Dec 30, 2023
THE STORY COMING IN
The Bridgeport Islanders (9-17-2-0) bid farewell to 2023 with a 6 p.m. puck drop against the Hartford Wolf Pack (15-7-5-0) at XL Center tonight. It’s the third of 10 meetings between the in-state rivals and the second of five games in Hartford. The series is knotted at 1-1-0-0 following Bridgeport’s 5-4 win just eight days ago. William Dufour scored twice in the first period and Cole Bardreau punched home the difference maker in the final eight minutes of regulation that evening.
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ABOUT LAST NIGHT
Ruslan Iskhakov cruised in on a breakaway and scored an incredible between-the-legs, overtime-winning goal last night, lifting the Islanders to a 6-5 win against the Springfield Thunderbirds on the road. Otto Koivula helped set up the highlight-reel tally, one of a career-high four assists on the night, which tied a franchise record. William Dufour scored twice for the fourth time in his pro career, while Dennis Cholowski had three points. Grant Hutton added two points in his first game with Bridgeport since Nov. 22nd. Henrik Tikkanen (1-0-0) made 29 saves to earn the win in his AHL debut.
VIEW FROM HARTFORD
The Wolf Pack sat idle last night after a 3-1 setback in Springfield on Wednesday. Because they didn’t play, Hartford fell back to fourth place in the Atlantic Division standings, tied with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and just one point behind both Providence and Springfield. The Wolf Pack are led offensively by Alex Belzile with 26 points in 27 games (11 goals, 15 assists). He has three goals in his last three games.
FOLLOW THE LEADER
Ruslan Iskhakov recorded his team-leading eighth multi-point game of the season last night and added to his totals in several other categories. Iskhakov earned an assist for the fourth straight game and carries his longest scoring streak of the season into tonight’s contest. No one has had a longer points streak for Bridgeport this season. The 22-year-old forward leads the Islanders in goals (9), assists (14), points (23), shots (71) and game-winning goals (3), and has six points in his last four contests (two goals, four assists).
KOIVULA’S FOUR-POINT NIGHT
Otto Koivula was named the AHL’s Third Star of the Night after recording a career-high four points, four assists. He tied a franchise record for most assists in a single game, and it was the second time…
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