Looking Back at the Sound Tigers 2020-21 Season
After the 2019-20 season abruptly ended due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, nobody knew if the Bridgeport Sound Tigers or the AHL would play in 2020-21. In December 2020, the AHL announced that it was set to return during the first week of February 2021. It would be a season unlike any other.
The 2020-21 season in the American Hockey League featured only 28 of the 31 teams in the AHL. Springfield, Charlotte, and Milwaukee opted out. This left only two other teams within 70 miles of Bridgeport, forcing a temporary division re-alignment. The Sound Tigers would play 24 games in the Atlantic Division that included only two other teams: the Providence Bruins and Hartford Wolf Pack. To make things more interesting, all games were to be played at 1 p.m. and no fans were permitted at the three arenas.
Bridgeport was a younger team than in years past. Veterans Cole Bardreau, Tanner Fritz and Tom Kuhnhackl returned, and Seth Helgeson was named captain. They also got an influx of young talent, the likes of which included Bode Wilde, Sam Bolduc, Kyle MacLean, and Jakub Skarek.
Dmytro Timashov and Otto Koivula brought some limited NHL experience to the young roster and prospects Jeff Kubiak, Bobo Carpenter, Simon Holmstrom, Grant Hutton all continued their development. Additionally, defenseman Mitchell Vande Sompel finally returned from an injury after missing all of 2019-20.
A Wacky Season
The 2020-21 season of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in 2020-21 got off to a bad start. The Sound Tigers lost their first three games before winning at home. Despite strong play from Cole Bardreau and Sam Bolduc, they lost nine in a row at one point and had a 3-12 record. After the losing streak, the Sound Tigers won 5 of their last seven before a heartbreaking season-ending loss to the Wolf Pack on May 4. The Sound Tigers ended the season 8-14-2.
Six days later, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers organization would change forever.
Shocking Change
During the last few weeks of the season, the team hinted at a possible name change. On May 10, the teases turned out to be.
After almost 21 years as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the Bridgeport Islanders were born. This allowed the team to brand itself similarly to its NHL affiliate.
Overall, the reception was poor. The team changed its beloved name and dropped an iconic moniker. Plus the logo isn’t so nice, in my opinion. Fans also laughed about Bridgeport not even being on an island. A new era of Bridgeport hockey is set to begin this October at Webster Bank Arena, whether you like it or not.
A Native of Danbury, CT. Christian is one of the longest tenured Drive4Five writers, Christian Gardecki began writing for Drive4five In May of 2017. Christian covers Minor League Hockey and the Bridgeport Islanders for Drive4Five. Outside of Drive4Five, Christian was the captain of his High School Hockey team and currently attends Hofstra University with a major in journalism. Christian was the play by play broadcaster for the Danbury Westerners summer collegiate baseball team during their 2021 NECBL Championship. Christian also was the Public Address Announcer for the Danbury Hat Tricks Minor Pro Hockey team in the Federal Prospects Hockey League and NAHL Junior team from 2019-21.
