By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
ALLENTOWN, PA – Victor Mancini sniped home his first career overtime game-winning goal in the AHL on Friday night. The goal helped the Wolf Pack to a 3-2 overtime victory over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, giving them their first back-to-back road victories of the season.
Mancini entered the zone on a two-on-one with Nathan Sucese. The rookie defenseman elected to shoot the puck, beating Cal Petersen. The goal was Mancini’s third of the season, while Sucese’s assist was his second of the night.
Massimo Rizzo opened the scoring 8:37 into the hockey game, deflecting home his third goal of the season. Elliot Desnoyers played a puck to the point for Louie Belpedio, who blasted a shot into traffic. Rizzo got a piece of the puck, breaking the ice.
The Wolf Pack’s penalty kill swung momentum, killing a pair of power plays for the Phantoms. The second penalty kill, in particular, got the Wolf Pack buzzing as the club began tilting the action back in their favor at five-on-five.
Late in the period, Sucese carried the puck down low and behind the Phantoms’ net. Sucese connected with Alex Belzile on a pretty pass, setting up the All-Star forward in the right-wing circle. Belzile snapped home a quick shot top shelf by Petersen to tie the game at 18:39.
The goal was Belzile’s eleventh of the season, tying him for the team lead. It was also his team-leading 32nd point (11 g, 21 a) of the season.
At 19:53, a scrum to the left of Dylan Garand set up the Phantoms with their third power play of the evening heading into the middle stanza.
The Wolf Pack’s penalty kill continued its strong night, killing off the early-period skater advantage. Moments later, at 5:16, Adam Sýkora gave the Wolf Pack the lead with his eighth goal of the season. Sýkora took a centering pass from Jaroslav Chmelař and snapped a shot over the glove of Petersen to make it a 2-1 game.
Sýkora’s goal matched his total from his rookie season and gave him goals in back-to-back games.
The Phantoms finally got on the board on the power play at 8:54. Samu Tuomaala blasted a one-timer from the left-wing circle that Garand could stop, but the rebound came to Rodrigo Abols. Abols quickly sent a backhand pass to Alexis Gendron, who beat Garand for his eleventh goal of the season.
The Phantoms began the third period on the power play, as Mancini was whistled for interference at the 20:00 mark of the middle frame.
The Wolf Pack again got the kill, going five-for-six on the penalty kill in the game.
Garand made nine saves in the final regulation period, helping get the game to overtime.
In overtime, it was Mancini who propelled the Wolf Pack to victory. With the win, the Wolf Pack conclude their four-game road trip with a 3-1-0-0 record.
The Pack is back at the XL Center tomorrow night when the Phantoms come to town for a rematch! Join us as we celebrate a special milestone: 50 years of professional hockey in Hartford!
The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.
Tickets are available at hartfordwolfpack.com.
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 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. Follow the Wolf Pack on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
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