BRIDGEPORT -- There's no way to duplicate a hockey season, or a hockey team. Even if the Bridgeport Sound Tigers wanted to return this season's roster intact, it wouldn't play right: Too many players become veterans next season.

When the players began going their separate ways this week, after falling to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in five games in the first round of the AHL playoffs, the pain went beyond the gut-wrenching losses on the ice.

"It's always tough to lose like that, especially when we had such a great group of guys like we did this year," forward Tyler Haskins said.

"The feeling you have after you lose, it's hard to explain to people who don't know about the group. We've been together however many months. You see the guys pretty much every day. We got pretty close as a team." To coach Jack Capuano, that's why the Sound Tigers were as good as they were throughout the regular season.

"Were we the most talented? No. But we had the 20 right players," Capuano said. "Actually, 20-plus right players, because obviously, when guys went up, other guys stepped in and played well." How well? Bridgeport began its AHL tenure with a team that finished first overall in 2001-02; two years later, the Sound Tigers set records for defensive prowess that, given the changes in the game since 2005, could stand for years.

This team -- even taking out the effects of the shootout, new for 2004-05 -- finished with a better record than either of those teams.

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It was No. 1 in the league at home, where attendance was up.

"I feel like we surprised some people with the season we had, which feels good," said Jeremy Colliton, the only regular left from 2005-06, Bridgeport's previous playoff team.

"It's frustrating to not still be playing, which in our view we should be. (The Penguins) outplayed us. They deserved to move on, but a lot of things added up to what happened." Injuries -- Colliton's concussion, which hindered the penalty kill late in the year, among them --didn't help.

Haskins will require hip surgery. Leading scorer Mike Iggulden suffered a concussion in the playoffs; Sean Bentivoglio missed the last game and a half with a sprained ankle. Late-season addition Jon Sim scored every night with a bum shoulder and ankle.

"People have no idea what our guys were playing with," Capuano said. "Guys probably shouldn't even have been playing. I'm sure (the Penguins) were banged up; if you're not banged up at this time of year, something's wrong.

"But I'm not talking about banged up. I'm talking things that should have been two-to-four-weeks."

Even with that, the first four playoff games were decided by one goal; the last only became a 4-2 game in the last minute.

"You're never satisfied unless you win your last game, you know?" defenseman Andrew MacDonald said. "A first-round exit from the playoffs is not what we wanted. But you take the positives of the year. We had a great season in a really tough division."

MacDonald was one of several youngsters who thrived, making his NHL debut. He wasn't alone; Bridgeport used 47 players, and 22 also played at least one game with the New York Islanders.

Rookie goalies Nathan Lawson (who played with an injured shoulder late in the year) and Peter Mannino had stretches of success. MacDonald was paired with second-year defenseman Dustin Kohn, who wanted the challenge of facing other teams' top forwards. Trevor Smith scored 30 goals; Jesse Joensuu got to 20 in his rookie year.

"It was a big year for me, to establish myself as a full-time player in this league, and hopefully I did that," said Haskins, an unrestricted free agent, who split 2007-08 between Bridgeport and Utah (ECHL).

"I'll go and train really hard and try to pick it up next year, here or wherever it takes me."

The players under contract are mostly youngsters, and none is a goalie. Captain Mark Wotton and Joe Callahan, leaders on defense, are unrestricted.

However next year's roster shakes out, it will be hard-pressed to match what this team accomplished in the regular season, with 49 wins and a top-five finish in the league.

"There wasn't a game we didn't feel we could win," Wotton said.

"Even some games coming into the third period behind, we knew we could come out and win the game. There was the same belief in the playoffs. It just didn't work out."

Five questions for 2009-10 WHO'S BACK? -- The parent New York Islanders built a Bridgeport team full of young veterans, a deep team that could be competitive; even then, it probably overachieved. With a few more youngsters due to turn pro, could the lineup skew younger next year? Or will the Sound Tigers go for it once more? Some veterans probably won't return, if lucrative deals beckon in Europe. WHO'S IN? -- Fans may have received a sneak preview of next year's team with the arrivals of Justin DiBenedetto and Robin Figren (both signed) and Max Gratchev (unsigned), along with signed defenseman Mark Katic, who only practiced. Forward Matt Martin is another draft pick who could be here next year. WHO'S IN CHARGE? -- Given the second half of 2006-07, when he was more or less serving as head coach without the title, Jack Capuano has been in charge here longer than any other Bridgeport coach. Could he return to the Islanders as an assistant coach? (Capuano said he hasn't heard anything about that). Should he depart, assistant Pat Bingham would be a logical successor. WHO'S IN GOAL? -- Peter Mannino and Nathan Lawson both had exceptional runs and inconsistent streaks. Both are restricted free agents. WHAT NEXT? -- The league approved Philadephia's move (at least for a few years) to Glens Falls, N.Y., Tuesday, along with Quad City's move to Abbotsford, B.C.; Austin, Texas, also joins the league. The league has put on a brave face during the recession, and Bridgeport even increased its attendance by about seven percent, but what will the second full season in the downturn bring? -- MICHAEL FORNABAIO