BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (October 17, 2022) - The Bridgeport Islanders showed lots of persistence and promise this past weekend, opening the 2023-24 regular season with a 1-1-0-0 record on the road. The Islanders beat the Rochester Americans in overtime on Friday night before falling to the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday.
Ruslan Iskhakov scored twice in Friday’s season opener in Rochester, including the overtime-winning goal just 21 seconds in, lifting Bridgeport to a 4-3 victory at Blue Cross Arena. Brian Pinho chipped in a career-high four points (four assists) in his Islanders’ debut and Dennis Cholowski recorded one goal and two assists. Jakub Skarek (1-0-0) made 24 saves and has now won five of his last seven decisions dating back to last season.
Bridgeport outshot the Amerks 42-27 and went 1-for-2 on the man advantage. Arnaud Durandeau’s clutch game-tying goal came on the power play late in the third period to force overtime and ultimately put the Islanders in a position to capitalize.
Less than 24 hours later, Pinho and Iskhakov found the scoresheet again in a 4-2 loss to the Syracuse Crunch at the Upstate Medical University Arena. Pinho and Jackson Cates each scored their first goal with the Islanders, while Iskhakov had two assists for his second straight multi-point game. Ken Appleby (0-1-0) made 33 saves in his season debut between the pipes.
Both games were tied 2-2 after the second period and up for grabs for most of the third.
The Islanders complete a three-game road trip on Wednesday night with a 7:05 p.m. matchup against the Providence Bruins (0-1-0-1) at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Bridgeport returns to Total Mortgage Arena for its first two home games this weekend, hosting the Utica Comets (0-1-1-0) on Saturday at 7 p.m. and the Hershey Bears (1-1-0-0) at 3 p.m. Sunday. All games can be seen live on AHLTV or heard for free on the Bridgeport Islanders Radio Network.