Sound Tigers Foiled by P-Bruins

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers dropped their third game of the season,
getting shut out by the Providence Bruins, 4-0.

BRIDGEPORT—The Bridgeport Sound Tigers, American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders, placed 30 shots on target in Tuesday’s tilt with the Providence Bruins, but couldn’t beat goaltender Max Legace in a 4-0 loss before a meager crowd of 1,436 at Webster Bank Arena on Tuesday night. It was Legace’s second shutout in five games to start the season and is the first time Bridgeport has been silenced since March 27.

Sound Tigers captain Kyle Burroughs accounted for a team-high four shots-on-goal, while Jared Coreau (0-3-0) made 29 saves for Bridgeport. Peter Cehlarik and Robert Lantosi each had one goal and an assist for Providence.

The Bruins nearly led wire-to-wire as Cehlarik began the scoring less than two minutes into the game. The Providence forward remained red-hot to start the season as he netted his fifth goal in as many games, getting Coreau down into the butterfly and scoring from the doorstep with a lifted backhand shot. It put the Bruins on top 1-0 at 1:52 of the first period.

Other than the early goal that Coreau was left hanging out to dry, the Sound Tigers’ goaltender was strong as the second period began, making several impressive stops with big denials of Jakub Lauko on the backhand and Cameron Hughes on a breakaway. Four-on-four action also yielded a few wide-open chances for Bridgeport as Otto Koivula and scoring leader Matt Lorito missed the goal line by inches.

Hughes increased the Providence lead to 2-0 with a top-shelf wrist shot at 6:19 of the second period. More than 13 minutes later, Lantosi connected on the power play with a laser from the left circle for his second goal of the season. Alex Petrovic put the puck on a tee for Lantosi’s blast, with Colin McDonald in the box at 19:31 of the frame. That goal led to the exchange of words and angry looks, as several players needed to be broken up heading into the second intermission.

The bleeding didn’t stop in the opening stages of the third. Ryan Fitzgerald scored his third goal in eight games by deflecting Josiah Didier’s point shot to give the Bruins a 4-0 lead at 5:38.

The Sound Tigers finished the game 0-for-6 on the power play and 5-for-6 on the penalty kill. The contest also included one fight when frustrations boiled over between Seth Helgeson and Brendan Woods at 12:18 of the third period.

Providence outshot Bridgeport 33-30. With the win, the P-Bruins improve to 5-2-0-1 while the Sound Tigers fall to 1-3-1-1.

THE SKINNY

The Sound Tigers return to action on Friday when they will enterain the Springfield Thunderbirds. First puck drops at 7 p.m. at Webster Bank Arena. It begins a typical three-games-in-three-days weekend for Bridgeport. Fans 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.

—Staff Reports