By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, CT—The Hartford Wolf Pack dropped their fifth straight contest on Sunday evening, falling 4-0 to the Hershey Bears. This is the second time this season that the Wolf Pack has suffered five consecutive losses.
The team packed up and drove to Rochester, NY, on Sunday night, where they’ll set up shop for the next three days. The Pack will take on the Rochester Americans for the second and final time this season on Wednesday night as part of their current four-game road trip.
Saturday, March 16th, 2024, Vs. Utica Comets (4-2 L): Brett Berard got the Wolf Pack on the board 6:57 into the hockey game, deflecting an Alex Belzile shot by Akira Schmid on the powerplay to give the Wolf Pack a 1-0 lead.
The Comets scored the game’s next three goals, however, taking a lead they would never lose. At 13:19 of the first period, Graeme Clarke was left alone in front of Olof Lindbom and beat the goaltender with his glove to even the tilt at 1-1.
2:06 later, the Comets took the lead for good when a Ryan Schmelzer shot hit the stick of Lindbom, clipped the goal post, and trickled over the line to make it 2-1.
Schmelzer’s second of the night came via a redirection at 12:59 of the second period. The Comets’ captain slipped behind the Wolf Pack defense, saw a shot clip off his leg, and beat Lindbom.
Adam Sýkora got the Wolf Pack back within a goal 66 seconds later, beating Schmid from the left-wing circle for his seventh goal of the season.
Despite a good third-period push, the Wolf Pack could not solve Schmid to equalize the game. Kyle Criscuolo ended the intrigue at 18:29, scoring his 13th goal of the season into an empty net.
The season series ended in a split, with each team winning one game. The road team finished the season series with a 2-0-0-0 record.
Sunday, March 17th, 2024, @ Hershey Bears (4-0 L): The Wolf Pack were shut out on Sunday for the fourth time this season and the second time in the last three games. On Wednesday night, they also suffered a 4-0 defeat in Charlotte against the Checkers.
Ethen Frank scored the game-winning goal just 1:19 into the contest, snapping a shot by Dylan Garand’s glove from the left-wing circle. The goal came eight seconds into Hershey’s first powerplay of the night.
The Wolf Pack carried the play in the second period but could not solve Hunter Shepard. At 19:44 of the middle frame, Alex Limoges jammed home a rebound for his 19th goal of the season, ballooning the lead to 2-0.
The Bears took advantage of two turnovers by the Wolf Pack in the third period to extend the lead to 4-0. First, Riley Sutter wrapped around his ninth goal of the season at 11:18 after a turnover behind the net. Then, Ryan Hofer blasted his fourth goal of the season by Garand at 14:13 after a puck deflected off two Wolf Pack players and came right into the slot for Hofer.
Shepard made 26 saves for his third shutout of the season.
Quick Hits:
- Berard’s goal on Saturday night was his team-leading 23rd of the season. He is now third in the AHL in goals among rookies, one behind Logan Stankoven of the Texas Stars and Josh Doan of the Tucson Roadrunners.
- Berard (23 g, 17 a) and Brennan Othmann (14 g, 26 a) are in the top ten rookie points in the AHL. They both have 40 and are tied for seventh.
- Sunday was the fourth time this season that the Wolf Pack was shut out. In addition to Sunday’s loss, the Pack fell 4-0 to the Checkers in Charlotte on March 13th, 3-0 to the Providence Bruins in Rhode Island on February 18th and 2-0 to the Bruins at the XL Center on November 11th.
- The Wolf Pack’s magic number to clinch a spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs is 19. They currently sit in fifth place with 67 points. The Wolf Pack are one point behind the Checkers for fourth and two points behind the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for third.
The Week Ahead:
- Wednesday, March 20th, 2024, @ Rochester Americans (7:05 p.m., Blue Cross Arena)
- Saturday, March 23rd, 2024, @ Toronto Marlies (4:00 p.m., Coca-Cola Coliseum)
- Sunday, March 24th, 2024, @ Belleville Senators (2:00 p.m., CAA Arena)
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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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