Robin Figren scored the game-winning goal in the shootout and Scott Munroe made 23 saves as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers defeated the Lowell Devils, 3-2 in a shootout, Wednesday night at Arena at Harbor Yard. With the win, the Sound Tigers move into sole possession of fifth place in the Atlantic Division with a record of 25-23-3-6.
"I thought it was a great team effort," Head Coach Jack Capuano said. "All four of our forward lines played very well tonight."
The shootout was scoreless until the third round when Greg Mauldin lifted a backhand shot into the top of the net to give Bridgeport the lead. Down to their final shooter, Lowell stayed in the game as Patrick Davis snapped a shot just under the cross-bar in the fifth round. Figren used a multi-deke move, sliding the puck around McKenna, to win the game for the Sound Tigers.
"I felt confident shooting with the game on the line," Figren said. "It's a situation I have experienced before this year."
Michael Swift opened the scoring for Lowell eight minutes into the game. As Lowell finished a power-play, Matt Corrente sent a hard pass through the crease to Swift who snapped a one-timer into the top of the net for his 13th goal of the season.
Brad Mills made it 2-0 Lowell 3:06 into the second period. Rob Davison fired a shot from the slot that Munroe turned aside. However, the rebound bounced right to Mills, standing at the bottom of the face-off circle, and he hammered the puck into the open side of the net.
The second period saw the Sound Tigers outshoot the Devils 13-6. Bridgeport had two chances to score early on as McKenna stopped Jesse Joensuu on a breakaway and, moments later, Figren misfired on an open net in a 2-on-1 situation.
Mauldin put the Sound Tigers on the board at the 7:06 mark of the second. After a sustained pressure sequence in the Devils zone, Joensuu found Mauldin with a centering pass and Mauldin drove a shot over McKenna's shoulder to tally his team-leading 19th goal of the year.
Moore tied the game for the Sound Tigers at the 6:08 mark of the third period. Mark Flood ripped a shot from the blue-line that Moore tipped in front of the net, redirecting the puck past McKenna for his 14th goal of the year.
Bridgeport outshot Lowell 35-25 in the game. McKenna made 33 saves for the Devils.
The Sound Tigers return to action Friday when they visit the Hartford Wolf Pack. Face-off at the XL Center is set for 7:00 pm. The Sound Tigers are back home Saturday night as they host the Abbotsford Heat at 7:00 pm. The game will feature the annual Youth Hockey Shootout. For individual game tickets, please call TicketMaster at 1-800-745-3000.
