BY: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack scored with an extra attacker late in regulation time to force overtime against the Belleville Senators on Wednesday night at the XL Center but could not complete the comeback as the Sens scored a 3-2 victory in the first of four meetings this season.
Rourke Chartier turned out the lights just 68 seconds into overtime, completing the Senators’ second straight comeback victory after trailing through 40 minutes. Chartier took a feed from Chris Wilkie and darted towards the Wolf Pack goal, tended by Adam Húska on this night. Chartier cut in close, then lifted a shot over the shoulder of Húska for the overtime winner, his second goal of the night.
The Wolf Pack opened the scoring for the second straight game, as Anthony Greco scored the 100th career goal of his AHL career. Greco took a feed from Matt Lorito, who sent the pass through the slot area off his backhand. Greco quickly fired the puck by Filip Gustavsson for his eleventh tally of the campaign.
From that point on, scoring chances were hard to come by for both sides as the Wolf Pack and Senators engaged in a tight-checking affair. However, Belleville finally found the equalizer in the most unusual of ways, scoring 12:39 into the third period. Veteran defenseman Michael Del Zotto collected the puck behind the Hartford goal, then flipped it over the net and off the helmet of Húska. The puck trickled down Húska’s back before just crossing the goal line for his ninth tally.
Less than three minutes later, at 15:26, the Senators would strike again for their first lead of the game. It was Chartier on a breakaway following a Wolf Pack turnover this time. Chartier tried to fire the puck glove side but hit the goal post. The puck bounced off the post, then clipped the skate of Húska before trickling in.
Now trailing, the Wolf Pack went to work in the game’s final four minutes. With the net empty, Hartford evened the contest 2-2 at the 18:42 mark with Greco’s second of the game. Greco blasted a puck from the slot that cleanly beat Gustavsson, forcing the game to overtime and securing a point.
However, Chartier’s second of the night pushed Belleville over the finish line and gave the visitors the extra point on this night. Gustavsson made 27 saves for the victory, Belleville’s fourth in a row over the Pack.
The Pack is back at the XL Center for two games this weekend. First, the Wolf Pack host the Hershey Bears in a key Atlantic Division matchup on Saturday night. Then, puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. on ‘Military Appreciation Night, Presented by General Dynamics Electric Boat.’ The first 1,500 fans will receive a Wolf Pack T-shirt courtesy of CTDOT. On Sunday, the latest installment of the ‘Battle of Connecticut’ takes place at 3:00 p.m. Join us to celebrate Sonar’s Birthday and ‘Mascot Madness’!
Tickets for both games are available at hartfordwolfpack.com.
