PRE-GAME: WOLF PACK AND ISLES ONE LAST TIME
PRE-GAME REPORT: WOLF PACK VISIT ISLANDERS IN LATEST INSTALLMENT OF ‘BATTLE OF CONNECTICUT’
By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
BRIDGEPORT, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack will look for their first four-game winning streak since November tonight as they visit the Bridgeport Islanders in the latest installment of the ‘Battle of Connecticut.’
The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m., and coverage is available on AHLTV and Mixlr.
Tale of The Tape:
This is the ninth of ten meetings this season between the Wolf Pack and the Islanders. It is the fifth and final meeting between the sides at Total Mortgage Arena. The season series will wrap up at the XL Center in Hartford on Wednesday, April 3rd.
The Wolf Pack have largely controlled the season series to this point, posting a record of 7-1-0-0 through eight games. That includes a current five-game winning streak in the head-to-head matchup.
In the last meeting, on February 21st, the Wolf Pack claimed a 2-1 victory on home ice. Jake Leschyshyn opened the scoring 5:29 into the game, tipping his fifth goal of the season home on the powerplay.
Brennan Othmann extended the lead to 2-0, potting the eventual game-winning goal 4:14 into the middle frame. Othmann took a pass from Tyler Pitlick and wandered to the top of the slot, where he fired home his 14th goal of the season.
Matthew Maggio got the Islanders on the board 12:03 into the second period, converting a breakaway opportunity for his tenth goal of the season.
Dylan Garand slammed the door shut from there, however, making ten saves in the third period to cement the victory. Garand is 5-0-0 against the Islanders this season.
The Wolf Pack are 4-0-0-0 at Total Mortgage Arena this season and have won each of their last seven visits.
Wolf Pack Outlook:
The Wolf Pack won their third straight game on Friday night, scoring a season-high seven goals in a 7-4 drubbing of the Providence Bruins.
Blade Jenkins opened the scoring 3:48 into the game, tipping in a Matej Pekar shot to give the Wolf Pack a lead they never lost.
Brett Berard scored the first hat trick of his professional career in the victory, the first this season by a Wolf Pack player. Berard extended the lead to 3-0 with two powerplay goals, striking at 7:26 and 14:20 of the first period.
The Pack then exploded for three goals in a span of 1:08 to open the middle frame. Alex Belzile made it a 4-0 game at 1:59, blasting a one-timer from the top of the left-wing circle. Berard completed his hat trick with another powerplay marker at 2:35, then Ryder Korczak tapped in a pass from Pekar at 3:07 to make it 6-0.
Patrick Brown got the Bruins on the board 6:30 into the second period, but Nikolas Brouillard converted on a breakaway at 11:18 to restore the six-goal lead.
Oskar Steen, Brown, and Georgii Merkulov all scored powerplay goals to draw the Bruins to 7-4, but it would not be enough on this night to complete a comeback.
Berard leads the Wolf Pack in goals with 22. Belzile (15 g, 25 a) and Nic Petan (12 g, 28 a) lead the team in points with 40 each, while Mac Hollowell leads the way in assists with 34.
On Friday, the parent New York Rangers (NHL) acquired forward Nic Petan from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for forward Turner Elson. Petan will report to the Wolf Pack. The Wolf Pack also released forward Cameron Hillis from his professional tryout agreement (PTO), while the Rangers assigned forward Adam Edström to Hartford.
Islanders Outlook:
The Islanders also picked up their third straight win last night, doubling up the Springfield Thunderbirds by a final score of 4-2 at the MassMutual Center.
William Dufour opened the scoring 3:42 into the game, giving the Islanders a lead they never lost. Tyce Thompson extended the lead to 2-0 at 11:15, potting his second goal of the season.
Joseph Duszak got the Thunderbirds on the board 2:24 into the middle frame, drawing them within one. Grant Hutton, however, restored the two-goal lead at 3:16 of the third when he potted a shorthanded goal. That proved to be an important marker as it stood as the eventual game-winning goal.
Zach Dean drew the T-Birds back within one at 4:05 of the third period, but Maggio’s empty-net tally at 19:05 cemented two points for the Isles.
All-Star forward Ruslan Iskhakov leads the team in goals with 15, assists with 25, and points with 40.
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.
The Wolf Pack continued their three-game road trip with two games in Charlotte on Tuesday and Wednesday night. The puck drop for both games is set for 7:00 p.m., with ‘Wolf Pack Pregame’ starting at 6:45 p.m. on AHLTV and Mixlr.
The Pack is back at the XL Center on Saturday, March 16th, for ‘Hartford Hockey Heritage Night’ against the Utica Comets! The puck drop is set for 6:00 p.m.
Tickets are available at 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.
