By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack completed a perfect preseason slate on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Bridgeport Islanders by a final score of 3-1 at the Koeppel Community Sports Center on the campus of Trinity College. The victory gave the Pack a 3-0-0-0 mark in exhibition play.
Blake Hillman restored the Hartford lead at 10:04 of the middle stanza, beating Islanders goaltender Tristan Lennox through traffic for his first goal of the exhibition campaign. Jake Leschyshyn won a faceoff cleanly in the right-wing circle back to Hillman, who stepped into a shot that Lennox never saw. The puck trickled through the Islanders’ netminder to give the club a lead they never lost.
For the second time in as many games, the Wolf Pack opened the scoring on this day. Mac Hollowell, making his preseason debut, blistered a shot by Lennox on the club’s first powerplay of the afternoon at the 15:14 mark. Nikolas Brouillard, a fellow free agent addition, sent a pass into the left-wing circle where Hollowell was ready and waiting. The defenseman fired a one-timer that went top-shelf, giving the Pack the 1-0 lead.
Despite a strong frame, the Wolf Pack could not get the lead into the locker room. Samuel Asselin evened the affair with just 44 seconds remaining in the period, beating Louis Domingue for the Islanders’ lone goal of the contest. The marker was Asselin’s second in as many preseason games against the Wolf Pack this fall.
Hillman’s second-period marker restored the lead for good and stood as the Wolf Pack’s lone five-on-five goal of the day.
Brouillard extended the lead just 46 seconds into the third period, giving Hartford their second goal in the opening minute of the third period in as many games. Hollowell, who Brouillard set up in the first period, returned the favor as he set up the blueliner for a one-timer from the point. The goal was Brouillard’s first of the preseason and Hartford’s second powerplay goal.
Domingue slammed the door shut from there, making 18 saves in his lone exhibition appearance to cement the victory.
The Wolf Pack open the 2023-24 season on Friday night in Providence when they face the Bruins. The puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m., and full coverage will be available on AHLTV and Mixlr.
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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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