BY: Bob Crawford, Hartford Wolf Pack
Hartford, CT, February 21, 2021 – Brady Lyle had a goal and an assist, and Jeremy Swayman made 34 saves as the Providence Bruins defeated the Hartford Wolf Pack 5-2 Sunday at the XL Center.
The loss was the second straight for the Wolf Pack after a pair of season-opening victories and dropped Hartford to 1-1-0-0 in two home games on the year.
Oskar Steen, Cameron Hughes, and Joona Koppanen also scored for Providence, and Zach Senyshyn added an empty-net goal. Paul Carey and Samuel Asselin had two assists apiece. Morgan Barron and Ty Ronning had the Wolf Pack goals.
SECOND PERIOD
After a scoreless first period, the two teams combined for three goals in the first 4:07 of the second, including a pair 25 seconds apart by the Bruins in the opening 45 seconds.
Steen put the Bruins in front at the 20-second mark, burying a pass by Anton Blidh from the right-wing corner. The feed found Steen at the right side of the slot, and his quick shot went past the stick side of Wolf Pack starting goaltender Tyler Wall and inside the goal post.
Hughes then doubled the lead at 45 seconds on a similar play. Carey dug the puck off of the end boards behind the Hartford net and passed in front to Hughes, who was uncovered and fired a shot underneath Wall from close range.
Barron got the Wolf Pack on the scoreboard at 4:07, with his second goal in four games. Patrick Newell carried the puck down the left side into the Bruin end and, with a penalty coming against Providence, slid it across the slot to Barron. He deflected it off of his skate to his stick and flicked it inside the post on the stick side of Swayman.
Lyle then restored the two-goal margin with what turned out to be the game-winner at 14:27. Asselin passed the puck from behind the Hartford goal to Robert Lantosi in the left-wing corner, and he sent it out to Lyle. His shot from the middle of the blue line went through a crowd of players and past Wall’s glove side.
WALL COMES DOWN
Moments later, Wall was lifted from the game and replaced by Dylan Garand, who would stop eight of the nine shots he faced in his first pro appearance.
The only puck to get by Garand was Koppanen’s second goal of the season, which increased the Bruins’ lead to 4-1 at 5:13 of the third period. Garand stopped Carey’s shot from the right-wing side, but the rebound went off of Garand’s stick right to Koppanen at the left side of the slot.
Ronning got that one back for the Wolf Pack only 2:01 later, at 7:14, taking a pass from Will Cuylle, moving down right-wing and beating Swayman’s catching glove with a snapshot.
Senyshyn put the game out of reach, though, with 24.8 seconds left and Garand on the bench for an extra attacker. Asselin moved the puck from deep in his zone to Senyshyn, who stepped to center ice, stayed out of Wolf Pack defenseman Tarmo Reunanen’s reach, and hit the open net from just outside the Hartford blue line.
The same two teams face off again in the Wolf Pack’s next action this Saturday, February 27, at the XL Center. Faceoff is 1:00 PM. Video streaming is available at theahl.com/AHLTV, and audio can be accessed at https://mixlr.com/hfd-wolf-pack.
Providence Bruins 5 at Hartford Wolf Pack 2
Sunday, February 21, 2021 – XL Center
Providence 0 3 2 – 5
Hartford 0 1 1 – 2
1st Period – No Scoring. Penalties-Lantosi Pro (interference), 0:15; Wolff Pro (fighting), 10:54; Geertsen Hfd (fighting), 10:54; Zech Pro (delay of game), 15:46.
2nd Period – 1, Providence, Steen 1 (Blidh, Lyle), 0:20. 2, Providence, Hughes 2 (Carey), 0:45. 3, Hartford, Barron 2 (Newell, Geertsen), 4:07. 4, Providence, Lyle 1 (Lantosi, Asselin), 14:27. Penalties-Geertsen Hfd (kneeing), 9:26.
3rd Period – 5, Providence, Koppanen 2 (Carey), 5:13. 6, Hartford, Ronning 1 (Cuylle), 7:14. 7, Providence, Senyshyn 3 (Asselin, Zech), 19:35 (EN). Penalties-Crawley Hfd (cross-checking), 9:38; Asselin Pro (slashing), 16:58.
Shots on Goal – Providence 9-10-7-26. Hartford 15-9-12-36.
Power Play Opportunities – Providence 0 / 2; Hartford 0 / 3.
Goalies – Providence, Swayman 3-0-0 (36 shots-34 saves). Hartford, Wall 0-2-0 (16 shots-13 saves); Garand 0-0-0 (9 shots-8 saves).
A- (None due to Covid Protocols)
Referees – Reid Anderson (49), Dan Kelly (45).
Linesmen – Eric Ernst (24), Luke Galvin (2).
