By: Jason Alwang, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT: The Charlotte Checkers stormed into Hartford and silenced a crowd of 6,929 Wolf Pack supporters with a full 60-minute defensive effort, with Cooper Black making 20 saves in the 3-0 shutout victory. The loss was the Wolf Pack’s seventh straight loss.
“We’re in a tough funk right now,” Wolf Pack Head Coach Grant Potulny said of the team’s losing streak. “It was a flat, flat game. I think the game’s got to be played with emotion, and passion, and energy.”
The Checkers tallied the only goal they’d need at 11:33 of the first period after Justin Sourdif created a scoring chance off a nice move in the slot before firing a wrister past Louis Domingue (35 saves) for his ninth tally of the season.
“He’s been playing really good hockey lately.” Potulny commented about his netminder. “Tonight was just a step back for (the team).”
Rasmus Asplund recorded his 14th goal of the season with a shot from the left dot that fooled Domingue and snuck by his left skate to make it 2-0 with only 54 seconds coming off the clock in the middle period.
At 9:51 of the second, a scramble in front of the Hartford net resulted in a scrum that included a frustrated Domingue going after Tobias Bjornfot made contact with him in the crease. Domingue got a couple of jabs in and even dropped the gloves, but the officials stopped it before it became a full-on fight. Bjornfot received a four-minute double minor for roughing, with Domingue getting two for roughing and two for leaving the crease, thus negating the penalties.
Will Lockwood would get a hold of the puck and create a 2-on-1 rush up the ice, which he capitalized on with a shot off the post from Domingue’s right to extend the lead to 3-0.
Offensively, the Wolf Pack could not muster much offense throughout the game. Their best chance came from the Pack’s newest member, Erik Brännström, acquired by the New York Rangers in the trade that sent Fillip Chytil and Victor Mancini to the Vancouver Canucks for one-time Pack, J.T. Miller. Brännström moved into the defensive zone and made a strong move before firing a wrister that Black stopped.
“When you’re winning, you find ways to win,” Potulny said. “When you’re in a funk, you’ve got to push really hard to get out of it.”
The Wolf Pack are now 18-22-4-1 on the season and will look for a quick turnaround when they visit the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at the PPL Center on Saturday night.
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