BY: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack will look to snap just their second three-game pointless streak of the season tonight when they continue their five-game road trip against the Laval Rocket. It is the first of two trips to Canada this season for the Wolf Pack and opens a back-to-back set that concludes tomorrow night in Belleville against the Senators.
The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.
Tale of The Tape
This is the second and final meeting between the Wolf Pack and the Rocket during the 2021-22 season. The Wolf Pack skated to a 4-0 shutout victory at the XL Center on January 15th in the first showdown. Keith Kinkaid made 31 saves for his first shutout of the season. Austin Rueschhoff opened the scoring with the eventual winning goal just 1:36 into the hockey game, the first of two tallies he’d register on the night. Forwards Lauri Pajuniemi and Patrick Khodorenko would also score for the Pack. The 4-0 victory is, to this point, the only shutout registered this season by Hartford.
This is Hartford’s first visit to Laval since November 1st, 2019. That night, the Rocket took a 2-1 shootout decision over the Pack. Alex Belzile scored the lone goal in the shootout for the home side.
Wolf Pack Outlook
The Wolf Pack have lost three straight games in regulation for just the second time this season. Their most recent defeat was a 4-2 decision at the hands of the Syracuse Crunch on Wednesday night. Justin Richards and Zac Jones scored for the Pack, but Hartford surrendered three goals in the final period to ultimately come up short.
The Wolf Pack are 0-3-0-0 to start their five-game road trip and are 9-12-3-1 overall away from home this season. Hartford has yet to lose four consecutive games in regulation in 2021-22 but does have one four-game losing streak on their record (0-3-0-1), which came back in December.
Anthony Greco leads the Wolf Pack in scoring with 42 points (12 g, 30 a) on the season. Jonny Brodzinski, currently on recall to the parent New York Rangers (NHL) is second on the club with 39 points (18 g, 21 a). In transaction news, the Rangers assigned forward Morgan Barron to the Wolf Pack on Thursday afternoon. Barron is expected to make his first appearance with the Pack since February 5th in tonight’s tilt.
Rocket Outlook
The Rocket enters tonight’s contest with a record of 26-21-3-0, good for a points percentage of .550 and a third-place standing in the North Division. The Rocket fell by a final score of 6-2 in their last outing on Saturday night against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Joël Teasdale and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard both scored in the loss. Sam Poulin had a hat-trick for the Penguins, while Chris Bigras, Felix Robert, and Alexander Nylander also lit the lamp.
Like the Wolf Pack, the Rocket lost both of their games in Pennsylvania last weekend. They’ve dropped two straight games in regulation, with their last win being a 7-2 victory over the Rochester Americans on March 9th.
Harvey-Pinard leads the Rocket in scoring with 30 points (13 g, 17 a) on the season. Jean-Sébastien Dea is second on the club with 28 points (16 g, 12 a). Dea’s 16 goals lead the club in that department.
Game Information
WATCH: AHLTV
The Wolf Pack conclude their five-game road trip tomorrow night when they visit the Belleville Senators in the second of four meetings this season. The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. The Pack will return to the XL Center on Wednesday, March 23rd. That night, the Pack plays host to 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.
