HARTFORD, Conn – The Connecticut Whale defeated the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, 4-3 in a shootout, Friday night at the XL Center. Kris Newbury forced overtime with a last-ditch effort with 4.9 seconds remaining, and Whale goaltender Chad Johnson made the second life count with a 41-save performance.
Tommy Grant and Jonathan Audy-Marchessault also scored for the Whale, and Tim Erixon had two assists. Bridgeport’s Michael Haley scored twice in the contest.
“We just stuck with it to the end there,” said Whale head coach Ken Gernander. “A shooters’ mentality, just going to the net to get second and third chances.”
Haley gave the Sound Tigers a 1-0 lead at 13:38 of the opening period, taking a bouncing feed from Tony Romano and putting it past Johnson for his 13th goal of the season. Jon Landry also assisted on the goal, the only scoring of the first period.
The Sound Tigers outshot the Whale, 10-9, in the first frame with the Whale having to kill off one Bridgeport power-play opportunity.
Audy-Marchessault would tie the game at one 8:45 into the second period, backhanding a shot from the slot past Sound Tigers goaltender Kevin Poulin (33 saves). Audy-Marchessault got a piece of a shot from Tim Erixon, as the Whale cashed in on their first power-play opportunity of the night just five seconds in. Kris Newbury also assisted on the goal, Audy-Marchessault’s 19th.
The Sound Tigers would retake the lead on the power-play at the 17:42 mark, as Justin DiBenedetto gathered a rebound on the backhand and deposited it past a sprawling Johnson for a 2-1 advantage. Rhett Rakhshani and Matt Donovan recorded the assists, as Rakhshani’s rebound was kicked out to DiBenedetto.
Grant would tie the game for the Whale as the game headed toward the third period, as he buried a centering pass from Jordan Owens while camped out at the right post of the Bridgeport cage at 19:23. Owens’ attempt slid through the goal crease before Grant shot it in off of the left pad of Poulin. Kelsey Tessier would collect the secondary helper.
Haley would score again 4:52 into the third period, as he was left uncovered high in the Whale slot. Steven Oleksy kept the puck in the Whale zone, and then fed Haley, who had time to set himself and fire the puck up and over Johnson for a 3-2 Bridgeport lead.
It looked as if the Whale would fall by that score headed into the waning seconds of the third, but Connecticut would capitalize on a last-gasp, high-intensity forecheck to tie the game with 4.9 seconds remaining.
The puck was dumped deep into the Bridgeport zone and Casey Wellman deflected an Erixon feed in front and to Newbury, who had an open net to tie the game and complete a Gordie Howe hat trick (goal, assist, fight). Erixon earned his second assist of the night on the play.
Neither team would score in overtime, and the Whale were once again headed to the shootout.
Mats Zuccarello, Wellman and Brendan Bell would all score in the tie-breaker for Connecticut, while Johnson capped off his stellar performance with three saves on Bridgeport shooters.
The win closed the Whale to within one point of the Northeast Division-leading Sound Tigers.
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