| Bridgeport Sound Tigers | |
 | |
| City: | Bridgeport, Connecticut |
|---|---|
| League: | American Hockey League |
| Conference: | Eastern Conference |
| Division: | Northeast Division |
| Founded: | 2001 |
| Home Arena: | Webster Bank Arena |
| Colors: | Navy blue, orange, white |
| Owner(s): | Charles Wang |
| General Manager: | Garth Snow |
| Head Coach: | Scott Pellerin |
| Media: | Connecticut Post WPOP |
| Affiliates: | New York Islanders (NHL) |
| Franchise history | |
| 2001–present: | Bridgeport Sound Tigers |
| Championships | |
| Regular Season Titles: | 1 2001–02 |
| Division Championships: | 2 2001–02, 2011–12 |
| Conference Championships: | 1 2001–02 |
The Bridgeport Sound Tigers are an ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League. It has been the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders since its inception, and use the same team colors as the parent Islanders do. The team is based in Bridgeport, Connecticut and play their home games at the Webster Bank Arena. The "Sound" in the team name is a reference to the Long Island Sound to the south of Bridgeport.
Official Bridgeport Sound Tigers Website: http://www.soundtigers.com/
History[]
The Sound Tigers joined the AHL in 2001. The franchise's lease at the Arena runs until the end of the 2021 season. The team has generally been successful, recording only two losing seasons through the 2009 season, highlighted by a division championship and reaching the Calder Cup Finals, in which they lost to the Chicago Wolves four games to one, during their first season.
The franchise's first coach was Steve Stirling, and the team is currently coached by Pat Bingham. Among the Sound Tigers' players who have graduated to play for the New York Islanders are Trent Hunter, Rick DiPietro, Kyle Okposo, Bruno Gervais, and Sean Bergenheim, while other NHL players such as Jeff Hamilton, Eric Godard, Raffi Torres and Wade Dubielewicz have also played for the team.
Season-by-Season Results[]
Regular season[]
| Season | Games | Won | Lost | Tied | OTL | SOL | Points | Goals For |
Goals Against |
Standing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 80 | 43 | 25 | 8 | 4 | — | 98 | 240 | 192 | 1st, East |
| 2002–03 | 80 | 40 | 26 | 11 | 3 | — | 94 | 219 | 198 | 2nd, East |
| 2003–04 | 80 | 41 | 23 | 12 | 4 | — | 98 | 178 | 140 | 2nd, East |
| 2004–05 | 80 | 37 | 38 | — | 1 | 4 | 79 | 192 | 222 | 6th, East |
| 2005–06 | 80 | 38 | 33 | — | 6 | 3 | 85 | 246 | 253 | 4th, East |
| 2006–07 | 80 | 36 | 37 | — | 1 | 6 | 79 | 229 | 267 | 5th, East |
| 2007–08 | 80 | 40 | 36 | — | 1 | 3 | 84 | 225 | 240 | 5th, East |
| 2008–09 | 80 | 49 | 23 | — | 3 | 5 | 106 | 241 | 212 | 2nd, East |
| 2009–10 | 80 | 38 | 32 | — | 4 | 6 | 86 | 201 | 220 | 5th, Atlantic |
| 2010–11 | 80 | 30 | 39 | — | 4 | 7 | 67 | 209 | 256 | 7th, Atlantic |
| 2011–12 | 76 | 41 | 26 | — | 3 | 6 | 91 | 233 | 219 | 1st, Northeast |
Playoffs[]
| Season | 1st Round | 2nd Round | 3rd Round | Finals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 | W, 3–1, Manitoba | W, 4–0 St. John's | W, 4–3, Hamilton | L, 1–4, Chicago |
| 2002–03 | W, 3–0, Manitoba | L, 2–4, Binghamton | — | — |
| 2003–04 | L, 3–4, WBS | — | — | — |
| 2004–05 | Out of Playoffs | |||
| 2005–06 | L, 3–4, WBS | — | — | — |
| 2006–07 | Out of Playoffs | |||
| 2007–08 | Out of Playoffs | |||
| 2008–09 | L, 1-4, WBS | — | — | — |
| 2009–10 | L, 1-4, HER | — | — | — |
| 2010–11 | Out of Playoffs | |||
| 2011–12 | L, 0-3, CON | — | — | — |
Rivalry[]
The main (and instate) rival of the Sound Tigers are the Connecticut Whale, the AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers (the main rival of the Sound Tigers’ parent club, the New York Islanders) known as the Battle of Connecticut. They also have a very good rivalry with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ AHL affiliate. This is due largely to the fact that Bridgeport and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton are frequent playoff match-ups. They also are semi-rivals with the Hershey Bears, the Washington Capitals’ AHL affiliate.
Mascot[]
The lone mascot of the Sound Tigers is named Storm. Storm is an anthropomorphic blue tiger. He appears at home games sporting a white home jersey with the number 01. While Storm can usually be found exciting fans throughout the arena, he skates on the ice during periodic intermissions. Storm's appearance has changed since the team's inaugural season.