Sound Tigers Eliminated From Playoff Hunt

By Bob Phillips

On Sunday, Bridgeport fired 43 shots on goal, but it wasn't enough, as
the playoff-bound Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins topped the Sound
Tigers, 5-2, at the Webster Bank Arena.

 

BRIDGEPORT—There will be no playoff hockey in Connecticut this season. The Hartford Wolf Pack were eliminated from Calder Cup contention, and their in-state archrivals, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, joined the Pack on the outside looking in this weekend. (Indeed, the Wolf Pack suffered a brutal weekend, dropping all three games they played.)

Faced with the improbable task of winning out the remaining six games left in the regular season entering the three-in-three weekend just past for any realistic chance of postseason life, the Tigers got off on strong footing when the topped the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, 4-3, before 6,653 fans at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plasa in Wilkes-Barre Township, Pa., on Friday night. Bridgeport opened that game by taking a 2-1 advantage into the locker room at first intermission, and saw that lead hold up as the teams traded goals for the rest of the evening.

That meant the Tigers headed home for the cozy confines of Webster Bank Arena where they would have to win both games. However, they won neither.

On Saturday night, the Providence Bruins came to down and defeated Bridgeport 4-2 before 4,658 fans at the WBA. That loss snuffed out any hope the Sound Tigers may have had of making a miraculous season-ending run into the playoffs. Ryan Hitchcock and Jeff Kubiak each scored for the Sound Tigers, while Jeremy Lauzon, Colton Hargrove, Paul Postma and Austin Czarnik all tallied a goal for the P-Bruins. It was the final game of the season between the two Atlantic Division rivals with Bridgeport winning the season series, 6-5-1-0.

BOX SCORE

On Sunday, it certainly wasn’t a matter of not trying. The Sound Tigers fired 43 shots on net, but Penguins’ netminder Anthony Peters turned aside all but two of them, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, which had already clinched a spot in the playoffs, popped in five goals to lead the Pens to a 5-2 victory before 3,732 diehard fans at the Webster Bank Arena.

 

Adam Johnson opened the scoring with two goals in a span of 1:17 to put the Penguins on top 2-0 midway through the first period. The initial tally came on the power play with Josh Ho-Sang in the box for slashing, as Johnson received a pass from Kevin Czuczman on the right side and skated to the circle. He delayed and sent a wrist shot just over Eamon McAdam's glove at 9:17.

Seventy-seven seconds later, Johnson tallied his 11th goal of the year and second of the period. Andrey Pedan caught Ryan Haggerty's pass at the left point and fired a long slap shot that was blocked by McAdam, but the rebound trickled to the right of the crease where Johnson converted on a backhand attempt at the 10:34 mark.

The Penguins kept the pedal to the metal and gained a 3-0 advantage at 12:41 of the opening frame courtesy of Christian Thomas' 18th tally of the year. Tom Kostopoulos generated a 2-on-1 rush into Bridgeport's zone and slowed down on the right wing, where he waited for Thomas. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's captain proceeded to flip a pass to the doorstep and the charging Thomas nudged it home on the backhand.

Patrick McGrath scored his second goal of the season at the 16:03 mark when he deflected Zach Trotman's blast from the top of the right circle. Jarrett Burton swept the puck to Trotman from left-to-right and McGrath finished from the doorstep to cap a four-goal first period for the visitors. McAdam (5-2-0) was lifted after 20 minutes of work and suffered the loss with 10 saves on 14 shots.

The Sound Tigers began to chip away at 11:47 of the middle frame when Stevens collected his seventh goal of the season. Kyle Burroughs lifted the puck to the red line and Bernier angled it off the boards for Stevens, who rushed ahead on a two-on-one. Ryan Bourque was to his left, but the rookie forward took charge and guided a shot past Peters' blocker to make it 4-1.

The Penguins responded at 8:01 of the third period to regain their four-goal advantage. Garrett Wilson shot the puck between the circles that Kristers Gudlevskis answered, but it trickled to his right and Gage Quinney deposited his 13th of the year.

Bernier crossed the 20-goal mark a little more than two minutes later to cap the scoring at 5-2. Tyler Mueller made a great play at the left point to keep the puck from escaping the zone and forced it back towards the net. Bernier was in front and following several unsuccessful attempts to punch it home, he finally beat Peters at the 10:19 mark. Mueller was credited with the only assist - his first professional point.

The Sound Tigers finished the contest 0-for-5 on the power play and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill. Bridgeport outshot Providence 43-27, while Gudlevskis made 12 saves on 13 shots in 39:33 of a no decision. The contest included one tilt when Burroughs and McGrath dropped the gloves in the final seven seconds of the first period.

The Sound Tigers are back in action on Friday when they travel to Allentown, Pa., to take on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at 7:05 p.m. at the PPL Center. Fans can follow all of the live action on the Sound Tigers Radio Network and AHL Live, beginning with the pre-game show at 6:45 p.m. The Sound Tigers then head to Hershey, Pa., to take on the Bears on Saturday before returning home to conclude the season on Sunday vs. the Charlotte Checkers. First puck drops at 5 p.m. at the Webster Bank Arena.

—with staff reports