By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
SYRACUSE, NY—The Hartford Wolf Pack and Syracuse Crunch played an entertaining hockey game at the Upstate Medical University Arena on Friday night. Both teams collected a point, but the Crunch ultimately prevailed 3-2 in overtime.
Over time, the Crunch gained first possession and never gave up. Gabriel Szturc attempted a wraparound but saw the puck roll off his stick and into the right-wing circle. The puck came to Max Crozier, who beat a diving Dylan Garand for his first goal of the season at 41 seconds of overtime.
After an early penalty kill, the Crunch converted on their first power play of the night to break the ice. Veteran center Logan Brown fired a shot that Garand got a piece of, making the initial save. The rebound popped right to rookie Dylan Duke, who buried his fourth goal of the season just 5:23 into the hockey game.
The Wolf Pack got a big kill late in the period, thwarting the Crunch with Jake Leschyshyn in the penalty box for cross-checking. Following the kill, which featured two big saves from Garand, the Wolf Pack were awarded their second power play of the night.
Late in the power play, Adam Erne was hooked in the defensive zone by Jaydon Dureau, setting the Wolf Pack up with their third power play to start the middle frame.
Despite not scoring on the power play, the Wolf Pack wrestled the momentum away and turned in their best period of hockey on the road this season. The Pack outshot the Crunch 11-4 in the middle stanza and outscored them 2-0.
With Casey Fitzgerald in the penalty box for tripping at 13:02, the Wolf Pack penalty kill went to work for the fourth time in the hockey game. After a turnover, Anton Blidh danced through the neutral zone and created a two-on-one with Dylan Roobroeck into the offensive zone. Blidh fed Roobroeck on the right-wing side, then crashed the net. Roobroeck connected with Blidh at the backdoor, as the veteran put home his second goal of the season.
The goal was the Wolf Pack’s second shorthanded tally of the campaign.
Blade Jenkins gave the Wolf Pack their first lead of the evening at 17:27, converting on another two-on-one. Jenkins burst in on the right-wing side and elected to shoot, ripping a shot by the glove of Brandon Halverson for his first goal of the season.
Ryder Korczak scored points in back-to-back games with an assist, while Fitzgerald’s secondary helper was his team-leading sixth of the year.
However, the Crunch responded early in the final frame, tying the contest just 91 seconds in. Declan Carlile flung a pass from the left-wing corner to the front of the net, where it clipped Niko Huuhtanen’s leg and beat Garand. The goal was the rookie forward’s second of the season and marked the fastest goal scored to start a period at home this season for the Crunch.
Each side recorded six shots in the third period, with the goaltenders standing tall following Huuhtanen’s early tally.
Less than a minute into overtime, Crozier would earn the second point for the Crunch, pushing them to 3-0-0-0 at home this season.
The Wolf Pack conclude their weekend back-to-back on the road tomorrow night in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Their battle with the Penguins starts at 6:05 p.m. Coverage of the game is available on AHLTV on FloHockey and Mixlr, with ‘Wolf Pack Pregame’ starting at 5:50 p.m.
The Pack is back at the XL Center on Nov. 6, when the Crunch comes to town! The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.
Full-season tickets, 20-game plans, 12-game plans, flex plans, and single-game tickets for the 2024-25 season are on sale now! Visit hartfordwolfpack.com or call 860-722-9425 for more details!
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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.
