By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
HERSHEY, PA – The Hartford Wolf Pack peppered Hershey Bears netminder Hunter Shepard on Saturday night, firing 34 shots on the goaltender and clipping the goalpost three times. Will Cuylle did beat Shepard in the middle stanza, but the goaltender’s terrific effort would be enough to cement a 2-1 decision for the Bears in the sixth and final meeting between the foes this season.
A loose puck at the blue line got away from the Wolf Pack on their first powerplay of the night, creating a footrace through the neutral zone between Matthew Robertson and Henrik Rybinski. Rybinski won the footrace, then entered the Wolf Pack zone on a breakaway. He snapped a shot by Dylan Garand for his third goal of the season 15:08 into the tilt, ballooning the Hershey lead to 2-0. The goal was the third shorthanded marker of the season for the Bears and proved to be the game-winner.
The Wolf Pack started the second half of their weekend back-to-back quite strong, firing the first seven shots on goal and hitting a goal post. After that, however, the Bears settled things down and broke the ice off a scramble out in front.
Mike Vecchione sent a pass to the front of the Wolf Pack net, which popped to Mike Sgarbossa. Sgarbossa fired a shot into traffic the Garand never saw, giving the Bears a lead 12:13 into the game.
With Lucas Johansen in the penalty box for holding, the puck popped into the neutral zone and set up Rybinski for his breakaway goal.
After an intense stretch of play in the second period, Hartford finally got on the board. Tanner Fritz fed Cuylle at the bottom of the right-wing faceoff circle, where the rookie quickly collected the puck and fired it toward Shepard. The puck snuck through the arm and torso of Shepard, giving Cuylle his team-leading 15th marker of the season. Fritz’s assist was his team-leading 22nd and tied him with Turner Elson for the team lead in points with 26 on the season.
The Wolf Pack continued to pressure in the game’s final stretch but couldn’t solve Shepard. Late in the game, off a turnover, Tim Gettinger was set up in tight, but his shot rang the iron.
In the final minute, Gabriel Carlsson was whistled for tripping, giving Hartford a six-on-four advantage. The Wolf Pack hit a third post in the last ten seconds, then had a scramble out in front that Shepard fought off, preserving the two points for the home side.
The Pack returns home next Friday, February 17th, for a matchup with the Bridgeport Islanders in the latest installment of the ‘Battle of Connecticut.’ Join us for $2 drafts and $1 hot dogs! The puck drop is set for 7:00 pm. To get tickets, visit hartfordwolfpack.com.
