Wolf Pack Snap Sound Tigers’ 15-Home Game Point Streak

Sound Tigers' RW Steve Bernier lets one fly from the circle.

By Bob Phillips
Photos by Bill Harper

BRIDGEPORT—Gabriel Fontaine scored a shorthanded goal and added an assist to lead the Hartford Wolf Pack to a 4-2 victory over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers before 6,622 fans on Military Appreciation Night at the Webster Bank Arena on Saturday.

The Pack raced out to a 2-0 lead in the opening period. First, Peter Holland skated down the left half boards through the neutral zone and wristed a shot from the left circle that got past Bridgeport netminder Jeremy Smith’s blocker to stake Hartford to a 1-0 lead just 3:35 into the contest. It was Holland’s 15th tally of the 2018-19 campaign.

The Wolf Pack upped their lead to 2-0 when Lias Andersson made a move to the net, getting the puck to Tim Gettinger who finished the play from the left side of the crease with 3:02 remaining in the period. Then with just 40 seconds left, the Sound Tigers lost the services of Steve Bernier when the right winger from Quebec City received a match penalty for a hit to the head Hartford’s Steven Fogarty. During the ensuing power play, former Quinnipiac star Connor Jones nearly scored shorthanded for the Sound Tigers when he hit the post as time expired in the opening frame.

The in-state archrivals traded goals within a span of 1:35 in the second stanza.

First Hartford’s Ryan Gropp upped the Wolf Pack lead to 3-0 at 10:06, with a breakaway goal. Bridgeport’s Mitch Vande Sompel finally got the Sound Tigers on the scoreboard when he slid a long shot from the slot that hit Hartford goaltender Marek Mazanec’s stick, but ultimately found its way over the goal line.

Just 38 seconds into the third stanza, Bridgeport defenseman Kyle Burroughs beat a screened-out Mazanec’s glove, cutting the Wolf Pack lead to 3-2. Things appeared to get even better for the Sound Tigers when Hartford defenseman Ryan Lindgren was called for holding just 32 later, but Fontaine slammed the door shut with a short-handed on the ensuing PK. The Wolf Pack never looked back after that.

“Big goal, real nice goal,” Wolf Pack head coach Keith McCambridge said. “I thought that line overall, Fontaine, Gropp and [Dawson] Leedahl, was a good line for us, but that was a very key goal by Gabriel.”

That was an understatement. Fontaine’s shorthanded marker took all the wind out of the Sound Tigers’ sails and handed the Wolf Pack the momentum for the remainder of the contest. Indeed, the Sound Tigers were unable to capitalize on a 5-on-3 with less than four minutes remaining in regulation.

Bridgeport's Otto Koivula (12) tries to slow down Hartford defenseman
Libor Hajek in Saturday night's game.

Both teams were 0-for-5 on the power play. Mazanec stopped 22 of the 24 shots the Sound Tigers took at him, while Smith turned aside 25 of 29 shots between the Bridgeport pipes. Both teams were 0-for-5 on the power play.

 

“We got up in the game, and we didn’t sit back on our heels,” added McCambridge. “We played the same way, did a good job managing pucks. As a group, we made sure that we tried to make
sure that momentum stayed on
our side.”

The win broke a two-game losing streak for the Wolf Pack, who improved to 18-17-2-2 on the year, and snapped a Bridgeport franchise-record streak of 15 straight home games without a regulation loss (12-0-2-1). The Sound Tigers fell to 22-12-14-2.

Next up, the Wolf Pack are home on Friday night vs. the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Face-off is at 7:15 p.m., and, as with all Friday home games, there will be $1 hot dogs and $2 beers and fountain drinks through the start of the second period.

 

The Sound Tigers, meanwhile, hit the road for two games in North Carolina against the Charlotte Checkers—who have the best record in the AHL at 28-9-3-0 (59 points)—on Tuesday and Wednesday. First puck drops at 7 p.m. both nights at Bojangles Coliseum. Fans can follow the action via the Sound Tigers Radio Network and AHLTV, beginning with the pre-game show at 6:45 p.m.

Sound Tigers Recall Holmstrom, Gaudreau

The Sound Tigers announced that forwards Josh Holmstrom and Matt Gaudreau have been recalled from the Worcester Railers of the ECHL. Holstrom Holmstrom, 29, recorded 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in 37 games with Worcester this season and ranks sixth on the team in scoring. He is tied for third in goals and one of just four players to appear in every game for the Railers. Last season, Holmstrom collected five points (two goals, three assists) in 28 games with Bridgeport and also notched two points (one goal, one assist) in seven regular-season games with Worcester - the team's ECHL affiliate. He added a goal and two assists in three Kelly Cup playoff contests. A native of Colorado Springs, Colo., Holmstrom has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 108 career AHL games with the Sound Tigers. Prior to turning pro, the 6'0, 181-pound forward played four seasons at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell and registered 74 points (31 goals, 43 assists) in 154 games with the River Hawks. Gaudreau, 24, had 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) and a plus-one rating in 20 games with the Gadreau Railers this season, which tied him for fifth on the team in both goals and points. He scored his seventh goal of the season in Sunday’s 4-2 win against Manchester after he was returned on loan earlier in the day. Gaudreau ranked sixth on the Railers in scoring last season with 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) and a plus-six rating in 38 games. He also collected one assist in nine games with the Sound Tigers in 2017-18. A native of Carneys Point Township, N.J., Gaudreau played four seasons at Boston College from 2013-17 and recorded 63 points (16 goals, 47 assists) and a plus-25 rating in 119 contests prior to turning pro. He posted career highs in goals (eight), assists (27) and points (35) in 40 games as a senior and ranked second on the Eagles in scoring that season. Halverson Reassigned  The Wolf Pack have reassigned goaltender Brandon Halverson to their ECHL affiliate, the Maine Mariners. Halverson, who joined the Wolf Pack from Maine January 7, appeared in one AHL game, stopping 29 of the 34 shots he faced in a 6-3 loss at Providence Friday night. In 23 appearances with the Mariners this season, the third-year pro out of the Ontario Hockey League is 13-8-0, with a 2.74 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage. —with staff reports