Charlotte Checkmates Bridgeport in Regular Season Finale

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers fell to the Charlotte Checkers, 4-1, on
Sunday. The Sound Tigers failed to qualify for the postseason for the
eighth time in the past 12 seasons and now will head for the links before
reconvening for the 2018-19 season in the fall. (Photo courtesy
soundtigers.com)

BRIDGEPORT—Everyone has heard the time-honored adage about the month of March coming in like a lion and out like a lamb. Well, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers did their best imitation of the month of March this season, dropping their final five games of the 2017-18 season, culminating with a 4-1 loss to the Charlotte Checkers before an announced crowd of 4,695 fans at the Webster Bank Arena on Sunday. The Checkers are the American Hockey League affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes—or, as Connecticut hockey diehards prefer to call them, the team formerly known as the Hartford Whalers.

A quick glance at the score makes this one look like a rout for the Checkers. It was not. Down 2-1 late in the third period, Bridgeport head coach Brent Thompson opted to pull goaltender Christopher Gibson to gain a 6-5 advantage in skaters. However, that strategy backfired as Charlotte ended the game with two empty-net goals in the last minute to create the three-goal margin of victory. Warren Foegele scored twice for the Checkers, while Gibson stopped 28 or the 30 shots he faced.

Bridgeport broke out to an early lead when Josh Ho-Sang skated along the left boards towards the blue line. Ho-Sang found Tyler Mueller, who fired a slap shot at the Charlotte goal that was stopped by Checkers netminder Jeremy Smith. But Kellen Jones, the former Quinnipiac star who was camped in front of the goal screening Smith, gathered the puck and snapped it in for his fourth goal of the season—and his second against the Checkers.

It would turn out to be the Sound Tigers’ only goal of the game, however… and they’re last goal of the season.

The Checkers responded less than seven minutes later while on a 5-on-3. Following penalties to Travis St. Denis (tripping) and Ben Holmstrom (boarding), Lucas Wallmark found Trevor Carrick between the circles with less than 10 seconds remaining on the two-man advantage. Carrick sent a wrister that beat Gibson top shelf to knot the score at one goal apiece. It was Carrick's 11th goal—and his fourth power-play tally—of the season.

Charlotte took the lead for good at 2:30 of the second period. Foegele received a pass from Patrick Brown on the right side before he skated behind the Bridgeport net. The rookie forward fought to keep possession along the end boards before digging puck out in front of the goal and sending forehand shot over Gibson's shoulder to make it 2-1.

And that’s the way it stood until late in the third period when Thompson gambled with an empty net only to hand freebies over to Charlotte’s Julien Gauthier and Foegele in the final minute of regulation. It was the 28th marker of the season for Foegele, which ranks second among all first-year players in the AHL.

The Sound Tigers finished 0-for-2 on the power play, but also killed off seven of eight Charlotte power play opportunities. The Checkers outshot the Tigers 32-20, while Smith (13-13-1) made 19 saves.

The Sound Tigers ended the season at 36-32-5-3, 15 points out of the fourth and final playoff spot. Meanwhile, the Checkers, who battled the Tigers for the No. 4 playoff spot in the Atlantic Division through February (the top four teams in each division qualify for the playoffs in the AHL) finished the regular season on a 9-0-1 run and passed Providence for the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Division. A 1-7-0-1 stretch in February proved to be particularly brutal for Bridgeport, which was officially eliminated from the playoff hunt with four games remaining. The Checkers move on to play the No. 2 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the best-of-five first round of the Calder Cup playoffs.

Not making the postseason “doesn’t feel good,” said Holmstrom, who played in all 76 games this season. “You play 70-plus games, you want to play right now in April, not to be packing up and going home.

“I don’t think the feeling in the locker room is overwhelmingly happy,” continued the Sound Tigers’ captain. “We wanted to be in the playoffs and make a run. We felt we had something.”

Whatever it was the Tigers had, it wasn’t enough to propel them into the postseason as Bridgeport finished out of the playoffs for the second year in a row—and for eighth time in the past 12 seasons. The four times they did qualify during this stretch, the Sound Tigers were bounced in the first round.

But even though the Sound Tigers had nothing to play for but pride (while the Checkers needed one point to clinch the No.3 seed), they nonetheless played their hearts out on Sunday.

“We had guys blocking shots, guys standing up for each other,” said Thompson. “We have a tight-knit group. It’s probably the hardest-working team I’ve been fortunate to coach. The results didn’t always play out like we wanted.”

—with staff reports

Three Huskies Tabbed in First Round [but None by the Sun]

Former Husky star Azurá Stevens, who left UConn with one year of
eligibility remaining, was taken No. 6 overall by Dallas.

By Bob Phillips

NEW YORK–Three members of the 2017-18 UConn women’s basketball team were selected in the first round of the WNBA Draft on Thursday night.

• Forward Gabby Williams was selected by the Chicago Sky with the No. 4 overall pick.
• Forward Azurá Stevens was taken with the sixth overall pick by the Dallas Wings.
• Guard Kia Nurse was picked 10th overall by the New York Liberty.

And, as has become customary, the Connecticut Sun passed on the opportunity to draft a local star when, drafting in the 9 hole, the Sun opted for Duke star Lexie Brown one spot before the Liberty tabbed Nurse. Earlier in the day, however, the Sun did maneuver to acquire a player with a strong Connecticut pedigree, trading two No. 2 picks (this year’s and next’s) to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for former Hillhouse/New Haven and University of West Virginia star Bria Holmes who led The Academics to three state championships. But there’s a hitch. (Isn’t there always?) … Holmes will not be available until 2019, sitting out the 2018 campaign due to her pregnancy.

Williams, the 2018 Cheryl Miller Award winner, is a two-time WBCA All-American. She finished her career as a Husky as a two-time NCAA champion, an eight-time conference champion and a two-time WBCA All-American. The Sparks, Nev., native had more than 1,500 career points, 1,000 career rebounds, 300 steals and 400 assists in Storrs.

Stevens was named the American Athletic Conference Newcomer and Sixth Player of the Year in 2018. She averaged 14.7 points per game and 7.4 rebounds per game this season. The Raleigh, N.C., native was tabbed the conference tournament Most Outstanding Player and named to the all-conference second team.

Nurse was named the 2018 WBCA and American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. She finished her collegiate career with more than 1,600 points and 400 assists while adding 185 steals and 395 rebounds. The Hamilton, Ontario, native is a two-time CoSIDA Third Team Academic All-American.

UConn now has had 36 WNBA draft selections since the league’s inception in 1997. The Huskies have had at least one player selected in the draft 19 times in the last 21 years, including a current 11-year streak. Since the WNBA was founded, UConn has had 23 first round picks. This is the 11^th time multiple Huskies have been taken in the same draft.,

Brown, by the way, is the daughter of former Boston Celtics’ star Dee Brown.

“I am excited with [Brown’s] versatility at the 1 and the 2 [point guard and shooting guard], the ability to really stretch the floor in the one and two,” Sun head coach and general manager Curt Miller said, explaining the decision to draft Brown over Nurse. “She is such a great defender, anticipating for four years in that zone. Off the ball defensively, but she could also be on the ball. I think you win with small-guard play in this league.”

At 5-9, Brown is just the third player from a women’s Power Five conference to total 2,000 points, 500 assists, 300 steals and 200 three-pointers in her college career. She played her first two seasons at Big 10 school Maryland before transferring to ACC member Duke. Still, one has to wonder if the selection of Brown had as much to do with the Sun consciously differentiating itself from the most successful program in women’s collegiate basketball history, playing just 25 miles up Route 32 from the Mohegan Sun Arena.

Dog Bites

• Williams joins fellow Husky Stefanie Dolson (’14) in Chicago.
• Stevens will play for Dallas with Saniya Chong (’17).

—with staff reports

Bees Ink Two

NEW BRITAIN–The New Britain Bees have announced two key signings—catcher catcher James Skelton and outfielder Ozney Guillen—in preparation for the 2018 Atlantic League season.

This will be Skelton’s third season with the Bees, his sixth in the Atlantic League, and 15^th overall in professional baseball. Last year with New Britain, the backstop appeared in 117 games, hit .255 with 14 HRs, 33 RBIs, 69 runs scored, 17 stolen bases, and a .408 on-base percentage. He also tied an all-time Atlantic League single-season record with 101 walks drawn.

Originally drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 14^th round of the 2004 MLB amateur draft, Skelton spent five years in the Tigers organization, and continued to play in the organized ball through 2012, reaching the AAA level with Louisville (Reds) in 2011 and Syracuse (Nationals) in 2012. The 32-year-old backstop made his Atlantic League debut in 2013, and has played in the league since with the Somerset Patriots, Lancaster Barnstormers and Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in addition to the Bees. Overall, Skelton has, James owns a .258 batting average with 59 home runs, 405 RBIs, 550 runs scored, 145 stolen bases, and a .390 on-base percentage in 1,080 career minor league games.

Guillen joins the Bees for his second season in the Atlantic League and fifth of professional baseball. No stranger to Connecticut sports fans, last season the 25-year-old outfielder played with the Bridgeport Bluefish, where he hit .253 with two homers, 29 ribbies, 30 runs scored, and five stolen bases in 86 games. The son of former MLB star and Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Gullen, Ozney was originally drafted out of high school by the White Sox in the 22^nd round of the 2010 MLB draft. He made his professional debut in 2014 with Normal of the independent Frontier League, spending two seasons with Normal before joining Sioux Falls of the American Association in 2016. Overall, he has hit .241 with 16 dingers and 127 RBIs in 233 career games—all on the independent circuit. He also has crossed the plate 132 times and swiped 32 bases.

The Bees will open their home schedule against The Road Warriors,
the former Bridgeport Bluefish, who will be moving to High Point, NC,
next season. Meanwhile, the team's former home, the Ballpark at Harbor
Yard (pictured), remains vacant while the Warriors play the entire
2018 season on the road. Go figure. (Photo by Bob Phillips)

“Only one week remains until players report for spring training ,and we’re excited how the roster is looking,” says Bees general manager Brad Smith. “James has been one of the better catchers in the Atlantic League the past few years, and will be a very important part of the team in working with our veteran pitching staff. Ozney adds some versatility to the club and has proven he can be an asset in this league.”

The Bees will open the season with a six-game series in Sugar Land, Tex., a suburb of Houston, where they will challenge the Sugar Land Skeeters, beginning on Apr. 27. They will then return home to host the former Bridgeport Bluefish who will be playing this season as The Road Warriors—yes, playing the entire season on the road (even though their former ballpark in Bridgeport remains unoccupied and dormant) while a new state-of-the-art stadium is being built for them in High Point, NC, for the 2019 season. The home opener will be on Fri., May 4, with the first pitch slated for 6:35 p.m. at New Britain Stadium. For more information on the Bees, click HERE.

Join Da Club!

 
The Bees are happy to announce Xfinity Kid’s Club for the 2018 season, open to all kids up to 13-years of age and it is free to join.

Membership includes a ticket to every Bees Sunday home game, an official Kid’s Club membership card, 10 percent off all kid’s apparel in the team store, a 10 percent discount off the price of summer Bees Baseball Camps, and an invitation to Sting’s Birthday Bash and Xfinity Kid’s Club Day on Sat., Aug. 18. In addition, Xfinity Kid’s Club members who book a Birthday Party with the Bees will receive a 10 percent discount, and have the opportunity to toss out the first pitch of the game.

“We are excited to partner with Xfinity and announce the start of the Bees Kid’s Club,” says Bees General Manager Brad Smith. “This will be an exciting program in 2018 and we look forward to giving all the participants a fun-filled experience.” 

To sign up for the Xfinity Kid’s Club online, CLICK HERE. A registration form is also available by CLICKING HERE. For more information on the Xfinity Kid’s Club, please email info@NBBees.com or call (860) 826-2337.

—Staff Reports

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