By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack concluded the 2024 calendar year with a 7-0 victory over the rival Springfield Thunderbirds on New Year’s Eve.
The club starts the 2025 calendar year with a back-to-back set on the road, taking on a pair of divisional rivals.
Saturday, January 4th, 2025, @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (6:05 p.m.): The Wolf Pack and Penguins will meet for the third time this season on Saturday night in Wilkes-Barre. It is the second of three visits to the Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza for the Pack this season.
The Penguins hold a 2-0 edge in the head-to-head series. They opened the season series with a 2-1 victory in Wilkes-Barre on Nov. 2. Ville Koivunen’s goal 10:54 into the second period, which made it 2-0 at the time, proved to be the game-winning tally.
On Dec. 7, the Penguins spoiled the ‘Teddy Bear Toss’ in Hartford with a 6-2 victory. Valtteri Puustinen struck twice in the first period, scoring on the power play at 12:14 and 18:18. Joona Koppanen then tipped home the game-winning goal at 19:46, making it 3-0 after one.
Bryce McConnell-Barker scored the ‘Teddy Bear Toss’ goal at 4:47 of the second period, while Jake Leschyshyn had a power play strike at 9:25. That would be all of the club’s offense, however.
Vasily Ponomarev potted a hat-trick to help the Penguins pull away, first striking on the power play 7:39 into the second period. He then scored shorthanded at 3:28 of the final frame and shorthanded again into an empty net at 18:33.
The Penguins went three-for-six on the power play and struck twice shorthanded in the victory.
The Penguins have won each of the last four games played between the foes in Wilkes-Barre.
Sunday, January 5th, 2025, @ Bridgeport Islanders (3:00 p.m.): The ‘Battle of Connecticut’ resumes Sunday afternoon in Bridgeport. It’ll be the fifth of ten clashes between the rivals this season.
The sides have split the prior four meetings this season. The Wolf Pack are 2-2-0-0, while the Islanders are 2-1-1-0.
The Wolf Pack opened the head-to-head series with a 5-4 overtime victory on Oct. 19, but the Isles struck back with a pair of regulation victories. They blanked the Wolf Pack 4-0 at the Total Mortgage Arena on Oct. 20, then won 4-1 at the XL Center on Nov. 24.
The Wolf Pack struck back with a dominant 6-1 victory in Bridgeport on Dec. 4. Alex Belzile recorded a hat-trick, striking three times on the power play. His second goal, scored at 16:11 of the second period, would be the game-winning marker.
Defenseman Victor Mancini recorded a career-high three assists in the win, while forward Bo Groulx added on a career-high four helpers.
Belzile’s hat-trick goal came at 8:47 of the third period, sparking the fastest three goals in franchise history. Matt Rempe and McConnell-Barker scored at 9:32 and 9:39, respectively, making it three goals in 52 seconds.
Quick Hits:
- On Thursday, Dylan Garand was named the AHL’s Goaltender of the Month for December. Garand went 4-2-0 in six starts with a .958 save percentage, 1.35 goals-against average, and two shutouts in the month.
- On Tuesday, the Wolf Pack scored a season-high seven goals in their 7-0 victory over the Springfield Thunderbirds.
- Goaltender Talyn Boyko made his first career AHL start in the win, making 32 saves to collect his first AHL victory and shutout.
- Boyko also picked up his first career AHL assist in the win, grabbing the secondary helper on Blade Jenkins’ goal at 12:19 of the first period.
- Forward Adam Sýkora recorded his first career two-goal game in the victory. His first goal, scored on the power play at 11:09 of the first period, was the game-winning goal.
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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.
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