WOLF PACK DROP HOME OPENER 5-2
By: Jason Alwang, Howlings
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack fell 5-2 in their home opening game at the newly renovated PeoplesBank Arena to the visiting Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in front of 7,185 Friday night.
Avery Hayes recorded what proved to be the game-winner on the power play at 5:57 of the second period. Hayes finished an odd-man rush with Sam Poulin and took advantage of a Wolf Pack miscue with the puck in the offensive zone. They came down the ice before beating Pack starting netminder, Dylan Garand (27 saves) for a 3-0 lead. Hayes’ goal was his second of the season.
“It’s been a two-game epidemic for us.” Wolf Pack Head Coach Grant Potulny said speakin of the turnovers that cost them goals. “You can’t generate anything when you’re giving the puck back to people all the time, and it’s frustrating.”
The game’s scoring started with Rafael Harvey-Pinard burying a goal off a laser pass down low in the offensive zone from Chase Pietila. Harvey-Pinard wristed it past Garand when a defensive lapse alllowed him to be all alone in front. The goal put the Penguins up 1-0 at 12:01 of the opening frame.
The Penguins made it 2-0 off another Wolf Pack miscue in the defensive zone. A turnover by the Wolf Pack, and a quick pass from Danton Heinen to the stick of Atley Calvert between the dots set up the opportunity for him to roof it past Garand to extend the Penguins lead at 14:59 also in the first period.
“We’re not coming out of our end clean enough. We’re not transitioning fast enough, and we’re most certainly not winning a lot of fights (for the puck), and most certainly not getting to the net enough.” Potulny said.
In the second period, the Pack finally got on the scoreboard when Gabe Perreault sored his first professional goal off a deflection of a Blake Hillman point shot that went past th Penguins’ Sergei Murashov (28 saves) at 16:24 cutting the Penguins lead to 3-1. It was set up by Dylan Rooboreck getting the puck through to Hillman at the point for the shot, earning the secondary assist.
Adam Sykora got to a puck quickly, to make it a one-goal game when he came crashing toward the net to tip in a one-timed slap point shot by Derrick Pouliot. It cut the Wolf Pack deficit to 3-2 at 6:50 of the third period.
“Adam will win a fight.” Potulny said. “He’ll go to the net, and I’m not surprised because he’s the type of player that as a coach, when you’re talking about things, he’s going to do everything in his power to do what you ask him to do.”
At 11:53, the Penguins returned it to a two goal lead at 4-2 after a quick feed from behind the net to Calvert notching his second tally of the game from Ryan Graves, who threaded the pass in between the dots. The goal put the Wolf Pack on their heels in the third period.
Tristan Broz buried an empty-netter to seal the 5-2 win on his third goal of the season at 17:46.
Defenseman Cooper Moore made his professional debut for the Wolf Pack.
“I thought for his first game I thought he played fine.” Potulny on Moore’s debut. “Hopefully he can build some confidence from it.”
The Wolf Pack have lost their first two games, both to the Penguins, and will be back on home ice Wednesday against their I-91 rivals, the Springfield Thunderbirds.
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