The Bridgeport Report: Week 6

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers (9-5-1-0), proud AHL affiliate of the New York Islanders, scored 16 goals in a trio of games last week and collected all six of their possible points, extending their win streak to a season-high five games.
Chris Bourqueand Otto Koivulaeach recorded two goals and three assists to pace the Sound Tigers' red-hot offense, while 2016 first-round pick Kieffer Bellows scored in each of the three games and now boasts a team-best four-game goal streak entering this week's action. Travis St. Denis (three goals, one assist) and Devon Toews (one goal, three assists) also came up big with four-point performances.

The Sound Tigers hosted the Binghamton Devils on Wednesday morning in their annual Cool Fun 101 school-day game and earned a 7-3 win in front of 7,808 screaming fans. St. Denis scored twice and Bourque recorded three points, while Bridgeport earned its fifth straight win at home. Special teams were also one of the catalysts, as Bridgeport went 4-for-10 on the power play and 4-for-5 on the penalty kill. It's the most goals the club has notched on the man advantage since Dec. 1, 2017 at Utica, and its most opportunities since Mar. 25, 2018 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Aside from St. Denis and Bourque, Koivula (one goal, one assist), Toews (two assists), Josh Ho-Sang (two assists), and Jeff Kubiak (one goal, one assist) also recorded multi-point efforts.
St. Denis and the Sound Tigers' offense stayed hot on Saturday night, clawing past the Providence Bruins with a 5-4 overtime win at Webster Bank Arena. The Quinnipiac University product netted the game-winner 82 seconds into the extra frame and Bourque crossed a major milestone with his 700th AHL point (assist on the opening tally), helping the Sound Tigers score at least five goals for the fourth straight game - a new franchise record. The team earned a combined 25 goals over that span, also a team record.
Five different players had a multi-point game on Saturday, including Bourque (one goal, one assist), St. Denis (one goal, one assist) and Toews (one goal, one assist), while Jeremy Smith (4-2-1-0) made 23 saves on 27 shots en route to his third win in as many starts.
The Sound Tigers wrapped up a five-game homestand on Sunday afternoon and won their seventh straight contest at Webster Bank Arena with a 4-2 victory against the first-place Charlotte Checkers. Bellows and Koivula both potted a first-period goal, and Connor Jonesnotched the game-winner early in the final frame, while Christopher Gibson(5-3-0) was stellar in net with 28 saves on 30 shots. Mike Sislo also scored an empty-netter for his fifth of the year and Ryan Bourque had two assists.

With the victory, the Sound Tigers are now just three points behind Charlotte for first place in the Atlantic Division.
Bridgeport opens a three-game road trip on Wednesday with an 11 a.m. puck drop against the Hartford Wolf Pack (5-8-1-2) at the XL Center. The journey shifts north of the border this weekend with a Friday-Saturday doubleheader against the Laval Rocket (6-8-1-0) and Belleville Senators (6-8-0-0), respectively. Fans can follow all of the action online via the Sound Tigers Radio Network and AHLTV, beginning with the pre-game show 15 minutes before each listed start time.
News and Notes:
Going Streaking:The Sound Tigers will carry a number of notable streaks into their three-game road trip this week. Already winners of five straight, the club will look for its first six-game win streak since Feb. 7-19, 2017 and will also attempt to score at least four goals for the sixth straight outing on Wednesday. Individually, Steve Bernier is on a six-game point streak and an AHL career-best five-game assist streak, while Kieffer Bellows has scored in four consecutive games (five goals during that span) - the longest active streak in the AHL. Bernier hasn't logged points in seven straight games since a career-best eight-game streak from Dec. 22, 2005 - Jan. 8, 2006.
Helping Hand: Josh Ho-Sang had a trio of assists last week and now leads the Sound Tigers with 14 helpers and 15 points this season. Even better, Ho-Sang leads all AHL forwards in assists and is second in the League overall (one behind Rochester's Lawrence Pilut). Ho-Sang has 11 points (one goal, 10 assists) in his last six games.

History in the making: Three-time Calder Cup Champion and six-time All-Star Chris Bourque became just the 24th player to eclipse 700 points in AHL history when he collected the secondary assist on Devon Toews'first-period goal against Providence last Saturday. Bourque has played 735 AHL games and is currently three points shy of 23rd place on the all-time points list held by Alex Giroux (2001-12). He is also one goal away from tying Bob Solinger (241 goals, 1945-60) for 48th place on the all-time goal-scoring list and 14 helpers shy of tying Zellio Toppazzini (476, 1948-64) for 14th all-time in assists. Bourque has nine points (four goals, five assists) and a team-high 45 shots in 13 games with Bridgeport this season.
Quick Hits: Brent Thompsonis two wins shy of his 200th career AHL/Sound Tigers victory as head coach… Otto Koivula is on a four-game point streak… Kyle Burroughs is two games shy of his 200th AHL/Sound Tigers appearance… Bridgeport is 9-1-1-0 this season when leading at any point… The Sound Tigers have outscored opponents 42-29 at home this season and are currently on a seven-game point streak at Webster Bank Arena (6-0-1-0).
The week ahead:
Wednesday, Nov. 14 at Hartford Wolf Pack (11 a.m.):The Sound Tigers face their in-state rival for the second time this season after defeating Hartford 5-4 at the XL Center on Oct. 27. Ryan Bourque scored twice that night and Steve Bernier potted the game-winner with a power-play goal at 6:26 of the third period. Wednesday's matchup also marks the second of four morning games for Bridgeport this season.
Friday, Nov. 16 at Laval Rocket (7:30 p.m.): The Sound Tigers travel to Canada for the first time this season and battle the Laval Rocket at Place Bell, 30 minutes outside of Montreal, this Friday night. It will mark the first of two meetings between the two clubs. Bridgeport went 1-1-0-0 against the Rocket last season, including a 4-2 win in Quebec on Mar. 2, 2018. Islanders prospects Scott Eansor and Travis St. Denis each scored twice against Laval last season.
Saturday, Nov. 17 at Belleville Senators (7 p.m.):Bridgeport concludes the road trip on Saturday with its first of two meetings against the Belleville Senators, and its only contest at Yardmen Arena in 2018-19. The Sound Tigers swept the B-Sens in a two-game series last year, propelled by Ben Holmstrom's three goals and four points.
Team Leaders
Goals: Michael Dal Colle (7)
Assists: Josh Ho-Sang (14)
Points: Josh Ho-Sang (15)
Plus/Minus: Connor Jones, Kyle Burroughs (+5)
Penalty Minutes:Kyle Burroughs (41)
Power-play goals:Steve Bernier (4)
Shots:Chris Bourque (45)