HARTFORD WOLF PACK CHALLENGE TORONTO MARLIES
By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack return home to kickstart another brief two-game homestand tonight as they welcome the Toronto Marlies to town for their only season visit.
Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m., and coverage is available on both AHLTV and Mixlr.
Tale of The Tape:
This is the second and final meeting of the season between the Wolf Pack and the Marlies. The sides met on March 11th in Toronto, a game the Marlies won 3-2 in overtime. Will Lockwood opened the scoring 15:04 into the second period, firing a shot from the right-wing wall that clipped Joseph Woll and trickled into the net. Radim Zohorna tied the game at 18:46, batting a rebound out of midair for his eleventh goal of the season.
The Marlies took their first lead of the night at 11:11 of the third period, as Kyle Clifford scored his sixth goal of the season. However, Hartford responded in the final minute after the Marlies missed two chances at the empty net. Adam Clendening rushed down the ice and sent a backhand pass toward the front of the goal. The puck clipped Jake Leschyshyn and found the back of the net at 19:23 to secure a point for the Wolf Pack.
In overtime, however, Logan Shaw would snap home his 18th goal of the season at 2:39 to give the Marlies the extra point.
The Marlies have now won two in a row in the head-to-head series. They won 4-1 at home on April 15th, 2022. Hartford’s last win head-to-head came on January 19th, 2022, by a final score of 5-2. That was also Toronto’s previous visit to Hartford.
Wolf Pack Outlook:
The Wolf Pack won their fourth straight game on Saturday night, defeating the Lehigh Valley Phantoms by a final score of 5-1 at the PPL Center. Lauri Pajuniemi opened the scoring with a breakaway goal at 2:18, giving Hartford a lead they never lost. Lockwood deflected home the eventual game-winner at 5:38, giving the Pack a 2-0 lead after one.
Emil Andrae got the Phantoms within a goal at 7:33 of the second, but that’s as close as they would get in this contest. Then, in the third period, Tanner Fritz, Jonny Brodzinski, and Ryan Carpenter lit the lamp to allow Hartford to pull away for two key points.
Dylan Garand made 34 saves for the victory.
Brodzinski leads the Wolf Pack in points with 46 (21 g, 25 a) in 43 games. He was named the AHL’s ‘Player of the Month for March after scoring 20 points (11 g, 9 a) in eleven games. Will Cuylle, meanwhile, leads the team in goals with 24.
Marlies Outlook:
The Marlies snapped a seven-game losing streak on Sunday with a 6-2 triumph on home ice against the Belleville Senators. Trailing 2-1 late in the second period, Zach O’Brien scored his second goal of the season at 19:48 to tie the game and send it to the final stanza with a score of 2-2.
In the third period, the Marlies struck four times to pull away for a victory that clinched them the North Division crown. First, Semyon Der-Arguchintsev gave the Marlies the lead for good at 3:17, then Shaw, Zach Solow, and Pontus Holmberg tacked on the insurance markers at 8:53, 13:51 and 17:33, respectively.
Shaw leads the Marlies in scoring with 65 points (20 g, 45 a) in 64 games. Bobby McMann, currently with the parent Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL), leads the club in goals with 21. Shaw is tops among active skaters in goals with 20.
Game Information:
Play-by-play voice of the Wolf Pack, Alex Thomas, will have ‘Wolf Pack Pregame’ starting live at 6:45 p.m. on both AHLTV and Mixlr.
The Pack is back at the XL Center on Friday night when the Wolf Pack host the Bridgeport Islanders in a crucial Atlantic Division battle. Join us for $2 beers and $1 hot dogs until the end of the first intermission! Also, the first 1,500 fans into the building on ‘Wolf Pack Alumni Night’ will receive an Igor Shesterkin bobblehead via Xfinity! The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.; tickets are available – at hartfordwolfpack.com.
