By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
ALLENTOWN, PA – The Hartford Wolf Pack finish their weekend back-to-back tonight when they visit the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for the final time this season.
Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m., and coverage is available on both AHLTV and Mixlr. In addition, tonight’s game will also air on NHL Network.
Tale of The Tape:
This is the season’s fourth and final meeting between the Wolf Pack and Phantoms. It is also the second and final meeting between the foes at the PPL Center in Allentown. The sides last met on February 19th in Allentown, with the Wolf Pack scoring a wild 6-4 comeback victory.
Trailing 3-1 entering the third period, Will Cuylle scored on the powerplay at 7:16 of the third to draw Hartford within one. However, over two minutes later, Garrett Wilson completed the hat trick to restore the two-goal Phantoms lead. From there, Hartford would take the game over. Gustav Rydahl completed a hat trick of his own, scoring his second goal of the night at 12:50 and then his third at 15:32 to tie the game.
Libor Hájek broke the tie at 18:00, blasting a shot through a scrum in front of the Phantoms’ goal. Turner Elson would hit the empty net at 19:25 to cement the victory.
The Wolf Pack has taken two of the first three meetings from the Phantoms. They also claimed a 3-2 victory at the XL Center on December 7th. The Phantoms’ lone win in the series came in Hartford on February 10th by a final score of 5-2.
Wolf Pack Outlook:
The Wolf Pack won their third straight game on Friday night, snapping the Providence Bruins’ eight-game winning streak with a dominant 5-0 decision. Ryan Carpenter tipped a Zac Jones shot home for the eventual game-winning goal 17:43 into the game on the powerplay. Anton Blidh then buried a centering pass from Tanner Fritz at 19:57, extending the lead to 2-0. Blidh scored two points (1 g, 1 a) against his former team, while the assist gave Fritz a career-high 29 on the season.
After a scoreless middle stanza, Hartford struck three times in the third to pull away. Will Lockwood scored his 15th goal of the season 3:20 into the final frame, as his shot hit the stick of Dan Renouf and snuck through the five-hole of Kyle Keyser. Fritz tipped home a centering pass to make it 4-0 at 5:09, while Jake Leschyshyn went bar down at 9:00 to finish the scoring. Louis Domingue made 25 saves for his third shutout of the season. It was his sixth consecutive victory and 19th overall on the season.
The win pushed Hartford three points ahead of the Bridgeport Islanders for the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division.
Brodzinski leads the Wolf Pack in points with 45 (20 g, 25 a) in 42 games. Cuylle, meanwhile, leads the team in goals with 24.
Phantoms Outlook:
The Phantoms opened their three-in-three weekend with a comeback victory on Friday night, knocking off the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 4-2 at the PPL Center. Ty Smith broke a 1-1 tie at 13:27 of the second period, giving the Penguins a 2-1 lead through forty minutes. However, the Phantoms would score three unanswered in the third to pull away for two points.
Jordy Bellerive tied the game at 6:37, potting his seventh goal of the season. Bobby Brink then netted the eventual game-winner at 10:37, his ninth of the season. Finally, Brink polished off the victory with his second goal of the contest into an empty net at 18:41.
Tyson Foerster, who scored in last night’s win, leads the Phantoms in scoring with 41 points (20 g, 21 a) in 59 games. Elliot Desnoyers, meanwhile, leads the Phantoms in goals with 21 on the season.
Game Information:
Play-by-play voice of the Wolf Pack, Alex Thomas, will have ‘Wolf Pack Pregame’ starting live at 6:50 p.m. on both AHLTV and Mixlr.
The Pack is back at the XL Center on Wednesday night when the Wolf Pack hosts the Toronto Marlies for the only time this season. The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. Tickets are available at hartfordwolfpack.com.
