Bridgeport Islanders

Bridgeport Sound Tigers
City:	Bridgeport, Connecticut
League:	American Hockey League
Conference:	Eastern Conference
Division:	Atlantic Division
Founded:	2001
Home Arena:	Arena at Harbor Yard
Colors:	Navy blue, orange, white
Owner(s):	Charles Wang
General Manager:	Garth Snow
Head Coach:	Jack Capuano
Media:	Connecticut Post
Affiliates:	New York Islanders (NHL) Kalamazoo Wings (ECHL) Odessa Jackalopes (CHL)
Franchise history
2001–present:	Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Championships
Regular Season Titles:	1 2001–02
Division Championships:	1 2001–02
Conference Championships:	1 2001–02

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers are an ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League. It has been the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders since its inception, and use the same team colors as the parent Islanders do. The team is based in Bridgeport, Connecticut and play their home games at the Arena at Harbor Yard. The "Sound" in the team name is a reference to the Long Island Sound to the south of Bridgeport.

History

The Sound Tigers joined the AHL in 2001. The franchise's lease at the Arena runs until the end of the 2021 season. The team has generally been successful, recording only two losing seasons through the 2009 season, highlighted by a division championship and reachinhg the Calder Cup Finals, in which they lost to the Chicago Wolves four games to one, during their first season.

The franchise's first coach was Steve Stirling, and the team is currently coached by Jack Capuano. Among the Sound Tigers' players who have graduated to play for the New York Islanders are Trent Hunter, Rick DiPietro, Kyle Okposo, Bruno Gervais, and Sean Bergenheim, while other NHL players such as Jeff Hamilton, Eric Godard, Raffi Torres and Wade Dubielewicz have also played for the team.

The Sound Tigers' mascot is named Storm.

Season-by-season results

Regular season

Season	Games	Won	Lost	Tied	OTL	SOL	Points	Goals for	Goals against	Standing
2001–02	80	43	25	8	4	—	98	240	192	1st, East
2002–03	80	40	26	11	3	—	94	219	198	2nd, East
2003–04	80	41	23	12	4	—	98	178	140	2nd, East
2004–05	80	37	38	—	1	4	79	192	222	6th, East
2005–06	80	38	33	—	6	3	85	246	253	4th, East
2006–07	80	36	37	—	1	6	79	229	267	5th, East
2007–08	80	40	36	—	1	3	84	225	240	5th, East
2008–09	80	49	23	—	3	5	106	241	212	2nd, East
2009–10	80	38	32	—	4	6	86	201	220	8th, East

Playoffs

Season	1st round	2nd round	3rd round	Finals
2001–02	W, 3–1, Manitoba	W, 4–0 St. John's	W, 4–3, Hamilton	L, 1–4, Chicago
2002–03	W, 3–0, Manitoba	L, 2–4, Binghamton	—	—
2003–04	L, 3–4, WBS	—	—	—
2004–05	Out of Playoffs
2005–06	L, 3–4, WBS	—	—	—
2006–07	Out of Playoffs
2007–08	Out of Playoffs
2008–09	L, 1-4, WBS	—	—	—
2009–10	L, 1-4, HER	—	—	—

2009–10 roster

As of August 5, 2010.

Goaltenders
#		Player	Catches	Date of birth	Place of birth
1		Mikko Koskinen ¶	L	July 18, 1988	Vantaa, Finland
52		Nathan Lawson	R	Sep. 29, 1983	Calgary, Alberta

Defensemen
#		Player	Shoots	Date of birth	Place of birth
2		Andrew MacDonald §	L	Sep. 7, 1986	Judique, Nova Scotia
4		Mark Wotton –C	L	Oct. 16, 1973	Foxwarren, Manitoba
5		Dustin Kohn §	L	Feb. 2, 1987	Edmonton, Alberta
12		Mark Flood § (UFA)	R	Sep. 29, 1984	Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
15		Dylan Reese §	R	Aug. 29, 1984	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
22		Anton Klementyev §	R	Mar. 25, 1990	Togliatti, Soviet Union
32		Brendan Witt § –A (UFA)	L	Feb. 20, 1975	Humboldt, Saskatchewan
71		Mark Katic	L	May 9, 1989	Porcupine, Ontario
—		Matt Duffy	R	Feb. 21, 1986	Windham, Maine
—		Corey Syvret	L	Feb. 19, 1989	Millgrove, Ontario

Forwards
#		Player	Position	Shoots	Date of birth	Place of birth
3		Michael Davies Δ	F	R	Dec. 10, 1986	St. Louis, Missouri
6		Jesse Joensuu §	LW	L	Oct. 5, 1987	Pori, Finland
7		Robin Figren	LW	R	Mar. 7, 1988	Stockholm, Sweden
9		Justin DiBenedetto	LW	L	Aug. 25, 1988	Mississauga, Ontario
10		Tyler Haskins	RW	R	May 26, 1986	Madison, Ohio
16		Tomas Marcinko	RW	R	Apr. 11, 1988	Poprad, Czechoslavakia
18		Micheal Haley	C	L	Mar. 30, 1986	Guelph, Ontario
19		Rhett Rakhshani Δ	RW	R	Mar. 6, 1988	Orange, California
27		Matt Martin §	LW	R	May 8, 1989	Windsor, Ontario
55		Pascal Morency	RW	R	Feb. 20, 1982	Montreal, Quebec
—		Mike Sellitto	F	R		Weston, Florida
—		Justin Taylor	C	L	Feb. 8, 1989	London, Ontario

§ - assigned by the New York Islanders (NHL)
¢ - currently on conditioning assignment from the New York Islanders
¶ - recalled from the Kalamazoo Wings (ECHL)
θ - recalled from the Odessa Jackalopes (CHL)
 # - 25 game Professional Tryout Contract (PTO)
Δ - Amateur Tryout Contract (ATO)

N.B.: Players in BOLD ended season injured.

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). 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.

Team records

Single season

Goals: 43 Jeff Hamilton (2003–04)

Assists: 48 Rob Collins(2005–06)

Points: 76 Jeff Tambellini (2007–08)

Penalty minutes: 295 Eric Godard (2004–05)

GAA: 1.38 Wade Dubielewicz (2003–04) (AHL Record)

SV%: .946 Wade Dubielewicz (2003–04) (AHL Record)

Career

Career goals: 89 Jeff Hamilton

Career assists: 110 Rob Collins

Career points: 163 Rob Collins

Career penalty minutes: 705 Eric Godard

Career goaltending wins: 81 Wade Dubielewicz

Career shutouts: 15 Wade Dubielewicz

Career games: 289 Steve Regier

External links

• Bridgeport Sound Tigers, official website
• Bridgeport Sound Tigers Forums, message boards
• The Internet Hockey Database - Bridgeport Sound Tigers
• Blog From The Bridge