HARTFORD WOLF PACK LOOK TO SOAR WITH COMETS
By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
UTICA, NY – The Hartford Wolf Pack make their lone trip to Utica for the 2023-24 season tonight as they take on the Utica Comets. This is the second half of a back-to-back set for the club and the fourth game of a five-game road trip.
The 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 first of two meetings between the Wolf Pack and Comets this season. The sides will meet in Hartford on March 16. That game features a 6:00 p.m. puck drop at the XL Center.
The sides split a pair of meetings last year, with the home team winning both. The Comets stormed back from down 2-0 to claim a 3-2 shootout victory in the previous meeting in Utica on January 6. Ryan Carpenter and Brandon Scanlin put the Pack ahead on goals at 12:18 of the first period and 3:22 of the second period, respectively, but the Comets never backed down. Joe Gambardella got the home side on the board at 11:44 of the middle frame, then Graeme Clarke tied it 6:50 into the third.
Clarke would score the only goal of the shootout to give the Comets a 3-2 victory.
The Pack got their revenge in the last overall meeting on February 3 at the XL Center. Lauri Pajuniemi struck just 23 seconds into the game for Hartford, and Zach Giuttari potted a goal at 18:53 of the opening stanza, but it was the Comets who took a 3-2 lead into the third period. Simon Nemec scored 10:08 into the game, while Brian Halonen potted a pair of goals in the second period.
Sammy Blais came to Hartford’s rescue in the final frame, tying the affair 1:38 in and then potting the game-winning goal at 17:29.
Hartford’s last victory in Utica came by a final score of 2-1 on January 8, 2022. Alex Whelan scored the game-winning goal, while Anthony Bitetto recorded a powerplay marker in the win.
HARTFORD WOLF PACK OUTLOOK
The Wolf Pack dropped a wild 5-4 game in overtime against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in Allentown on Friday night. Trailing 3-2 after forty minutes, the Wolf Pack roared back to take a lead in the first 4:17 of the third period.
Jake Leschyshyn tied the contest 3-3 just 1:40 into the frame, beating Parker Gahagen with a shot for his first goal of the season. The powerplay marker sparked the momentum for the Wolf Pack, who took the lead at 4:17. Ryder Korczak blazed into the offensive zone and ripped a shot over the glove of Gahagen for his first career professional goal.
The 4-3 lead only lasted a few minutes, however, as Rhett Gardner tipped a Will Zmolek shot by Dylan Garand at 6:46 to tie the game at 4-4 and send it to overtime. In the extra session, Samu Tuomaala converted on a two-on-one with Elliot Desnoyers just 1:09 in to give the Phantoms the extra point.
Ben Harpur and Matt Rempe also scored in the loss for the Wolf Pack, while Desnoyers, Olle Lycksell, and Jon-Randall Avon scored in the second period for the Phantoms.
On Friday, the parent New York Rangers (NHL) recalled forward Jonny Brodzinski, defenseman Connor Mackey, and goaltender Louis Domingue from the Wolf Pack. On Saturday morning, the Rangers reassigned goaltender Olof Lindbom to the Wolf Pack from the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL).
In addition, the Pack recalled defenseman Zach Berzolla from loan to the Cyclones and inked defenseman Matt Cairns to a professional tryout (PTO) from the Cyclones.
Brodzinski leads the Wolf Pack in both goals with six and points with eleven (6 g, 5 a). Mac Hollowell, meanwhile, has the longest point streak in the AHL at eight games and leads the team in assists with nine.
UTICA COMETS OUTLOOK
Like the Wolf Pack, the Comets required overtime on Friday night. They, however, were able to grab the extra point in a 4-3 victory over the Rochester Americans.
Shane Bowers and Matthew Savoie traded goals in the opening period, with Bowers’ tally coming shorthanded at 6:40. After neither side found the back of the net in the middle frame, the sides headed to the third period deadlocked 1-1.
Max Willman put the Comets back on top just 39 seconds in, but two quick goals midway through the period saw the Americans take their first lead of the night. Mason Jobst tied the game at 10:20, then at 11:01, Jiri Kulich popped home his eighth goal of the season.
The Comets had the answer, though, as Tyler Wotherspoon blasted his first goal of the season home at 16:22 to force overtime. In the three-on-three period, Xavier Parent needed just 45 seconds to score his fifth goal of the season and earn the Comets the extra point in Rochester.
Earlier this week, the Comets recalled forward T.J. Friedmann from loan to the ECHL’s Adirondack Thunder.
Parent leads the Comets in both goals with five and points with nine (5 g, 4 a). His four assists are tied for the team lead with Topias Vilen.
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 this evening.
The Wolf Pack conclude their five-game road trip next Friday night when they visit the Bridgeport Islanders for round one of the ‘Battle of Connecticut.’ The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m., with ‘Wolf Pack Pregame’ set to hit the air at 6:45 p.m.
The Pack returns home to the XL Center on Saturday, November 11, for a 7:30 p.m. tilt against the Providence Bruins. For more details and tickets, visit hartfordwolfpack.com.
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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.
