Photos by Scott Harper
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| Big-time sports came to Bridgeport last night
when the NHL’s New York Islanders hosted the New York Rangers at a sold-out Webster Bank Arena. |
The Islanders’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Sound
Tigers, play in Bridgeport, while the Rangers’ AHL team, the Wolf Pack, reside
in Hartford.
Indeed, all three tallies in the contest came in the middle
period. After a scoreless first frame, the Islanders broke the ice 1:59 into
the second stanza when Casey Bailey beat Ranger netminder Ondrej Pavelec
from just inside the crease to stake the Isles to a 1-0 advantage.
The Rangers knotted the score at 1-1 while on a two-man
advantage when Vinni
Lettieri found the back of the net. Pavel Buchnevich
and first-round pick Filip Chytil picked up helpers on the play. It was
the second point for Chytil, the Rangers’ first-round pick, in two preseason
games (one goal, one assist, both vs. the Islanders).
Four minutes later, Anthony Beauvillier tapped in a centering
pass from Nikolay Kulemin immediately after a line change with what would
ultimately prove to be the game winner for the Isles.
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| What’s a rivalry without a little two-fisted tango, right? |
Buchnevich appeared to knot the score early in the third period
when he swatted a loose puck out of the air on the side of the net that appeared
to have crossed the goal line, but was deemed no goal.
The entire game proved to be an interesting scenario as,
while the Islanders were technically the home team, Fairfield County is clearly
Ranger country, and that was reflected in the crowd, which was clearly rooting
for the Rangers. That, of course, leads to speculation that the Rangers might
one day move their team to Bridgeport when and if the Islanders move their AHL
affiliate to the newly downsized Nassau Memorial Coliseum, the former home of
the Isles. And that, of course, would open Hartford up for another AHL or ECHL
club.
“I enjoyed my time here. It’s a great place,” said Josh Ho-Sang,
a favorite among Bridgeport fans when he played with the Sound Tigers last
season, and was on the ice when the winning goal was scored. “Tommer
(Bridgeport coach Brent Thompson) is awesome, [as are] Bogy [and] Carks
(assistants Eric Boguniecki and Matt Carkner). It was nice to be back.”
“I’m just trying to really play hard defensively, be solid
back there, and as I get chances, try to get up in the play,” said Islander defenseman
Ryan Pulock, who spent most of last season with the Sound Tigers. “That hasn’t
really been there so far.”
Pulock admitted to feeling rusty early in the game.
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| Islander center Brock Nelson and Ranger goalie
Chris Nel jockey for loose puck in back of the Ranger net in third-period action. |
“A couple of plays in the first were a little bobbly and
stuff,” he continued. “I kind of settled in, played my game, played hard.
That’s the big thing right now, to be hard to play against.”
Pavelec allowed two goals on 15 shots through two periods between
the Ranger pipes—turning away 23 of 25 shots (a .920 save pct.)—before Chris Nell took over
in the third.
“I'm feeling better every day,” said Pavelec of his two
preseason performances—both vs. the Islanders. The Rangers will wrap up preseason
play in Philadelphia on Tuesday night.
“Training camp is a process,” he continued. “It's a lot of
work. I'm happy for every minute I'm in the game that I can play. Starting to
feel comfortable in the net and in the crease because practice and the game is
two different things. It's been four periods now that I've played. It's better
each minute."
Nell, who signed with the Rangers last spring out of Bowling
Green (not the site of Kellyanne
Bowling
Green Massacre,” a horrific terrorist attack cited by Ms. Conway on
national TV in February … an incident that, of course, never happened), stopped
everything he faced, including a breakaway midway through the period by Ho-Sang.
“I've seen a lot of highlight reels on him,” Nell said. “I
just kind of stayed patient and made him make the first move and hope it hits
you.”
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| Islander defenseman Mitchell Vande Sompel (58)
advances the puck into the attack zone. The Islanders stopped the Rangers, 2-1, in Bridgeport last night. |
“I thought there was some good skill on the ice,” Rangers
coach Alain Vigneault said. “Some good
offensive looks. Maybe not enough net
presence. A little bit of net presence would have made their goalie's life a
little harder, but for the most part there were a lot of good things.”
The Sound Tigers open the 2017-18 season with a four-game
road trip that will take them through Binghamton, NY, Charlotte, NC (for two
games), and Allentown, Pa., before heading to Bridgeport for their home opener
vs. the Laval (Que.) Rocket (Club de
hockey Rocket de Laval, to be precise)—the Montreal Canadiens new AHL
affiliate—on Sat., Oct. 21. First puck drops at 7 p.m. The following day, the
Wolf Pack come to town to renew their in-state arch-rivalry—the first of 10
regular-season meetings between the two clubs. Faceoff at the WBA is 3 p.m. For
a complete 2017-18 Sound Tigers regular-season schedule, click HERE.
The Wolf Pack open the season with a three-game homestand
beginning on Friday night, Oct. 6, vs. the Charlotte Checkers. Faceoff at the
XL Center is at 7:15 p.m. For a complete regular-season Wolf Pack schedule,
click HERE.
—with staff reports
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