MANCHESTER, NH - Sound Tigers forward Rhett Rakhshani recorded two goals and an assist and Bridgeport extended its winning streak to five games to open the 2012 calendar year with a 4-2 victory over the Manchester Monarchs at the Verizon Wireless Arena on Friday night. The Sound Tigers improve to .500 as their record stands at 17-17-3-1. Manchester falls to 21-16-0-2.
The Monarchs opened the scoring just 3:49 into the game. With Sound Tigers forward Trevor Frischmon in the penalty box for high-sticking, Manchester went to work on the power play and capitalized late in the man-advantage. Dwight King received a pass in the right circle and fed the puck to Brandon Kozun by the left post. Kozun slammed the puck home past Sound Tigers netminder Anders Nilsson for his ninth goal of the season to give the Monarchs a 1-0 lead.
The Sound Tigers dominated the second period of play, seizing the momentum and outshooting Manchester 19-4 in the middle frame. Rakhshani brought the Sound Tigers even midway through the period shortly after a Bridgeport power play had expired. Rakhshani dropped the puck off to Aaron Ness above the left circle, then cut to the net slot where he received the puck. Rakhshani avoided a poke check, then fired a snap shot over Jeff Zatkoff’s glove for his seventh goal of the season to make the score 1-1 at 9:03 of the period.
Ullstrom put the Sound Tigers on top with 2:24 left in the period via the power play. Sound Tigers defenseman Jon Landry made an immediate impact in his first game with the team, skating the puck towards the slot and sending a pass through the slot to Ullstrom. The second-year Sound Tiger who made his first appearance since being returned by the Islanders earlier this week sent the puck into the open net. It marked Landry’s first career AHL point and was Ullstrom’s team-leading 13th goal of the season as the Sound Tigers led 2-1 after 40 minutes.
Manchester drew even 3:24 into the third period when Robbie Czarnik battled to win the puck behind the Sound Tigers net, then banked the puck off of Nilsson and in to make the score 2-2. However, the Sound Tigers answered quickly and retook the lead just 22 seconds later. Matt Donovan’s left point shot was blocked in front, but Tyler McNeely found the rebound in traffic and beat Zatkoff for his fourth goal of the season. The Monarchs pulled their goaltender in the final moments of regulation, but the Sound Tigers sealed the win as Rhett Rakhshani scored his second goal of the game on an empty net.
The Sound Tigers outshot the Monarchs 38-18 in the game, and Anders Nilsson made 16 saves to earn his sixth win of the season.
The Sound Tigers will look for their sixth straight win tomorrow night when they host the Providence Bruins on Pink Rink Night, sponsored by Norwalk Hospital, at Webster Bank Arena at 7:00 p.m. The Sound Tigers will wear commemorative pink jerseys which will be auctioned off, with all proceeds going to the Smilow Family Breast Health Center at Norwalk Hospital.
