By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack continued their four-game road trip on Wednesday night, visiting the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for the third and final time this season. The Pack surrendered the game’s first four goals, falling 4-1 to even their record to 1-1-0-0 on the trip.
The team will spend Thursday on the road, traveling to Cleveland, OH, for the first time since November 2008.
Friday, January 26th, 2024, & Saturday, January 27th, 2024, @ Cleveland Monsters (7:00 p.m.): The Wolf Pack will roll into Cleveland for their first game in the city since November 16th, 2008. That night, the Wolf Pack scored a 5-3 victory in their first-ever meeting with the then-Lake Erie Monsters. Bobby Sanguinetti’s powerplay goal at 19:37 of the second period would be the game-winning goal.
The Wolf Pack would sweep the two-game series that year, defeating the Monsters by a final score of 6- 2 when they visited Hartford on February 13th, 2009.
The Monsters claimed their first-ever head-to-head victory over the Wolf Pack in the first of four meetings this season back on December 6th. Luca Del Bel Belluz scored the game-winning goal 2:28 into overtime to give the Monsters the 4-3 victory.
The sides will play both Friday and Saturday night, wrapping up the Cleveland portion of this season series in roughly 27 hours. The season series concludes on Thursday, February 22nd, when the Monsters return to the XL Center.
The Monsters lead the North Division with 52 points (25-11-1-1), four clear of the second-place Syracuse Crunch. They defeated the Toronto Marlies 7-5 in their last outing on Wednesday night.
Individually, Owen Sillinger led the way for the Monsters on December 6th, scoring three assists in the victory. Carson Meyer lit the lamp twice for the Monsters, while Cameron Butler scored his first, and to this point only, goal in the AHL.
Brennan Othmann, Brett Berard, and Brandon Scanlin scored the goals for the Wolf Pack in defeat.
Quick Hits:
- Current Wolf Pack forward Artem Anisimov is the only active player in the AHL who played for the club on their last visit to Cleveland on November 16th, 2008. Anisimov picked up an assist in the victory and fired three shots on goal.
- Thanks to his assist on Othmann’s third-period powerplay goal on Wednesday night, defenseman Mac Hollowell now sits T-3rd in the AHL in powerplay assists with 14 on the season.
- Othmann’s powerplay goal puts him T-2nd among rookies in the AHL in powerplay goals this season. Texas Stars forward Kyle McDonald leads the league with seven.
- Following this weekend’s two road games, the Wolf Pack will open a six-game homestand from January 31st through February 16th.
- During that span, the Wolf Pack will host the Charlotte Checkers (1/31/24), Penguins (2/2/24), Springfield Thunderbirds (2/3/24), Bridgeport Islanders (2/9/24), Providence Bruins (2/10/24), and Laval Rocket (2/16/24).
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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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