CRAWFORD: CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR, PACK LOSE TO PHANTOMS IN SO

BY: Bob Crawford, Hartford Wolf Pack

Allentown, PA, April 13, 2019 – The Hartford Wolf Pack scored the first two goals of the game Saturday night at the PPL Center, in their second-to-last game of the season, but the Lehigh Valley Phantoms battled back for a 3-2 shootout win.

Adam Huska made 35 saves for the Wolf Pack, who got goals from Ryan Dmowski and Lewis Zerter-Gossage.  Colin McDonald and David Kase scored for Lehigh Valley, and Matthew Strome had the only goal of the shootout.  Mike McKenna stopped 29 shots in the Phantom net and went 3-for-3 in the shootout.

“There was lots of compete in our game, guys playing on the right side of the puck, finishing checks, generating some scoring chances,” Wolf Pack head coach Keith McCambridge said.  “One of the things we wanted to get back on track was our d-zone coverage, and we felt like that was better tonight.”

The first period was scoreless until only 31.7 seconds remained in it when Dmowski scored his first pro goal to give the Wolf Pack a 1-0 lead.  After Vinni Lettieri tied up Lehigh Valley’s Byron Froese on a draw to the right of McKenna, Steven Fogarty pushed the puck to Dmowski at the right side of the slot.  He sent a backhand toward the net that went off of McKenna and just inside the goal post to his right.

The Wolf Pack were outshot 13-5 in the second period but were able to maintain the lead.

After Dmowski’s late first-period tally, Zerter-Gossage upped the lead to 2-0 only 2:42 into the second, with his second goal in four pro games.  Gabriel Fontaine won a faceoff to McKenna’s right and moved towards the front of the net, jamming the puck on goal.  McKenna fought that off, but the rebound was flipped in by Zerter-Gossage from the left side.

“It’s always nice for guys, when they come in, to get those goals early in their career,” said McCambridge.  Better balance, from top to bottom, in our lineup.”

The Phantoms got on the scoreboard with 3:56 left in the second, on a goal by McDonald.  T.J. Brennan slid the puck towards the net from the right point, Adam Huska made the save, but McDonald collected the rebound and backhanded it around Huska and in.

The Wolf Pack came close to making the 2-1 lead stand up, but Kase was able to even the score for Lehigh Valley with 3:29 left in the third.  He got by John Gilmour on the right wing in the Hartford zone and let go a shot from the bottom of the right circle that hit the inside of Huska’s right pad and found its way into the goal.

Both goaltenders stopped four shots in overtime, and McKenna denied Lettieri, Patrick Newell, and Gilmour in the shootout.  Strome, the Phantoms’ first shooter, playing just his sixth pro game, put a shot just inside the post on Huska’s stick side, for what turned out to be the difference-maker.

The Wolf Pack will finish the season Sunday in Hershey, taking on the Bears in a 5:00 PM game.  All of the action can be heard live on News Radio 1410 AM, and 100.9 FM, WPOP, and online at newsradio1410.com and iHeartRadio.  Video streaming is available at theahl.com/AHLTV.

Information about all of the Wolf Pack’s many attractive ticketing options can be found online at hartfordwolfpack.com.  To speak with a Wolf Pack representative, call (855) 762-6451, or click here to request more info.

Hartford Wolf Pack 2 at Lehigh Valley Phantoms 3 (SO)
Saturday, April 13, 2019 – PPL Center

Hartford         1 1 0 0 – 2
Lehigh Valley  0 1 1 0 – 3

1st Period-1, Hartford, Dmowski 1 (Fogarty, Lettieri), 19:28. Penalties-St. Amant Hfd (hooking), 10:21; Myers Lv (holding), 14:53.

2nd Period-2, Hartford, Zerter-Gossage 2 (Fontaine, Meskanen), 2:42. 3, Lehigh Valley, McDonald 13 (Brennan, Michel), 16:04. Penalties-St. Amant Hfd (fighting), 2:35; Myers Lv (fighting), 2:35; Froese Lv (hooking), 6:44; Newell Hfd (cross-checking), 6:55; Elmer Hfd (hooking), 16:50.

3rd Period-4, Lehigh Valley, Kase 8 (Willcox), 16:31. Penalties-Crawley Hfd (checking to the head, fighting), 1:19; Carey Lv (instigating, fighting, misconduct – instigating), 1:19; Wesley Hfd (roughing), 2:32; Strome Lv (roughing), 2:32; Wesley Hfd (hooking), 8:34; Wesley Hfd (fighting), 17:33; Goulbourne Lv (fighting), 17:33.

OT Period- No Scoring. Penalties-No Penalties

Shootout – Hartford 0 (Lettieri NG, Newell NG, Gilmour NG), Lehigh Valley 1 (Strome G, Knight NG).
Shots on Goal-Hartford 8-5-14-4-0-31. Lehigh Valley 9-13-11-4-1-38.
Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 0 / 2; Lehigh Valley 0 / 4.
Goalies-Hartford, Huska 1-4-2 (37 shots-35 saves). Lehigh Valley, McKenna 8-7-0 (31 shots-29 saves).
A-8,696
Referees-Beau Halkidis (48), Dan Kelly (55).
Linesmen-Jud Ritter (34), J.P. Waleski (14).