BY: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack open the final leg of their season-long seven-game road trip tonight as they visit the Belleville Senators for the second and last time this season at CAA Arena. The tilt opens a stretch of three games in four days for the Pack, all against North Division opponents.
Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.
Tale of The Tape:
This is the fourth and final meeting during the 2021-22 regular season between the Wolf Pack and the Senators. The Senators skated to a 4-1 victory in the last meeting on April 1st at the XL Center. Maxim Letunov opened the scoring for Hartford just 23 seconds into the game, but Belleville would score the game’s final four goals. Jonathan Aspirot tied the contest 1-1 at the 12:34 mark of the first period on a delayed penalty, then Lassi Thomson rifled home the eventual winner at 14:55 on a five-on-three. Both Egor Sokolov and Logan Shaw tacked on powerplay goals as the Senators went three-for-five on the skater advantage.
The Wolf Pack did take a 5-2 decision on March 19th in Belleville. Mike O’Leary broke a 2-2 tie 3:08 into the third period, while Patrick Khodorenko and Anthony Greco tacked on insurance markers in a three-goal third period. The Senators won the series opener on March 2nd in Hartford with a 3-2 overtime decision. Rourke Chartier scored twice, including the overtime winner, for the Senators.
The visiting team is 3-0-0-0 in the season series. The Wolf Pack are 1-1-1-0 against the Senators in the season series.
Wolf Pack Outlook:
The Wolf Pack snapped a seven-game losing streak with a massive 4-3 victory over the Charlotte Checkers on Sunday afternoon at the Bojangles’ Coliseum. Zac Jones opened the scoring 1:45 into the game, but the Checkers would take a 2-1 lead on goals by Luke Henman and Zac Dalpe. Tanner Fritz tied the tilt at 18:46 of the first period before Greco made it 3-2 just 5:21 into the middle frame. Alexander True scored at 9:05 of the third to force overtime. In the extra frame, Letunov needed just 21 seconds to snap the streak.
The win was also the first in franchise history for the Wolf Pack in Charlotte. The club was previously 0-15-1-0 in North Carolina.
Greco leads the Pack in scoring with 56 points (19 g, 37 a) on the season. He collected his first four-point game (1 g, 3 a) as a member of the club in Sunday’s victory. Greco also leads the team in goals with 19.
The Pack currently holds a record of 30-28-6-2, good for a .515 points percentage. That has Hartford in sixth place in the Atlantic Division, occupying the final playoff spot. Hartford’s magic number to clinch a Calder Cup Playoff berth is 10.
Senators Outlook:
On Monday night, the Senators suffered a 5-1 setback on home ice against the Laval Rocket. Cole Reinhardt opened the scoring 5:38 into the game to give the Sens a lead, but it was all Rocket after that.
Danick Martel tied the game 1-1 just 3:05 into the second period, while Nicolas Mattinen scored his first AHL goal at 6:40 to break the tie. Martel would add a second goal, while Rafaël Harvey-Pinard and Kevin Roy would light the lamp in the third period. The loss was Belleville’s second in a row.
Jake Lucchini leads the Senators with 46 points (20 g, 26 a) on the season. His 20 goals are also atop the club, while Zach Senyshyn sits second with 19 goals.
The Senators currently hold a record of 33-27-4-0, good for a .547 points percentage. That has them in sixth place in the North Division, just outside of a playoff spot. The Senators currently have a magic number of 17 to clinch a Calder Cup Playoff berth.
Game Information:
WATCH: AHLTV
The Wolf Pack’s seven-game road trip continues when they travel to Toronto to take on the Marlies on Friday night. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. The road trip concludes on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. when the Pack head to Rochester to take on the Americans.
The Pack is back at the XL Center on Friday, April 22nd, to kick off the final weekend of the regular season! Join us for Pride Night as the Charlotte Checkers come to town. Thanks to our friends at Nomads, we’ll also have $2 beers and $1 hot dogs!
The 2021-22 regular season concludes at the XL Center on Sunday, April 24th! Join us for Fan Appreciation Day when the Pack host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Puck drop is set for 3:00 p.m. Tickets are available for both games next weekend at hartfordwolfpack.com.
