BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
UTICA, NY – The Hartford Wolf Pack handed the Utica Comets just their second loss of the season, 2-1, at the War Memorial Auditorium at the Adirondack Bank Center on Saturday before an SRO crowd of nearly 4,000.
The win kept the Pack (.607) within .10 percentage points behind the second-place Hershey Bears (.617) and just .50 ahead of the fourth-place Providence Bruins (.557).
On the Wolf Pack’s first power play, Ty Ronning was coming in via the back door on the right-wing side. He got inside on Ryan Schmelzer and sent a pass to Braden Schneider. The shot went off of Anthony Bitetto and past Utica goaltender Mareks Mitens at 11:45.
PACK MAKE IT 2-0
The Wolf Pack went up 2-0 as Michael O’Leary intercepted Tyler Wotherspoon’s clearing attempt for Utica and hit Cristiano DiGiacinto with a short pass in the middle of the ice.
Skating backward, DiGiancinto put a blind between his legs pass to Alex Whalen on the right-wing side. Whalen was open; a Quinnipiac grad snapped a shot just under the crossbar for his fourth season at 6:44. The goal would prove to be the eventual game-winner.
COMETS ONLY GOAL
In the third period, the Comets narrowed the gap to one as four of the five Comets’ players touched the puck.
First, Reilly Walsh, the son of ex-Springfield Indian Mike Walsh, kept the puck from exiting the zone. Then, Walsh found an open Nate Schnarr who saw Fabian Zetterlund open on the left-wing side. He, in turn, found Chase De Leo open on the back door on the right-wing. De Leo put a Grade-A shot on goaltender Adam Huska, who stopped the shot, but big Frederik Gauthier was standing on the doorstep and jammed in his third on the season off the rebound at 4:14 while the Comets were on the power play.
COMETS HOUND WOLF PACK
Zetterlund was almost a hero after cleanly picking the pocket of the Pack’s Matt Robertson in the Hartford zone deep along the right-wing boards. Zetterlund attacked the net on a breakaway. He tried a high-end move between his legs, but at his acrobatic best, Huska stopped him with his right arm to preserve the lead.
Referees Philp Kasko and Jason Deckard hit the Utica bench for a penalty. In addition, Utica Head Coach and ex-Hartford Whaler great, Kevin Dineen, was nailed for a bench minor for a Too Many Men on the ice at 17:04, which put a big dent in their tying goal efforts.
Huska stopped Gauthier, which led to Dineen launching a water bottle, causing a delay that went unpenalized.
THE GAME ENDS WITH A BRIEF SCARE
At 19:57, Braden Schneider took a roughing call setting us a three-second power play where De Leo, alone 15 feet out. He was stoned by Huska, who made a save with the buzzer sounding, ending the game in regulation and preserving regulation points the Wolf Pack needed.
Tanner Fritz and De Leo exchanged glares as the game ended, but nothing erupted.
LINES
Ronning-Fritz-Luchuk
Rueschoff-Richards-Khordorenko
Khordorenko-Liam Pecararo-Elmer
DiGiacinto-O’Leary-Whalen
Guittari-Bitetto
Schneider-Robertson
Zach Berzolla-Taylor
Huska
Wall
SCRATCHES
Brandon Fortunato
Sanchez
François Brassard
NOTES
Anthony Greco and Lauri Pajuniemi were summoned to New York to join the Rangers taxi squad in part to replace Tim Gettinger, Jonny Brodzinski, and Morgan Barron, who will play later tonight as a line in Anaheim against the Ducks with several more Rangers in COVID protocols,
DiGiacinto and Petrick McGrath had a brief chuck-fest about six minutes into the game in the first period.
The Pack went with eleven forwards for the second time in two weeks.
Ex-Pack Mike Lee (Hamden/Gunn School) signs a PTO with the Rockford Icehogs.
