The Bridgeport Islanders suffered another loss to the Providence Bruins on Saturday night, dropping both games of the weekend series. An 8-4 final score pushed the Islanders to 2-8-1-1 on the season. So far, they have yet to win when trailing at any point in a game. Currently, they rank last in the Atlantic Division and second-worst in the Eastern Conference, ahead only of winless Utica. Across the entire AHL, they are the third-worst team.

Following Friday’s defeat, the Islanders put goaltender Henrik Tikkanen in the net for his AHL season debut. Boston countered with Long Island’s own Brandon Bussi, who entered the game with a 0-4 record this season. Both teams exchanged scoring chances in the opening 10 minutes, with Isles forward Liam Foudy creating a promising shorthanded breakaway but failing to convert. The Bruins struck first after Isles defenseman Calle Odelius turned the puck over at his own faceoff dot, allowing Marc McLaughlin to fire it past Tikkanen. The goal put the Bruins up 1-0.

The Islanders quickly responded. Forward Marc Gatcomb generated a two-on-one chance with Foudy, only to be stopped by Bussi, but Gatcomb managed to draw a penalty. Just after the power play expired, Gatcomb deflected a shot from defenseman Wyatt Newpower past Bussi, tying the game 1-1 with two minutes left in the first period. The teams entered the first intermission tied.

The second period exploded with offense, as each team scored three goals. Just fifteen seconds into the period, forward Julien Gauthier intercepted a pass and set up Foudy, who scored his first goal of the season. Unfortunately, Gauthier’s lack of discipline soon gave the Bruins a power play, and they capitalized when Georgii Merkulov scored off a rebound.

Only two minutes later, Gatcomb restored the Islanders lead with his second goal, capitalizing on Wyatt Newpower’s aggressive forecheck. Cole Bardreau also assisted, earning his first point of the season. A penalty on Sam Bolduc soon allowed the Bruins to tie it again. Bruins forward Riley Tufte finished a skillful passing play, evening the score at 2-2.

With just a minute left in the period, Odelius made a costly turnover in front of Tikkanen, allowing Riley Duran to score a shorthanded goal. This goal put the Bruins up 3-2. The Islanders responded almost immediately. Just 20 seconds later, Tyce Thompson fired a hard shot off the back wall, which bounced to William Dufour, who pushed it past Bussi. It was a big goal for Dufour, who was a healthy scratch Friday night versus Providence. Both teams entered the second intermission tied at 3-3.

The third period began with the teams trading low-risk chances. However, a controversial goaltender interference call soon shifted momentum in Providence’s favor. Midway through the period, Bolduc fired a shot that beat Bussi, but officials waved it off. Although the officials didn’t provide an explanation, it appeared that forward Brian Pinho had “interfered” with Bussi in the crease.

Providence then seized control with a four-goal outburst in three minutes. Ian Mitchell, Vinni Lettieri and John Farinacci all scored, with Farinacci netting two in that span. These quick goals stunned the Islanders, putting the game out of reach and securing the Bruins’ 8-4 victory.

The loss resulted from multiple issues, with a lack of attention to detail as the most significant. For example, both Odelius and Bolduc committed costly turnovers in their own end that led directly to goals. In addition, the team’s lack of discipline led to five penalties, many of which were avoidable. Gauthier’s second-period penalty, for instance, was both inconsequential to the play and unnecessary.

Tikkanen struggled to keep the Islanders competitive, allowing eight goals on 33 shots for a .757 save percentage. As John Tortorella once put it (when discussing a different goalie), “He’s trying like hell, (but) we need (an) occasional save.”

The game’s three stars all went to Bruins players. Lettieri and Merkulov earned first and second stars with a goal and two assists each. Farinacci took the third star for his two third-period goals. Lettieri had a big weekend, being named one of the game’s three stars in both contests.

The Islanders will return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 12, against the Hershey Bears. The puck drops at 10:30 a.m. at Total Mortgage Arena. All AHL games can be streamed on FloHockey.tv.

Featured image curtesy of the Bridgeport Islanders

Line combinations reported by @notaburneraccou on X

Joey McAuliffe

Joey McAuliffe is a passionate Islander fan pursuing a Masters of Accounting in Buffalo, NY. His favorite player of all time is Jordan Eberle. He has followed the team closely since 2014, but he began regularly attending games during the 2006 season. Outside of hockey, Joey loves music and the Buffalo Bills.