on the Islanders first goal, Iskhakov sent home his own score right over Lindbom’s left shoulder to make it 3-0.
Hartford responded quickly with its own power-play goal at the 17:51 mark of the first frame. Patrick Khodorenko sent home a loose puck out front that found its way behind Islanders’ starting goalie Ken Appleby to cut the lead to 3-1. Just over a minute later, Theo Theocharidiis scored a last-minute goal to make it 3-2.
Hartford ended the first period leading Bridgeport 9-8 in shots and more notably, not a single penalty was fully served as both the Wolf Pack and Islanders combined to go four-for-four on power play opportunities.
The Wolf Pack evened out the score in the second period as Alex Whelan found the back of the net, tying the game at 3-3. Just three minutes into the frame, Hartford had fully erased its 3-0 deficit.
Lambert gave the Islanders their advantage back, sending an unassisted goal past Lindbom, giving Bridgeport a 4-3 lead. Hartford then changed goaltenders, opting for Dylan Garand to finish out the game.
Bridgeport’s Erik Brown committed a high-sticking penalty just under three minutes into the third period, which set up a man advantage for Hartford that was quickly pounced on by Lauri Pajuniemi, who rifled a one-timer past the Islanders’ backup goaltender Henrik Tikkanen to tie the game 4-4.
The Wolf Pack broke the stalemate with 4:20 left in the third period on a Blake Hillman goal that proved to be the dagger.
Both teams used two goaltenders, with Appleby leading both sides with 15 saves on 18 shots faced.
Next time out: The Islanders travel to the Koeppel Community Sports Center in Hartford tomorrow night (6 p.m.) to rematch the Wolf Pack in their second and final preseason contest before the 2022-23 regular season kicks off on October 14th.
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