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The Bridgeport Sound Tigers bested the Hartford Wolf Pack in OT on Saturday.
It was the last meeting of the regular season at the Webster Bank Arena between
the in-state archrivals. |
BRIDGEPORT—Otto
Koivula scored for the fourth straight game and posted the overtime winner with
less than seven seconds remaining on Saturday, giving the Bridgeport Sound
Tigers (29-18-5-2) a 4-3 victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack (21-25-4-3) before 4,304 fans in
their final meeting of the season at Webster Bank Arena.
Andrew Ladd and Thomas Hickey (pictured), who were loaned to
Bridgeport on conditioning by the Islanders earlier in the day, each scored a
goal to make an instant impact, while Josh Ho-Sang also tallied his third goal
of the season. It was Bridgeport's league-leading 12th win beyond regulation in
their 19th contest that went to overtime.
Hartford used its initial power play to strike first at
13:35 of the opening period. Following a roughing penalty against Kyle
Burroughs, Peter Holland tracked down a loose puck below the goal line and
snapped a pass to Vinni Lettieri in the slot. Lettieri connected with the
one-timer and gathered his 14th goal of the season to give the Wolf Pack a 1-0
lead.
Less than four minutes later, the Sound Tigers evened the
score at 1-1 when Ladd collected a goal in his Bridgeport debut. Tanner Fritz
saucered a crisp, cross-ice pass from the bottom of the left circle to Yannick
Rathgeb at the point, who found Ladd in the slot on a successful slap-pass that
was deflected between Halverson's legs. Ladd's first-period marker was his
first AHL tally since Dec. 12, 2007 with the Albany River Rats.
It took Hartford just 58 seconds into the middle frame to
regain its one-goal advantage when Steven Fogarty made it a 2-1 game. At 4-on-4
play, Fogarty altered Ryan Lindgren's point-shot out of mid-air and into the
back of the net for his 13th goal of the season.
Ho-Sang potted the equalizer at 17:52 of the second period
to even the score for a second time. After settling a breakout pass from Ladd,
Ho-Sang banked the puck to himself off the boards at the red line and corralled
it inside the blue line. He used his elusive speed to evade a pair of
defensemen, made a quick breakaway move on Halverson, and scored off the far post
and in.
The Wolf Pack got off to another quick start in the third
period as Tim Gettinger scored his 11th goal of the year just 17 seconds in. He
gathered a rebound off of Lindgren's point shot in the slot, and buried the
go-ahead goal into the near-empty cage. But the Sound Tigers tied the game for
a third-consecutive time at the 3:30 mark when Hickey fired home a goal in his
Bridgeport debut as well. After the Sound Tigers controlled offensive-zone
pressure, Hickey received a D-to-D pass at the blue line and wristed a
seeing-eye shot that sailed past Halverson's glove from the left point.
The game remained deadlocked at the end of 60 minutes,
handing the Sound Tigers their third straight overtime decision and the club's
fourth in the last six affairs. And 3-on-3 action did not disappoint.
While Bridgeport controlled the majority of possession in
the first four minutes, Gibson made a spectacular pad save on Hartford's first
scoring chance of the extra frame, as he stretched out and robbed Lindgren on
the doorstep.
With less than seven seconds left in overtime, Koivula iced
the contest with a spectacular move above the crease. Koivula caught a Chris
Bourque feed in the slot and used his lengthy reach to execute
forehand-to-backhand move, before he elevated a backhander just under the bar
for the 4-3 final.
Koivula's team-leading 17th goal of the season was his first
career AHL game-winning goal and extended his point streak to six games
(4-3–7).
The Sound Tigers finished the contest 0-for-2 on the power
play and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill. Between the pipes, Christopher Gibson (15-9-4) made 25 saves
on 28 shots, while Brandon Halverson (2-2-1) allowed four goals on 24 shots.
With the win, the Sound Tigers improved to 29-18-5-2, while
the Wolf Pack fell to 21-25-4-3.
—Staff Reports
