The Bridgeport Report: Jan. 24, 2024

The Bridgeport Islanders played some of their best defense of the season this past weekend, holding opponents to just two goals at five-on-five, but went 0-1-1-0 to begin the second half.
 
William Dufour scored his fourth goal in his last six games, while Jakub Skarek and Henrik Tikkanen both spent time in net.
 
The Islanders (11-22-5-0) hosted the Hartford Wolf Pack on Saturday night and fired 34 shots against Dylan Garand, but failed to score in a 3-0 loss. Skarek (3-15-4) made 23 saves in front of 4,469 energetic fans at Total Mortgage Arena.
 
Less than 24 hours later, a defensive duel all afternoon long ended in overtime on Sunday, with the Islanders falling to the Providence Bruins 2-1 in Rhode Island. Dufour made it 1-0 on Bridgeport’s first shot early in the opening period, while John Beecher tied it 44 seconds into the second and Mason Lohrei’s first AHL goal ended the contest in overtime. Tikkanen (3-2-1) made 30 saves.

The Islanders face the Bruins (23-13-3-2) two more times this weekend, beginning a home-and-home series on Friday night with a 7:05 p.m. rematch at Amica Mutual Pavilion. The Atlantic Division rivals chase each other back to Bridgeport in preparation for a 7 p.m. puck drop at Total Mortgage Arena on Saturday.

The action can be seen live on AHLTV or heard for free on the Bridgeport Islanders Radio Network, beginning with the Connecticut Lottery Pregame Countdown 15 minutes prior to puck drop.

The Week Ahead:

Friday, Jan. 26th at Providence (7:05 p.m.): The Islanders play their second straight game at Amica Mutual Pavilion and their ninth of 12 matchups against the second-place Providence Bruins. Bridgeport is 1-6-1-0 against Providence this season and still searching for its first win on the road (0-3-1-0).

Saturday, Jan. 27th vs. Providence (7 p.m.): The Islanders host Boston’s affiliate for the fifth time this season. Bridgeport is 1-3-0-0 against Providence at Total Mortgage Arena including a 3-1 win on Nov. 19th. Family Packs are available for every home game this season, which include four (4) tickets and meal vouchers for a hot dog, chips and soda/water starting at just $99. Buy tickets for Saturday's game here!

Ice Chips:

One-Goal Wonders: Thirteen of the Islanders’ last 15 games have been decided by just one goal, including 11 in a row from Dec. 16th through Jan. 13th. Bridgeport has played 22 games that have come down to a single goal, most in the AHL. The Islanders are 9-8-5-0 in one-goal games and all but eight of their contests this season have been decided by two goals or fewer. Bridgeport has been to overtime on 12 occasions (7-5) and five times in their last eight.

Two Debuts in Two Days: A pair of Islanders broke into the lineup for the first time this past weekend, as forward Carsen Twarynski made his Bridgeport debut on Saturday night and forward Ashton Calder made his AHL debut on Sunday. Twarynski, who signed an AHL contact on Jan. 8th, had two shots-on-goal and an even rating in his 250th AHL game between Lehigh Valley, Charlotte, Coachella Valley, and Bridgeport. Calder, who had a team-leading 14 goals and 33 points in 34 ECHL games with the Worcester Railers to begin the season, notched one shot-on-goal in Providence on Sunday.

Appleby Returns: Ken Appleby was returned to Bridgeport by the New York Islanders on Monday. The 28-year-old goaltender got into one game for New York last week, making six saves on eight shots in 20 minutes of relief against Minnesota last Monday. It was his first NHL action since Jan. 25, 2018, and Appleby become the 55th goaltender to appear in a game in New York Islanders history. Appleby is 5-5-0 with a 2.88 GAA and .897 save percentage in 11 AHL contests this season,

Quick Hits: Kyle MacLean became the first Bridgeport grad to make his NHL debut this season, playing 10:21 against Chicago last Friday… With an assist on Sunday, Ruslan Iskhakov now has points in 13 of his last 15 games and shares 15th in the AHL’s scoring race (33 points)… Grant Hutton returned to the lineup on Saturday after missing six games due to injury… Daylan Kuefler was reassigned to Bridgeport on Thursday and is looking to make his AHL debut… Jeff Kubiak, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Thursday, collected an assist on Sunday and now has five points in his last six games (two goals, three assists).