P-BRUINS FALL SHORT TO ISLANDERS IN FINAL MINUTE

Feb 16, 2024

Providence, RI - The Providence Bruins fell short to the Bridgeport Islanders 3-2 after giving up a late third period goal on Friday night at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Marc McLaughlin and Justin Brazeau tallied goals in the third period to help the Bruins come back from a two-goal deficit.  

 

How It Happened

• 2:38 into the first period, Matthew Maggio danced through two defenders and tucked a breakaway shot through the goaltender on the backhand, giving the Islanders a 1-0 lead.
• Crashing the net, Otto Koivula found a rebound and banked the puck back into the empty net, extending the Bridgeport lead to 2-0 with 3:03 remaining in the first period. 
• Luke Toporowski’s slap shot ricocheted out to McLaughlin in the right circle, where he put the rebound into the back of the net, cutting the Islanders’ lead to 2-1 with 12:11 to play in the third frame. Joey Abate received a secondary assist. 
• Brazeau collected the puck in the left corner and walked it out towards the crease, putting a shot off the pads of the goaltender, before collecting his own rebound and backhanding it into the top shelf of the net, tying the game at 2-2 with 5:41 left in the third period. Georgii Merkulov and Michael Callahan were credited with the assists. 
• Cole Bardreau caught a back-door feed at the right post and flipped it into the back of the net with 35 seconds remaining to give the Islanders a 3-2 lead. 

 

Stats

• McLaughlin has points in three-straight games. 
• Goaltender Brandon Bussi stopped 24 of the 27 shots he faced. The P-Bruins totaled 28 shots. 
• The Providence power play went 0-for-5, and the penalty kill was 4-for-4.

 

Up Next

The Providence Bruins host the Hartford Wolf Pack on Sunday, February 18 at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Puck drop is set for 4:05 P.M.