BY: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack will look to get back into the win column following Wednesday night’s heartbreaking overtime loss tonight as they return to action to face the Providence Bruins at the Dunkin’s Donuts Center.
The puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m.
Tale of The Tape
This season this game is the fifth of ten meetings between the Wolf Pack and the Bruins and the third of five meetings at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. It’s also the first of two meetings this month. The rivals will meet again in 14 days, on January 28th, at the XL Center in Hartford.
In the last meeting, the Bruins claimed the first regulation victory of the season series, blanking the Wolf Pack by a final score of 4-0 on New Year’s Eve. Oskar Steen paced the Bruin attack with three points (1 g, 2 a) on the afternoon, while Jesper Froden scored the eventual winner just 4:57 into the contest. Veteran Troy Grosenick made 17 saves for the shutout victory.
This season, the Wolf Pack are 2-1-1-0 against the Bruins, while the Bruins are 2-0-1-1 against the Pack. Both prior meetings in Providence, on November 13th and 19th, were 2-1 overtime decisions split by the clubs.
Wolf Pack Outlook
On Wednesday, the Wolf Pack dropped a 2-1 overtime decision against the Charlotte Checkers. Austin Rueschhoff opened the scoring with his fourth goal of the season 18:56 into the second period, but the Pack couldn’t hold off the Checkers in the final frame. Grigori Denisenko tied the tilt at 10:28 of the third period, then won it just 1:52 into overtime. The loss dropped Hartford to 1-2-1-0 in January.
Tanner Fritz leads active Wolf Pack skaters in points with 17 (4 g, 13 a) on the season. Ty Ronning, meanwhile, leads active Wolf Pack skaters in goals with eight.
Defenseman Nils Lundkvist, assigned by the parent New York Rangers on January 11th, made his AHL debut on Wednesday night and scored an assist in the loss. Forward Jacob Hayhurst made his Wolf Pack debut on Wednesday after signing a PTO earlier in the day. The Pack released defenseman Brandon Fortunato from his PTO on Thursday.
Bruins Outlook
The Bruins enter tonight’s game with a record of 13-9-3-1 following a 4-3 loss to the Bridgeport Islanders on January 5th. The Bruins jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Samuel Asselin and Froden, but the Islanders would storm back to score four of the game’s final five goals for the victory. Last weekend, the Bruins’ two games against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms were postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.
Former Wolf Pack forward Steven Fogarty leads active Bruins with 19 points (6 g, 13 a) on the season. Zach Senyshyn leads active skaters in goals with eight. Unfortunately, the Bruins lost Steen, their leading scorer, to the parent Boston Bruins to recall on January 4th. They did, however, gain goaltender Jeremy Swayman, assigned to Providence on Wednesday. He’ll make his season debut with Providence tonight.
Game Information
WATCH: AHLTV
LISTEN: https://mixlr.com/hfd-wolf-pack/
Join us this tomorrow night for ‘Decades Night’ at the XL Center! We’ll celebrate the top music and pop-culture moments from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. Thanks to our friends at CM Concessions, the first 1,500 fans will also receive a fanny pack. The puck drops against the visiting Laval Rocket at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. For tickets for ‘Decades Night,’ they are available at hartfordwolfpack.com.
