Bridgeport Islanders Overcome Three-Goal Deficit to Win Finale in OT

Three goals up with less than 19 minutes to play, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton had every reason to feel secure. They had none left by the time Pierrick Dubé finished the job.

Dubé converted with 37.8 seconds remaining in overtime to cap a stunning four-goal comeback, lifting the Bridgeport Islanders to a 6-5 win at Total Mortgage Arena on April 9, their ninth consecutive home victory and a result that crystallizes what each team still needs to fix heading into the final stretch of the regular season. The evening carried an additional layer: it was Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's last-ever regular-season visit to Bridgeport, with the Islanders set to relocate to Hamilton, Ontario for 2026-27.

The question going into overtime was whether WBS (43-16-7-2) could reset after a third period that collapsed on them in minutes. The Penguins had barely survived a five-minute power play that drained energy and eroded what had been a commanding lead. In the extra frame, the puck management that anchored one of the AHL's best records all season went sideways at the worst possible moment, and Dubé was there to capitalize.

The unraveling had two identifiable fault lines. The first came just 1:55 into the third period, when Atley Calvert cleaned up a rebound to push WBS to a 5-2 advantage. Thirty-five seconds later, Joey Larson roofed his 17th goal of the season off an Adam Beckman feed to make it 5-3. The game had been declared; suddenly it was a game again. The second fault line was the five-minute major assessed to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, which handed Bridgeport an extended power play. The Islanders nearly let the opportunity expire before Liam Foudy redirected a rebound off Cole Eiserman in the final 60 seconds, netting his 25th goal and cutting the deficit to 5-4. WBS had gone from three goals ahead to one in the span of less than a full period, carrying that deficit and its psychological weight into overtime.

Daylan Kuefler had opened the scoring 92 seconds into the game, pickpocketing a defender and finishing unassisted for his 10th of the season. WBS built the lead methodically through five scorers: Finn Harding, Tanner Howe, Gabe Klassen, Harrison Brunicke on a four-on-four at 14:58, and Calvert. Both Henrik Tikkanen and Sergei Murashov made 22 saves apiece. The game was not decided by goaltending; it was decided by who managed the third period and who did not.

The loss does not erase everything WBS produced on the night. Mikhail Ilyin and Daniel Russell each posted assists in their AHL debuts, and Aidan McDonough became the first Penguin to reach 40 points on the season. But for a team with legitimate Calder Cup aspirations, a five-minute major converting into a three-goal swing is a film-room conversation that cannot wait.

For Bridgeport, the night carried something else. The franchise, founded as the Sound Tigers in 2001 and rebranded for 2021-22, will close out Total Mortgage Arena on April 12 against the Hartford Wolf Pack. The AHL Board of Governors has unanimously approved the move to Hamilton, Ontario, where a $300 million renovation transformed TD Coliseum into an 18,000-seat venue ready to host professional hockey for the first time since the Bulldogs left in 2015. Thursday's comeback did not just add a win to the standings; it gave the franchise's final chapter in Connecticut a scene worth remembering.