The Bridgeport Islanders hosted their first playoff game Tuesday since 2021, but it could also be the team’s last-ever game in Connecticut before they move to Canada next season.

Last month, the New York Islanders announced their intent to relocate their American Hockey League affiliate team to Hamilton, Ontario. The relocation was later unanimously approved by the AHL’s Board of Governors, leaving Bridgeport without a professional team for the first time since 2001.

The team’s departure, in addition to creating a hockey void in southwestern Connecticut, freezes the internship pipeline for Fairfield University and Sacred Heart students interested in sports media and game-day production.

Students pursuing internships for next semester will now have to look at New York City or Hartford, both of which are at a considerable distance from the town of Fairfield.

“It’s going to be detrimental to that because if you do want to work with a professional sports team now, you either have to go to Hartford or you go to New York City,” said sophomore Olivia Filloramo, who works with the Bridgeport Islanders as a game day production intern.

Filloramo, a rugby player and sports business student, emphasized how the location of the Isles, a 10-minute drive to Total Mortgage Arena or a six-minute train ride to the Bridgeport Metro North station, allowed her to maintain her school, sports and extracurricular commitments while also interning with the hockey team.

“I think that’s taking a big hole out of the sports industry and wanting to break into it. Like you can get something on campus, but I think it’s definitely a little bit more difficult to try and get more experience in that way,” added Filloramo.

On campus, sports business or sports media students looking to take hands-on opportunities can work with the Stags Sports Network or Fairfield Athletics.

Senior Hailey Toles has worked for the Bridgeport Islanders since the 2024-25 season, when she started as a game day production assistant following an internship experience with the New York Rangers.

A similar experience of wanting to gain experience outside of campus sports motivated her to pursue an internship with the local AHL team.

“After my summer with MSG, I was like ‘I really want to keep this fire,’ I want to keep this going,” said Toles. “I love Fairfield Athletics and it’s great, but I want to find something else to do as well with my time.”

Toles credits some of the skills she knows on live game presentation to her two seasons working with the hockey team.

“From the day I started working at Bridgeport and I got trained on the different roles, it was hands-on like no other,” said Toles. “I think they gave me more responsibilities than I expected to have right away, but it has taught me so many things.”

Following her graduation from Fairfield, she will head to Indianapolis to work with the NCAA as part of their post-graduate internship program for graduates pursuing careers in college sports. 

“People don’t give enough credit to minor league sports. While it is the smaller version of the major leagues, there is so much value in everything you can learn there and that has been an incredible experience,” said Toles. 

Both concurred that the team’s presence in the area has an impact beyond the on-field competition, one that cannot be measured by goals or internship highlights.

“It really helped me get out of my comfort zone and find what I want to do,” said Filloramo. Next semester, she will lead a new Women in Sports club to help connect female students on campus with sports leaders.

For Toles, the years working with the blue and orange are a reflection of how sports serve as a mechanism to change and impact the lives of others.

“People go to sports to take a breath, to relax, to connect, and I love being a part of that,” she said, adding: “that’s probably one of the biggest things I’ve been able to take away because, while the Bridgeport Islanders are a little tiny, there are people in there that I will never forget being able to impact their days or their experiences.”