BY: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, CT – Austin Rueschhoff scored his second goal in as many games on Friday night, but it wasn’t enough for the Hartford Wolf Pack in Providence as they dropped a 5-1 decision against the Providence Bruins at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.
Justin Brazeau sent a pass cross-ice in front of the Wolf Pack goal that ended up in the crease area, eventually hitting the skate of Eduards Tralmaks. The Latvian forward’s redirect was enough for the puck to find its way behind Tyler Wall, breaking a 1-1 tie and giving the Bruins a lead they would not lose 9:23 into the second period.
The Bruins broke the ice 15:25 into the hockey game with a rebound chance. Samuel Asselin fired a shot that Wall was able to stop, but the rebound sat in front of the crease. Zach Senyshyn found the loose puck and buried it for his ninth goal of the season. Asselin and Jack Studnicka collected the assists on the tally.
The Wolf Pack evened the affair 6:23 into the second with Rueschhoff’s second in as many games. Tanner Fritz fed Aaron Luchuk, who found a streaking Rueschhoff coming down the slot. Rueschhoff was able to redirect the pass by Bruins’ starter Jeremy Swayman for his fifth goal of the season. The assist was Luchuk’s first with the Wolf Pack.
Just three minutes later, at 9:23, Tralmaks gave the Bruins the lead back with his fourth goal of the campaign.
The Wolf Pack penalty kill held strong on each of the first three Bruin opportunities but couldn’t hold off the fourth. Aaron Ness fed Jesper Froden in the far faceoff circle, and he stepped into a one-time shot that blistered by Wall to make it 3-1 at 16:27.
Providence extended the lead further with two goals in a span of 1:08. First, Senyshyn won a puck battle and placed a perfect centering pass onto the stick of Chris Wagner, who buried his sixth of the season at 3:29. At 4:37, the puck bounced off the wall and right to Justin Brazeau, who rifled his fourth goal of the campaign home to make it a 5-1 game.
The Pack is back tomorrow night at the XL Center when they host the Laval Rocket with a special puck drop time of 7:30 p.m. It’s also ‘Decades Night’ at the XL Center! We’ll be celebrating the music of the ’80s, 90’s, and 2000’s! Tickets are still available at www.hartfordwolfpack.com.
