An Afternoon at the AHL: Bridgeport Soundtigers v.s. Portland Pirates

April 21^st, 2013-Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut hosted an American Hockey League (AHL) regular season finale as the Bridgeport Soundtigers faced off against the Portland Pirates. The two teams have a recent history as Portland took Bridgeport out of playoff contention when they played earlier in the week.

Fan Appreciation Day was the theme of the day as the home team thanked the crowd for their support by playing well. The goaltending match-up for the game: Anders Nilsson (#45) for Bridgeport v.s. Mike Lee (#31) for Portland.  Jon McIsaac was the referee for the day.

First Period: Matt Clackson of Portland started off the game aggressively when he issued a mid-level hit to Sean Backman of Bridgeport which caused a fight to break out at the 2:39 minute mark. Portland would also strike first on the scoreboard when a shot from the left side of the point went past Anders Nilsson and into the net at the 3:50 mark. With the score 1-0 Pirates, Bridgeport would have to take advantage of the fact that their opponents were playing recklessly.  Kirill Kabanov of the Soundtigers scored a goal from the point of his own with the assistance of Aaron Ness and Matt Donovan to tie the game at 1. Bridgeport was able to continue working hard in front of the net for the two goals that would put them up 3-1 to end the first: Riley Wetmore would get his first professional hockey goal on an assist from Scott Campbell at 17:35 and Scott Campbell would score one of his own at 18:50 with the assists going to Brandon DeFazio and Aaron Ness.

Second Period: Portland Pirates remove Mike Lee from net and put in Christopher Rawlings (#37) in hopes of stopping the momentum the Bridgeport Soundtigers created at the end of the first. This period of the game can be summed up in its good goaltending, and competitive nature. Anders Nilsson did his part to protect the lead as Rawlings worked hard to keep the Soundtigers off the scoreboard. Both teams delivered hard hits to each other, igniting at least four confrontations-3 of which resulted in fights: 1. as Bridgeport’s Ryan Strome skated to the bench after serving his hooking penalty, Andrey Pedan-Strome's teammate-dropped the gloves and squared off against Portland’s Brett Hextall at 11:52; 2. Matt Clackson of Portland traded fists with Bridgeport’s Jason Clark over a minute later; 3. A hit between the teams’ benches led to another as Soundtiger Blair Riley stood up to Darian Dziurzynski on the opposing team.

Third Period: After the combative second, the teams focused on trying to win the game. Both goaltenders were able to stop quality scoring chances during the first half of the third. The forwards and defensemen kept playing tough to guard their opposition from even getting to the offensive zone. Eventually, goalie Rawlings would let Brock Nelson’s shot through his grasps at the 16:13 mark. This third period goal was Nelson’s 25^th of the season assisted by Matt Donovan and Ryan Strome, making Nelson the all-time team leader for goals by a rookie for Bridgeport.

Final Score: Bridgeport Soundtigers win 4-1

The Three Stars of the Game: 3^rd Star: Bridgeport forward Riley Wetmore; 2^nd Star: Bridgeport goalie Anders Nilsson; 1^st Star:  Bridgeport forward Scott Campbell.

 Appreciation for the Home Team: Thank You, Bridgeport Soundtigers, on a great season that provided fans with competitive hockey during the NHL lockout as well as provided the New York Islanders (Bridgeport’s NHL affiliate) with talent that got them into the NHL playoff picture. I’m looking forward to the 2013-2014 season at Webster Bank Arena.

*Acknowledged resources for blog: Bridgeport Soundtigers-Portland Pirates GameSheet from the AHL.com, recap of the game from the Bridgeport Soundtiger’s website, Game Notes, and the public address announcer at Webster Bank Arena*