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| Ben Holmstrom scored his first two goals of the season to lead the Sound Tigers to a 4-3 victory over the Providence Bruins on Friday. (Photo courtesy Bridgeport Sound Tigers) |
BRIDGEPORT— Ben
Holmstrom’s first two goals of the season came early in the third period on
Saturday, helping the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, battle back from a two-goal
deficit to beat the Providence Bruins in a shootout, 4-3, before 4,329 fans at
Webster Bank Arena on Saturday night. Tanner Fritz and Chris Bourque each
scored in the four-round shootout, as Bridgeport snapped a three-game losing
streak with the thrilling, come-from-behind victory. Kieffer Bellows added his
10th goal of the season in regulation, while Providence received goals from
three different scorers.
Between the pipes, Christopher Gibson (11-7-4) stopped
29 of 32 shots, while Dan Vladar (6-8-4) made 12 saves for the Bruins.
Through fast and physical play on both sides, it was
evident that the two Atlantic Division rivals were familiar with one another
from the get-go. Connor Clifton set the tone early with a hard hit on Ryan
Bourque, while Yannick Rathgeb caught Austin Fyten with a textbook hip check
midway through the opening frame, knocking him over as he attempted to enter
the offensive zone.
Providence opened the scoring at 5:59 of the first
period when Jordan Szwarz netted his 14th goal of the season. Following
Gibson’s impressive pad save on Karson Kuhlman’s initial shot, Szwarz pounced
on the rebound and made no mistake to make it a 1-0 game.
The Sound Tigers evened the score at the 14:25 mark
when Bellows potted his first goal since Dec. 29. After Fritz held the zone on
the right half-wall, he found Travis St. Denis with a pass below the goal line.
St. Denis carved towards the front of the net and fed Bellows in the slot, who
beat Vladar below his blocker, off the post and in.
Late in the period, Otto Koivula was inches away from
giving the Sound Tigers their first lead of the game when his backhander nicked
the bottom of the crossbar at 18:35. But momentum shifted again when Scott
Eansor took a tripping penalty with 23 seconds left, that carried over into the
second period.
Just 44 seconds into the middle frame, the Bruins
regained their lead on that same power-play opportunity. Paul Carey made a
cross-ice pass to Mark McNeill, who wound up from the top of the right circle,
froze Gibson, and fired a low slap shot off the post and in to make it 2-1.
Both teams struggled to find consistent offense in the
following minutes, and played nearly 10 consecutive minutes without a whistle,
beginning at 7:26. However, Providence broke the fluid play when it tacked on a
late goal to extend its lead to 3-1.
At 16:27, Kyle Cumiskey threaded a long stretch pass
to launch Zach Senyshyn on a breakaway. With time and space, Senyshyn snapped
home his 12th goal of the season just over Gibson’s glove. The Sound Tigers
were out-shot 18-8 in the game's first two periods.
Led by Holmstrom, the Sound Tigers entered the third
stanza firing on all cylinders and quickly got back even. Just 25 seconds in,
Parker Wotherspoon directed a point shot on goal and Holmstrom crashed the net,
finding the rebound and notching his first goal of the season.
Less than three minutes later, Holmstrom doubled his
season total and tied the game at 3-3 when he caused a turnover from Cumiskey
in the slot and found twine through Vladar’s five-hole.
Neither team was able to find the back of the net
throughout the remainder of regulation, so Bridgeport and Providence went to
overtime for the fourth consecutive meeting and fifth of seven this season.
Both teams had respective power play opportunities in
the extra frame. Bourque took a tripping penalty at 2:13, but the trio of Kyle
Burroughs, Mitch Vande Sompel and Holmstrom successfully killed it off. Then
with just 39 seconds left, Bourque drew a tripping penalty of his own, but the
Sound Tigers could not capitalize either. For the first time since Jan. 2 at
Rochester, Bridgeport went to a shootout.
After Bourque and Trent Frederic each scored in the
shootout preliminary round, Gibson made a save on Carey to setup Fritz in a
sudden-death opportunity. Fritz skated in on Vladar and sent a shot five-hole
to win the contest.
The Sound Tigers finished the evening 0-for-5 on the
power play and 4-for-5 on the penalty kill. Providence outshot Bridgeport 32-16.
With the win, Bridgeport improves to 23-14-2, while Providence falls to 19-16-6-1.
Hitchcock Loaned To Worcester
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| Hitchcock |
On Friday, the Sound Tigers loaned forward Ryan Hitchcock
to the Worcester Railers, the team’s ECHL affiliate. Hitchcock,
22, has four assists in 20 games with the Sound Tigers this season after
turning pro with the team at the end of 2017-18. He initially signed an amateur
tryout (ATO) with Bridgeport on Mar. 8, 2018 and collected nine points (three
goals, six assists) in 16 contests to end last season. Hitchcock agreed to
terms on an AHL contact May 1, 2018. In addition, Hitchcock recorded eight
points (one goal, seven assists) in 11 games with Worcester earlier this
season.
Prior to turning pro, Hitchcock registered a career-high 20
points (seven goals, 13 assists) in 31 games last season while serving as
Yale's captain during his senior campaign. The Manhasset, N.Y., native had 68
points (21 goals, 47 assists) and a plus-10 rating in 103 career games with the
Bulldogs, including a career-high eight goals in 2014-15. Hitchcock also led
all newcomers with 15 points that season and earned the Martin Dwyer III Award
as Yale's rookie MVP.
—Staff Reports
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