The Bridgeport Islanders’ home woes continued this weekend, as they dropped both of their games at Total Mortgage Arena. They have only won a single game in Bridgeport this season, which came in October. They have lost 12 consecutive home games, a franchise record. After the losses, Bridgeport’s record fell to 7-22-2-2. They have 18 points in 32 games. Their points percentage of .281 is the second worst in the AHL.

The weekend began with a Saturday night matchup against the Rochester Americans. Head coach Rick Kowalsky gave the starter’s net to Henrik Tikkanen. Though forward Liam Foudy gave the B-Isles the lead three minutes into the game, Tikkanen and Bridgeport’s defense failed to do their job. Tikkanen, in particular, failed to make saves when his team needed him most. He wound up being chased from the net midway through the second period after giving up four goals on 12 shots.

Henrik Tikkanen’s 24-25 AHL Hell:

8 GP (1-6-0-0)

.809 SV% (101st of 105)
6.03 GAA (104th of 105)

Did not finish two of his seven AHL starts this season#Isles I #Gonefishin pic.twitter.com/hEcm7dWxN9

— Joey McAuliffe (@Joey_McAuliffe8) January 5, 2025

To be fair, Tikkanen’s defense didn’t seem interested in assisting him. Sam Bolduc, in particular, played particularly carelessly. For his poor play, Bolduc was a healthy scratch the following afternoon against the Hartford Wolf Pack. Bridgeport, to their credit, fought back after Tikkanen left the game. Goals from William Dufour and Alex Jefferies had the B-Isles trailing only one entering the third period.

ANOTHER DAY.
ANOTHER SLAGGERT SHORTY.

we don’t even know what to say about this guy anymore tbh. pic.twitter.com/CQMX1Ho6k2

— Rochester Americans (@AmerksHockey) January 4, 2025

The B-Isles pressed hard in the final frame, outshooting the Amerks 16-7 in the final period. Unfortunately, they were never able to find that game-tying goal. Bridgeport pulled their goaltender in the final 90 seconds of the game, and Rochester potted two goals in the empty cage. The final score of the game was 6-3.

The following day’s contest against the Hartford Wolf Pack was nowhere near as competitive. Bridgeport surrendered the contest’s first four goals thanks to some horrendous defensive efforts. They surrendered one goal in the first, then three in the second. Goalie Jakub Skarek didn’t play great, but like Tikkanen the night before, he was regularly hung out to dry.

Brian Pinho managed to score a power-play goal to make the score 4-1, but the B-Isles managed to give that goal right back with just 80 seconds before the second intermission. Neither team scored in the third period, and the game ended with a final score of 5-1.

Bridgeport has allowed at least four goals in 11 of their last 12. They have allowed the most goals of any team in the entire AHL by a wide margin. If this isn’t already the nadir, it cannot come soon enough. For Bridgeport hockey fans, dreams of watching their local hockey team lift a Calder Cup feel as far away as ever. The current state of the Bridgeport Islanders is untenable.

Bridgeport will return to action on Friday, Jan. 10 in Providence when they take on the Bruins. The puck will drop at 7:05 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.