Sound Tigers bite Crunch in shootout
Jones' twins each score as Bridgeport holds on for shootout win on Friday
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Jones’ twins each scored in regulation and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (7-4-0-0), proud AHL affiliate of the New York Islanders, held on in a four-round shootout to earn a 3-2 victory over the Syracuse Crunch (6-3-0-1) at the Oncenter War Memorial Arena on Friday.
Bracken Kearns and Carter Verhaeghe each recorded a shootout tally, while Connor Jones (one goal, one assist), Kellen Jones (one goal, one assist) and Kyle Burroughs (two assists) all notched multi-point games, helping the Sound Tigers improve to 4-1-0-0 on the road this season.
BOX SCORE
After more than 39 minutes of scoreless play, Connor Jones broke the deadlock at 19:38 of the second period with his third goal of the season. His brother Kellen created the attack by sliding a pass to the blue line for Burroughs, who pushed a one-timer to the front of the net where Connor redirected it past goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis.
Kellen doubled Bridgeport’s lead with a power-play goal at 11:31 of the third period. With Devon Toews in the box for cross checking, Burroughs carried the puck down the left wing before setting up the third-year forward at the right hash marks. There, Kellen went down to a knee and hammered a one-timer blocker side.
The Crunch rallied in the final four minutes with a pair of special teams goals from Matt Taormina and Jake Dotchin. Taormina made it 2-1 at the 16:09 mark when he scored a 5-on-3 power-play goal with his netminder Gudlevskis on the bench. From the high slot, Taormina faked a slap shot, quickly moved to his left and wristed the puck past goaltender Stephon Williams’ glove for his first of the season.
Exactly a minute later, Dotchin beat Williams with a slap shot from the left side for a shorthanded goal with Adam Erne in the box for roughing.
Syracuse outshot Bridgeport 3-2 in the five-minute overtime session, but Michael Dal Colle nearly won the game on a last-second breakaway. He gained possession in the neutral zone and headed down the ice with five seconds remaining, but was slowed by Taormina’s reaching stick in the slot.
However, the Sound Tigers earned the win in a four-round shootout with goals from Kearns and Verhaeghe. Only Cory Conacher beat Williams for the Crunch.
Bridgeport finished the game 0-for-2 on the power play and 4-for-5 on the penalty kill. Williams (1-4-0) earned his first win of the season with 24 saves, while Gudlevskis (2-2-0) stopped 23 shots in the loss.
Shots were dead even 26-26.
Next Time Out: The Sound Tigers continue a three-game road trip tomorrow with a 7 p.m. puck drop against the Hershey Bears at GIANT Center. Fans can follow all of the live action via the team’s online broadcast at AHLlive.com.
Hockey and Hops: The Sound Tigers are combining hockey and hops on Saturday, November 25th when the team battles Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at 7 p.m. Try the area’s best craft beers before the game with a special ticket package that night only. Get access to the game, the pre-game beer tasting party and a souvenir Sound Tigers beer tasting glass for just $25.
