The Bridgeport Islanders play their home games at Total Mortgage Arena. It’s ironic considering they are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the New York Islanders, who saw their general manager (GM) Lou Lamoriello totally mortgage the team’s future while depleting the farm system and leaving the AHL a mess.
Related: Bridgeport Islanders’ Defense Has Unfixable Issues
The Islanders lost their 15th home game on Jan. 5 in a 5-1 defeat to the Hartford Wolf Pack. It was their 12th consecutive loss on home ice and a franchise record. The team is in last place in the Atlantic Division and only has seven wins on the season but they’ve been an exceptionally terrible team on their home ice.
Their only win at home came on Oct. 20 against the Wolf Pack as they controlled play from start to finish in a 4-0 romp. Otherwise, it’s been rough to watch for the home crowd, which continues to show up despite the pile-up of losses. With 15 losses, it’s hard to find the one that was the worst, but some stand out, especially when they are put into three categories.
Category 1: The Good Losses
Once in a while, the Islanders would have a quality home loss. While it typically doesn’t change anything in the standings, there’s a feeling of slight satisfaction after the game. They played well and either earned points by forcing the game into overtime or battled against a top team.
15. Nov. 23 vs Charlotte Checkers (3-2 Loss in Shootout)
This was the Islanders’ best loss of the season. Better yet, they earned points in the process and it looked like they wouldn’t early on. The Charlotte Checkers scored just 1:02 into the game and then found the back of the net again nine minutes into the first period. It’s a script the fans have seen countless times in recent seasons and it looked like the Islanders would once again lose in a lopsided game.
They battled back with two impressive goals. The first was with just two seconds left in the second period with defenseman Travis Mitchell firing the puck to the back of the net. Then came a power play goal from Julien Gauthier with nine minutes left in the third period to force overtime. The power play failed to score on four opportunities but they got one goal and that’s all they needed to complete the comeback. This was a game the Islanders deserved to lose but they battled back to earn a point in a shootout loss.
14. Oct. 16 vs Hershey Bears (3-2)
The Hershey Bears are the class of the AHL, winning the Calder Cup title in 2023 and 2024. The Islanders gave them a run for their money in their first meeting of the season. Two goals in the second period gave them a lead heading into the final frame and while the Bears battled back, it was a sign that this team could play against anyone. If the Islanders could play a close game against the best team in the AHL, surely the winds would follow later in the season against lesser teams, right?
13. Oct. 12 vs Providence Bruins (3-2)
This was the home opener and one where the Islanders were hoping to prove that this team would be better than the one that went 25-38-7-2 the previous season. Pierre Engvall was on a mission and hoped his goal in the second period would show the NHL team that putting him on waivers was a mistake (it seems like his goal did the trick). Likewise, Brian Pinho would score his first of many goals when he found the back of the net shorthanded.
The Islanders would end up losing 3-2 to the Providence Bruins but it was a game that provided hope. Considering they were an awful team the season before, this game showed that this team is different and would be trending in the right direction. Little did the home crowd know, this was about as good as it got for this team.
12. Nov. 30 vs Belleville Senators (2-0)
This matchup against the Belleville Senators was a great showing from the defense, which is a rarity considering they allow 4.03 goals per game which is the worst in the AHL. Marcus Hogberg made 33 saves as well, a sign that the Thanksgiving leftovers weren’t getting to him or the defense for that matter (it was their first game back since the American holiday).
The only problem was the offense forgot to show up. The Islanders played great defense and lost 2-0. This game would be the start of a nine-game losing streak so it’s safe to say, the Islanders peaked after this game.
11. Jan. 4 vs Rochester Americans (6-3)
Don’t let the final score fool you! The Islanders played a close game against one of the best teams in the AHL. The Rochester Americans have one of the best offenses in the league and the Islanders went toe to toe with them thanks to a power play goal from Alex Jefferies and a goal from William Dufour, two of the team’s top prospects.
The third period started with the Americans leading 4-3 and the final frame was defined by defense until the Islanders pulled their goaltender, Jakub Skarek (who filled in for Henrik Tikkannen and didn’t allow a goal while doing so). Two empty-net goals put away the game late and made the final score look lopsided even though this game was a hard-fought one.
Category 2: The Heartbreakers
There’s an argument to be made that heartbreaking defeats are worse than any other type of defeat. These are the games that the Islanders easily could and should have won but didn’t. These losses are devastating but they are still better than lopsided ones. At the very least, the Islanders played a close game and gave the fans some entertainment, even if they ended on a sour note.
10. Dec. 1 vs Belleville Senators (3-2)
To wrap up the American Thanksgiving weekend, the Islanders were off to a great start as they built a 2-0 lead 25 minutes into the game. The Senators battled back with three unanswered goals to take this one 3-2. The Islanders had six days off to prepare for their back-to-back against the Senators and came away with zero points (maybe the Thanksgiving leftovers got to this team after all).
9. Dec. 11 vs Providence Bruins (4-2)
On a Wednesday night when Bridgeport was pummeled with rain, the Islanders let the floodgates open. For 20 minutes, it looked like they were poised to control the game as they took a 1-0 lead with the help of Justin Gill’s first goal in the AHL (he hasn’t scored since). They lost this game in the next period. The Islanders allowed four unanswered goals in the second period to lose 4-2.
8. Oct. 30 vs Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins (4-3 Shootout)
Fortunately for the Islanders, this wasn’t the worst loss a team affiliated with the New York sports market experienced that night. It just so happens that night was the same one the New York Yankees built a 5-0 lead in Game 5 of the World Series only to lose 7-6 and the series 4-1. The Islanders meanwhile proved to their fanbase against the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins to never doubt their ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Three goals in the second period, including one from Pinho, gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead heading into the final frame. Hogberg was stopping everything and ended the night with 38 saves. A win looked like a sure thing if only the defense could hold up in the final frame. Then they allowed a goal with 6:36 left in the third period with the puck deflecting off the referee right to the slot, allowing the Penguins to find an easy scoring chance. The game went to a shootout where ultimately, the Penguins came out on top. Sure, the Islanders earned a point but this loss was a gut punch.
7. Nov. 12 vs Hershey Bears (5-4)
It was Kid’s Day at Total Mortgage Arena as the place was packed with kids from schools across the state of Connecticut for a 10:30 AM start. In the third period, the kids started to file out of the arena as they had to make it back to school in time for dismissal. Frankly, it’s a good thing they left early since they didn’t have to see the dagger at the end.
The Islanders played a back-and-forth game against the Bears, taking an early 2-0 lead after one frame and trailing only 4-3 after two periods of play. Marc Gatcomb tied things up 5:40 into the third period and once again, this team was going toe to toe with the AHL’s top team. Then came the dagger, just seconds before the game was supposed to head to overtime. Vincent Iorio (who on Kid’s Day, did not ask anyone to spell or pronounce his name) flipped the puck on the net and Spencer Smallman deflected it into the goal with just 7.3 seconds left to give the Islanders a devastating 5-4 loss.
Category 3: The Blowout Losses
These losses are self-descriptive. The Islanders lost and lost badly. In some defeats, they gave up and let the floodgates open, and in others, they forgot to show up altogether. While the Islanders had six of these defeats at home, the widest margin of a defeat, surprisingly enough, came on the road on Oct. 25 when they were pummeled 8-2 by the Checkers.
6. Dec. 27 vs Providence Bruins (4-1)
This game was one-sided from the opening puck drop. The Bruins scored halfway through the first period and never looked back. The one bright spot was a Tyce Thompson goal in the second period, his third of the season, but otherwise, it was all Bruins. they added on a goal in the second period and two in the third to cruise to a 4-1 victory in a game they never trailed in.
5. Jan. 5 vs Hartford Wolf Pack (5-1)
Like the game against the Bruins on Dec. 27, the Islanders were toast from the first period in this one. The Wolf Pack got on the board with Alex Belzille finding Benoit-Olivier Groulx with just 26 seconds left in the first frame and the same connection fueled another goal in the second period to give them a 2-0 lead.
The highlight came late in the second period with the game already out of reach when Islanders goaltender Jakub Skarek skated into the slot to clear the puck out of the zone. Instead, he found Nathan Sucese right in front of him, and the Wolf Pack skater collected it for an easy goal. It gave the Wolf Pack a four-goal period and a commanding lead that they would hold for the rest of the game. The Islanders were zapped of any energy by the time the third period rolled around and with only five shots on the goal in the final frame, they ended up with a 5-1 loss.
4. Oct. 13 vs Charlotte Checkers (3-0)
Remember all the optimism after the opening night game, that hard-fought quality loss against the Bruins? Well, all that hope vanished by the next afternoon. The Islanders played the Checkers and looked hapless in the process, losing the game 3-0 and generating only 21 shots on the net while going 0/7 on the power play.
The bright spot is that Ken Appleby had a good start in the net. The bad news is that he’s no longer on the Islanders. In his first start against his former team, he put together a shutout and got his revenge. Appleby only had one shutout in his 2023-24 season with the Islanders yet suddenly, looked like a prime Martin Brodeur in his first trip back to Bridgeport (having a good defense in front of him helped, but that’s not the point).
3. Dec. 4 vs Hartford Wolf Pack (6-1)
The Wolf Pack are the Islanders’ Connecticut rival and they entered this game without a win on the road. Something had to give. They also entered this game on a four-game losing streak but if there’s any antidote, it’s playing the Islanders at Total Mortgage Arena.
The two teams traded power-play goals early on but the Wolf Pack started to pull ahead late in the second with two goals in the final four minutes of the period. Then the wheels fell off for the Islanders. Belzille scored a power-play goal with Groulx finding him on a cross-ice pass, a connection that has gashed the Islanders all season. While Belzille was still celebrating his hat trick, Matt Rempe, who entered the game with only two goals on the season, scored 45 seconds later. Then Bryce McConnell-Barker, who also entered the game with two goals, scored seven seconds later. The three goals in 57 seconds took the air out of the arena and gave the Wolf Pack a decisive 6-1 victory.
2. Nov. 9 vs Providence Bruins (8-4)
The Islanders entered this game averaging only 2.74 goals per game and the Bruins entered averaging only 2.87 goals per game. The belief before puck drop was that there wouldn’t be a lot of goals in this game. It was tied at four heading into the third period and with the Islanders responding to every goal the Bruins scored, this game was poised for a great finish.
Wrong! The Bruins scored three goals in 56 seconds and the game was over with half of the third period still to play. To add insult to injury, John Farinacci, who entered with only one goal on the season, scored his second of the game 2:11 after the three-goal outburst. The Islanders went from playing competitive hockey to waiting for the final buzzer to put them out of their misery in a matter of seconds.
The eight goals were the most the Islanders allowed on their home ice all season. Yet, it’s not their worst loss of the season. That’s a spot reserved for the next game on the list which not only was a heartbreaker but ended with a lopsided result as well.
1. Dec. 15 vs Laval Rocket (6-2)
This Sunday afternoon game was holiday-themed. There was a toy drive, holiday collectible cups were available for purchase, and most important of all, Santa Claus was in the building. The Santa element is important because credit to the fans, they did not boo Santa or throw snowballs at him, something the Philadelphia crowd infamously did at a Philadelphia Eagles game in 1968.
On to the game itself. The Laval Rocket rarely make the trip as a North Division team but they are one of the best teams in the AHL and as the Montreal Canadiens affiliate, they have a surplus of talent. It’s why it was a shock to see the Islanders take a lead into the third period. Goals from William Dufour and Frederik Karlstrom gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead and with Tikkanen stopping 16 of the 17 shots he faced, an upset looked like it was in the works. But we all know how this ends.
Rocket forward Florian Xhekaj entered this game with only three goals in the entire season. He scored a hat trick, in the third period alone (at the time of writing, he has not scored since). Xhekaj was only the start of the Islanders’ problems as the Rocket took over this game with a dominant third period, scoring five unanswered goals with two coming in 35 seconds. In case the defense wasn’t bad enough, the Islanders forgot to show up on offense as well, generating one shot on the net. The final score was 6-2 and in the third period, the opposition had four more goals than the home team had shots on goal.
These losses have been tough on the fans, players, and everyone who has attended these games halfway through the 2024-25 season. The most impressive feat is the attendance, which despite the pile-up of losses, has been respectable for the AHL level. It’s a reminder that the fans deserve better and hopefully, they’ll get just that, if not in the back half of this season, by next season.
