By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack hosted the Grand Rapids Griffins at the XL Center on Saturday night for the first matchup between the teams since 2009. Dylan Garand earned his second shutout of the season, stopping 21 Griffins shots on the way to a 4-0 Wolf Pack victory.
Will Cuylle let the teddy bears fly on Teddy Bear Toss night, scoring at 6:57 of the first period. Tanner Fritz sent a pass across the ice to Cuylle, who fired a shot from the left face-off circle over the glove of Magnus Hellberg for his sixth goal of the year. The goals ties him with Tim Gettinger for the team lead.
Cuylle’s goal gave the Wolf Pack a lead they would not surrender. The eventual game-winning goal was Cuylle’s second deciding tally of the season.
The two teams had good looks in the second period, but the goaltenders denied all chances fired their way. The Wolf Pack peppered Hellberg to the tune of 20 shots in the period, a season-high, but the former Hartford netminder slammed the door shut. On the other end of the ice, Garand blocked six Griffins shots, sending the game to the final period with a score of 1-0.
The Pack added three insurance goals in the third period. First, Ty Emberson uncorked a one-timer at 2:28 for his third goal of the year. Then, matt Rempe followed up at 15:41, taking a pass from Fritz in the right face-off circle and blasting home his second goal of the season.
Fritz earned his third assist of the night on the play, giving him the team lead with ten on the season. It was his second three-assist game of the campaign.
Turner Elson capped off the Pack’s scoring, finding twine at 17:33 to stretch the lead to 4-0. It was Elson’s third goal of the season and the first against his former team.
Garand kept the door shut for the final two and a half minutes, earning his second shutout of the season as the Wolf Pack took a 4-0 victory.
The Wolf Pack hit the road for a Midwest trip, beginning with a matchup with the Milwaukee Admirals on Wednesday, December 14th, at 8:00 p.m. The club will also visit the Griffins on Friday night and the Rockford IceHogs next Saturday.
The Pack returns to the XL Center on Thursday, December 22nd, taking on the Springfield Thunderbirds in the latest installment of the I-91 Rivalry. To get tickets, please visit hartfordwolfpack.com.
