A plethora of empty seats stood as the backdrop, giving the venue the feeling of another Islanders home game. But post-season hockey returned to the building after a two-year absence, though it wasn’t in the form for which the organization hoped.

To open the American Hockey League Calder Cup playoffs, the Islanders allowed its AHL affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers to play its first two home games at the Coliseum. The venue appeared too big for the event, with a respectable minor league crowd of 4,927 looking embarrassingly small spread out among the facility’s 16,237 seats.

Yet even in a 3-2 loss to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in Game 1 of the East Division Semifinals, Trevor Smith said playing at the Coliseum was a reward for the Sound Tigers who have not been called up to the Islanders.

“It’s an experience to be in the dressing room and be treated like an NHL player,” said Smith, who sported a bloody gash on his nose sitting just feet away from the large Islanders logo in the middle of the carpet. “They have all the [Islanders] trainers, all the equipment guys. It’s a nice atmosphere.”

Smith scored a goal and assisted on another, contributing to each of Bridgeport’s two goals. After scoring 30 goals in 76 games, the Sound Tigers leading goal-scorer in the regular season has already experienced the thrill of scoring a NHL goal in the arena during his seven-game promotion in the middle of the Islanders campaign.

With front office executives, especially general manager Garth Snow, paying attention to Bridgeport’s playoff performance, Smith said coming through in high-pressure situations can make a lasting impression.

“You make your career in the playoffs,” Smith said. “That’s what teams are looking for down the stretch. It’s an important playoff series for all the guys.”

At Harbor Yard, the Sound Tigers averaged 4,528 fans per game. Though that figure was just average compared to rest of the AHL, Bridgeport finished with a league-best 29-7-1-3 record at home.

Jack Capuano, the Sound Tigers head coach, said the experience was a positive. But he added that the location didn’t matter once the puck dropped.

“It’s still the same ice surface; it was a great crowd and a great atmosphere to play in,” Capuano said. “We know it’s going to be a tough task and hopefully it’s going to be a long series.”

Okposo played 35 games for Bridgeport last season after signing a professional contract to leave the University of Minnesota. The 2006 first-round pick didn’t play a single game for the Sound Tigers this season, as the 21-year-old was leading the Islanders in scoring during his rookie year, tallying 18 goals in 65 games.

The team moved Okposo down in order to get him postseason experience. It also is a move designed to keep him sharp for the World Championships, where he will represent the United States in the tournament that runs April 24-May 10 in Europe.  Okposo did not score against the Penguins.

Friday night, Okposo wasn’t the only familiar Islander who donned the white, orange and blue Sound Tigers uniform that looks very similar to the Isles road jerseys. Jon Sim and Jack Hillen were also in the lineup.

Like Okposo, Hillen just concluded his rookie NHL season. He scored one goal and added five assists in 40 games. The 23-year-old defenseman spent nearly half of the season in Bridgeport, logging 33 games for the Sound Tigers. Okposo’s situation is the exception while Hillen’s ledger is more the norm, with many players moving frequently back-and-forth the Long Island Sound.

Hillen said his ample time in the AHL makes the playoff experience valuable even as he spent a sizable portion of the season at a higher level.

“It’s extremely special for me,” Hillen said. “I felt like I was on two teams this year. I played equally on both teams. I was down in Bridgeport just as much and all the guys on both teams are just as important to me, so I want to win this more than anything.”

The last time the Coliseum hosted a professional hockey postseason game was in 2006, when the Islanders dropped Games 3 and 4 to top-seeded Buffalo in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. Buffalo won both games in Uniondale and the Islanders lost both of its home playoff games in first-round losses to Tampa Bay and Ottawa in 2004 and 2003, respectively.

Three home victories in the memorable quarterfinal series loss to Toronto in 2002 still marks the last time the Islanders won a home playoff game. Bridgeport will look to be the first professional home hockey team to win a postseason contest at the Coliseum in Game 2 Saturday. Opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m.

Kyle Okposo was in uniform, making him one of 14 players on the roster who spent time with the Islanders this season. But with no postseason for the NHL team this season, the Coliseum opened its doors to the AHL Bridgeport Sound Tigers for the first two games of the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Okposo, the Islanders leading scorer as a rookie, still has options remaining and the club sent him down to gain experience in playoff situations. But even the talented winger’s addition couldn’t help Bridgeport, which fell behind by three goals before its comeback attempt fell short in a 3-2 loss to the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins in Game 1 of East Division Semifinals.

Bridgeport looked a step slow for little more than the game’s first half. The baby Penguins scored two first-period power play goals, including a tally just 1:22 into the contest.

Trevor Smith, who scored one goal in seven games as Islander call-up this season, countered with a goal and assisted on another in in a 2:27 span to cut the deficit to one before the second intermission. Scranton goalie John Curry turned aside all 15 shots he faced in the third, making 30 saves in total to put the Penguins ahead, 1-0, in the best-of-seven series.

“We just couldn’t get a timely goal in the third period,” Bridgeport coach Jack Capuano said. “We hit a post and had an empty net-we just couldn’t get a bounce.”

Chris Minard put the Penguins on the scoreboard 82 seconds in against Sound Tigers goalie Nathan Lawson ( 22 saves). The winger appeared to whack the puck in with a high-stick and the in-house replays showed his stick was above the crossbar. But the AHL has no video replay system and the goal stood.

Dustin Jeffrey added a goal with 1:09 remaining the period, beating a screened Lawson off Luca Caputi’s crisp pass to make it 2-0. Caputi was on the other end of a good feed 10:58 into the second. Tim Wallace threaded a centering pass right to Caputi after the winger skated behind defenseman Joe Callahan, allowing him to complete the easy one-timer for a 3-0 Penguins lead. Jeffrey picked up the secondary assist, giving him a two-point night along with Caputi.

While Okposo was held off the scoresheet, Smith responded almost four minutes later and added the assist on Rob Hennigar’s goal. Smith led the Sound Tigers with 30 goals in the regular season and displayed those offense skills in front of an announced crowd of 4,927.

“We were getting the chances. I don’t think we were fatigued at all,” Smith said about needing to exert effort in forging a comeback. “We were there right to the end and it came down to a few bounces.”

Mike Iggulden dug the puck out the corner amid heavy pressure before passing it back to an open Smith in the slot, allowing him to bear Curry on Bridgeport’s 16th shot. Smith also picked up the secondary assist minutes later, setting up a give-and-go play between Iggulden and Hennigar that culminated with Hennigar using his stick blade to deflect a shot into the net’s open right side to make it 3-2 with a full period left.

Defenseman Jack Hillen recorded three of the Sound Tigers’ better third-period chances.  With almost five minutes remaining, he pinched in and tipped a rebound that came loose in the crease towards the goal line. Curry dived back and two defenders poked their sticks to deflect the puck out as Bridgeport was inches away from tying the score.

“I’m not sure if I missed it or it bounced on me,” Hillen said. “I got a little bit of it and when I went to hit it again and the guy’s stick came out and blocked it. It was a nice desperation play.”

Just minutes earlier, Hillen nearly tied it after intercepting a pass at the blue line before slicing through the defense. Curry prevented the defenseman from completing the athletic play, using his pad to redirect a hard wrist shot and maintain the one-goal advantage.  For good measure, Hillen’s shot clanged off the iron with 1:40 left.

“I was trying to get a shot to the net and it went off the guys’ stick and hit the crossbar,” Hillen said. “It just wasn’t going our way all night. A lot of guys had good opportunities. If we keep playing like that, though, it should be good for us the rest of the series.”

Unlike the NHL, playing three games on three consecutive days is common in the regular season. That grueling schedule extends into the playoffs, with Game 2 Saturday at the Coliseum before moving to Scranton on Sunday with the third game.

“It’s different,” Hillen said. “You don’t have to that in the NHL, but in college you play three-in-three. I’ve done it before. It’ll be no excuse. It’s not a big deal.”

The Wolf Pack were outshot 40-25 in the game.  Patrick Rissmiller also contributed a goal and an assist for Hartford, and Corey Potter and Bobby Sanguinetti had two assists each.  Sean Avery and Jordan Owens scored the other Wolf Pack goals.  The Pack equaled a franchise record with two shorthanded goals in the game.

The Wolf Pack were outshot 16-6 in the first period but came out of it with a 1-1 tie.  Alex Goligoski scored the game’s first goal on a Penguin power play at 5:57.  Former Wolf Pack Jeff Taffe found Goligoski coming down the weak side, and Goligoski beat Zaba from the left-wing side of the crease.

Avery got the Wolf Pack back to even at 16:57, with his first goal in a Pack uniform.  Avery fought off a Penguin checker on left wing and drove a rolling puck past Wilkes-Barre/Scranton netminder John Curry.

The Wolf Pack took the lead with the only goal of the second period, scored 1:44 in by Owens.  Mike Ouellette partially fanned on an attempted backhand, but was able to push the puck to Owens in front of the net.  Owens, who had missed the previous eight games due to injury, snapped the puck past the stick side of Curry for his 10th goal of the season.

The Wolf Pack broke the game open with three special teams goals in the third period, on only five total shots.

Moore beat Curry to the glove side for a shorthanded goal at 1:24, and then Rissmiller scored shorthanded at 10:53, stealing the puck from Goligoski and putting it off the post and in behind Curry.  Moore struck again at 13:36, completing the scoring on a power-play deflection of a shot by Potter.

It was the first multiple-goal game of the season for the Hartford captain Moore, and the victory improved the Wolf Pack’s record to a season-best eight games above .500 (31-23-2-3, 67 points).

Hartford Wolf Pack 5 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 1
Feb 25, 2009 – Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza

Hartford 1 1 3 – 5
W-B/Scranton 1 0 0 – 1

1st Period-1, W-B/Scranton, Goligoski 2 (Taffe, Caputi), 5:57 (pp). 2, Hartford, Avery 1 (Sanguinetti, Potter), 16:57. Penalties-Rissmiller Hfd (hooking), 4:24; Dupont Hfd (fighting), 8:31; Engelland Wbs (fighting), 8:31; Bissonnette Wbs (hooking), 12:40; Potter Hfd (hooking), 12:55.

2nd Period-3, Hartford, Owens 10 (Ouellette, Pyatt), 1:44. Penalties-Sanguinetti Hfd (tripping), 4:04; Fahey Hfd (hooking), 19:32; Dupont Hfd (roughing, roughing), 19:56; Richmond Wbs (roughing), 19:56; Taffe Wbs (roughing), 19:56.

3rd Period-4, Hartford, Moore 17 (Anisimov, Sanguinetti), 1:24 (sh). 5, Hartford, Rissmiller 8   10:53 (sh). 6, Hartford, Moore 18 (Potter, Rissmiller), 13:36 (pp). Penalties-DiDiomete Hfd (slashing), 4:45; Owens Hfd (slashing), 9:53; Engelland Wbs (cross-checking), 12:16; Goligoski Wbs (hooking), 13:36; Sugden Hfd (fighting), 13:37; Weise Hfd (unsportsmanlike conduct), 13:37; Bissonnette Wbs (fighting), 13:37; Parenteau Hfd (slashing), 15:17.

Shots on Goal-Hartford 6-14-5-25. W-B/Scranton 16-13-11-40.
Power-play opportunities-Hartford 1 of 3; W-B/Scranton 1 of 9.
Goalies-Hartford, Zaba 15-8-0 (40 shots-39 saves). W-B/Scranton, Curry 22-9-0 (25 shots-20 saves).
A-6,047
Referees-Nygel Pelletier (41).
Linesmen-Matt McNulty (26), Richard Leonard (2).

This is just the way the sports business goes these days as Therrien took the fall for the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins, after leading his team to the Stanley Cup finals last season.

“I owe it to the franchise and the organization to take the steps necessary that I think are best, and that’s what led me to do what I did,” Pittsburgh general manager Ray Shero said about the change.

Therrien will be replaced by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coach Dan Bylsma and it will be his job to turn around the Penguins.

The Pens are in worse shape than the Rangers. They currently sit tenth in the conference with 59 points with no sign of pepping up. But the Rangers are in a free-fall, with 66 points and sixth in the conference. The Blueshirts have just one win in the last eight games and some of the losses have been brutal.

Yet, none are as bad as yesterday’s 5-2 drubbing by the Philadelphia Flyers, where the Rangers let in a 5-on-3 shorthanded goal in the second period. The team is looking lost, and Renney may be the next coach to get the ax if something doesn’t turn around quickly.

“I take full responsibility for where this team is right now,” Renney said. “It comes with the position so my job is to correct this, get us winning, and getting us feeling better about ourselves.”

Renney is just trying to be captain of the ship and it’s not his fault that the personnel on the club have not jelled. This past summer it was general manager Glen Sather who gave the foolish contract to Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival has shown he’s not a $5 million a year player.

And when they signed Scott Gomez and Chris Drury in 2007, it was to have them play with front-line wings like Jaromir Jagr and Brendan Shanahan. As we have seen this season, neither can step up with the spotlight shine upon them.

Also, can you blame Renney for Sather signing so many back-end forwards? Dan Fritche was a bust and Aaron Voros has not become Sean Avery, who now may be back in a few weeks. Patrick Rissmiller was so bad that no team wanted him on waivers, although the cost would be minimal.

Frankly, the only reason why the team has a sixth place standing is the play of Henrik Lundqvist, who has been hung out to dry too many times by his defense.

Even the Ranger players don’t want to see their coach fall. “They’re not the ones on the ice,” Drury said of Sather and Renney. “We put the jerseys on. They give us guidelines on what our system is on what the scouring report is on what the game plan is [but] we’ve got to execute it. Clearly, a 5-2 loss at home we’re not executing.”

So you can’t blame Renney, but unfortunately he may not get a chance to turn it around. Although unfair, a coaching change may have to take place, with assistant general manager Jim Schoenfeld possibly taking the bench. A new voice may make the team respond in a positive way. It has worked in the past for a number of clubs, including the Mets last summer when Jerry Manuel took over for Willie Randolph.

It’s unfortunately if Renney does take the fall. He has done a tremendous job with the Rangers over the past three seasons and now – as this space has advocated in the past – deserves to have a chance to turn around the team.

But if Therrien’s firing teaches us anything, it’s that every coach is one step away from the unemployment line.

After blowing a second chance to tie for the Atlantic Division lead with a 3-2 loss to Lowell Friday night, the Wolf Pack (23-18-2-3) battled throughout against the Penguins, who had won three in a row to move into second place in the East Division.

“It was a little more fast-paced than the Lowell game,” said Wolf Pack left wing Brodie Dupont, who assisted on the Wolf Pack’s first two goals. “It’s tough playing teams that sit back. I’d rather play a team that’s in your face. It gets me into the game, too.

“We’d been playing for first place for a few games, and we haven’t been able to capitalize. But everyone stepped up tonight and played a good team game. We did all the little things we had to and were finally able to put the nail in the coffin in the third. After the second goal, we kept building off that, and it’s real important that once you get the momentum, you keep coming.”

Anisimov, named to the PlanetUSA All-Star team as a substitute Friday, broke a 1-1 tie on a power play when he scored at 1:37 after Brian Fahey’s shot from the left point was deflected to him by Dupont as he tied up two Penguins defensemen in front. The goal was Anisimov’s team-leading 21^st and extended his point streak to eight games (five goals, six assists).

“I’ve been beating Brodie’s drum for a couple weeks because his linemates (Anismov and P.A. Parenteau) show up with the big numbers on the scoresheet all the time, but Brodie is doing a lot of the dirty work,” Wolf Pack coach Ken Gernander said. “It’s a good line combination where everyone has his role, and they all work well together. Brodie goes unnoticed sometimes by lay people.”

Ouellette made it 3-1 at 7:52 as he took a centering pass from Tommy Pyatt and beat Adam Berkhoel low to the stick side from 30 feet in the slot.

After Wiikman (32 saves) made two stellar stops on 28-goal scorer Chris Minard and denied a wide-open Nick Johnson in the slot, Greg Moore scored into an empty net with 57.7 seconds left.

The Penguins (27-16-1-2) took a quick lead on their first power play when Mark Letestu skated out of the left corner and put a backhander past Wiikman at 3:39. Letestu scored one of the Penguins’ three power-play goals in regulation Friday night in a 4-3 shootout victory over East Division leader Hershey.

Four minutes after Letestu’s 13^th goal, Berkhoel came out to deny David Urquhart off a 3-on-2 and then made a good right pad save on Corey Potter’s shot from the right point.

Wiikman got his glove on former Wolf Pack center Jeff Taffe’s bid off a 3-on-1 with 3:40 left in the period, then Berkhoel stopped Parenteau’s close-in rebound bid after a strong rush and shot by Anisimov with 45 seconds to go.

The Wolf Pack tied it when Dupont got the puck to the point to Urquhart, whose shot deflected off Penguins defenseman Ben Lovejoy and past Berkhoel at 9:30.

Wiikman again denied Taffe on a 3-on-2 at 13:15, leaving the game tied headed into the third period, when the Wolf Pack tied their season high for goals in a period.

“I tried to explain to the guys (Friday) night that we couldn’t play a tick-for-tack chess match with Lowell and really needed pressure and extra effort, but we kind of got drawn into playing their patient, trapping game,” Gernander said. “But we and the Penguins are physical teams that play a similar forechecking, high-energy style, which bodes well for our team.

“It was a big bounce-back win for us with one of our better crowds. They were coming off a big, emotional win over Hershey, but I thought our guys really well. They have some very dangerous guys, and we did a pretty good job of containing them and creating our own offense. It’s a nice way to go into the break.”

Wolf Pack rookie defenseman Bobby Sanguinetti lost four lower teeth when hit in the mouth by a deflected shot by Lowell’s Brad Mills in the second period Friday night. Sanguinetti had two teeth replaced Saturday and will participate for the PlanetUSA team in the All-Star Classic skills competition tonight and All-Star Game Monday night in Worcester.

SUMMARY

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton        1      0     0  –  1

Hartford                               0      1     3  –  4

First period: 1. WBS, Letestu 13 (Jeffrey), 3:39, pp; Penalties: Owens, Hfd (interference), 2:24; Bissonnette, WBS (fighting), 8:36; Sugden, Hfd (fighting), 8:36.

Second period: 2. Hfd, Urquhart 5 (Dupont, Ouellette), 9:30; Penalties: Lovejoy, WBS (tripping), 4:32; Lovejoy, WBS (cross-checking), 15:00.

Third period: 3. Hfd, Anisimov 21 (Dupont, Fahey), 1:37, pp; 4. Hfd, Ouellette 8 (Pyatt, Fahey), 7:52, pp; 5. Hfd, Moore 13 (Rissmiller, Wiikman), 19:02, en; Penalties: Engelland, WBS (delay of game), 1:05; Lovejoy, WBS (tripping), 6:42.

Shots on goal: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 11-8-14_33, Hartford 11-9-15_35; Power-play opportunities: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 1-for-1, Hartford 2-for-4; Goalies: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Berkhoel 12-7-1-2 (34 shots-31 saves), Hartford, Wiikman 16-12-2-3 (33-32); Referee: Zac Wiebe; Linesmen: Luke Galvin, Dave Spannaus; A: 7,017.

For the second straight game, neither team could break the scoreless tie in the first period.  Lawson’s best save of the opening period came on a broken play that led to Felix Schutz getting behind both Sound Tiger defensemen and coming in alone on the Sound Tiger net-minder.  Schutz tried pulling the puck to his back-hand and sliding the puck under Lawson but the goalie’s pad was squeezed to the ice denying the Pirate forward and keeping the game dead-locked at 0-0 heading into the second period.

With a minute remaining in the middle frame, Smith would score the Sound Tigers’ first goal of the weekend to give the team a 1-0 lead, while on the power-play.  Kurtis McLean was able to foil a Portland clearing attempt and snap a pass to Andrew MacDonald at the left point.  The All-Star defenseman walked in and cranked a shot on Enroth that he made the initial pad save on but the rebound bounced to Smith in the right circle.  The team’s leading goal scorer caught the puck on his backhand and sent a shot over Enroth and into the left corner of the net for his 22^nd goal of the season.  Mike Iggulden had an assist on the tally.

Bouck would tie the score in the third 1:46 into the period with his fifth goal of the season at 1-1.  Colton Fretter and Kenny MacAulay had the assists on the game-tying goal.  Both teams would exchange chances but could not tally the game-winner in regulation, sending the game into overtime.

In the extra session, Mike Iggulden would take a one-minute high sticking penalty, just over a minute in.  Portland would control play but were unable to find the game-winner while on the man-advantage.  Only 13 seconds after Iggulden’s penalty would expire, Tim Kennedy would set up the game-winner on a back-door pass to Darche for his 14^th marker of the year, giving the Pirates the 2-1 win.

Lawson finished the game with 23 saves and was named the second star in the contest.  Enroth earned the win, stopping 36 of the 37 Sound Tiger shots he faced.  The Sound Tigers were 1-for-6 on the power-play and 5-for-5 on the penalty-kill.

Lawson faced 10 shots in the opening period and showed his agility with five minutes to play, breaking up a Portland two-on-one opportunity.  Pirates leading scorer was racing after a loose puck in the right circle but Lawson came diving out and poked it away.  Portland defenseman Matt Macdonald kept the puck in the zone and wristed a shot on net, but Lawson, while back-pedaling, was able to get his stick on the shot to deflect it wide and keep the game knotted at 0-0.

Mancari would open the scoring for the Pirates while on the power-play at the 12:37 mark of the second period.  Tim Kennedy chipped a puck out to Mancari at the left point where he fired a slap-shot through a screened Lawson to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead.  Marc-Andre Gragnani also had an assist on Mancari’s 18^th goal of the season.

Enroth would stop all 11 shots the Sound Tigers fired on him in the third period to cap his third shutout of the season.  The Swedish net-minder would finish the game with 29 saves and Lawson stopped 22 out of 23 Pirate shots.

The Sound Tigers finished the game 0-for-4 on the power-play and 4-for-5 on the penalty-kill.

Both teams will go right back at it tomorrow night at the Cumberland County Civic Center at 7 p.m.  The Sound Tigers next home game is Saturday, January 31 when the Pirates make their first trip to Arena at Harbor Yard.  Face-off is set for 7 p.m.  For tickets or information on how to receive discounted group tickets, contact the team’s front office at (203) 334-GOAL or e-mail info@soundtigers.com.