Bridgeport Sound Tigers Season Preview

By Steve Feldman
Welcome back for the second season of Bridgeport Sound Tigers hockey. The defending AHL Eastern Conference Champions are ready to take the ice and expand on last season’s success. This year sees a lot of new faces coming into town to team up with some fan favorites from last year. In the following you will find the 2002-2003 Sound Tigers schedule, the current promotional schedule, transactions, current roster, and a look at the first weekend’s games.

2002-2003 BRIDGEPORT SOUND TIGERS SCHEDULE

DATE		OPPONENT			TIME
10/11/02 @ Binghamton Senators 7:05 PM
10/12/02 vs. Norfolk Admirals 7:05 PM
10/16/02 vs. St. John’s Maple Leafs 7:05 PM
10/18/02 vs. Hartford Wolf Pack 7:35 PM
10/19/02 @ Springfield Falcons 7:35 PM
10/25/02 @ St. John’s Maple Leafs 6:05 PM
10/26/02 @ St. John’s Maple Leafs 6:05 PM
10/30/02 vs. St. John’s Maple Leafs 7:05 PM
11/01/02 @ Saint John Flames 6:30 PM
11/02/02 @ Saint John Flames 6:00 PM
11/06/02 @ Albany River Rats 7:00 PM
11/08/02 vs. Portland Pirates 7:35 PM
11/09/02 @ Hartford Wolf Pack 7:05 PM
11/10/02 vs. Binghamton Senators 5:05 PM
11/13/02 vs. Springfield Falcons 7:05 PM
11/15/02 @ Philadelphia Phantoms 7:05 PM
11/16/02 vs. Providence Bruins 7:05 PM
11/17/02 vs. Syracuse Crunch 5:05 PM
11/22/02 @ Syracuse Crunch 7:30 PM
11/23/02 vs. Philadelphia Phantoms 7:05 PM
11/27/02 vs. Manchester Monarchs 7:05 PM
11/29/02 vs. Springfield Falcons 7:35 PM
11/30/02 @ Lowell Lock Monsters 7:00 PM
12/01/02 @ Hershey Bears 6:00 PM
12/04/02 vs. Providence Bruins 7:05 PM
12/06/02 vs. Manitoba Moose 7:35 PM
12/07/02 vs. Philadelphia Phantoms 7:05 PM
12/08/02 @ Albany River Rats 4:00 PM
12/10/02 @ San Antonio Rampage 8:00 PM
12/12/01 @ Houston Aeros 8:00 PM
12/13/02 @ Houston Aeros 8:30 PM
12/14/02 @ San Antonio Rampage 8:00 PM
12/18/02 @ Hamilton Bulldogs 7:00 PM
12/21/02 vs. Lowell Lock Monsters 7:05 PM
12/23/02 vs. Hartford Wolf Pack 7:05 PM
12/28/02 @ Manitoba Moose 8:30 PM
12/31/02 @ Manitoba Moose 5:00 PM
01/03/03 vs. Hershey Bears 7:35 PM
01/04/03 vs. Hartford Wolf Pack 7:05 PM
01/08/03 @ Philadelphia Phantoms 7:05 PM
01/10/03 @ Norfolk Admirals 7:30 PM
01/11/03 @ Hershey Bears 7:00 PM
01/16/03 @ Portland Pirates 7:05 PM
01/18/03 @ Manchester Monarchs 7:35 PM
01/19/03 @ Worcester Ice Cats 4:05 PM
01/22/03 @ Binghamton Senators 7:05 PM
01/24/03 vs. Houston Aeros 7:35 PM
01/25/03 vs. Houston Aeros 7:05 PM
01/29/03 vs. Saint John Flames 7:05 PM
01/31/03 vs. Worcester Ice Cats 7:35 PM
02/01/03 @ Albany River Rats 7:00 PM
02/07/03 vs. Hartford Wolf Pack 7:35 PM
02/08/03 vs. Saint John Flames 7:05 PM
02/14/03 @ Providence Bruins 7:05 PM
02/15/03 @ Springfield Falcons 7:35 PM
02/16/03 vs. San Antonio Rampage 4:05 PM
02/18/03 vs. San Antonio Rampage 7:05 PM
02/19/03 vs. Albany River Rats 7:05 PM
02/21/03 @ Hartford Wolf Pack 7:05 PM
02/22/03 @ Springfield Falcons 7:35 PM
02/23/03 @ Binghamton Senators 6:05 PM
02/28/03 vs. Hershey Bears 7:35 PM
03/01/03 vs. Albany River Rats 7:05 PM
03/02/03 @ Albany River Rats 4:00 PM
03/05/03 vs. Manitoba Moose 7:05 PM
03/07/03 vs. Manchester Monarchs 7:35 PM
03/08/03 vs. Binghamton Senators 7:05 PM
03/09/03 @ Springfield Falcons 4:05 PM
03/15/03 vs. Springfield Falcons 7:05 PM
03/16/03 vs. Binghamton Senators 4:05 PM
03/19/03 vs. Springfield Falcons 7:05 PM
03/21/03 @ Hartford Wolf Pack 7:05 PM
03/23/03 @ Providence Bruins 4:05 PM
03/28/03 vs. Albany River Rats 7:35 PM
03/29/02 @ Manchester Monarchs 7:35 PM
03/30/03 @ Hartford Wolf Pack 4:05 PM
04/02/03 vs. Hamilton Bulldogs 7:05 PM
04/04/03 vs. Albany River Rats 7:35 PM
04/05/03 @ Hartford Wolf Pack 7:05 PM
04/06/03 vs. Hartford Wolf Pack 4:05 PM

Times and dates are subject to change.
All times are Eastern Standard Time

2002-2003 BRIDGEPORT SOUND TIGERS PROMOTIONS
DATE PROMOTION
10/12/02 Magnetic Schedule Giveaway, Championship Banners Ceremony
10/18/02 New Haven Appreciation Night
10/30/02 Trick or Treat Kids Club Event
11/08/02 Youth Hockey Appreciation Weekend, Red Cross Blood Drive
11/10/02 Youth Hockey Appreciation
11/16/02 Scout Weekend, Food Drive
11/17/02 Scout Weekend
11/23/02 March of Dimes Blue Jeans for Babies, Fairfield Appreciation Night
11/27/02 Food Drive
12/06/02 Faith and Fellowship Weekend
12/07/02 Faith and Fellowship Weekend
12/21/02 Teddy Bear Toss, Shelton Appreciation Night
01/03/03 Pride in America Weekend
01/04/03 Pride in America Weekend, Specialty Jersey Auction
01/25/03 Milford Appreciation Night
02/08/03 Stratford Appreciation Night
02/16/03 Danbury Appreciation Night
03/01/03 Trumbull Appreciation Night
03/07/03 Scout Spring Weekend
03/08/03 Scout Spring Weekend, Norfolk Appreciation Night
03/15/03 Islanders Fan Appreciation Weekend
03/16/03 Islanders Fan Appreciation Weekend, Specialty Jersey Auction
04/04/03 Fan Appreciation Weekend
04/05/03 Fan Appreciation Weekend

TRANSACTIONS
10/08/02 Rick DiPietro, Raffi Torres, Justin Mapletoft, and Eric Goddard returned on loan from the New York Islanders of the NHL.

2002-2003 BRIDGEPORT SOUND TIGERS ROSTER

NAME			POS	2001-02 Team
Belak, Graham LW BRIDGEPORT - AHL, Trenton - ECHL
Bolibruck, Kevin D Houston - AHL
Charpentier, Marco RW BRIDGEPORT – AHL, Trenton - ECHL
Chabada, Martin F Sparta Praha - CZECH
David, J.F. D Shawinigan - QMJHL
DiPietro, Rick G BRIDGEPORT - AHL
Down, Blaine C Barrie - OHL
Goddard, Eric RW BRIDGEPORT - AHL
Hamilton, Jeff C Karpat - Finland
Higgins, Matt C BRIDGEPORT - AHL
Kalmikov, Konstantin RW BRIDGEPORT, Houston, Hershey – AHL,
Louisiana – ECHL, Salavat Yualyev - RUSSIA
Kolnik, Juraj RW NY Islanders – NHL, BRIDGEPORT - AHL
Korolev, Evgeny D NY Islanders – NHL, BRIDGEPORT - AHL
Letang, Alan D Calgary – NHL, Saint John - AHL
Manlow, Eric C Boston – NHL, Providence - AHL
Mapletoft, Justin C BRIDGEPORT - AHL
Mathieu, Marquis C St. Georges - QSPHL
Naserdidine, Alain D Hamilton - AHL
Smith, Brandon D Cleveland - AHL
St. Germain, David G BRIDGEPORT – AHL, Trenton - ECHL
Terault, Daniel D BRIDGEPORT – AHL, Austin - WPHL
Torres, Raffi LW NY Islanders – NHL, BRIDGEPORT - AHL
Valiquette, Steve G BRIDGEPORT - AHL
Weinhandl, Mattias RW Modo Ornskoldsvik - SWEDEN
Wood, Dustin D Petrborough – OHL

UPCOMING GAMES
Friday, October 11, 2003 @ Binghamton Senators
This is the inaugural season for the Senators. This game could be a battle of goaltenders with Rick DiPietro who backstopped the Sound Tigers to the Calder Cup Finals last season and Mathieu Chouinard who backstopped Grand Rapids last season to the second best defensive season in AHL history.

Saturday, October 12, 2002 vs. Norfolk Admirals
The Admirals will be in town and should have with them the first ever French born player drafted by an NHL team, rookie forward Yorick Treille (Chicago ’99), will match up against the Sound Tigers Raffi Torres who broke out last year in the playoffs with 17 goals.

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS Saturday, October 12, 2002 – Magnetic Schedule and the Sound Tigers will be raising the Championship Banners.

Keep Skating
FELDMAN