Bridgeport Islanders

	Bridgeport Islanders
City:	Bridgeport, Connecticut
League:	American Hockey League
Conference:	Eastern
Division:	Atlantic
Founded:	2001
Home Arena:	Total Mortgage Arena
Colors:	Blue, orange, white;
Owner(s):	Jon Ledecky
General Manager:	Chris Lamoriello
Head Coach:	Rick Kowalsky
Captain:	Seth Helgeson
Media:	Connecticut Post; MSG Network; News Radio WPOP (1410 AM); AHL.TV (Internet)
Affiliates:	New York Islanders (NHL); Worcester Railers (ECHL)
Franchise history
2001–2021:	Bridgeport Sound Tigers
2021–present:	Bridgeport Islanders
Championships
Regular Season Titles:	1 (2001–02)
Division Championships:	2 (2001–02, 2011–12)
Conference Championships:	1 (2001–02)
Calder Cups:	0

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 were purchased by the Islanders in 2004. The team is based in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and play their home games at the Total Mortgage Arena.

History[]

See also: Professional ice hockey in Connecticut

Bridgeport Sound Tigers 2001 — Logo 2001-2005

Bridgeport Sound Tigers 2010 — logo 2010-2021

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 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 then 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.^[5]

Team information[]

Mascot[]

The lone mascot of the Sound Tigers is named Storm. Storm is an anthropomorphic blue tiger. He appears at home games sporting a white home jersey with the number 01. 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.

Rivalry[]

The main (and instate) rival of the Sound Tigers are the Hartford Wolf Pack, the AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers (the main rival of the Sound Tigers’ parent club, the New York Islanders). The games have become known as the Battle of Connecticut. They also have a very good rivalry with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ AHL affiliate. This is due largely to the fact that Bridgeport and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton are frequent playoff match-ups. They also are semi-rivals with the Hershey Bears, the Washington Capitals’ AHL affiliate.

Season-by-season results[]

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[]

Current roster[]

Updated April 23, 2024.^[6]

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace	Contract
39	Canada	Appleby, KenKen Appleby	1.0 G	L	29	2021	North Bay, Ontario	Islanders
15	Canada	Asselin, SamuelSamuel Asselin	4.0 C	L	26	2023	Repentigny, Quebec	Bridgeport
21	United States	Bardreau, ColeCole Bardreau (A)	4.0 C	R	31	2019	Fairport, New York	Bridgeport
34	United States	Calder, AshtonAshton Calder	3.0 F	R	26	2023	Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan	Bridgeport
13	United States	Cipollone, JoeyJoey Cipollone	4.0 C	R	25	2023	Purchase, New York	Bridgeport
63	United States	Cosgrove, TrevorTrevor Cosgrove	2.0 D	L	27	2022	Exeter, New Hampshire	Bridgeport
28	Canada	Dufour, WilliamWilliam Dufour	7.0 RW	R	22	2022	Quebec, Quebec	Islanders
27	United States	Fulp, AidanAidan Fulp	2.0 D	R	24	2023	Westfield, Indiana	Islanders
2	United States	Helgeson, SethSeth Helgeson (C)	2.0 D	L	33	2017	Faribault, Minnesota	Bridgeport
7	United States	Hutton, GrantGrant Hutton	2.0 D	R	29	2019	Carmel, Indiana	Islanders
38	United States	Jefferies, AlexAlex Jefferies	6.0 LW	R	22	2024	Framingham, Massachusetts	Islanders
12	Finland	Koivula, OttoOtto Koivula	6.0 LW	L	26	2018	Nokia, Finland	Islanders
41	United States	Kopperud, MattMatt Kopperud	3.0 F	L	25	2024	Denver, Colorado	Bridgeport
45	United States	Krygier, ChristianChristian Krygier	2.0 D	L	24	2023	Orlando, Florida	Bridgeport
36	United States	Kubiak, JeffJeff Kubiak (A)	4.0 C	L	30	2017	Tinley Park, Illinois	Bridgeport
25	Canada	Kuefler, DaylanDaylan Kuefler	6.0 LW	L	22	2023	Red Deer, Alberta	Islanders
8	United States	LaDue, PaulPaul LaDue	2.0 D	R	32	2021	Grand Forks, North Dakota	Islanders
26	Finland	Liukas, EetuEetu Liukas	6.0 LW	L	22	2023	Turku, Finland	Islanders
18	Canada	Maggio, MatthewMatthew Maggio	7.0 RW	R	21	2023	Windsor, Ontario	Islanders
20	United States	Mitchell, TravisTravis Mitchell	2.0 D	L	24	2023	South Lyon, Michigan	Islanders
33	Canada	Newkirk, ReeceReece Newkirk	4.0 C	L	23	2021	Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan	Islanders
17	Canada	Piercey, RileyRiley Piercey	6.0 LW	L	22	2023	Mississauga, Ontario	Bridgeport
37	United States	Pivonka, JacobJacob Pivonka	4.0 C	L	24	2023	Olathe, Kansas	Bridgeport
46	United States	Randl, JackJack Randl	6.0 LW	L	24	2024	Carpentersville, Illinois	Bridgeport
6	Canada	Sevigny, VincentVincent Sevigny	2.0 D	L	23	2022	Quebec, Quebec	Bridgeport
29	United States	Thompson, TyceTyce Thompson	3.0 F	R	24	2023	Oyster Bay, New York	Islanders
70	Finland	Tikkanen, HenrikHenrik Tikkanen	1.0 G	L	24	2022	Lohja, Finland	Islanders
11	Canada	Twarynski, CarsenCarsen Twarynski	6.0 LW	L	26	2024	Calgary, Alberta	Bridgeport
47	United States	Warren, MarshallMarshall Warren	2.0 D	L	23	2024	Laurel Hollow, New York	Islanders

Team captains[]

Alan Letang, 2003–04
Keith Aldridge¹, 2004–05
Richard Seeley¹, 2004–05
Ed Campbell¹, 2005
Kevin Colley, 2005–06
Mark Wotton, 2006–11
Jeremy Colliton, 2011–12
Colin McDonald², 2012–13
Matt Watkins² 2013
Chris Bruton, 2013–14
Aaron Ness, 2014–15
Ben Holmstrom³, 2015–19
Kyle Burroughs³, 2018–20
Seth Helgeson, 2021–

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 named on Dec. 7, 2012, and Watkins 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[]

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

Team records[]

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[]

↑ (May 10, 2021). Bridgeport reboots as the Islanders. Press release. “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.”
↑ Fornabaio, Michael (May 22, 2018). Lamoriello takes over Islanders' hockey operations. Connecticut Post.
↑ TWENTY YEARS OF SOUND TIGERS, Bridgeport Islanders
↑ Clinton, Jared (September 10, 2015). AHL Logo Ranking: No. 7 - Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The Hockey News.
↑ https://theahl.com/bridgeport-reboots-islanders
↑ Bridgeport Islanders Roster.

External links[]

Official website

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Bridgeport Islanders. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA).

[BPTIslanders-1] (May 10, 2021). Bridgeport reboots as the Islanders. Press release. “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.

[3] TWENTY YEARS OF SOUND TIGERS, Bridgeport Islanders

[THN-4] Clinton, Jared (September 10, 2015). AHL Logo Ranking: No. 7 - Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The Hockey News.

[5] ttps://theahl.com/bridgeport-reboots-islanders

[6] Bridgeport Islanders Roster.

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New York Islanders
The Franchise	Franchise • Expansion Draft • Seasons • Records • Draft Picks • GMs • Award Winners • Head Coaches
Arenas	Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum • Barclays Center
Retired Numbers	5 • 9 • 19 • 22 • 23 • 27 • 31 • 91
Affiliates	Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL) • Worcester Railers (ECHL)
Rivals	New York Rangers • Philadelphia Flyers • New Jersey Devils
Stanley Cup Finals (5)	Won: 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • Lost: 1984