By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, CT—The Hartford Wolf Pack scored three of a possible four points over the weekend, extending their current point streak to five games (3-0-1-1).
Thanks to their three points over the weekend, the Wolf Pack is tied with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for third place in the Atlantic Division.
The Pack spent Monday morning traveling to Charlotte, North Carolina, where they will meet the Checkers on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
Friday, March 8th, 2024, Vs. Providence Bruins (7-4 W): The Wolf Pack tied their season high for both goals (seven) and powerplay goals (four) in a single game on Friday night. The Pack roared out to a 6-0 lead, blowing away the Bruins to take a 5-4 edge in the ten-game season series.
Brett Berard scored the first hat trick of his professional career, scoring three times on the powerplay. He struck at 7:26 and 14:20 of the first period and made it 5-0 2:35 into the middle frame.
Berard’s three powerplay goals tie a franchise record for powerplay goals in a single game. Andrew Hutchinson was the last to do in on February 8th, 2008, against the Bruins. Ryan Callahan had previously done it twice.
Berard’s hat trick goal also stood as the game-winning goal, his team-leading eighth of the season.
Alex Belzile also notched three points in his return to the lineup, scoring a goal and two assists. Blade Jenkins and Nikolas Brouillard scored a goal and an assist in the win, while Matej Pekar, Brennan Othmann, and Mac Hollowell recorded two helpers.
Dylan Garand made 33 saves to pick up his career-high 16th victory of the season.
With the win, the Wolf Pack are now 5-3-1-0 against the Bruins this season.
The Bruins, who saw a five-game road winning streak snapped, are now 4-3-1-1 in the head-to-head matchup.
Saturday, March 9th, 2024, @ Bridgeport Islanders (3-2 SOL): Trailing 1-0 through 40 minutes of play, the Wolf Pack struck twice in the third period to take a 2-1 lead over the rival Bridgeport Islanders.
Belzile tied the contest 6:48 into the third period, jamming home a rebound for his 16th goal of the season.
Nic Petan, making his Wolf Pack debut, earned the primary assist on the goal.
2:56 later, Jake Leschyshyn scored his sixth goal of the season at 10:41 to give the Wolf Pack a 2-1 lead and put them in the driver’s seat.
However, William Dufour tied the game with a shot from the right-wing faceoff circle at 12:03. Dufour’s 13th goal of the season would force an overtime period, the second in as many meetings at Total Mortgage Arena between the sides.
The Wolf Pack got an early penalty kill in overtime, then nearly won the game when Brouillard set up Berard on a two-on-zero. Jakub Skarek made a terrific save, keeping the Islanders alive and forcing a shootout.
In the shootout, Matthew Maggio and Petan both scored to make it 1-1, entering the bottom half of the third round. Ruslan Iskhakov went between the legs and scored a beautiful goal to earn the Isles the second point.
The loss snapped the Wolf Pack’s seven-game winning streak in Bridgeport and their six-game winning streak overall in the season series.
Quick Hits:
- Brouillard has been red-hot as of late from the blue line. In his first year with the Wolf Pack, the defenseman scored an assist in seven of the team’s last eight games. He’s also scored a goal during that stretch and is working on a four-game point streak.
- Thanks to his hat trick on Friday night, Berard leads the Wolf Pack with 22 goals on the season. He is second in the AHL in goals among rookies, tied with Tucson’s Josh Doan. Logan Stankoven of the Texas Stars leads all rookies with 24 goals.
- Both Berard (T-5th, 39 points) and Othmann (T-7th, 38 points) are in the top ten in points among rookies in the AHL.
- On Friday, the parent New York Rangers (NHL) traded forward Turner Elson to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for forward Nic Petan. Petan, wearing #7, made his Wolf Pack debut Saturday night in Bridgeport. He recorded an assist and scored in the shootout.
- On Sunday morning, the Rangers announced a one-year contract extension for goaltender Louis Domingue. Over two seasons with the Wolf Pack, Domingue is 35-19-12 with five shutouts.
- Defenseman Zach Berzolla returned to the lineup on Saturday night, playing his first AHL game since November 25th, 2023. He suffered a lower-body injury that night against the Belleville Senators.
The Week Ahead:
- Tuesday, March 12th, 2024, @ Charlotte Checkers (7:00 p.m., Bojangles Coliseum)
- Wednesday, March 13th, 2024, @ Charlotte Checkers (7:00 p.m., Bojangles Coliseum)
- Saturday, March 16th, 2024, Vs. Utica Comets (6:00 p.m., XL Center, ‘Hartford Hockey Heritage Night’)
- Sunday, March 17th, 2024, @ Hershey Bears (5:00 p.m., Giant Center)
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ABOUT THE HARTFORD WOLF PACK: The Hartford Wolf Pack has been a premier franchise in the American Hockey League since its 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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