HARTFORD WOLF PACK WEEKEND RECAP: NOVEMBER 13TH, 2023 

By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack

HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack collected three out of a possible six points during their second three-in-three weekend of the season. The club now gets set for a three-in-four stretch that will feature the ‘School Day Game’ on Wednesday and a home-and-home with the Syracuse Crunch on Friday and Saturday.

Friday, November 10^th, 2023, @ Bridgeport Islanders (3-0 W): The Pack concluded their season-long, five-game road trip on Friday night with a 3-0 victory in Round 1 of the ‘Battle of Connecticut’. Anton Blidh scored the game-winning goal 12:25 into the tilt, jamming home a rebound for his second goal of the season. Riley Nash would complete the scoring with goals at 5:50 and 12:16 of the second period.

Dylan Garand recorded his first shutout of the season, making 37 saves to improve to 4-1-1.

The win gives the Wolf Pack four consecutive victories in Bridgeport and six straight wins in the head-to-head series.

Saturday, November 11^th, 2023, Vs. Providence Bruins (2-0 L): Olof Lindbom made 17 saves in his first career AHL start, but the Wolf Pack offense couldn’t get untracked in their first shutout defeat of the season.

Curtis Hall led the way with two points (1 g, 1 a) for the Bruins, including the game-winning goal just 2:57 into the game. Dan Renouf had the other goal for Providence at 8:34 of the third period.

The Wolf Pack surrendered a season-low 19 shots in the defeat while firing a single-period high of 19 shots in the final frame.

Sunday, November 12^th, 2023, @ Providence Bruins (3-2 OTL): Brandon Scanlin and Jonny Brodzinski both lit the lamp in the third period as the Pack erased a pair of deficits to earn a point in the weekend finale. Brodzinski’s tally came at 17:49 with the net empty, giving Hartford their second goal with the extra attacker this season.

The Bruins would earn the extra point 1:42 into overtime, however, as Jesper Boqvist sped in and beat Garand over his right shoulder for his third goal of the season.

The loss snapped a six-game winning streak for the Wolf Pack at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence.

Quick Hits:

• On Sunday, the Edmonton Oilers (NHL) named Kris Knoblauch head coach. Knoblauch has spent parts of five seasons as the Wolf Pack’s bench boss, amassing a record of 119-90-18-14 in 241 games.
• As a result, Steve Smith was named Wolf Pack interim head coach on Sunday. He served in that capacity during the club’s 3-2 overtime loss in Providence. Jamie Tardif remains behind the bench in his role as assistant coach.
• Smith played 804 games in the NHL as a defenseman with the Oilers, Chicago Blackhawks, and Calgary Flames. He scored 375 points (72 g, 303 a) and won the Stanley Cup with the Oilers in 1987, 1988, and 1990.
• Smith has spent ample time behind the bench in his career. He previously was an assistant coach with the Flames (1997-98), Oilers (2010-14), Carolina Hurricanes (2014-18), and Buffalo Sabres (2018-21). He spent the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons as an assistant coach in Hartford under Knoblauch.
• Forward Brett Berard is tied for eighth in the American Hockey League in rookie scoring with nine points (2 g, 7 a) through 12 games.
• Goaltender Louis Domingue made 25 saves in his debut with the New York Rangers on November 9^th in a 4-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild. Domingue was assigned to the Wolf Pack on Monday afternoon.
• Defenseman Connor Mackey was also assigned to Hartford on Monday afternoon.
• Goaltender Olof Lindbom was reassigned by the Rangers from the Wolf Pack to the Cincinnati Cyclones (ECHL) on Monday.
• The Wolf Pack’s penalty kill went 9-for-11 over the weekend and sits 14^th in the league with an 84.3% success rate.

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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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