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Bridgeport Islanders

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Bridgeport Islanders
CityBridgeport, Connecticut
LeagueAmerican Hockey League
ConferenceEastern
DivisionAtlantic
Founded2001
Home arenaTotal Mortgage Arena
ColorsBlue, orange, white[1]
     
Owner(s)Jon Ledecky
General managerChris Lamoriello[2]
Head coachRick Kowalsky
CaptainCole Bardreau
MediaConnecticut Post
MSG Network
News Radio WPOP (1410 AM)
AHL.TV (Internet)
AffiliatesNew York Islanders (NHL)
Worcester Railers (ECHL)
Franchise history
2001–2021Bridgeport Sound Tigers
2021–presentBridgeport Islanders
Championships
Regular season titles1 (2001–02)
Division titles2 (2001–02, 2011–12)
Conference titles1 (2001–02)
Calder Cups0
Current season

The Bridgeport Islanders are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL). They are the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who own the franchise. The team started in 2001–02 season and was purchased by the Islanders in 2004. The team is based in Bridgeport, Connecticut and plays their home games at the Total Mortgage Arena.

History

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See also: Professional ice hockey in Connecticut
The Bridgeport Sound Tigers logo, used from 2001 to 2021
The Bridgeport Sound Tigers logo, used from 2001 to 2021

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers joined the American Hockey League as an expansion franchise in 2001 and were coached by Steve Stirling. The team's name referenced both the Long Island Sound where Bridgeport lies and the circuses of former resident P. T. Barnum, with the Sound Tigers identity being unveiled at the Barnum Museum.[3] In their inaugural season, the team won their division and had the best regular season record to win the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy. In the playoffs, they won the Eastern Conference championship and the Richard F. Canning Trophy to advance to the Calder Cup finals against the Chicago Wolves. They lost the series four games-to-one.[4]

In their second season, the team finished second in their division and the fifth conference seed in the playoffs. They advanced to the conference semifinals, where they lost to their division champion Binghamton Senators in six games. Stirling was promoted to head coaching position with the New York Islanders and was replaced by Greg Cronin for 2003–04. As the Sound Tigers, the team had limited success, missing the playoffs ten times and not winning a playoff round since their second season.

On May 10, 2021, it was announced that the team would change its name to the Bridgeport Islanders beginning with the 2021–22 season.[1]

Team identity

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Mascot

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The lone mascot of the Bridgeport Islanders is a anthropomorphic blue tiger named Storm. He appears at home games sporting a jersey with the number 01 (short for the year the team was founded). While Storm can usually be found exciting fans throughout the arena, he skates on the ice during periodic intermissions. Storm's appearance has changed since the team's inaugural season. Storm has weathered the storm since the club's change to the Islander's moniker and is a regular at-home game.[5]

Rivalries

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The main (and instate) rival of the Islanders are the Hartford Wolf Pack, the AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers (the main rival of the Bridgeport Islanders' parent club, the New York Islanders). The games have become known as the Battle of Connecticut. They have formed a rivalry with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the Pittsburgh Penguins' AHL affiliate, and the Providence Bruins, the Boston Bruins' AHL affiliate, largely due to the teams frequently facing off in playoff match-ups and regular season play. They also are semi-rivals with the Hershey Bears, the Washington Capitals' AHL affiliate.

Season-by-season results

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Games Won Lost Tied OTL SOL Points PCT Goals
for 		Goals
against 		Standing Year Qual Round 1st
round 		2nd
round 		3rd
round 		Finals
2001–02 80 43 25 8 4 — 98 .613 240 192 1st, East 2002 — W, 3–1, MAN W, 4–0 SJM W, 4–3, HAM L, 1–4, CHI
2002–03 80 40 26 11 3 — 94 .588 219 198 2nd, East 2003 — W, 3–0, MAN L, 2–4, BNG — —
2003–04 80 41 23 12 4 — 98 .613 178 140 2nd, East 2004 — L, 3–4, WBS — — —
2004–05 80 37 38 — 1 4 79 .494 192 222 6th, East 2005 Did not qualify
2005–06 80 38 33 — 6 3 85 .531 246 253 4th, East 2006 N/A L, 3–4, WBS — — —
2006–07 80 36 37 — 1 6 79 .494 229 267 5th, East 2007 Did not qualify
2007–08 80 40 36 — 1 3 84 .525 225 240 5th, East 2008 Did not qualify
2008–09 80 49 23 — 3 5 106 .663 241 212 2nd, East 2009 N/A L, 1–4, WBS — — —
2009–10 80 38 32 — 4 6 86 .538 201 220 5th, Atlantic 2010 N/A L, 1–4, HER — — —
2010–11 80 30 39 — 4 7 67 .444 209 256 7th, Atlantic 2011 Did not qualify
2011–12 76 41 26 — 3 6 91 .599 233 219 1st, Northeast 2012 N/A L, 0–3, CON — — —
2012–13 76 32 32 — 7 5 76 .449 218 242 3rd, Northeast 2013 Did not qualify
2013–14 76 28 40 — 2 6 64 .421 183 238 5th, Northeast 2014 Did not qualify
2014–15 76 28 40 — 7 1 64 .421 213 246 5th, Northeast 2015 Did not qualify
2015–16 76 40 29 — 4 3 87 .572 209 220 5th, Atlantic 2016 N/A L, 0–3, TOR — — —
2016–17 76 44 28 — 3 1 92 .605 220 212 5th, Atlantic 2017 Did not qualify
2017–18 76 36 32 — 5 3 80 .526 206 214 5th, Atlantic 2018 Did not qualify
2018–19 76 43 24 — 6 3 95 .625 233 228 2nd, Atlantic 2019 N/A L, 2–3, HER — — —
2019–20 63 23 33 — 5 2 53 .421 152 206 8th, Atlantic 2020 Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21 24 8 14 — 2 0 18 .375 59 81 3rd, Atlantic 2021 No playoffs
2021–22 72 31 30 — 7 4 73 .507 213 226 6th, Atlantic 2022 W, 2–0, PRO L, 1–3, CLT — — —
2022–23 72 34 30 — 7 1 76 .528 238 248 7th, Atlantic 2023 Did not qualify
2023–24 72 25 38 — 7 2 59 .410 162 222 8th, Atlantic 2024 Did not qualify

Players

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Current roster

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Updated December 13, 2024.[6]

Team roster
No. Nat Player Pos S/G Age Acquired Birthplace Contract
21 United States Cole Bardreau (C) C R 31 2019 Fairport, New York Bridgeport
3 Canada Samuel Bolduc D L 24 2020 Laval, Quebec Islanders
28 Canada William Dufour RW R 22 2022 Quebec, Quebec Islanders
8 Canada Liam Foudy C L 24 2024 Scarborough, Ontario Bridgeport
27 United States Aidan Fulp D R 24 2023 Westfield, Indiana Islanders
17 United States Marc Gatcomb C R 25 2024 Woburn, Massachusetts Islanders
44 Canada Julien Gauthier RW R 27 2024 Pointe-aux-Trembles, Quebec Islanders
32 Canada Justin Gill C L 21 2024 Saint-Joseph-du-Lac, Quebec Bridgeport
39 United States Seth Helgeson D L 34 2017 Faribault, Minnesota Bridgeport
16 United States Alex Jefferies LW R 23 2024 Framingham, Massachusetts Islanders
24 Sweden Fredrik Karlström C L 26 2024 Stockholm, Sweden Islanders
25 Canada Daylan Kuefler Injured Reserve LW L 22 2023 Red Deer, Alberta Islanders
26 Finland Eetu Liukas LW L 22 2023 Turku, Finland Islanders
18 Canada Matthew Maggio RW R 22 2023 Windsor, Ontario Islanders
10 United States Travis Mitchell D L 25 2023 South Lyon, Michigan Islanders
38 United States Wyatt Newpower D R 27 2024 Hugo, Minnesota Bridgeport
2 Sweden Calle Odelius D L 20 2024 Nykvarn, Sweden Islanders
14 United States Brian Pinho (A) C R 29 2023 Beverly, Massachusetts Bridgeport
1 Czech Republic Jakub Skarek G L 25 2019 Jihlava, Czech Republic Islanders
46 Canada Gemel Smith C L 30 2024 Toronto, Ontario Bridgeport
25 Canada Chris Terry (A) LW L 35 2024 Brampton, Ontario Bridgeport
29 United States Tyce Thompson (A) F R 25 2023 Oyster Bay, New York Islanders
15 United States Cam Thiesing C R 23 2024 Franklin, Tennessee Islanders
70 Finland Henrik Tikkanen G L 24 2022 Lohja, Finland Islanders
6 United States Marshall Warren D L 23 2024 Laurel Hollow, New York Islanders

Team captains

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Notes
  • ^1 There were three captains for the 2004–05 season: Aldridge named on Oct. 16, 2004, Seeley named on Nov. 6, 2004, and Campbell named on Mar. 16, 2005
  • ^2 There were two captains for the 2012–13 season: McDonald was named on Dec. 7, 2012, and Watkins was named on Feb. 22, 2013.
  • ^3 There were two captains for the 2018–19 season: when Ben Holmstrom played, he wore the "C" on his sweater. When Holmstrom did not play, Kyle Burroughs wore the C.

Notable alumni

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The following players have played both 100 games in Bridgeport and 100 games in the National Hockey League:

Team records

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Single season
Goals: Jeff Hamilton, 43, (2003–04)
Assists: Rob Collins, 48, (2005–06)
Points: Jeff Tambellini, 76, (2007–08)
Penalty minutes: Eric Godard, 295, (2004–05)
GAA: Wade Dubielewicz, 1.38, (2003–04)[C]
SV%: Wade Dubielewicz, .946, (2003–04)[C]
^ C. AHL Records
Career
Career goals: Jeff Hamilton, 89
Career assists: Jeremy Colliton, 126
Career points: Jeremy Colliton, 203
Career penalty minutes: Brett Gallant, 857
Career goaltending wins: Wade Dubielewicz, 81
Career shutouts: Wade Dubielewicz, 15
Career games: Mark Wotton, 368

References

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  1. ^ a b "Bridgeport reboots as the Islanders". American Hockey League (Press release). May 10, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021. The new Bridgeport Islanders logo features an iconic mark for the team's future. The strong letter B recognizes the great city of Bridgeport. The stick, which forms the letter B, has the parent Islanders NY logo as the tape on the blade, a subtle nod to the affiliation between the two clubs. The iconic Islanders' blue and orange colors remain the same.
  2. ^ Fornabaio, Michael (May 22, 2018). "Lamoriello takes over Islanders' hockey operations". Connecticut Post. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  3. ^ TWENTY YEARS OF SOUND TIGERS, Bridgeport Islanders
  4. ^ Clinton, Jared (September 10, 2015). "AHL Logo Ranking: No. 7 - Bridgeport Sound Tigers". The Hockey News. Archived from the original on 2017-02-18. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  5. ^ "Bridgeport Islanders And Newtown Public Schools Team Up To Help Fight Cancer". newtownbee.com. November 21, 2024. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
  6. ^ "Bridgeport Islanders Roster". Bridgeport Islanders. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
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