By: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
PROVIDENCE, RI – The Hartford Wolf Pack scored a late goal to force OT and earn a standings point, but the Providence prevailed when Jesper Boqvist scored at 1:21 to give the Bruins wins in both ends of the home-and-home weekend series before nearly 9,000 fans at Amica Pavilion Arena.
On the OT game-winner, Fabian Lysell made a solid lead pass to Boqvist, who got behind the Pack, sprinted to the goal, went forehand-to-backhand, and deposited his third goal of the season.
The game went to the extra period after the Pack tied the game late in regulation. Following a time-out, the Pack perfectly executed a play designed by the coaching staff that took only three seconds to complete.
2:14 remained on the clock, and the Pack took a time-out with a power play about to go. Pack netminder Dylan Garand was pulled for an extra attacker. On the ensuing faceoff, veteran Riley Nash won the draw in the six-on-four situation cleanly, beating Marc McLaughlin. The puck went back to Nikolas Brouillard at the right point. He quickly dished it off to captain Jonny Brodzinski. Ex-Pack Vinni Lettieri loved this setup, with the forward at the left point. Brodzinski uncorked a rocket that sailed over the Bruins’ goaltender Brandon Bussi’s glove hand. The goal tied the game at two at 17:49.
The Bruins took a 2-1 lead at 11:39, scoring their second power play of the day resulting from a questionable goaltender interference call on the Pack’s Brett Berard. John Farinacci spotted McLaughlin on the left wing in front of the net. He deposited his second of the season past Garand.
The Pack had drawn even at one as they turned a broken play into a goal.
Ryder Korczak’s turnaround blast broke Joey Abate’s stick, and Bobby Trivigno retrieved the loose puck and shifted it over to Brandon Scanlin. He then sent a long-range blast past Bussi at 5:11 for his first of the year.
The Pack, playing their third game in three nights, pushed the pace in the third period.
Berard, a Rhode Island native playing before family and friends in his first pro game in the Ocean State, had several chances to score in the third. Just before Scanlin’s goal, he was stopped. Then he had two chances and tried to set up Korczak.
Later, Alex Belizle initiated a play and sent a pass to Berard to set up a superb quality chance, but he fired it over the net. Mitch Callahan followed that with a rush and fed ex-Pack Jayson Megna, who then sent the puck to Georgii Merkulov, who cut across the middle and was stopped.
Anton Blidh, who was a Bruin himself for six years, had two chances with five minutes to go seeking the equalizer before Brodzinski’s goal.
SECOND PERIOD
In the second period, Providence scored the game’s first goal.
The Bruins were on the power play after Trivigno was sent to the box for tripping at 7:13. It took the Bruins 1:13 to find the back of the net as Anthony Richard re-directed a right point shot by Jakub Zrobil off an excellent tape-to-tape pass by Farinacci. For Richard, it was his second goal of the 23-24 campaign.
Brodzinski and Berard followed with scoring chances that Bussi denied. Meanwhile, across the ice, Garand kept pace by straddling the goal line and denying Boqvist’s shot, getting enough of the puck for it to dribble wide.
FIRST PERIOD
The first period was a scoreless, well-checked period for both teams playing their third game in three days.
The Pack had a solid chance at the buzzer at the end of the first period that Bussi stopped, and the rebound was there for Brennan Othmann, but he could not corral the bouncing biscuit.
Off a face-off in the right-wing circle, Matt Robertson fired a shot from the right point that hit the crossbar with 1:02 left in the period.
57 seconds into the contest, Brodzinski was in front and put a backhander on the net, but Bussi kept the puck out.
LINES:
Henriksson – Sýkora – Blidh
Belzile – Brodzinski – Othmann
Edström – Nash – Berard
Rempe – Trivigno – Korczak
Robertson – Scanlin
Hillman – Brouillard
Berzolla – Cairns
Garand
Lindbom
SCRATCHES:
D Ben Harpur (upper body, week-to-week)
D Mac Hollowell (upper body, day-to-day)
F Jake Leschyshyn (upper body, week-to-week)
F Turner Elson (healthy)
F Drew Worrad (not in residence).
NOTES:
Farinacci is the nephew of ex-Pack/Bridgeport Sound Tiger and current Harvard University (ECACHL) Head Coach Ted Donato.
Abate and Scanlin played together at Nebraska-Omaha (NCHC).
Adam Samuelsson, the youngest son of ex-Hartford Whaler, New York Rangers, Wolf Pack, and Avon Old Farms assistant, Ulf Samuelsson, was released by the Indy Fuel (ECHL), the second team this year to do so.
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