By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
BRIDGEPORT, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack won their second preseason affair in less than 24 hours on Thursday afternoon, knocking off the rival Bridgeport Islanders 5-3 at Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport.
Bobby Trivigno needed just 18 seconds of third-period action to restore the Wolf Pack’s three-goal lead and put the game out of reach. A Zach Berzolla shot from the point was denied by Islanders goalie Henrik Tikkanen, but Trivigno was camped out in front of the crease and pushed home the rebound for his second goal of the afternoon to make it 4-1 Wolf Pack.
The goal would stand as the game-winning tally.
The Wolf Pack opened the scoring for the first time in the preseason, as Cristiano DiGiacinto lit the lamp just 4:05 into the contest. DiGiacinto set himself up in the crease before Tikkanen, earning prime real estate. While playing in his second game of the exhibition season, Matej Pekar slid a pass through the crease to DiGiacinto, who buried his first exhibition campaign.
The Pack extended their lead to 2-0 at 12:44, as Brett Berard struck for the first time in the preseason. Berard, who had a pair of assists in Hartford’s 3-2 victory over Springfield on Wednesday night, fired a shot through traffic from the left-wing circle in the Islander zone. The shot beat Tikkanen cleanly to give the Pack a multi-goal lead they never lost.
Trivigno and Karl Henriksson, both making their preseason debuts, collected assists on the goal.
Hartford’s special teams units impacted the middle stanza, as both the penalty kill and powerplay had their time to shine. The Wolf Pack penalty kill was forced into action at the 3:59 and 8:09 marks and successfully killed both minor infractions. At 12:01, the powerplay would get their first look of the afternoon as Christian Krygier was whistled for slashing.
Trivigno made the Islanders pay on Hartford’s first powerplay of the afternoon, as he sniped home his first of the preseason at 12:29 of the second period. Trivigno received the puck from Matthew Robertson in the slot and lasered a shot over the glove of Tikkanen to give him his second of three points in the contest.
The Islanders would respond at 15:45, finally beating Dylan Garand and getting on the board. A scrum ensued in front of Garand, and Anthony Callin was able to locate the puck first. Callin jammed the puck through Garand for his first of the preseason.
Trivigno restored the three-goal lead just 18 seconds into the period, potting his second of the game. Just under two minutes later, at 2:14, Pekar would light the lamp for the first time in the preseason. DiGiacinto slid the puck to the right-wing circle, where Pekar quickly collected the puck and fired it over the glove of Tikkanen to make it a 5-1 game.
Samuel Asselin, making his Islanders preseason debut, drew the club within three at 10:05 of the final frame. Asselin collected the puck to the right of Garand and tucked home a backhander by the goalie’s glove to make it a 5-2 affair.
Ashton Calder wrapped up the afternoon’s scoring at 18:51, firing home a shot for his first of the preseason.
Garand made 26 saves on 29 shots to collect the win.
The Wolf Pack conclude the 2023 preseason this Saturday, October 7th, when they host the Islanders at 1:00 p.m. The game will take place at the Koeppel Community Sports Center on the campus of Trinity College in Hartford.
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ABOUT THE HARTFORD WOLF PACK: The Hartford Wolf Pack has been a premier franchise in the American Hockey League since the team’s inception in 1997. The Wolf Pack is the top player-development affiliate of the NHL’s New York Rangers and plays at the XL Center. The Wolf Pack has been home to some of the Rangers’ newest faces, including Igor Shesterkin, Filip Chytil, and Ryan Lindgren. Follow the Wolf Pack on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
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