In a Wednesday night clash at Total Mortgage Arena, the Bridgeport Islanders (8-17-2-0), affiliated with the NHL’s New York Islanders, faced a narrow defeat with a final score of 5-4 against the Providence Bruins (15-12-2-2) in the American Hockey League.
Karson Kuhlman, Dennis Cholowski, Brian Pinho, and Robin Salo each found the back of the net for the Islanders, displaying a diverse offensive effort. Goaltender Jakub Skarek made 17 saves before Ken Appleby took over midway through the third period. Noteworthy among the goals was Kuhlman’s second-period highlight, skillfully navigating through traffic to score.
Despite outshooting the Bruins 37-25, the Islanders dropped to a 1-5-0-0 record against Providence this season.
The Bruins initiated the scoring nearly 15 minutes into the game, with Georgii Merkulov unleashing a shot from the right circle, tallying his 14th goal of the season. Justin Brazeau and Alec Regula earned the assists. The Islanders quickly responded as Brian Pinho capitalized on a rebound, courtesy of Ruslan Iskhakov’s shot, knotting the game at 1-1.
Bridgeport seized its first lead in an eventful second period, marked by Kuhlman’s impressive one-on-one maneuver against Bruins defenseman Dan Renouf. Kuhlman’s highlight-reel goal put the Islanders ahead 2-1. However, Providence equalized with Michael Callahan’s first goal of the season and later took the lead on the power play with Anthony Richard’s one-timer.
Dennis Cholowski swiftly equalized for Bridgeport with a rising shot from the blue line, capping off a high-scoring second period. Providence regained the lead early in the third period with Callahan’s second goal, and Richard extended the Bruins’ lead with a short-handed two-on-one opportunity.
Despite a late push from Bridgeport, Robin Salo’s goal from the point with 1:22 remaining narrowed the margin. Jacob Pivonka and Trevor Cosgrove made their AHL season debuts for the Islanders, having been recalled from the Worcester Railers (ECHL) earlier in the day.
