Lawson and Martin both shine in three game weekend

The Sound Tigers had a tough weekend schedule but they managed to get at least one point in every game. One big thing I noticed was the poor officiating at the games this weekend. It was more evident than ever before, almost as thought they had it out for the Sound Tigers.

Sound Tigers 2, Charlotte Checkers 3 SO

For the second straight game, the Sound Tigers went to a shootout to decide the game. With no scoring in the first, both goalies had to come up big for their teams. In the first, Nathan Lawson made a couple key saves in the period to keep the game at zero. Charlotte out shot the Sound Tigers 12-9 in the first. The second saw Charlotte get on the board only 56 seconds in, as Jon Matsumoto put in a rebound on a five on three to make it 1-0. Four minutes into the third, Chris Terry put one past Lawson to make it 2-0. The Sound Tigers would respond with a power play goal of their own as Rhett Rakhshani beat Charlotte goaltender Mike Murphy with a one timer to make it 2-1. With time ticking down and on the penalty kill the Sound Tigers pulled Lawson. Justin Dibenedetto carried the puck down the wing and took a shot. Rob Hisey came in and backhanded one that got past Murphy to tie the game with only twenty two seconds to go, forcing overtime. Good chances in overtime made for some great hockey including some old fashion three on three. They would need a shootout to find a winner in this one. Charlotte's first shooter Zac Dalpe and Bridgeport's first Rob Hisey both tallied goals. The next two rounds went scoreless. Terry then scored for Charlotte to go up by one. After Lawson stopped Boychuk, David Ullstrom came down on Murphy and looked like he was going to pick the puck up on his blade but at the last moment slid it right through the goaltenders legs to even it up. Matsumoto then scored forcing Robin Figren to score to keep the game going but he could not beat Murphy. Charlotte won by a final of 3 to 2.

Shots: Bridgeport 37, Charlotte 37

Three Stars: 1.Matsumoto, 2.Hisey, 3.Terry

Attendance: 5,908

Sound Tigers 2, Manchester 1 OT

An incredible goal by Justin Dibenedetto in overtime lifted the Sound Tigers to a 2-1 victory over the Atlantic Division leading Manchester Monarchs. The first period looked almost identical to the one from last nights game, as there was no scoring in the first and the Sound Tigers were out played and out shot, making Nathan Lawson keep them in the game. Brent Gallant and Justin Johnson dropped the gloves and Gallant looked to have bested Johnson, hitting him with a couple good rights. In the second, Lawson was big, making a great kick save and stopping the puck right on the goal line later in the play. Manchester would score on the power play as a shot was blocked by Mark Wotton and bounced right to Bud Holloway who put it into the empty net, making it 1-0. Late in the third, the Sound Tigers would answer as Justin Dibenedetto jammed one through the legs of Manchester goaltender Martin Jones to make it 1-1. Brandon Svendsen stole the puck and came in on a breakaway but missed the net, once again making overtime necessary. Overtime gave us one of the best goals of the year and is in the running for best of all time, as Mark Katic took a shot from the point that hit a shin pad and bounced towards the net. Dibenedetto found the puck behind him and put it through his legs backwards. The puck went through Martin's legs and in the net winning the game for the Sound Tigers 3-2.

Shots:Bridgeport 27, Manchester 39

Three Stars: 1.Lawson, 2.Dibenedetto, 3.Jones

Attendance: 5,206

Sound Tigers 3, Binghamton Senators 4 OT

After being bumped around a bit the last two nights, Nathan Lawson got a rest, opening the door for Joel Martin to get another game in net. Seven minutes in, Binghamton would strike first as their captain Ryan Keller would come down on a breakaway and beat Martin to make it 1-0. it would stay that way until the second when Justin Dibenedetto got his own rebound and put it by Binghamton goaltender Barry Brust to make it 1-1. It wouldn't last long however, as on the power play Ryan Potulny put a one timer past Martin who had no chance on the play and made it 2-1. In the third, Jeremy Colliton found the lose puck behind Brust and slid it in to make it 2-2. The score would stay that way for just about three minutes as Keller would score his second of the night on the power play off a rebound to make it 3-2. The Sound Tigers had a flair for the dramatics this weekend as with twenty nine seconds left in the third, David Ullstrom tipped Mark Katic's shot in front into the net to make it 3-3 forcing overtime for a forth straight game. After a bad call by the official on Ullstrom, the Sound Tigers went a man down. On the man down Martin made a huge save and the rebound was knocked in by a high stick so the goal was called back. They killed a penalty but the pressure never let up and with forty six seconds left Kaspars Daugavins found the loose puck and put it into a the net past a splitting Martin who never had a chance, making the final score, Binghamton 4, Bridgeport 3 in overtime.

Shots: Binghamton 35, Bridgeport 30

Three Stars: 1.Daugavins, 2.Keller, 3.Ullstrom

Attendance: 3,699

Brandon Svendsen signs second PTO, while Chris Blight is released

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers have left winger Brandon Svendsen to a Professional Tryout Contract (PTO). This is Svendsen's second time signing a PTO with the Sound Tigers this year. When his contract expired over the weekend the Sound Tigers quickly got him to sign back. In 25 games this season with the Sound Tigers, Svendsen has 4 goals and 4 assists.

The Sound Tigers have also released right winger Chris Blight from his Professional Tryout Contract (PTO). In 13 games with the Sound Tigers Blight has 1 goal and 3 assists with 19 shots on goal.

Oct 30th game vs Manchester rescheduled for January 9th at 7:30

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers announced today that the game that was supposed to be played on October 30th against the Manchester Monarchs has been rescheduled for Sunday January 9th. Due to a Sacred Heart University basketball game earlier in the day, the game time will be a 7:30pm puck drop.

The game was postponed because of a midterm election campaign attended by president Barack Obama. Due to security reasons and time constraints, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers were asked by the secret service to postpone the game. “It is an honor and a privilege to have the President of the United States visit our beautiful arena,” said Howard Saffan, President of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

From SoundTigers.com "The Sound Tigers will honor tickets that fans purchased for the Oct. 30 game on Jan. 9. In addition, fans who purchased tickets to the originally scheduled Oct. 30 game that are unable to attend the rescheduled Jan. 9 game can exchange their tickets for another Sound Tigers game. The exchanged tickets will be of equal value and these exchanges cannot be made on gamedays."

Bridgeport Sound Tigers Fan Blog Player Of The Month: Kevin Poulin

I have picked the Bridgeport Sound Tiger Fan Blog player of the month for the month of November. The player of the month is Sound Tigers goaltender Kevin Poulin.

Poulin finished the month strong with four great starts. In his last two games, he has shut out the opposing team, earning the first star in both games. However, it was no easy task, the first shut out came against the Portland Pirates. Portland, whose offense was first in the league, took 29 shots and kept Poulin on his guard, but they just could not get the puck past him. The second shut out came days later when the Sound Tigers played another highly ranked offensive team, the Norfolk Admirals. Poulin was peppered with shot after shot, but the Admirals could not get anything by him. He ended the game with a 40 save shut out and a standing ovation from the crowd at Arena at Harbor Yard.

In 9 games this season, Poulin has made 275 saves, only letting in 18 goals. He has 6 wins and 3 assists so far this season and boasts the best recored among all three Sound Tiger goaltenders.

Islanders sign forward Jeremy Colliton to a one year, two way contract

The New York Islanders have signed center Jeremy Colliton to a one year, two way(NHL/AHL) deal. Colliton was signed to a Professional Tryout Contract on October 21 and has been with the team since that time. He is also one of the assistant captains on the team.

The 25 year old has played 18 games so far this season and has tallied two goals and an assist. It may not look like much, but he is a great leader on the ice and a tremendous penalty killer.

This isn't the first time that Colliton has played for the Sound Tigers. He has played three seasons, skating in 250 career games. At 25, he is already an AHL veteran. Last year he played in the Swedish Elite League and has come back faster than ever.

Game Preview: Sound Tigers at Hartford Wolf Pack

Bridgeport Sound Tigers at Hartford Wolf Pack

7:00pm, XL Center

The Sound Tigers look for their second win this weekend and to sweep tonight as they play the Hartford Wolf Pack. This is the second game of the weekend home and home series. The Sound Tigers took the first game at Harbor Yard 4-1. Now all eyes turn to the XL Center for tonights game.

Last time they played each other:

It was last night at Arena at Harbor Yard. The game was close all the way through, with both teams trading scoring chances, although the score did not reflect it. The Sound Tigers got two from Jon Sim and one from Rob Hisey and Jesse Joensuu on their way to a 4-1 win. Some bad news for the Sound Tigers however, is the fact that Jon Sim, Justin DiBenedetto, Dustin Kohn, and Jean Borbeau all left the game due to injury and did not return.

Being that the two teams played each other last night their records now are, Bridgeport 5-6-0-0 move up to fifth in the Atlantic Division while Hartford 3-8-2-1 falls to seventh in the Atlantic Division. If this game is played like last night, it will be noticeably physical with it's fair share of fights.

Key Players:

With a couple of key players possibly out for Bridgeport in tonights game look for Rob Hisey to step up. Hisey leads the team with three goals and eight assists including a goal last night against Hartford and another one he put in that was credited to Jon Sim.

For Hartford look for Kris Newbury. Newbury leads Hartford with one goal and eight assists for nine points this season.

Pre Game: Sound Tigers.vs. Hartford Wolf Pack

The Sound Tigers look to get back to there winning ways tonight as they face off against there arch rivals the Hartford Wolf Pack. This is game one of a home and home series which will see the Sound Tigers home tonight and in Hartford tomorrow.

Last time they played each other:

The last time the two teams played one another was on October 16th. In a very physical game at Harbor Yard which saw two fights and saw five roughing minors in the first period alone. It was close all the way to the end with Hartford taking the game 2-1 scoring with five minutes to go in the third.

Hartford 3-7-2-1 lost to the Manchester Monarchs on Friday 3-2. Brodie Dupont and Mats Zuccarello scored Hartford's goals.

Bridgeport 4-6-0-0 is coming off of a lack luster performance on Friday night in a 6-1 loss against the Providence Bruins. Rhett Rakhshani recored the only goal for the Sound Tigers in the game on the power play.

Key players:

For Hartford look for Kris Newbury. Newbury Leads Hartford with one goal and eight assists for nine points this season.

For Bridgeport look towards the net. If the Sound Tigers stick with the rotation they have had in goal we will get tot see Kevin Poulin. Poulin so far has played the best out of all three goalies on the roster. Every time he is in the net the Sound Tigers have a chance to win.

Hockey Double Header! Sacred Heart Men's Division One hockey team to play AIC at 3:30 on Saturday

The Sacred Heart Pioneers Men's Ice Hockey Team will play its first of five home games at the Arena at Harbor Yard on Saturday, Nov. 6 against American International College at 3:30 p.m.

On Wednesday, Nov. 3 the Sound Tigers and Sacred Heart University held a press conference at the Arena at Harbor Yard announcing that the Pioneers would play five of their home games at the Sound Tigers home arena in the 2010-11 season. All five Pioneers games will precede Sound Tigers home games. Following each Sacred Heart game, fans who purchase their tickets through Sacred Heart will have the opportunity to exchange their tickets for a voucher to the Sound Tigers game that night. Sound Tigers tickets for that night will also grant fans entry to the preceding Sacred Heart game.

-http://www.soundtigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=22700&ATCLID=205024784

Pre Game: Sound Tigers at Providence Bruins

Sound Tigers at Providence Bruins

7:05pm, Dunkin Donuts Arena

Coming off a big shoot out win on Wednesday morning lead by Jon Sim, the Sound Tigers will be looking for their third win in a row as they take on the Providence Bruins tonight. The teams are fifth and sixth in the Atlantic Division and both are looking to change that.

Providence 2-5-1-1, is coming off a 6-1 loss to the Worcester Sharks on Halloween. Joe Colborne tallied his first goal of the season and the only goal for Providence in the loss. Providence is ranked dead last in the entire American Hockey League with only 18 goals scored.

Bridgeport 4-5-0-0, is continuing to find ways to win after a crazy 6-5 shoot out victory over the Springfield Falcons. The Sound Tigers lead the Atlantic Division with only 27 goals against.

Last time these two played each other:

The last time these two teams battled one another was on the Sound Tigers opening night at Arena at Harbor Yard on October 9th. It was a close game right to the end and needed to be decide with a shoot out. The Sound Tigers would prevail in the end with the final score 5-4.

Key players:

For Providence, be on the look out for defenseman Steven Kampfer. Kampfer leads the team in scoring with two goals and four assists. He also leads the team in shots with 19. Look for him to be quarterbacking Providence's power play tonight.

For Bridgeport, look for gritty veteran Jon Sim. Sim, who appeared in his first game this season with the Sound Tigers on Wednesday, after being waived by the Islanders, recorded three goals for a hat trick and had the game winning goal against Springfield.

Hamonic gets his first goal as Sound Tigers beats Manchester 3-2 in OT

With only one game on the schedule this weekend, the Sound Tigers came out fighting, looking to notch their first road win of the season as they took on the Manchester Monarchs. Also this was Rob Shremp's first, and possibly only, game as a Sound Tiger, as he was down with the club for a conditioning stint.

In the first, Kevin Poulin who was in net for the Sound Tigers, got right into the game, making a huge save off his own rebound, going into a split and stopping Richard Clune right on the door step. The Sound Tigers then had a couple of good chances in a row, as the puck bounced around between the crease. Micheal Haley had an open net but fanned and Manchester cleared the puck. They had another good chance as on a two on one, a pass to Anton Klementyev was blocked and bounced over Monarchs goalie Jeff Zatkoff, but it somehow managed to elude the net. Poulin was out standing yet again when a shot hit off of his mask and the rebound popped out to his glove side, then he stretched out and made a great save. The Sound Tigers would get on the board first as Manchester's Brandon Kozun would take a two minute penalty for high sticking David Ullstrom. On the power play, Ullstrom picked the puck up out of the corner, carried it low then cut to the front of the net where he did a nice little forehand to back hand move to beat Zatkoff and make it 1-0. Shots in the period, for Bridgeport 10 and Manchester 9.

The second saw more outstanding play from Poulin as he made a great glove save to rob Manchester's Brandon Kozun. The Sound Tigers would get the only goal however, as late in the second, Schremp carried it behind the net and back handed it out into the slot where Rob Hisey was waiting wide open . He caught the pass and picked the top right corner to make it 2-0. Shots in the period, for Bridgeport 13 and for Manchester 9.

Kevin Poulin, making key saves in the start of every period, was a big role in the game when in the third he came up with another good save as he stayed square to the shooter, took down the angle, and made a good save with his mask which actually unbuckled his helmet's straps and shook him up a bit but he would be okay. Jeff Zatkoff would come up big in the other end for Manchester making a couple big saves keeping the Monarchs in it. Manchester would mount the come back though as a quick little wrister from David Meckler beat Poulin short side to bring Manchester with in one and make it 2-1. Four minutes later, Manchester would strike again as with Jean Borbeau in the box for tripping, Alec Marteniez walked in from the point and put one in the back of the net past a screened Poulin to make it 2-2. Although both teams traded good scoring chances at the end of the period, the score would stay even and call for overtime. Shots in the third for Bridgeport 6 and for Manchester 9.

It would only take sixty six seconds for the the Sound Tigers to score, once overtime began. Travis Hamonic found himself all alone down low and took a quick wrist shot that beat Zatkoff through the five hole to win the game for the Sound Tigers with the final score being 3-2. This was Hamonic's first career pro goal and it came on the only shot either team had in overtime.

3 Stars:

#1.Travis Hamonic-BST

#2.Alec Martinez-MAN

#3.Kevin Poulin-BST

Shots:

Bridgeport:30

Manchester:27

Sound Tigers Lineup:

FORWARD LINES
Hisey – Schremp – Rakhshani
DiBenedetto – Ullstrom – Joensuu
Haley – Marcinko – Figren
Bourbeau – Colliton – Yablonski

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS
Kohn – Hamonic
Katic – Reese
Wotton - Klementyev

Former Sound Tigers Updates

This is an article that will feature updates on past Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Pascal Morency: Pascal, a fan favorite in Bridgeport, has signed a two way AHL-ECHL contract with the Houston Aeros. He has since been sent down to the Bakersfield Condors of the ECHL. We wish him the best of luck with his new team.

Drew Fata: Drew, one of my favorite former players on the Sound Tigers, Has been released from his PTO with the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL. In his one game with the Penguins during the PTO he had no points.

Jeff Tambellini: Signed with the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL. In four games so far Tambellini has recored one goal and one assist with six penalty minutes.

Raffi Torres: Also signing with the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL. In eight games, Torres has two goals and an assist with twenty-one penalty minutes.

Sean Bergenheim: After not being resigned by the Islanders in the off season, Bergenheim signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL. In eight games he has three goals and two assists with six penalty minutes.

Jeremy Reich: Signing with the Boston Bruins in the off season he was assigned to Providence. In six games with Providence, he has two assists and eleven penalty minutes.

Tyler Haskins: Haskins has signed with EHC Wolfsburg. So far, he has one goal and four assists.

Joe Callahan: After signing with St.Louis in the summer. Callahan was involved in a trade that would send him to the Florida Panthers. He was then assigned to the Rochester Americans in the AHL. Callahan was named assistant captain this year for Rochester. In seven games he has three assists and six penalty minutes.

More to come in the next edition.

Sound Tigers fall 6-3 to Manchester

It was a very rough game tonight in Manchester against the Monarchs as the Sound Tigers fell by the final score of 6-3. Tonight saw the season debut of two Sound Tigers in Jeremy Colliton and Nathan Lawson.

The first period was the most penalized period the Sound Tigers have ever played. It started early, as at 5:09 Micheal Haley blatantly cross checked a Manchester player away from the play then proceeded to go after a Manchester defenseman in the corner, jumping him and trying to throw punches as the Manchester player had his arms over his head protecting himself. This drew everyone on the ice over. Micheal Haley would receive a double minor for roughing and a two minute penalty for cross checking to add on to it. He would total six minutes in penalties on the play. Manchester's John Zeiler would also receive a two minute minor for roughing. Haley's bad penalties would cost the Sound Tigers as Manchester would score twice on the power play. The first one came on a two on one, as Manchester's Corey Elkins made a great pass to teammate David Meckler who made a great shot top shelf over the glove of Lawson to make it 1-0. With six minutes of penalties because of Haley, the Sound Tigers would still be on the penalty kill. A shot from the point would beat a screened Lawson to make it 2-0. The Sound Tigers were getting frustrated and it showed as after Dustin Kohn got nailed by two Monarchs, Travis Hamonic fought Zeiler who hit Kohn. On the ensuing face off, Matt Martin and Manchester's Richard Clune, who helped sandwich Kohn, dropped the gloves. Martin got a couple good blows in but Clune won the tilt landing a good right and taking down Martin. On the next face off, Jeremy Yablonski dropped the gloves with big Justin Johnson, Yablonski took advantage of Johnson getting a couple solid punches before taking Johnson down. Manchester would not be done scoring, as Brandon Kozun would score at 10:04 to make it 3-0. There was a bright spot in the first however, as Hisey would find the loose puck in front of Manchester's Jeff Zatkoff and put it into the open net to bring the Sound Tigers within two, with the score 3-1.

Shots in the period for Bridgeport, 11 and Manchester, 14.

The second was no where near as physical as the first and had a lot less scoring. The Sound Tigers would get on the board first, when on the power play Justin DiBenedetto took a shot from the top of the circle by the boards, the puck would go five hole past Zatkoff to make it 3-2. Jesse Joensuu provided a great screen on the goal, giving Zatkoff no chance at all to find the puck. The Sound Tigers looked to have good momentum going into the third when at 19:49 Manchester's Kozun got his second of the game off of a rebound to make the score 4-2. Lawson continued to play well but got little support from the team. Shots in the second for Bridgeport, 9 and Manchester, 11.

It was a quick start for the Sound Tigers in the third as at 1:13 David Ullstrom took a quick wrist shot past Zatkoff to make it a 4-3 game. This would be the closest the Sound Tigers would come to coming back in the game. The Manchester Monarchs would put the game away the Sound Tigers would surrender two more goals. Shots in the third for Bridgeport,11 and Manchester,11.

The Sound Tigers got a good showing from goaltender Nathan Lawson tonight. Even though he did let up six goals, only one looked to be weak. Other than that Lawson made 30 saves and looked pretty composed. Colliton split time on the second and third line and recored a penalty.

3 Stars:

#1.Brandon Kozun-Man

#2.Alec Martinez-Man

#3.David Meckler-Man

Shots:

Bridgeport-31

Manchester-36

Starting Lineups:

Bridgeport/Manchester

#52-Nathan Lawson-G/#36-Jeff Zatkoff-G

#3-Travis Hamonic-D/#76-Viatcheslav Voynov-D

#5-Dustin Kohn-D/#37-Tomas Hickey-D

#10-Rhett Rakhshani-RW/#9-Bud Holloway-RW

#17-Matt Martin-LW/#21-Dwight King-LW

#26-Rob Hisey-C/#15-Justin Azevedo-C

Sound Tigers give Portland there first loss as they win 4-1

The Sound Tigers found some much needed offense tonight and the power play looked good as they handed the top team in the Atlantic Division, the Portland Pirates, their first loss of the season by the score of 4-1.

In the first period the Sound Tigers would get on the board early. Portland's Travis Turnbull was called for roughing. This would give the Sound Tigers struggling power play a chance to get off to a good start in tonights game. They would do just that as it was jammed in front of the crease, then a Sound Tigers player, that looked to be Jesse Joensuu or Justin DiBenedetto, put it in the net. The goal was credited to DiBenedetto from Joensuu and David Ullstrom. Then came the rough stuff as out of no where Sound Tigers tough guy Micheal Haley jumped a Portland player. After the referees tried to break it up and pull Haley off the guy, he continued throwing punches, all along the Portland guy never fought back, protecting himself. After he was finally pulled off, Haley kept mouthing off and in the end he received a 4 minute roughing penalty and a ten minute misconduct for "continuing." Haley would total 14 total penalty minutes in the altercation while no one would go to the box for Portland. Bridgeport would get 9 shots in the period while Sound Tigers goalie Kevin Poulin saw 15 shots making a couple highlight reel saves.

The Sound Tigers would strike early in the second to make it 2-0 as Rhett Rakhshani put one past Portland goalie Jhonas Enroth. Micheal Haley would leave the ice covered in blood as he got a high stick from Portland's Luke Adam. Haley would return to the game and Adam would receive a four minute double minor for high sticking. The Sound Tigers would fail to capitalize on this man advantage as Portland would kill it off. This gave Portland some momentum as with under two minutes left, Portland's Adam put one past Poulin for his forth of the year and brought the game with in one, making the score 2-1. Sound Tigers would manage to fire 12 shots at Enroth while Portland took 1o at Poulin.

As the third started, Portland knew that they needed to score early but the exact opposite happened as they took a penalty for holding. Time was almost up on the power play when the Sound Tigers struck next. Justin DiBenedetto found the rebounding puck and buried it behind Enroth to make the score 3-1. That would give DiBenedetto his second of the game and give the Sound Tigers their second power play goal in the game. The Sound Tigers would test Portland giving them a couple good opportunities to score when they took some unnecessary penalties late, but Poulin would stand tall in the net. The Sound Tigers and the Pirates both had 3 penalties in the third. With 20.6 seconds left to go Jesse Joensuu would ice it for the Sound Tigers as he took a shot from the red line that would go into the empty net making the score 4-1 and crushing all hopes of a come back for Portland. Final shots for the third period, the Sound Tigers had 8 and the Pirates had 7.

3 Stars:

#1. Justin DiBenedetto-BST- Scored two goals in the game.

#2. Kevin Poulin-BST- Got his first pro win stopping 31 shots.

#3. Luke Adam-POR- Scored lone goal for Portland his fourth of the season.

Honorable Mention-David Ullstrom-BST-Had two assist in the game.

Shots:

Bridgeport:29

Portland:32

Starting Lineups:

Bridgeport/Portland

#38-Kevin Poulin-G/#1-Jhonas Enroth-G

#3-Travis Hamonic-D/#3-T.J Brennan-D

#5-Dustin Kohn-D/#4-Alex Biega-D

#12-Tomas Marcinko-RW/#25-Mark Mancari-RW

#18-Micheal Haley-C/#37-Matt Ellis-C

#23-Robin Figren-LW/#39-Adam Luke-LW

Rakhshani gets lone goal as Sound Tigers fall 2-1

The Sound Tigers played their second game in two nights tonight against the Hartford Wolf Pack. In a very physical game, the Sound Tigers still could not find the offensive fire power they have been looking for in the last couple games and it showed on the scoreboard as they would lose there third straight 2-1 to the Wolf Pack.

The first period was by far the most physical period played so far this season. With no goals scored in the first period, both teams were battling to take control of the game. Kohn got the first roughing minor of the game when he hit a Hartford player along the boards at 3:44. This would start the long run of penalties in the first. Later as Robin Figren was entering onto the Sound Tigers bench through the door, Hartford's Dane Byers pulled Figren out of the door way and proceeded to jump him. Figren's teammate, Tomas Marcinko, came into stand up for him. Marcinko would receive 2 minutes for roughing and Byers would receive 4 minutes for roughing. With the Sound Tigers on the power play, Rhett Rakhshani went into the defensive end where he was hit hard from behind by Hartford's Kris Newbury, which sparked a skirmish which elevated into a fight between Newbury and Sound Tigers assistant captain, Dylan Reese. Both players would get 5 minute majors and Newbury would get an additional 2 minutes for boarding. Four minutes later Travis Hamonic "dropped 'em" with Hartford's Justin Soryal. Both traded blows behind the Sound Tigers net. The first period saw twelve penalties for the two teams combined. Shots in the first period were for Bridgeport, 10 and for Hartford, 7.

The second period saw the Wolf Pack take control of the game, as they dominated the play through out the period. Rakhshani took an early penalty just .35 seconds into the second period, which led to the first goal of the night. Nigel Williams was able to tip Wade Redden's shot from the point to give the Wolf Pack a power play goal and put them up 1-0. The Sound Tigers managed to kill off the other two penalties they took in the period to keep the score at 1-0. There was very little scoring for Bridgeport in the second as Hartford continued to shut the Tigers down. Bridgeport had 7 shots in the period while Hartford had 10.

In the third, the Sound Tigers picked up their play as they started to generate more scoring chances and picking up the hitting again. At 7:17 after a great play by Klementyev, Rakhshani tapped one past Hartford goalie Chad Johnson. This made the score 1-1. But the lead wouldn't last long as Hartford's Evgeny Grachev found Mats Zuccarello open in the slot who beat Bridgeport goalie Mikko Koskinen high over the glove to give Hartford the lead again at 2-1. The Sound Tigers would get a couple of good chances left in the closing minutes of the game but it was not meant to be as time expired and the horn sounded. The Sound Tigers fell to the Wolf Pack 2-1. Hartford had 10 shots in the third to the Sound Tigers 5.

Poll Results: Justin DiBenedetto won the poll as voted on by the fans for the most likely to score first against Hartford, He did not as Rhett Rakhshani did so.

3 Stars:

#1. Chad Johnson- HAR - 21 Saves against the Sound Tigers.

#2. Rhett Rakhshani- BST - Only goal scored for the Sound Tigers Tonight.

#3. Mats Zuccarello- HAR - Scored game winning goal.

Honorable Mention- Tomas Marcinko- BST - Good job sticking up for Figren when he got in trouble.

Shots:

Bridgeport:22

Hartford:27

Starting Line-ups:

Bridgeport/Hartford

#1-Mikko Koskinen-G/#29-Chad Johnson-G

#2-Dylan Reese-D/#8-Jyuri Nemei-D

#3-Travis Hamonic-D/#6-Wade Redden-D

#6-Jesse Joensuu-LW/#34-Dane Byers-LW

#17-Matt Martin-RW/#18-Jeremy Williams-RW

#24-David Ullstrom-C/#11-Kris Newbury-C

Pre Game: Sound Tigers.vs.Wolf Pack

Sound Tigers.vs.Hartford Wolf Pack

7pm, Arena at Harbor Yard

After a well played two periods last night in Portland, the Sound Tigers fell apart late in the second allowing two goals in the span of 13 seconds. There was no coming back at that point as they would go on to lose to Portland 3-1. Tonight they look to get there first win of the three games they play this weekend when they play there arch rivals the Hartford Wolf Pack. This will be the first out of ten meetings against each other this season.

Hartford 1-1-0-1, like the Sound Tigers has only one win so far this season. That win came against one of the newest teams in the AHL the Charlotte Checkers in a close 4-2 game.

Bridgeport 1-2-0-0, is having trouble finding the back of the net so far this season. The Sound Tigers are Tied for last in the goals for category in the Atlantic Division with 7.

Key Players:

For Bridgeport look back at the blue line and you will find 6'3, 215 pound defenseman Travis Hamonic. Hamonic likes to rush the puck and is a very offensive defenseman. He tallied his first pro goal last night and will be looking for more. Keep an eye out on the power play as he is usually quarterbacking it from the point.

For Hartford we keep our attention on defenseman as we will see former NHLer Wade Redden. After being waived by the New York Rangers, Redden was sent down to Hartford were he has picked up his game trying to get back to the NHL level. In three games Redden has 1 goal and 3 assists with 9 shots on goal. If the Sound Tigers want to come away with the win they will need to shut him down.

For those of you who have never been to a Sound Tigers.vs.Wolf Pack game you will be in for a great game. There is such a fierce rivalry between these two teams from Connecticut that anything can and will happen. Look for a physical, in your face style of play from both teams and don't be surprised to see a fight or two. Tonight is also Latino Night. It should be a pretty full house so get there early and enjoy Sound Tigers hockey!

Pre Game: Bridgeport Sound Tigers at Portland Pirates

Bridgeport Sound Tigers at Portland Pirates

7pm, Cumberland County Civics Center

After a tough loss on Sunday, the Sound Tigers look to bounce back quickly when they take on the Portland Pirates. This will be the first time the two teams face each other this year. They will play each other a total of ten times this season, five home, five away.

Portland 2-0-0, has had no problems scoring in their first two games as they put five goals on the board against Charlotte in a 5-1 win and scored six goals in a close 6-5 win against Manchester.

Bridgeport 1-1-0, who had played back to back home games on the weekend to open up their season played one of the most existing home openers ever played by a Sound Tigers team, defeating Worcester 5-4 in a shootout. Although on Sunday, they fell short losing to Manchester 2-1 when a goal scored by Matt Martin was waved off, called a hand pass by the back referee, a very questionable call.

Key Players:

For Bridgeport, two players who have looked very good in the first two games this season are Robin Figren and Justin DiBenedetto. Figren, who was on the starting lineup for opening night scored a huge goal then later tallied an assist against Worcester and then scored again the next night against Manchester for the Sound Tigers only goal in the game. He leads the team with three points. DiBenedetto, who did not have a point in the first two games of the season looked very good. He had some of the best scoring chances against Worcester, he had a great opportunity to score off a rebound but Worcester's goalie Alex Stalock had other ideas as he robbed Dibo with a great glove save. He also had another good chance that he put behind his back but it went just wide.

For Portland, two players to watch for are Mark Mancari and rookie Luke Adam. In the two games Portland has played, Mancari who leads the team in points with five, two goals and three assists, will be a threat to the Tigers as well as Luke Adam. Adam who in two games has had two goals and two assists looked very good for Portland. Look for both players to try to make big plays against the Sound Tigers.