BY: Bob Crawford, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack (29-13-5-5, 68 pts.) won two of their three games this past week, to stay within two points of the Atlantic Division lead. After the Wolf Pack’s team-record 12-game home winning streak was snapped in a 2-1 loss to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday night, the Wolf Pack rebounded with back-to-back wins. Tom McCollum recorded his first two victories in a Hartford uniform, stopping 20 out of 21 shots in a 3-1 home win over Laval on Friday night and making 29 stops Saturday night in Allentown, in a 4-3, come-from-behind shootout win over Lehigh Valley. Team scoring leader Vinni Lettieri tallied the game-winning goal in Friday’s victory, his 22nd marker of the season and his sixth game-winner, and Steven Fogarty netted the deciding goal Saturday, in the Wolf Pack’s first victory in six shootouts on the year.
For the latest AHL standings, click here.
This week:
The Wolf Pack face their first three-game weekend since early December, starting with a 7:05 visit to Springfield on Friday night. Saturday night is “Hartford Hockey Heritage Night” at the XL Center, as the Wolf Pack host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at 7:00, and Sunday finds the Wolf Pack in Bridgeport for a 3:00 date with the Sound Tigers.
Friday, February 21 at the Springfield Thunderbirds (Florida) at the MassMutual Center, 7:05 PM
- This is the Wolf Pack’s fourth matchup against the Thunderbirds in three weeks, and Hartford has won five of the first six battles between the I-91 rivals this season. Their only loss in the season series was a 2-0 defeat February 5 in their last visit to Springfield, where the two clubs have split a pair of meetings.
- The 28-23-2-0 (58 pts.) Thunderbirds are coming off of a sweep of a two-game set in Charlotte, after having lost their previous three games and four of their previous six.
- Thunderbird forward Aleksi Saarela, a former Charlotte Checker, had a goal and two assists against his old team Sunday in a 4-3 Springfield victory over the defending Calder Cup champs.
- Broadcast – live with Bob Crawford on-line at hartfordwolfpack.com. Video streaming at theahl.com/AHLTV.
Saturday, February 22 vs. the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh) at the XL Center, 7:00 PM
- This is “Hartford Hockey Heritage Night”, as the Wolf Pack celebrates over 40 years of Hartford hockey history. A team of Wolf Pack and NHL alumni will be on hand, skating in a benefit game at 4:00, and the Calder Cup will be on display, along with a display of jerseys and other Hartford hockey memorabilia, courtesy of the Mei-Gray Group.
- The first 2,000 fans into this game will receive a free 2020 Wolf Pack Sonar bobblehead, presented by Xfinity.
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton makes its second visit of the season to the XL Center on this night, and the first was just this past Wednesday, when the Penguins knocked off the Wolf Pack 2-1, ending a franchise-best 12-game Wolf Pack home win streak. The Wolf Pack are 0-2-0-0 on the year against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
- Rookie defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph, who had scored only once in 39 previous pro games, netted both Penguin goals in Wednesday’s 2-1 win over the Wolf Pack.
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton lost back-to-back games after its win in Hartford on Wednesday, and the Penguins have dropped four of their last five overall. Head Coach Mike Vellucci’s club comes into the week four points out of the last playoff spot in the Atlantic Division.
- At this game and every Wolf Pack Friday or Saturday home game, fans are encouraged to come early for “Hockey Happy Hour” in the XL Center’s Coliseum Club. From 5:00 PM until puck drop, a $5 wrist band gives fans access to the “Chill Zone” of the Coliseum Club, which features an appetizer buffet and $2 beers, presented by Minuteman Press.
- Tickets for this game, and all 2019-20 Wolf Pack home games, are on sale now at the Sunwave Gas & Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, on-line at hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (860) 722-9425. Tickets purchased in advance for kids 12 or younger start at just $10 each, and all tickets will have a $3 day-of-game increase.
- Broadcast – live with Bob Crawford and Mark Bailey on-line at hartfordwolfpack.com. Video streaming at theahl.com/AHLTV.
Sunday, February 23 at the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (Islanders) at Webster Bank Arena, 3:00 PM
- The Sound Tigers have at least a standings point in four straight games (3-0-1-0) and five of their last six (4-1-1-0), but still trail the seventh-place Lehigh Valley Phantoms by seven points in the Atlantic Division.
- The Wolf Pack have won five of their six meetings with the Sound Tigers this season, but Bridgeport has a win and an overtime loss to show for its two previous home games in the matchup.
- Eighteen-year-old Sound Tiger forward Simon Holmstrom, the 23rd overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft by the parent New York Islanders, has three goals in Bridgeport’s last two games, and four in the last four, after lighting the lamp only three times in his first 32 North American pro contests.
- Broadcast – live with Bob Crawford on-line at hartfordwolfpack.com. Video streaming at theahl.com/AHLTV.
Recent Transactions:
Brandon Crawley – reassigned to the Wolf Pack by the New York Rangers from Maine (ECHL) February 11.
Joey Keane – recalled from the Wolf Pack by the New York Rangers February 14, and returned to the Wolf Pack later that night.
Pack Tracks:
Saturday, March 7, when the Wolf Pack host the Hershey Bears at 7:00, is Military Appreciation Night at the XL Center. The Wolf Pack will be paying tribute to all veterans and active-duty military for their service to our country, and the first 2,000 fans will take home a free Wolf Pack reversible drink koozie, courtesy of CT-DOT.
Each of the Wolf Pack’s Sunday and Wednesday home games feature the Wolf Pack’s “Click It or Ticket Hat Trick Pack”. The Hat Trick Pack includes two tickets, two sodas, and a large popcorn, all for just $40. The next Hat Trick Pack game is Sunday, March 1, a 3:00 battle with the Providence Bruins.
In partnership with the Hartford Chamber of Commerce, the Wolf Pack is offering “Suit to Sweater Wednesdays”, to wash away the mid-week work blues. Any fan showing a company ID at the Sunwave Gas & Power Ticket office can purchase Blue-Level tickets to Wolf Pack Wednesday home games for only $15 each (limit two tickets per ID). The Wolf Pack’s next Wednesday home date is March 11, when the Providence Bruins invade the XL Center for a 7:00 game.
Once again this season, fans can enjoy $1 hot dogs, and $2 draft beers and fountain sodas, at every Friday Wolf Pack home game, through the start of the second period, presented by Nomads Adventure Quest. The Wolf Pack’s next Friday-night home outing is March 6, when they entertain the Hershey Bears in a 7:15 PM game.
Wolf Pack home game tickets can be purchased at the Sunwave Gas & Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, on-line at hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (860) 722-9425. Tickets purchased in advance for kids 12 or younger start at just $10 each, and all tickets will have a $3 day-of-game increase.
To speak with a Wolf Pack representative about season or group tickets, or any of the Wolf Pack’s many ticketing options, call (860) 722-9425, or click here to request more info. To visit the Wolf Pack online, go to hartfordwolfpack.com.
TRACK THE PACK ONLINE AT HARTFORDWOLFPACK.COM
