NY Islanders: Bridgeport Islanders AHL Schedule Released

The schedule for the NY Islanders AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Islanders, has been released as the team gets the action started on the road against the Rochester Americans on October 13. The baby Isles will play three straight on the road before their home opener against the Utica Comets at Total Mortgage Arena on October 21.

The B-Isles plays a 72-game schedule, limiting travel by playing primarily in the Northeast. They'll play 12 games against the Providence Bruins and the Springfield Thunderbirds, the most of any teams, split between home and away.

Some notable dates on the schedule are October 22, when the defending Calder Cup Champions, the Hershey Bears, come to town, and November 10, when the NY Rangers AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, make the trek south down I-95 to Bridgeport for the first time.

The B-Isles' 76 points (34-30-7-1) in the 2022-23 season saw them finish seventh out of eight teams in the Atlantic Division. After a blazing start to the season, the wins came few and far between in the season's later stages, as many of the team's top players were being called up to the NHL as the Islanders dealt with injuries. In total, 14 players played games for the NHL Islanders and the B-Islanders.

As changes have been made in the organization, the B-Isles are without their two leading scorers from last season, moving on from Chris Terry and Andy Andreoff. Terry will play with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL as Andreoff heads to Russia, signing with Sibir Novosibirsk of the KHL.

Perhaps the most significant change will be behind the bench as long-time Head Coach Brent Thompson heads to the West Coast as an assistant under Greg Cronin with the Anaheim Ducks. Taking over head coaching duties will be Rick Kowalsky, who served as an assistant under Thompson since 2021.

Bridgeport had two of the AHL's top-10 rookie point producers last season in Ruslan Iskhakov and William Dufour, who look to build on their fantastic first-year performances. Joining the two will be OHL Player of the Year Matthew Maggio, who was one of the CHL's top performers last season.

Bridgeport hasn't appeared in the AHL's Conference Finals since 2002, as they look to get back on track following a disappointing 2022-23 season.