THOMAS: PACK START FIVE-GAME ROAD TRIP
BY: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack will look to win their third consecutive game this evening when they make their final visit to Allentown this season to take on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The game opens a back-to-back weekend for the Pack, who will be in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton tomorrow. It’s also the first of five straight games on the road for the club.
The puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m.
Tale of The Tape
This is the sixth and final meeting between the Wolf Pack and the Phantoms during the 2021-22 regular season. It is the third and final trip for the Pack to the PPL Center in Allentown. The Wolf Pack took the most recent meeting between the foes, scoring a 6-4 victory on February 5th at the XL Center.
Hartford trailed 2-0 after the first period but scored five times in the middle stanza to collect a lead they would not lose. Austin Rueschhoff, Tim Gettinger, Mike O’Leary, Morgan Barron, Nils Lundkvist, and Jonny Brodzinski all scored in the win. Brodzinski’s goal set the new franchise record for a goalscoring streak at nine games.
The Phantoms took the last meeting at PPL Center, scoring a 4-3 shootout decision on December 12th. Wade Allison and Adam Clendening scored in the shootout after Zac Jones tied the game late for the Wolf Pack.
This season, the Wolf Pack are 2-2-0-1 against the Phantoms, including a 1-0-0-1 record on the road.
Wolf Pack Outlook
The Wolf Pack completed a back-to-back weekend with their second straight victory Sunday afternoon, a 4-1 triumph over the Bridgeport Islanders. O’Leary, Lundkvist, Tanner Fritz, and Abbott Girduckis scored, while Adam Húska made 23 saves. The goal by Girduckis was both his first AHL goal and point. He signed a PTO with the club on March 4th.
Brodzinski (18 g, 21 a) and Anthony Greco (12 g, 27 a) are tied for the team lead in scoring with 39 points each. Greco currently has points in six straight games. Brodzinski’s 18 goals lead the club, while Rueschhoff is second with 13 markers on the season.
Currently, the Wolf Pack are without forwards Brodzinski and Gettinger, who was recalled by the parent New York Rangers (NHL). On Friday evening, the club loaned forward James Sanchez to the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen.
Phantoms Outlook
The Phantoms enter tonight’s tilt with a record of 19-24-7-3 following last night’s 4-3 victory over the Laval Rocket on home ice. Cal O’Reilly and Logan Day scored in the opening forty minutes, but the Phantoms trailed 3-2 at the second intermission. Max Willman tied the game 3-3 just 94 seconds into the final period, while Wade Allison put the Phantoms ahead for good at 3:32. The Phantoms outshot the Rocket 17-4 in the final stanza.
O’Reilly leads the Phantoms in scoring with 37 points (14 g, 23 a) on the season. Hayden Hodgson, meanwhile, leads the club in goal scoring with 16 tallies on the campaign. Forward Morgan Frost was recalled by the parent Philadelphia Flyers (NHL) on Friday, while defenseman Cam York was recalled earlier this week to Philadelphia.
Game Information
WATCH: AHLTV
The Wolf Pack will continue their five-game road trip tomorrow afternoon when they visit the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The puck drop is set for 3:05 p.m. After a trip to Syracuse, Laval, and Belleville, the Pack will return to the XL Center on Wednesday, March 23rd. That night, the Pack hosts the Springfield Thunderbirds in the first of four straight home games. The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.
Tickets are available for all remaining home games at hartfordwolfpack.com.
