BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (Feb. 25, 2012) – Sound
Tigers captain Jeremy Colliton recorded his 200th career AHL point as
he scored the game-winning goal with 7:39 left in regulation and
Bridgeport erased a three-goal deficit to beat the Providence Bruins
5-4 at Webster Bank Arena on Saturday night. With the win, the Sound
Tigers have won six straight home games and have recorded a point in 20
of their last 21 games as they improve to 29-18-3-3. The Bruins fall to
26-24-3.3
Kirk
MacDonald put the Bruins ahead midway through the opening period.
Shortly after a Providence power play expired, MacDonald buried a
rebound from a Trent Whitfield shot for his fourth goal of the season
as the Bruins led 1-0 12:11 into the game.
The
Bruins extended their lead to two with a power play tally 3:10 into the
second period when Maxime Sauve knocked a feed from Zach Hamill past
Poulin to give Providence a 2-0 advantage. Steven Kampfer went
coast-to-coast at 11:44, sneaking through the slot and backhanding a
shot past a sprawled out Poulin as Providence held a 3-0 lead midway
through the game.
While
Blair Riley’s scoring streak ended tonight, his fight with Kevan Miller
sparked the Sound Tigers comeback. Riley dropped the gloves with Miller
at 14:00 of the second period, earning a decisive victory in the fight
and giving the Sound Tigers a power play as Miller went to the box for
cross-checking. Justin DiBenedetto scored 19 seconds later on a
one-timer from below the right circle to put the Sound Tigers on the
board, and Trevor Frischmon cut the deficit to one with just 46 seconds
left in the middle frame. Sean Backman fired on net from a sharp angle
as Anton Khudobin made the initial save, but Frischmon crashed the net
and sent the puck through the Providence netminder as the Sound Tigers
trailed 3-2 heading to the final period.
Michael
Hutchinson relieved Khudobin in net after he allowed two goals on 31
shots, but it didn’t stop the Sound Tigers charge as Micheal Haley’s
first goal of the night brought the Sound Tigers even 4:14 into the
third period. Scott Howes gathered the puck below the right circle and
sent a backhand, no look pass into the slot that Haley deflected home
to tie the game at three. Haley put the Sound Tigers ahead at 8:47,
firing a shot from the left point that deflected off a Providence
defenseman’s stick and past Hutchinson to give the Sound Tigers their
first lead of the game. Kyle MacKinnon answered for Providence 34
seconds later, shooting from a sharp angle through Poulin’s legs to tie
the game 4-4.
However,
Colliton would put the Sound Tigers ahead for good with 7:39 left in
regulation. After Aaron Ness pinched along the left boards to keep the
puck in the offensive zone, cycling below to DiBenedetto. DiBenedetto
fed Colliton at the right post, who backhanded the puck high off
Hutchinson and in for his ninth tally of the season.
The Sound Tigers will look for their seventh straight win tomorrow afternoon when they host the Albany Devils at 3:00 p.m.
Courtesy: Rachel Tokarski
