The Bridgeport Islanders have played brutal hockey lately, entering the weekend on an eight-game losing streak. However, the B-Isles gave their fans a present just before the holiday break, splitting their weekend series against the Charlotte Checkers. The B-Isles lost the first game 6-2 but won the second game 4-1. After the weekend, the Bridgeport Islanders now hold a record of 6-18-2-2.

With goaltender Marcus Hogberg still in the NHL, Henrik Tikkanen got the nod in the opening game. His misfortunes continued. Charlotte’s Oliver Okuliar scored at 5:04 of the first to give the Checkers the early 1-0 lead, but forward Tyce Thompson scored the equalizer just 90 seconds later. The 1-1 score held into the first intermission.

Once again, things unraveled in the second. The Checkers scored four goals on eight shots against Tikkanen. Two of these were scored unassisted by forward John Leonard. Trailing 5-1 entering the second intermission, head coach Rick Kowalsky pulled Tikkanen from the contest in favor of Jakub Skarek.

The teams traded goals in the third. John Leonard earned his hat-trick goal just 17 seconds into the period, and Gemel Smith of the B-Isles scored at 3:24 to make the score 6-2. For Smith, a recent signee, it was his first goal as a member of the B-Isles. Smith’s goal remained too little too late, and the final score remained 6-2. The loss stung a little extra as it came at the expense of former B-Isles goaltender Ken Appleby in the opposing cage. The loss extended Bridgeport’s losing streak to nine.

The B-Isles had one more chance to beat the Checkers before the holiday break the following day. They did so with Skarek in net, even though he had been called upon in relief the night before. He played admirably, making 29 saves on 30 shots.

Although neither team scored in the first period, the B-Isles exploded in the second. They scored three goals, all at even strength. The first came from Brian Pinho at 3:10. The second came from Liam Foudy at 8:51. The third came from Chris Terry at 10:58. Forward Marc Gatcomb registered assists on two of the three goals in the second period, giving him three points on the weekend.

Okuliar spoiled Skarek’s shutout with a power-play goal in the third, but it was too little too late. The Checkers elected to pull the goalie, and at 19:06, Alex Jefferies scored into the empty net. The final score held at 4-1. The goal was Jefferies’ second point of the afternoon, giving him 20 in 24 games on the season. It must have been a relief for the B-Isles to finally win a game. They had not won since December began.

The B-Isles will look to win their first home game since October this coming Friday, Dec. 27, when they face the Providence Bruins at Total Mortgage Arena. The puck will drop at 7 p.m. All AHL games can be streamed on Flohockey.tv

Featured image courtesy of the Bridgeport Islanders

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.