Sound Tigers Earn First Victory of Season Over Defending Champs

Bridgeport defenseman Parker Wotherspoon (27) and Charlotte
center Steven Lorentz chase a loose puck in the corner. The
Sound Tigers ruined the Checkers’ home opener with a 4-2
victory over the defending Calder Cup champs.

CHARLOTTE, NC—Opening the season on a brutal four-game road trip, the Bridgeport Sound  

Tigers won their first game of the 2019-20 campaign on Friday night, topping the Charlotte Checkers,4-2, before 8,030 fans at Bojangles’ Coliseum in Charlotte, NC.

The Checkers, the AHL affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes (who, of course, used to be the Hartford Whalers) struck first for the third time in as many games following a lengthy banner-raising ceremony that honored their 2019 Calder Cup title. With the building already buzzing, Bridgeport’s Thomas Hickey was called for tripping to give Charlotte a man advantage. Eetu Luostarinen proceeded to slam home a centering feed from Morgan Geekie past Sound Tigers’ goalie Christopher Gibson’s blocker at the 5:56 mark of the opening period. It was Luostarinen’s first North American goal.

Bridgeport’s Matt Lorito answered late in the opening frame with his third goal in as many games to begin the season. Jeff Kubiak created the chance by turning defenseman Gustav Forsling inside out through the left circle and finding Lorito in the slot. The fifth-year forward finished the play with a one-timer that beat Alex Nedeljkovic’s blocker at the 18:27 mark.

Sebastian Aho’s second-period goa—a brilliant turnaround shot from above the right circle—gave the Sound Tigers their first lead of the night. Bridgeport circled the puck in the offensive zone and Kieffer Bellows found Travis St. Denis to set up Aho. The defenseman skated back towards the blue line before quickly steering a shot on target passed the glove of the Checkers’ goaltender. It was Aho’s first goal of the season at the 16:04 mark.

The see-saw battle continued early in the third period when Forsling camped out at the blue line and wristed a long shot between Gibson’s legs to make it 2-2 at 4:47. The deadlock didn’t last for long though as Kubiak followed up just 41 seconds later with his first goal of the season – a highlight-reel effort approaching the crease. Similar to his first-period setup, Kubiak played the puck between the legs of a defenseman and danced his way to the slot where Nedeljkovic knocked down his forehand try. However, the puck dropped at the right post, allowing Kubiak to wrap around and score the go-ahead goal at the 5:28 mark. Kubiak’s marker would ultimately prove to be the game-winner.

The Sound Tigers solidified their first win of the season when Bellows tacked on an empty-net goal in the final two minutes of the contest. Bridgeport finished the game 0-for-4 on the power play and 5-for-6 on the penalty kill.

Overall, Charlotte outshot Bridgeport 44-25. Gibson stopped 42 shots between the pipes for the Sound Tigers, and four different players had a multi-point performance as Bridgeport improved to 1-1-1-0 on the young season. Sound Tigers forward Colin McDonald played his 700th AHL game. Lorito Bellows and Denis all had multi-point games, with Lorito and Bellows registering one goal and one assist apiece, and St. Denis picking up two helpers. The Sound Tigers are the top minor league affiliate of the New York Islanders.

THE SKINNY

—Staff Reports

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