What Isles Fans Have Been Missing Out of Bridgeport, Connecticut

Added by Nicole Sorce on February 24, 2013.

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the American Hockey League team of the New York Islanders, often go unnoticed in the eyes of the causal Isles fan. Not today! Here’s a quick look at the top affiliate of the organization.

Going into the weekend ranked 10th overall in the Eastern Conference, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers have a 22-22-3-3 record and 50 points on their resume this season. In the Northeast Division, they currently sit 15 points behind the first place Springfield Falcons, affiliate to the Columbus Blue Jackets, in third.

Leading the way in scoring for the Sound Tigers thus far this season has been forward Nino Niederreiter, who has 22 goals and 17 assists in 49 games. Along with a team-leading 15.3 shooting percentage, the left-wing ranks 22nd overall in the AHL in scoring.

Ranking second in Bridgeport’s scoring is center Brock Nelson (14 goals, 18 assists). He had a five-game goal scoring streak from November 3 – November 11, 2012 and also accumulated four assists over that span.

Coming in third amongst skaters is defenseman Matt Donovan, who has accumulated 27 points – eight goals and 19 assists – so far this season.

The Sound Tigers have also accumulated an abundance of penalty minutes with a team total of 1,256. The main culprits of the team are defenseman Nathan McIver and left-wing Brett Gallant, who have 229 and 202 minutes of their own, respectively.

Rounding out the Bridgeport squad is a goalie tandem with a cumulative .900 save percentage and a 3.24 goals against average. Kevin Poulin has seen the most playing time with a 15-14-3-1 record in 32 starts and has a 3.22 GAA and .896 save percentage of his own. He was just recalled fro loan to the Islanders’ roster as he swapped places with a struggling Rick DiPietro.

Behind Poulin with 19 starts is Anders Nilsson (7-10-0-1) who has made 489 saves to sit with a .896 save percentage. Rounding out the goalies is Kenny Reiter. Although he has only appeared in four games, he has 59 saves to his name and a .881 save percentage.

While the Islanders have put their fan base through a good deal of suffering this week, their AHL affiliate continues to (slightly) brighten the hopes of the Isles’ faithful.