By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, CT – On Saturday night, the Hartford Wolf Pack outshot the Springfield Thunderbirds 33-23 in front of 6,349 fans at the XL Center. However, it would not be enough as the Thunderbirds struck three times at five-on-five to take a 4-2 decision. The loss snapped the Wolf Pack’s three-game overall winning streak and five-game winning streak on home ice.
In the second period, Matthew Peca struck twice for the Thunderbirds, applying the dagger.
Dylan Garand made an excellent save on Nikita Alexandrov down low, but the rebound fell into the Thunderbirds’ possession. Leo Loof eventually gained possession and fired a cross-ice pass to Peca in the right-wing circle, who blasted home his seventh goal of the season.
Loof’s assist was his second of the night and fifth of the season, while Alexandrov picked up his seventh assist and 13th point on the goal at 17:51 of period two.
Peca opened the scoring for the visitors 8:51 into the hockey game, burying his sixth goal of the season from the right-wing circle. Tyler Tucker set up Peca from the left-wing side, allowing the Thunderbirds’ captain to extend his goal-scoring streak to three games.
The Wolf Pack settled the game down and controlled most of the play for the remainder of the period. They finally solved Colten Ellis at 19:00, as Matt Rempe tipped home his second goal of the season. Adam Sýkora fired a puck from the right-wing boards that Rempe tipped in front on the Wolf Pack’s 14th shot of the period.
The helper extended Sýkora’s assist streak to three games.
Just 13 seconds later, however, Marcus Sylvegard restored the lead for the Thunderbirds. His seventh goal of the season came at 19:13 as he took a pass from Loof in the right-wing circle and snapped a shot by a diving Garand.
With the tally, Sylvegard took over the team lead in goals.
Each team had two power play chances in the middle stanza, but both penalty-killing units came up with four total kills.
After some good pressure from the Wolf Pack, the Thunderbirds extended the lead to 3-1 with Peca’s goal at 17:51 following a defensive zone breakdown.
Brett Berard brought the Wolf Pack within a goal at 5:49 of the third period, blasting home his team-leading seventh goal of the season. Casey Fitzgerald maintained the zone with a keep-in with his right glove at the right-wing point. Eventually, he fed Berard back at the right-wing point, who stepped into a shot that breezed by Ellis.
The Wolf Pack pressed hard to find the equalizer, but Ellis turned aside nine shots in the final period to preserve the fourth straight victory for the Thunderbirds.
The Pack is back at the XL Center tomorrow when the Bridgeport Islanders come to town for round three of the ‘Battle of Connecticut.’
Have you ever wanted to be a wizard?! We can help! The first 1,500 fans in attendance tomorrow will receive a wizard wand giveaway. We hope that the right wand chooses the right wizard! We’ll have wizardly games and areas for you to work on casting spells throughout the concourse.
The puck drop is set for 4:00 p.m.
Tickets are available at hartfordwolfpack.com.
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!
About Oak View Group (OVG): Oak View Group (OVG) is the global leader in live experience venue development, management, premium hospitality services, and 360-degree solutions for a collection of world-class owned venues, and a client roster of arenas, convention centers, music festivals, performing arts centers, and cultural institutions. Founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff in 2015, OVG is the leading developer of major new venues, either open or under development across four continents. Visit OakViewGroup.com, and follow OVG on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.
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.
Leave a Reply