Scott Munroe turned aside 38 shots, but it wasn't enough as Bridgeport lost its third straight shootout.
Whereas Friday and Saturday night’s shootout losses no doubt hurt, they nonetheless occurred about 250 miles and five hours north/northeast up I95, this one hurt big time before a large crowd at the cozy confines of the Arena. And while it’s still way too early to classify any one contest as a “must game,” after Pascal Morency stumbled during the 13th round of the sudden-death shootout—the third longest in the AHL this season—it sure felt like a dagger went through the heart of this young team.
After Matt Fornataro opened the scoring for Norfolk at the 14:58 mark of the first period, with Ty Wishart and Ryan Craig assisting, Bridgeport’s bruising centerman Micheal Haley, who entered the game second in penalty minutes with 120, but with only three markers, tied things up with his fourth goal of the season with 3:49 remaining in the middle stanza. Tyler Haskins and Jake Gannon picked up the helpers.
For all his lack of offensive prowess, Haley has had the knack of registering his goals at the most opportune times.
“The last month, Micheal has been playing extremely well for us,” said a disappointed—though hardly dejected—Bridgeport head coach Jack Capuano after the game. “If something physical needs to be done, he’s there for us. He scored a big goal in Springfield [and] a big goal in Worcester. And he got us going again tonight.”
But except for swapping one goal each, this afternoon was a showcase for superlative netminding. Both Bridgeport’s Scott Munroe and Norfolk’s Dustin Tokarski brought their “A” game to the arena on Sunday, with Munroe turning aside 38 of 39 shots taken at him by the Admirals, and Tokarski stopping 36 of the Sound Tigers’ 37 shots.
The very fact that the Sound Tigers got off 37 shots was good news for this offensively challenged squad. Bridgeport is dead last in the AHL’s Atlantic Division in goals scored, even though the Sound Tigers have played more games than all but one team—last-place Springfield.
“We want the points, but you can’t get too discouraged,” said a philosophical Haley. “We’re working hard. All you can do is keep working hard until it comes your way, then we’ll ride the wave when that happens. Right now, the wave seems to be coming over us. We have to keep plugging away until it changes.
The Sound Tigers' dreams evaporated when Pascan Morency stumbled and lost control of the puck in the 13th round of the shootout.
“It’s all bounces right now,” continued Haley. “I mean, we’re working but [our opponents] are getting lucky, and we’re not. Eventually that will change. That’s hockey. And when it does, I think we’ll be golden.”
The Sound Tigers are now off until Friday night when they travel to Springfield to take on the Falcons at 7:30 p.m. at the MassMutual Center before returning home to Bridgeport to host the first-place Manchester Monarchs on Saturday at 7 p.m.
