Sound Tigers take OT thriller at Thursday matinee in Toronto
Fritz scores twice and McAdam stops an AHL career high 34 shots in win
TORONTO, Ont. - Tanner Fritz scored twice including the game-winning goal in overtime as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (35-18-1-1), proud AHL affiliate of the New York Islanders, earned a 4-3 win over the Toronto Marlies (29-23-4-1) at Ricoh Coliseum on Thursday.
Ryan Pulock and Travis St. Denis also beat Marlies goaltender Antoine Bibeau, helping the Sound Tigers sweep their season series against Toronto (2-0-0-0). In addition, Kyle Burroughs (two assists) and Devon Toews (two assists) each notched a multi-point effort.
Eamon McAdam (9-3-0) made an AHL career-high 34 saves on 37 shots between the pipes.
Bridgeport was forced to come from behind after allowing a power-play goal in the opening six minutes. With Burroughs in the box for boarding, Dmytro Timashov gathered the puck at the blue line and sent a diagonal pass to Trevor Moore in the left circle. Moore proceeded to hammer a one-time shot past McAdam at the 5:56 mark, his 10th goal of the season.
The Marlies had an opportunity to double their lead at 8:40 of the first period, but McAdam denied Tony Cameranesi on a penalty shot following Jon Landry’s slash on Cameranesi to negate a breakaway chance.
Instead, Pulock drew the contest even in the closing seconds of the first, going short side on Bibeau for his 11th tally this season. The Islanders prospect skated over the line down the right wing, faked a slap shot from the circle, and flipped a sharp-angle shot past Bibeau’s glove, just inside the right post. It came with 1.4 seconds remaining in the period.
St. Denis gave the Sound Tigers their first lead at 10:39 of the middle frame. Following a faceoff win in the Marlies’ left circle, Devon Toews slid a pass to Burroughs at the right point where Bibeau denied a low shot. However, the rebound caromed to the side of the crease, allowing St. Denis to brush home a backhand shot past the goaltender’s left toe pad.
Bridgeport made it 3-1 at 10:59 of the third period when Fritz delivered his first goal of the afternoon. Burroughs forced a pass to Fritz in the neutral zone, where the second-year forward traveled down the right wing. As Fritz approached the circle, he sniped a heavy shot off the crossbar and in for the two-goal advantage.
The Marlies responded just 30 seconds later when Andreas Johnsson cut Toronto’s deficit to one with his 18th tally this season. Frederik Gauthier and William Wrenn each assisted on the even-strength goal at the 11:29 mark.
With nearly a minute remaining, the Marlies pulled Bibeau for the extra attacker, and it paid off in the final half minute of regulation. Andrew Nielson tied the game at the 19:36 mark when he cleaned up an opportunity created by Kasperi Kapanen in his return to the lineup following a 20-game absence due to injury. Kapanen brought the puck from the point to the left hash marks, where he was caught between several Sound Tigers and lost possession. Fortunately for Toronto, the puck slid to Nielsen at the faceoff dot where the defenseman loaded and fired a wrist shot past McAdam’s glove for his 12th goal of the season.
Fritz propelled the Sound Tigers to victory at 1:10 of overtime following an odd-man rush into Marlies’ territory. Fritz and Toews teamed up for a 2-on-1 rush that ended with Fritz beating Bibeau from the left circle. Fritz now has six goals in his last 10 games.
The contest included one fight when Ross Johnson dropped the gloves with Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond at 2:48 of the opening frame.
Bridgeport finished the matchup 0-for-4 on the power play and 4-for-5 on the penalty kill. Bibeau made 28 saves in Toronto’s loss. The Marlies outshot the Sound Tigers 37-34.
Next Time Out: The Sound Tigers continue a three-game road trip on Saturday when the club travels to Blue Cross Arena to face the Rochester Americans at 7:05 p.m. Fans can follow all of the live action via www.ahllive.com , beginning with the pre-game show at 6:45 p.m.
