islesinfo - Bridgeport Sound Tigers 2001-Present

- Bridgeport Sound Tigers -

	Bridgeport Sound Tigers: 2001 - Present
	League: American Hockey League Founder: Roy Boe Owner: New York Islanders/Charles Wang President: Howard Saffin General Manager: Gordie Clark, Mike Milbury, Garth Snow Head Coaches: Steve Stirling 2001-03, Greg Cronin 2003-05 Dave Baseggio 2005-06, Dan Marshall 2006-07, Jack Capuano 2007-Present Most Memorable Players: Trent Hunter, Rick DiPietro, Raffi Torres, Jeff Hamilton, Chris Campoli, Rob Collins	Team Colors(2001-06): Blue, White, Black & Yellow. 2006-07: Blue, Orange & White Home Ice: Arena at Harbor Yard, Bridgeport, CT Championships: None. Lost 2002 Finals to the Chicago Wolves

In 2001 the Islanders returned to playoff contention for the first time in 8 years with a few key trades and acquisitions. Just one year earlier, in 2000, the Islanders were bought by Charles Wang, a Long Island businessman. One of his first goals was to create stability throughout the Islanders organization, from the top right down to the minor league affiliate. After the Islanders affiliation with the AHL's Lowell Lock Monsters came to an end in 2001 an old name came back into the picture to team up with the Islanders, Roy Boe. The original owner of the Islanders had recently sold the AHL's Worcester Icecats to a group in Peoria after owning them since 1994. Together with the Islanders Boe agreed to buy a new entry into the American Hockey League and base them in Bridgeport Connecticut. They would be named the Bridgeport Sound Tigers and begin play in 2001-02.

The Islanders had an exciting playoff run in 2002 and unfortunately it ended in a seven game set against the Toronto Maple Leafs. But that same year, Bridgeport's first, they had their own run all the way to the Calder Cup finals. Led by Steve Stirling, the Sound Tigers finished with the best record during the regular season and were favorites to go all the way until they were upset by the Chicago Wolves in the finals.

In 2005, the Islanders bought the Bridgeport Sound Tigers from Roy Boe and took over daily operation of the AHL franchise. Since the Sound Tigers inception they have shared a great relationship with the Islanders. Already five years later, the Sound Tigers continue to develop the Islanders young talent under current coach Dan Marshall.

Bridgeport Sound Tigers - Team Records:

Regular Season Records
Seasons	GP	W	L	OTL	SOL	Pts	GF	GA	Finish	Playoffs
2001-02	80	43	25	8	4	98	240	192	1st-E	Lost in Finals
2002-03	80	40	26	11	3	94	219	198	2nd-E	Lost round 2
2003-04	80	41	23	12	4	98	178	140	2nd-E	Lost round 1
2004-05	80	37	38	1	4	79	192	222	6th-E	Out of playoffs
2005-06	80	38	33	6	3	85	246	253	4th-E	Lost round 1
2006-07	80	36	37	1	6	79	229	267	5th-E	Out of playoffs
2007-08	80	40	36	1	3	84	225	240	5th-E	Out of playoffs

Playoff Records
Year	GP	W	L	GF	GA	Finish
2002	19	13	6	60	45	Lost in Finals
2003	9	5	4	26	19	Lost round 2
2004	7	3	4	19	23	Lost round 1
2006	7	3	4	16	17	Lost round 1

Calder Cup Playoff Results
2001-02 Season (Bridgeport received qualifying round bye)
Round 1		Round 2		Round 3		Finals
April 14	Manitoba 0 at Bridgeport 5	April 26	St. John's 2 at Bridgeport 4	May 10	Hamilton 2 at Bridgeport 3	May 24	Chicago 5 at Bridgeport 4*
April 16	Manitoba 1 at Bridgeport 4	April 27	St. John's 1 at Bridgeport 2*	May 11	Hamilton 1 at Bridgeport 3	May 25	Chicago 1 at Bridgeport 2
April 18	Bridgeport 2 at Manitoba 6	April 29	Bridgeport 3 at St. John's 2**	May 15	Bridgeport 2 at Hamilton 4	May 30	Bridgeport 0 at Chicago 4
April 19	Bridgeport 2 at Manitoba 0	May 1	Bridgeport 7 at St. John's 2	May 17	Bridgeport 5 at Hamilton 2	May 31	Bridgeport 2 at Chicago 4
				May 18	Bridgeport 2 at Hamilton 3	June 2	Bridgeport 2 at Chicago 3**
				May 20	Hamilton 3 at Bridgeport 2*
				May 22	Hamilton 0 at Bridgeport 3
Bridgeport wins series 3 games to 1		Bridgeport wins series 4 games to 0		Bridgeport wins series 4 games to 3		Chicago wins Calder Cup 4 games to 1
		* overtime, ** double overtime

Calder Cup Playoff Results
2002-03 Season (Bridgeport received qualifying round bye)
Round 1		Round 2
April 12	Bridgeport 2 at Manchester 1	April 26	Bridgeport 1 at Binghamton 2*
April 13	Bridgeport 6 at Manchester 3	April 27	Bridgeport 2 at Binghamton 3
April 18	Manchester 3 at Bridgeport 6	April 30	Binghamton 0 at Bridgeport 5
Bridgeport wins series 3 games to 0		May 2	Binghamton 2 at Bridgeport 3
		May 3	Bridgeport 0 at Binghamton 3
		May 5	Binghamton 2 at Bridgeport 1
		Binghamton wins series 4 games to 2
* overtime

Calder Cup Playoff Results
2003-04 Season (qualifying round bye)
Round 1
April 15	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 4 at Bridgeport 5*
April 17	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 4 at Bridgeport 5*
April 18	Bridgeport 2 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3*
April 20	Bridgeport 4 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2
April 22	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2 at Bridgeport 1*
April 23	Bridgeport 0 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 5
April 25	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3 at Bridgeport 2*
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton wins series 4 games to 3
*overtime

Calder Cup Playoff Results
2005-06 Season
Round 1
April 20	Bridgeport 2 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 1
April 22	Bridgeport 3 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2
April 23	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3 at Bridgeport 2*
April 25	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 1 at Bridgeport 0
April 26	Bridgeport 3 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2*
April 28	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3 at Bridgeport 2*
April 29	Bridgeport 4 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 5
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton wins series 4 games to 3
*overtime

2001-02 Scoring - Bridgeport

                             Regular Season          Playoffs
 # Player Name            GP    G    A  Pts  PIM  GP   G   A Pts PIM
21 Trent Hunter           80   30   35   65   30  17   8  11  19   6
28 Jason Krog             64   26   36   62   13  20  10  13  23   8
 2 Ray Giroux             79   13   40   53   73  19   1   7   8  20
12 Juraj Kolnik           67   18   30   48   40  20   7  14  21  17
32 Chris Armstrong        80   10   38   48   49  20   3   8  11   4
73 Jason Podollan         65   21   24   45   63  20   5   4   9  32
44 Marko Tuomainen        76   11   34   45   82  20   1   2   3   6
51 David Roche            48   25   14   39   64  20   3   0   3  20
26 Justin Mapletoft       80   13   20   33   60  20   7  10  17  23
17 Matt Higgins           43   13   19   32   24  15   1   0   1   6
16 Raffi Torres           59   20   10   30   45  20   8   9  17  26
19 Ben Guite              68   12   18   30   39   -   -   -   -   -
23 David Morisset         62    9   10   19   46  19   0   1   1  13
 3 Ray Schultz            69    0   15   15  205  19   1   3   4  18
36 Evgeny Korolev         53    5    8   13   30   -   -   -   -   -
 6 Ken Sutton             28    1   10   11   51  20   2   8  10  24
24 Branislav Mezei        59    1    9   10  137  20   0   1   1  48
   Pat Leahy, Hershey      9    1    2    3    8   -   -   -   -   -
              Portland     9    1    1    2    8   -   -   -   -   -
33            Bridgeport  14    2    2    4    2  20   3   4   7   4
              Totals      32    4    5    9   18  20   3   4   7   4
33 Nick Smith             22    3    6    9    4   -   -   -   -   -
10 Bob Lachance           17    2    7    9   12   -   -   -   -   -
   Scott Ricci, Milwaukee  3    0    0    0    0   -   -   -   -   -
                Prov      26    0    2    2    9   -   -   -   -   -
 8              Bpt       24    1    3    4    8  18   0   0   0   2
                 Totals   53    1    5    6   17  18   0   0   0   2
49 Eric Godard            67    1    4    5  198  20   0   4   4  30
 1 Rick DiPietro (G)      59    0    3    3   35  20   0   1   1   6
14 Matt Libby             15    1    1    2   12   -   -   -   -   -
17 Marco Charpentier      16    1    1    2    2   -   -   -   -   -
 5 Marko Kiprusoff         9    0    2    2    0   -   -   -   -   -
 7 Dick Tarnstrom          9    0    2    2    2   -   -   -   -   -
14 Alexander Kharitonov    2    1    0    1    0   -   -   -   -   -
 5 Daniel Tetrault         6    0    1    1    0   -   -   -   -   -
 8 Doug Nolan              7    0    1    1    4   -   -   -   -   -
27 David St. Germain (G)   1    0    0    0    0   -   -   -   -   -
 8 Petr Mika               1    0    0    0    0   -   -   -   -   -
10 Ted Donato              1    0    0    0    0   -   -   -   -   -
19 Ryan Gillis             3    0    0    0    0   -   -   -   -   -
*5 Chris Aldous            3    0    0    0    4   -   -   -   -   -
27 Dusan Salficky (G)      4    0    0    0    2   -   -   -   -   -
33 Graham Belak            7    0    0    0    5   -   -   -   -   -
   Matt Eldred, Milwaukee  2    0    0    0    6   -   -   -   -   -
35              Bridgeport 5    0    0    0    6   -   -   -   -   -
                Totals     7    0    0    0   12   -   -   -   -   -
 8 Mat Snesrud            13    0    0    0    4   -   -   -   -   -
35 Steve Valiquette (G)   20    0    0    0    2   1   0   0   0   0
   Tomi Pettinen           -    -    -    -    -   9   0   1   1   0
   Konstantin Kalmikov     -    -    -    -    -   2   0   0   0   0
------------------------------------------------  ------------------
Totals    240  403  643 1353


Goaltender                   GP  Min  GA    GAA  W  L  T  EN SO
---------------------------------------------------------------
Rick DiPietro                59 3472 134   2.32 30 22  7   5  4
Steve Valiquette             20 1071  45   2.52 10  5  1   1  2
Dusan Salficky                4  239   4   1.00  3  1  0   0  1
David St. Germain             1   59   3   3.04  0  1  0   0  0

2002-03 Scoring - Bridgeport

                   Regular Season         Playoffs
 # Player Name           GP    G    A  Pts  PIM  GP   G   A Pts PIM
21 Trent Hunter          70   30   41   71   39   9   7   4  11  10
 7 Eric Manlow           62   19   40   59   58   9   0   6   6   2
   Justin Papineau, Wor  44   21   17   38   42   -   -   -   -   -
47                  Bri   5    7    1    8    4   7   1   3   4   7
                    Tot  49   28   18   46   46   7   1   3   4   7
27 Brandon Smith         63    9   32   41   37   9   1   3   4   5
26 Justin Mapletoft      63   13   26   39   47   7   1   2   3   6
76 Jeff Hamilton         67   22   16   38   35   9   3   3   6   0
16 Raffi Torres          49   17   15   32   54   -   -   -   -   -
14 Martin Chabada        66   17   13   30   50   9   3   4   7   4
22 Daniel Tkaczuk        69    9   18   27   44   9   3   7  10  18
20 Jeremy Adduono        54   13   13   26   14   9   2   5   7   2
   Mike Souza, Norfolk    5    2    2    4    7   -   -   -   -   -
10             Bri       59    7   15   22   89   9   0   1   1  12
               Totals    64    9   17   26   96   9   0   1   1  12
28 Alan Letang           70    3   21   24   21   8   1   0   1   0
17 Matt Higgins          45   11   12   23   30   2   0   0   0   2
11 Mattias Weinhandl     23    9   12   21   14   -   -   -   -   -
 9 Blaine Down           54    8   13   21   30   9   0   0   0  21
19 Konstantin Kalmikov   60   10    9   19   12   5   0   0   0   5
44 Sven Butenschon       36    3   13   16   58   9   3   6   9   6
32 Alain Nasreddine      67    3    9   12  114   9   0   0   0  27
 4 Ray Schultz           51    2    8   10  105   9   1   0   1  14
 8 Tomi Pettinen         75    1    8    9   56   9   0   0   0  17
12 Kevin Mitchell        18    1    4    5   16   -   -   -   -   -
49 Eric Godard           46    2    2    4  199   6   0   0   0  16
29 Rick DiPietro (G)     34    0    4    4   12   5   0   1   1   4
   Jody Robinson, Roch    9    0    1    1    8   -   -   -   -   -
24                Bri    28    0    3    3   24   1   0   0   0  10
                  Tot    37    0    4    4   32   1   0   0   0  10
12 Radek Martinek         3    0    3    3    2   -   -   -   -   -
 3 Daniel Tetrault       28    0    3    3   47   -   -   -   -   -
23 Marco Charpentier     16    1    1    2    6   -   -   -   -   -
12 J.F. Caudron           2    1    0    1    0   -   -   -   -   -
31 Nicholas Bilotto       4    1    0    1    2   -   -   -   -   -
23 Konrad McKay           3    0    1    1   11   -   -   -   -   -
   Scott Stirling, Wor    1    0    0    0    0   -   -   -   -   -
29                 Bri   10    0    1    1    2   -   -   -   -   -
                   Tot   11    0    1    1    2   -   -   -   -   -
53 Graham Belak          30    0    1    1   60   2   0   0   0   0
   Marco Emond (G)        1    0    0    0    0   -   -   -   -   -
   Doug Schmidt           1    0    0    0    2   -   -   -   -   -
 5 Mike Gaffney           3    0    0    0    4   -   -   -   -   -
37 David St. Germain (G)  5    0    0    0    0   -   -   -   -   -
 5 Jean-Francois David    6    0    0    0    0   -   -   -   -   -
22 Dustin Wood            6    0    0    0    2   -   -   -   -   -
24 Kevin Bolibruck       20    0    0    0   22   -   -   -   -   -
40 Steve Valiquette (G)  34    0    0    0    0   4   0   0   0   0
   Tyler Rennette         -    -    -    -    -   2   0   0   0   0
   Adam Edinger           -    -    -    -    -   2   0   0   0   0
 Bench   80                  28   9
-----------------------------------------------  ------------------
Totals   219  358  577 1350
 
 
Goaltenders                  GP  Min  GA    GAA  W  L  T  EN SO
---------------------------------------------------------------
Rick DiPietro                34 2044  73   2.14 16 10  8   4  3
Steve Valiquette             34 1962  86   2.63 15 14  3   1  2
Scott Stirling               10  572  23   2.41  8  2  0   0  0
David St. Germain             5  270  10   2.22  1  3  0   0  0
Marco Emond                   1    5   1  11.25  0  0  0   0  0

2003-04 Scoring - Bridgeport

                         Regular Season          Playoffs
 # Player Name            GP    G    A  Pts  PIM  GP   G   A Pts PIM
18 Jeff Hamilton          67   43   25   68   26   7   4   0   4   4
47 Ryan Kraft             74   15   21   36   20   6   2   2   4   0
23 Derek Bekar            76   24   11   35   57   3   2   2   4   0
 7 Eric Manlow            40    8   27   35   16   1   0   0   0   2
19 Rob Collins            75    9   23   32   42   7   3   5   8  10
16 Kevin Colley           78   12   19   31  122   3   1   0   1  12
27 Brandon Smith          74    5   23   28   39   7   1   3   4   9
 6 Martin Kariya          70    8   17   25   16   7   0   1   1   2
15 Ben Guite              79    6   18   24   73   7   0   0   0   6
26 Justin Mapletoft       36   10   13   23   59   -   -   -   -   -
 9 Blaine Down            51    6   13   19   34   4   0   1   1   6
12 Cail MacLean           61    6   10   16   16   7   1   0   1   0
 2 Cole Jarrett           59    2   14   16   38   -   -   -   -   -
   Mike Souza, Portland   27    5    5   10   16   -   -   -   -   -
45             Bridgeport 14    4    1    5   22   4   0   1   1   2
               Totals     41    9    6   15   38   4   0   1   1   2
28 Alan Letang            76    1   13   14   18   7   1   1   2   4
   Steve Webb, Wilkes     30    4    7   11   48   -   -   -   -   -
20             Bridgeport  7    0    1    1   29   5   0   0   0   4
               Totals     37    4    8   12   77   5   0   0   0   4
11 Mattias Weinhandl      10    3    6    9   10   -   -   -   -   -
 8 Tomi Pettinen          71    1    8    9   37   7   1   0   1   0
37 Mattias Timander       35    2    6    8   12   -   -   -   -   -
   Randy Perry, Utah       2    0    0    0    0   -   -   -   -   -
                Manch     24    1    5    6   12   -   -   -   -   -
 3              Bri        1    0    1    1    2   3   0   1   1   0
                Totals    27    1    6    7   14   3   0   1   1   0
32 Alain Nasreddine       53    1    6    7   70   -   -   -   -   -
 4 Jody Robinson          73    1    6    7   86   7   1   1   2   6
24 Luke Curtin            10    1    5    6    6   7   0   3   3   6
37 Brent Gauvreau         12    3    2    5    8   -   -   -   -   -
14 Martin Chabada         10    2    3    5    0   -   -   -   -   -
45 Evan Cheverie          12    3    0    3   10   -   -   -   -   -
53 Graham Belak           72    1    2    3  220   7   0   1   1  29
11 Wes Goldie              2    1    0    1    0   -   -   -   -   -
   Mike Bayrack, Norfolk   1    0    1    1    0   -   -   -   -   -
11               Bri       1    0    0    0    0   2   0   0   0   2
                 Totals    2    0    1    1    0   2   0   0   0   2
22 Vincent Macri           3    0    1    1    5   -   -   -   -   -
22 Preston Mizzi           4    0    1    1    4   -   -   -   -   -
37 Sven Butenschon         5    0    1    1    4   -   -   -   -   -
37 Steve Munn              6    0    1    1   11   4   0   0   0   4
   Jay Leach, Providence   3    0    0    0    4   -   -   -   -   -
44            Bridgeport  23    0    1    1   33   7   0   1   1  10
              Totals      26    0    1    1   37   7   0   1   1  10
   Scott Stirling, Port    1    0    0    0    0   -   -   -   -   -
35                  Bri    1    0    0    0    0   -   -   -   -   -
                    Tot    2    0    0    0    0   -   -   -   -   -
33 Joe Dusbabek            2    0    0    0    0   -   -   -   -   -
14 Chris Lynch             2    0    0    0    0   -   -   -   -   -
29 Rick DiPietro (G)       2    0    0    0    2   -   -   -   -   -
 3 Aaron Power             4    0    0    0    7   -   -   -   -   -
49 Eric Godard             7    0    0    0   13   -   -   -   -   -
31 Wade Dubielewicz (G)   33    0    0    0    2   3   0   0   0   0
34 Dieter Kochan (G)      45    0    0    0    2   4   0   0   0   0
   Sean Bergenheim         -    -    -    -    -   7   2   3   5  10
------------------------------------------------  ------------------
Totals    178  299  477 1171
 
 
Player                       GP  Min  GA    GAA  W  L  T  EN SO
---------------------------------------------------------------
Dieter Kochan                45 2728  85   1.87 20 17  7   0  6
Wade Dubielewicz             33 1959  45   1.38 20  8  5   0  9
Rick DiPietro                 2  119   3   1.51  0  2  0   0  0
Scott Stirling                1   60   0   0.00  1  0  0   0  1

Bridgeport Sound Tigers 2004-05 Scoring

Bridgeport Sound Tigers 2005-06 Scoring

Top 5 All-Time Scorers (2001-08)
Player	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
Rob Collins	220	53	110	163	163
Jeff Hamilton	173	89	66	155	89
Steve Regier	290	61	89	150	234
Trent Hunter	150	60	76	136	69
Jeff Tambellini	107	68	67	135	84

Team Records

Most Career Goals Scored: 89, Jeff Hamilton
Most Career Assists: 110, Rob Collins
Most Career Points: 163, Rob Collins
Most Career Penalty Minutes: 705, Eric Godard
Most Career Games Played: 290, Steve Regier
Most Seasons: 4, Justin Mapletoft, Wade Dubielewicz, Steve Regier

Most Career Points by a Defenseman: 71, Bruno Gervais

Most points in a season: 76, Jeff Tambellini 2007-08
Most Goals in a season: 43, Jeff Hamilton 2003-04
Most assists in a season: 48, Rob Collins 2005-06
Most PIM in a season: 295, Eric Godard 2004-05

Most Goals in a game: 4, Sean Bergenheim, Feb. 22, 2006 vs. Hartford
Most Pts in a game: 5, Comeau, 10/13/06 at Hfd; Tambellini, 4/5/08 vs. Phi

Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Trophy (AHL - Rookie of the Year)
Wade Dubielewicz - 2003-04

Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Trophy (AHL - Fewest goals against)
Wade Dubielewicz & Dieter Kochan - 2003-04

Jeremy Colliton

First Round Picks
G Rick DiPietro LW Raffi Torres D Branislav Mezei C/LW Sean Bergenheim C/RW Robert Nilsson C Ryan O'Marra C Petteri Nokelainen	RW Kyle Okposo

Top Performers
Jeff Hamilton	Wade Dubielewicz
Justin Mapletoft

Rob Collins

Calder Cup playoffs 2002

In their first year of existence the Bridgeport Sound Tigers finished with the best record in the American Hockey League accumulating 43 wins and 98 points. After receiving a bye through the qualifying round the Sound Tigers knocked off the Manitoba Moose, swept the St. John's Maple Leafs, and defeated the Hamilton Bulldogs in a very exciting series which went 7 games. Pictured below, it took a valiant effort in the deciding game which included a thrilling goal scored by former Islander first round pick Raffi Torres. Many believed the Sound Tigers would go on to take the Calder Cup against the Chicago Wolves who finished fourth in the West Division with 86 points during the regular season. The Wolves had played a lot of hockey up to this point, even having to play an extra qualifying round playoff series against the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks. Chicago went on to defeat the Grand Rapids Griffins, a 7 game series against the Syracuse Crunch, and the Houston Aeros to reach the finals against the Sound Tigers. Bridgeport managed to split the first two games at home, the Arena at Harbor Yard. But they just couldn't get things together like they did through the first three rounds. Plus, they had to deal with the dreaded 2-3-2 playoff format which sometimes can hurt the home team if they only split the first two games at home. And that's exactly what happened as the Wolves took the next three games at home including a nail biting 3-2 double overtime win over the Sound Tigers in Game 5 June 2, 2002.

The Wolves ended the Sound Tigers bid to win the Calder Cup in their inaugural season. Top players that ended the Sound Tigers hopes were Rob Brown(33 points in 25 games), Steve Maltais, Kamil Piros, Yuri Butsayev, J.P. Vigier, the late Dan Snyder, Bob Nardella, Andreas Karlsson and Pasi Nurminen in goal. Also contributing were young Atlanta Thrasher prospects Kiril Safranov, Brian Pothier and Garnet Exelby along with former Islanders Dan Plante and David Harlock. As for the Sound Tigers, getting them to the Calder Cup Finals was Jason Krog, Trent Hunter, Juraj Kolnik, Chris Armstrong, Justin Mapletoft, Torres, Ken Sutton and Rick DiPietro in net.

Calder Cup playoffs 2003

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers returned during their second season and finished only four points off their previous output with 40 wins and 94 points. In the first round the Sound Tigers went up against the Manchester Monarchs who had 97 points during the regular season. The series was no contest and the Sound Tigers swept through them in a best of five series. A great start as Bridgeport looked to repeat their magic run of 2002. Unfortunately it fell apart in the second round against the Binghamton Senators, farm club of the Ottawa Senators.

The series started off with two losses in Binghamton, but the Sound Tigers bounced back with two home wins of their own to tie the series at two games a piece. Pictured above is Trent Hunter's dramatic game winning third period goal. The Tigers were not able to carry over the momentum when they returned to Binghamton for game 5 and lost 3-0. Back at the Arena at Harbor Yard for game 6, the Sound Tigers fell 2-1 and their playoff run came to an abrupt end. The Senators went on to lose in the third round in 5 games to the Hamilton Bulldogs(who subsequently went on to lose the Calder Cup to the Houston Aeros). The Sound Tigers could not get enough contribution among their ranks as only Hunter and free agent signing Daniel Tkachuk really showed up. Rick DiPietro was the goaltender of record once again for the Sound Tigers. Helping to take down the Sound Tigers for the Senators were Brad Smyth, Antoine Vermette, former NHL'er Joe Murphy, Bob Wren, former Chicago Wolve Brian Pothier, Chris Kelly, Josh Langfeld and Ray Emery in goal. Jason Spezza was sent down by the Ottawa Senators for two games against the Sound Tigers and contributed 3 points.

Calder Cup playoffs 2004

The Bridgeport Sound Tigers had another great year under first year coach Greg Cronin, who took over for Steve Stirling after he was promoted to coach the New York Islanders. The Sound Tigers finished the regular season with 41 wins and 98 points, fourth best in the AHL. Bridgeport would face the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, farm team of the Pittsburgh Penguins. The NHL team in Pittsburgh has not made the playoffs in many years, but they had a lot of good young talent in their system. Wilkes-Barre finished the regular season 12 points behind the Sound Tigers with 86 points. On paper it looked like the Sound Tigers would take the Penguins and advance to the second round. And the script certainly began just as expected as Bridgeport jumped out to a commanding 3 games to 1 lead compounded on two overtime wins by identical 5-4 scores on home ice in game's 1 and 2. But the Penguins didn't give up and won their second game in overtime at Bridgeport in game 5. Game 6 saw Wilkes-Barre take a 5-0 commanding win to tie the series up at 3 games a piece. The Penguins tried Sebastian Caron and 2004 first overall pick Marc-Andre Fleury against the Sound Tigers in net, but it wasn't until they were down 3 games to one when they decided to insert former Islander draft pick Andy Chiodo in net. Chiodo sparked their comeback and in game 7 the Penguins defeated the Sound Tigers 3-2 once again in overtime to win the series on April 25, 2004. Amazingly five of the seven games in this series were decided in overtime. The Sound Tigers were devastated. As for Wilkes-Barre, they marched all the way to the Calder Cup Finals on Chiodo's back defeating the Philadelphia Phantoms and the Hartford Wolf Pack. Their Cinderella run ended though in the finals as they were swept by the Milwaukee Admirals for the championship.

Besides a great playoff by Rob Collins, and solid performances from Jeff Hamilton and newcomer Sean Bergenheim, the Sound Tigers did not have enough depth to to hold off the Penguins comeback. Justin Mapletoft was not returned by the Islanders to the Sound Tigers as he took part in the NHL team's first round loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Also, goaltenders Wade Dubielewicz and Dieter Kochan could not hold off the Penguins and coach Cronin did not help matters by rotating the two in net during the entire series.

So to recap the Sound Tigers playoff history since 2002, the team has taken a step back each year going from the Calder Cup Finals in 2002, to a second round defeat in 2003, and a first round loss in 2004. The trend continued into the NHL's lockout season of 2004-05 as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers failed to make the AHL playoffs for the first time in their brief history.

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