Sound Tigers Sink Springfield in Morning Matinee

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers earned a rare victory in an even rarer
morning matinee game against the Springfield Thunderbirds on
Wednesday.

BRIDGEPORT—Maybe they should start every game in the morning.

Christopher Gibson made 21 saves and Nic Pierog scored his first American Hockey League goal on Wednesday to lift the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the American Hockey League affiliate of the New York Islanders, to a 1-0 win against the Springfield Thunderbirds in front of 6,237 fans at Webster Bank Arena. The T-Birds are the top minor league affiliate of the Florida Panthers. It was the Sound Tigers’ 17th-annual “Cool Fun 101” game—a morning face-off before busloads of youthful future hockey fans—which no doubt accounted for the turnout, the Sound Tigers' largest of the young season.

The first period was quiet on the scoreboard, but loud in the building with the thousands of local school groups and youth organizations on hand. In all, 13 combined shots were against Gibson and T-Birds netminder Chris Driedger, who entered the day among the league’s top 10 in several goaltending categories, in the scoreless first period.

Pierog put the Sound Tigers on the scoreboard at 5:16 of the second period. David Quenneville hammered a slap shot from the right point that bounced off of traffic in front and Pierog knocked in the rebound to make it 1-0 Bridgeport. Jeff Kubiak also collected an assist on Quenneville's first goal of his AHL career.

Both teams continued to trade chances as the morning rolled into afternoon, but the game was tightly contested, and the goaltenders didn’t give an inch. Bridgeport out-shot Springfield 16-14 in the final two periods, with both clubs creating rushes and offensive opportunities that came up short. The T-Birds best chances came on an Anthony Greco breakaway that missed the net and Aleksi Saarela’s backdoor one-timer that hit the post in the third period.

It was Gibson’s first shutout of the season, his eighth blank sheet with the Sound Tigers and the 10th of his professional career, which propelled Bridgeport to its second straight victory. It was the Sound Tigers’ first 1-0 victory since Dec. 16, 2018. Aside from Gibson’s outstanding play, the Sound Tigers penalty kill was also a big reason for the win, going 5-for-5 on the day. Bridgeport’s power play went 0-for-3.

Driedger (5-4-0) made 21 saves, while Bridgeport outshot Springfield 22-21. The contest also included two fights when Mike Cornell and Tommy Cross dropped the gloves before the game was even five minutes old, and Kieffer Bellows battled Brady Keeper just after the final horn.

THE SKINNY

With the win, Bridgeport improves to 3-7-2-1, while Springfield falls to 8-5-0-0. The Sound Tigers continue a five-game homestand on Saturday when they will host the Providence Bruins. First puck drops at 7 p.m., and it will Purple Heart Night. Tickets are available at the Webster Bank Arena box office or by clicking HERE. Fans can also 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

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