The Bridgeport Islanders took on the defending Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears on Sunday, Oct. 27 at Total Mortgage Arena in the first of six games between these two teams. The home team fell behind early, allowing two goals in the first 25 minutes of the game, however, they were able to come back and force overtime. With a minute-and-a-half to go in the extra period, Hershey’s Mike Sgarbossa went five-hole on Islanders’ goalie Jakub Skarek, netting the game-winning goal and handing the Islanders their first overtime loss of the season. With this point, the Islanders move to fourth in the Atlantic Division with five points.
Maggio Scores Again
Matt Maggio, the rookie forward who scored his first American Hockey League (AHL) goal less than 24 hours before the puck dropped for this matchup, now has two goals in as many games. The Windsor, Ontario native was able to find the back of the net on a wrist shot from the slot for his team’s first goal of the game.
Sunday was just Maggio’s eighth game in the AHL, and it appears that he is starting to feel comfortable at the pro level. He has seen considerable time on the Islanders’ power play unit and appears to be playing freely. Maggio finished the day with three shots on goal and a plus/minus of plus-1. He will look to build on his positive performance this weekend, which should give him confidence moving forward.
Offensive Struggles
Despite the fact that they picked up three points this weekend, the Islanders struggled to create opportunities when they were on the attack in both games. In the 120 minutes of regulation hockey played on Saturday and Sunday, they were able to score just three goals. Though two of those came in the latter of the two games, Sunday was perhaps the worst offensive showing they have had this season.
The Islanders were able to muster up just seven shots in the first two periods, and, while one of those ended up finding the back of the net, it was concerning how few opportunities the Islanders were able to create. With that said, the team seemed to pick things up in the third period on Sunday; they were able to muster up 13 shots on goal and Tanner Fritz scored off of a Hershey turnover. Going forward, the team will need to create more offensive production, or else they will continue to rely on goaltenders Skarek and Ken Appleby to keep them in games.
Special Teams Shine
Heading into this game, a likely point of emphasis for the Islanders was finding more production on their power play. They were able to do just that on Sunday afternoon, as Maggio’s goal came on the team’s second power play of the game. The team went one for four with the man advantage on Sunday, which should be encouraging considering they had started the season one for 13 through the team’s first four games.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Bridgeport Islanders’ 2-1 Victory Over Comets
On the other side of the ice, the Islanders have had a strong penalty kill to start the season, going 13 for 15 to begin 2023-24. This strong showing continued on Sunday, as they killed all four of the Bears’ power plays and even saw some shorthanded opportunities. Having a strong penalty kill will continue to be imperative for the Islanders, particularly if they are unable to create more offense in the coming games.
Looking Forward
The Islanders now have four days off before they head to Charlotte, North Carolina where they will take on the Charlotte Checkers at the Bojangles Coliseum. The game will be the first between the two teams, and the Checkers sit a point behind the Islanders in the Atlantic Division standings.
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