Sound Tigers Fall to Senators; Wolf Pack Top IceCaps

The Sound Tigers battled back from a two-goal deficit, but
ultimately dropped a 3-2 decision in OT to the Binghamton
Senators Friday. It was the last regular-season meeting
between  the two teams this season.
                                                          (Courtesy: SoundTigers.com)
 

Both of Connecticut’s American Hockey League teams were involved in overtime games on Friday night … and came away with a split decision. In Binghamton, NY, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers battled back from a two-goal third period deficit to tie the game, but ultimately fell to the Binghamton Senators, 3-2, in overtime before 3,051 fans at the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena.

Bridgeport (18-14-1-1) picked up a point with the OT loss and wrapped up a five-game road trip in which the Sound Tigers went 1-2-1-1, with the sole win coming last Saturday against the Hartford Wolf Pack at the XL Center. Friday’s game represented 19th one-goal contest for the Tigers this season, and they are 11-6-1-1 in those contests. The game also wrapped up the season series between the two teams, with the Sound Tigers holding a 3-0-1-0 advantage. Friday night’s win by Binghamton was the Sens’ first victory over the Sound Tigers since Jan. 17, 2014.

Following a scoreless opening frame, the Senators struck first with a shorthanded tally courtesy of Max McCormick at 8:35 of the second. With Ben Harpur in the box for cross-checking, Michael Kostka ripped a shot from the right circle that Halak turned back, but the rebound caromed to the slot where McCormick beat the netminder’s blocker. It was McCormick’s ninth goal of the season and just the second shorthanded goal the Sound Tigers have allowed.

Binghamton doubled its lead just 33 seconds into the third period on a goal from Phil Varone. Harpur carried the puck down the right wing before forcing a pass to the doorstep, where Varone nudged it past Halak’s right leg pad for his eighth tally of the season.

The Sound Tigers battled back to force overtime with a pair of goals from two veterans in the final 15 minutes. Steve Bernier made cut the Sens’ margin to 2-1 at the 5:23 mark when he slipped a redirection under Chris Driedger’s glove. Andrew Rowe created the attack at the right point, entering the zone 1-on-4, but delaying long enough for help to arrive. He forced a pass to Josh Winquist on the left wing where the third-year pro fed Bernier at the doorstep. It was Bernier’s 12th goal of the season.

Bracken Kearns tied the game on the power play with his team-leading 13th goal of the season at 16:48. With Kostka in the box for slashing, Kearns took a pass from Devon Toews in the right circle and drilled a one-timer over Driedger’s glove to knot the game at 2-2. Toews picked up his team-leading 19th helper on the play.

Jack Rodewald played hero just 1:29 into overtime when he nudged Varone’s centering feed across the goal line past Halak’s left leg. It was Rodewald’s 11th goal this season.

The Sound Tigers finished the contest 1-for-4 on the power play and 6-for-6 on the penalty kill. Driedger made 33 saves and improved to 8-5-2 this season. The shots were even, 35-35.

BOX SCORE

The Sound Tigers return to the Webster Bank Arena on Saturday night when they will host the Utica Comets. First puck drops at 7 p.m. Saturday night’s game is Military Appreciation Night which will honor the heroes of the United States military, both past and present. The first 1,500 fans through the turnstiles will receive a camouflage bomber hat, and the Sound Tigers will wear special edition uniforms during the game, which will be auctioned off to the public. In addition, all active duty personnel and veterans can receive a free ticket to the contest by showing a valid I.D. For additional details or to reserve seats for any of the 2016-17 giveaway and theme nights, call the Sound Tigers’ front office at (203) 345-2300. 

Pack Stop IceCaps

Meanwhile, in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Chris Brown’s goal at 2:07 of overtime gave the Hartford Wolf Pack a 2-1 win over the St. John’s IceCaps before 3,746 fans at Mile One Centre Friday night, in the first of back-to-back games between the two teams in St. John’s. On the winning play, Brown, who had been denied on a chance moments earlier by IceCap goaltender Charlie Lindgren, re-gathered the puck, cut across the middle of the zone and down the slot, and fired a hard snap shot cleanly past Lindgren on the stick side.



Chris Brown’s goal at 2:07 of OT gave the Wolf Pack a 2-1 win
over the St. John’s IceCaps Friday night.

                                                                  (Photo by Cecil Johnson)

“It’s just, get pucks on net and hopefully they go in,” Brown said.  “The first one, I had a couple of rebounds and they just didn’t go in.  But [Mat Bodie] made a great read, setting a nice little pick for me, and I kind of walked down and just shot it.  And fortunately it went in.”
Nicklas Jensen tied the game for the Wolf Pack with a third-period power-play goal, after Bobby Farnham had scored for St. John’s in the second.  Magnus Hellberg made 29 saves for the win, and Lindgren stopped 25 shots in the IceCap net. The win was the Wolf Pack’s second straight on the road, after a 3-1 victory in Rochester on Wednesday night.

The Wolf Pack outshot the IceCaps 9-6 in a scoreless first period, but the best chance came on a St. John’s power play.  With Chris Summers in the penalty box for cross-checking, Max Friberg deflected a shot past Hellberg, but the puck clanked off the crossbar.

The IceCaps had a 19-6 shots on goal edge in the second session, a statistic that tied a Wolf Pack season high for most shots-against in a period, but only one of those 19 bids found its way past Hellberg. That was at 13:19, when Farnham, who was just sent down earlier in the day from a recall stint with the parent Montreal Canadiens, buried a breakaway.  Daniel Audette passed the puck off of the left-wing boards, and a Wolf Pack defender slowed it down, but it still got through to Farnham, who broke in and launched a perfect shot into the top shelf on Hellberg’s glove side.

The Wolf Pack finally solved Lindgren at 7:11 of the third, with Josiah Didier off for interference.  Jensen upped his team-leading goal total to 17, with his fourth in his last four games, as he was set up at the left side of the slot by a pass from the corner by Adam Tambellini, and ripped a shot that went through a Matt Carey screen and eluded Lindgren.

Lindgren held up the rest of the way through the third, with the Wolf Pack enjoying a 9-4 shots advantage, and Hellberg was forced to make a sharp save on Audette on the opening shift of overtime, before Brown got the last word. 

“It’s a good character win, it’s a good comeback,” Brown said.  “That’s a good team over there with a lot of talent, so it’s a good start to the weekend, and building off our last game.” 

The Wolf Pack and IceCaps tangle again Saturday night at Mile One Centre, with faceoff at 6:00 Eastern Time.  All of the action can be heard live on News Radio 1410 WPOP, and on-line at www.newsradio1410.com and iHeartRadio.  Video streaming is available at www.ahllive.com.

The Wolf Pack’s next home game is next Fri,, Jan. 20, vs. the Toronto Marlies at 7:15.  As at all Friday-night Wolf Pack home games, fans can enjoy $1 hot dogs and $2 beers through the start of the second period.  Also, the first 2,000 fans will receive a Wolf Pack 20th anniversary poster, compliments of Bud Light, as part of the Wolf Pack’s Hartford Hockey Heritage Weekend.

Tickets for all Wolf Pack 2016-17 home games are on sale now at the XL Center, on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499. Season ticket information for the Wolf Pack’s 2016-17 AHL season can be found on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com.  To speak with a representative about all of the Wolf Pack’s ticketing options, call (855) 762-6451.

—Staff Reports