Sens vs. Sound Tigers 10/24/04 Articles: Sound Tigers dig deep, stop skid
October 27, 2004

Posted by: Bob Howard
Credit: Michael Fornabio of ConnPost.com

Sound Tigers dig deep, stop skid

Bridgeport kills off pair of majors, gets past Binghamton

By MICHAEL FORNABAIO mfornabaio@ctpost.com

BRIDGEPORT — It's the kind of stretch that can make or break a season: the Bridgeport Sound Tigers' up-and-down penalty kill, facing two majors within 15 minutes against the talented Binghamton Senators.

Sunday afternoon, Bridgeport's penalty killers passed the biggest test of the beginning of the season with a 3-2 victory, salvaging the final game of the three-game weekend.

Thanks to superb goaltending from Dieter Kochan and excellent penalty killing all around during the two five-minute penalties, the Sound Tigers held on in front of 2,617 fans at the Arena at Harbor Yard.

"I never remember it getting really scrambly," said Kochan, who made 16 saves in the second period.

With Bridgeport ahead 2-1, referee Dan O'Rourke assessed Jim Campbell a major and a game misconduct for slashing Chris Kelly at 4:49 of the second.

"We were trying to break out, and he was hooking me and kind of holding me," Campbell said. "I tried to push his stick off. I think (Kelly) kind of over-exaggerated it."

Bridgeport killed that penalty, but fell down a man again when O'Rourke sent Eric Godard off with a boarding major and game misconduct for a hit on Jan Platil

whom Bridgeport coach Greg Cronin said had turned away at the last minute and made himself vulnerable

in front of the penalty boxes.

The Sound Tigers had already tied a negative team record by allowing a power-play goal for the fifth game in a row, one year after setting a league record for penalty-kill efficiency. On the majors, though, they denied the Senators many good scoring chances, and what did get through, Kochan controlled.

"We followed the systems. We did it perfectly," said Sean Bergenheim, who assisted on all three Bridgeport goals. "Usually on two major penalties, you don't get away that easy."

After the second major, Kochan stopped Charlie Stephens cutting into the zone. Out of a promotional time out, Binghamton won the faceoff; Kochan stopped Denis Hamel in the slot and then stood up to a Senators scramble around his net.

"I don't know how he made (those saves). I thought it was the difference in the game," Cronin said. "They should have scored, but they didn't."

Kelly scored with 4:27 remaining, but the Sound Tigers held Binghamton to only two shots after that, and Kevin Colley won a faceoff with 3.6 seconds left to ice the win.

Matt Koalska had two assists for Bridgeport, giving him three points in two games.

Ryan Kraft scored two seconds after a Bridgeport power play expired at 2:48 of the first period. Chris Campoli, on a nice move around a defender and a shot back to the far, left post, made it 2-0 on his first professional goal at 11:23.

After Antoine Vermette scored on a power-play rebound, Justin Mapletoft followed up Bergenheim's breakaway denial and snapped the puck over goalie Ray Emery for his first goal of the season and a 3-1 lead with 47.4 seconds left in the second.

That was all the insurance Bridgeport needed to end a two-game losing streak after losses to Albany on Friday and Hartford on Saturday.

"I told them before the game, this weekend was going to be a big test of how we perform as a group, particularly against Hartford and Bingo," Cronin said.

Captain Keith Aldridge was the nightly defenseman scratched. Rookie forward Steve Regier was also scratched for the fifth time in six games.