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| Mitch Vande Sompel (4) found the back of the net twice in the Sound Tigers' regular season finale, a 5-2 win over the WBS Penguins. |
WILKES-BARRE, PA—The Bridgeport Sound Tigers (43-24-6-3) defeated the
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (35-30-7-3), 5-2, in their regular-season finale
before 7,871 fans at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza on Saturday. Mitch
Vande Sompel scored twice and Sebastian Aho collected three assists, while
Christopher Gibson (22-11-5) made 21 saves in his 40th appearance of the
season. Oliver Wahlstrom also had a goal and an assist to boost the Sound
Tigers’ offense at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza.
The Penguins got off to a fast start and made it
1-0 just 67 seconds into Saturday’s finale courtesy of Ben Sexton’s seventh
goal of the season. Sam Lafferty skated to the left circle and fired a hard
wrist shot that Gibson knocked down, but Sexton converted the rebound by
sweeping the puck in from the doorstep.
Steve Bernier and the Sound Tigers responded
quickly with the veteran’s team-leading 24th goal of the season, and his
team-best 10th on the power play. With Jan Drozg in the box for slashing, Aho
set up in the high slot and guided a shot towards the crease that Bernier
deflected past goaltender Alex D’Orio (in his pro debut) for the equalizer at
2:36. It came just 1:29 after Sexton’s opening tally.
Vande Sompel gave Bridgeport its first advantage
with another power-play goal at 18:09 of the first period. Chaos ensued nearly
four minutes earlier when Patrick McGrath went head hunting on Ben Holmstrom
and received a match penalty for a blatant hit in the Penguins zone. He also dropped
the gloves with Kieffer Bellows, who confronted the Penguins forward in an
effort to stand up for his captain. Lafferty also took a tripping penalty at
the 17:03 mark and during the 5-on-3 power play, Vande Sompel slapped home his
ninth goal of the season to make it 2-1.
Jake Lucchini tied the game at 2-2 early in the
second period when he beat Gibson’s blocker for his fifth goal of the year.
Lafferty navigated a cross-ice pass from the right wing to the left circle,
where Lucchini capitalized at the 6:09 mark.
Otto Koivula scored the eventual game-winner in
the closing minutes of the second period to cap his extremely productive first
regular season in the AHL. Grant Hutton sprung Bellows to create an odd-man
rush into the Penguins’ zone before Bellows directed a cross-ice pass to
Koivula for a one-time goal, his 21st of the season at the 15:39 mark. With a
helper, Hutton now has six points (one goal, five assists) in his last six
games.
Wahlstrom made it 4-2 with his second pro goal at
13:25 of the third period - a remarkable individual effort into the offensive
zone. Wahlstrom danced past Sam Miletic in the high slot, turning the Penguins
forward inside out, and beat D’Orio’s left pad with a quick release. Just 26 seconds later, Vande Sompel completed the
scoring with his second goal of the night and 10th of the season to make it
5-2. He received a pass from Connor Jones on the left wing and snapped a shot
blocker side at the 13:51 mark.
Bridgeport outshot Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 33-23
and finished the game 2-fo-5 on the power play, and 2-for-3 on the penalty
kill.
With the win, the Sound Tigers improved to 42-24-6 and now advance
to the first round of the Calder Cup playoffs. Bridgeport’s first-round playoff
opponent will be the Hershey Bears beginning on
Friday at the Webster Bank Arena. Click HERE
for the first-round playoff schedule and ticket packages.
Playoff Info
\
GAME DATE
PLACE
3 Tuesday,
Apr. 23 Giant Center
4* Thursday, Apr.
25 Giant Center
*If necessary
All games will begin at 7 p.m.
Fans unable to attend can follow all of the live action via the Sound Tigers Radio Network and AHLTV, beginning with the pre-game show
at 6:45 p.m.
The following ticket packages are currently available:
Playoff T-shirt & Ticket package
A limited edition 2019 Calder Cup Playoff T-Shirt is available
while supplies last. Each package includes:
- One (1) limited edition “Sound Up for the Cup” 2019 playoff
t-shirt (Blue)
(Sizes XXL, XL, M, Youth XL & Youth S) - One (1) ticket to a Sound Tigers home game at Webster Bank Arena in the first round of the 2019 Calder Cup Playoffs*
Cost for the Playoff T-Shirt & Ticket
Package is $20.
For more information, or to purchase this package by phone, call
203.345.2300 Option 7.
Playoff Food & Beverage Package
A special Playoff Food & Beverage package is available.
Each package includes:
- One (1) Limited Edition 2019 Calder Cup Playoff Mason Jar
- One (1) Hot Dog
- One (1) Bag of Chips
- One (1) Soda or Beer
- One (1) ticket to a Sound Tigers home game at Webster Bank Arena in the first round of the 2019 Calder Cup Playoffs*
*If a game is not played refunds for that specific game will be
issued.
Cost for the Playoff Food & Beverage
Package is $25.
For more information, or to purchase this package by phone, call
203.345.2300 Option 7.
Individual Playoff Tickets
In addition to the aforementioned packages individual game tickets
to Round 1 of the Calder Cup Playoffs are currently available. Individual game
tickets start at $15* and may be purchased at the Webster Bank Arena Box Office
or online at Ticketmaster.com.
*Fees not included
Season Ticket Holders should contact their Sound Tigers account representative
by calling 203-345-2300 and selecting Option 7. Group tickets are available by
calling the same number. In addition, there are sponsorship options for the 2019
Calder Cup Playoffs. For more information, contact John Lecardo at
203.345.4818 or John.Lecardo@harboryardse.com.
—Staff
Reports
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