WOLF PACK GET TWO FROM FIX-WOLANSKY IN WIN
TREY FIX-WOLANSKY STRIKES TWICE AS WOLF PACK DOWN MONSTERS 6-4
By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
CLEVELAND, OH – Trey Fix-Wolansky’s return to Cleveland was extra special on Friday night. The Monsters’ all-time leader in goals, assists, and points scored twice for his new club as the Hartford Wolf Pack defeated the Cleveland Monsters 6-4 at Rocket Arena.
Adam Sýkora opened the scoring 4:35 into the game, beating Ivan Fedotov for his fourth goal of the season. Casey Fitzgerald navigated his way into the offensive zone on the right-wing side, then carried the puck down the wall before sending a pass to Sýkora.
Sýkora’s shot clipped the blocker of Fedotov and lit the lamp to make it a 1-0 game.
The Monsters strung together a few shifts in the aftermath of the goal, eventually tying the game. Roman Ahcan flipped a puck from his own zone to center ice, where Hunter McKown found it. McKown burst in on a breakaway, got Callum Tung down, and beat him over his right pad with a backhander at 15:52.
The goal was McKown’s first of the season.
Just 30 seconds later, however, the Wolf Pack regained the lead thanks to a turnover. Ole Julian Bjørgvik-Holm played a puck off the right skate of teammate Will MacKinnon to the left of Fedotov. Brendan Brisson found the puck, went forehand-to-backhand, and beat Fedotov over his left pad for his fourth goal of the season at 16:22 to make it 2-1.
The goal gives Brisson tallies in three straight games.
Sýkora helped the Wolf Pack extend the lead at 2:42 of the second period. A puck popped into the slot for Sýkora, who turned and fired it toward the goal. His shot clipped Bryce McConnell-Barker and beat Fedotov to make it 3-1.
The goal was McConnell-Barker’s fourth of the season and gave Sýkora two points on the night (1 g, 1 a).
The Monsters drew back within one at 14:15, however, as Luca Del Bel Belluz set things up from behind the net. Del Bel Belluz found Jordan Dumas just inside the right-wing circle, where he quickly ripped a puck by Tung for his fourth goal of the season.
Another quick response from the Wolf Pack came 1:46 later.
Trey Fix-Wolansky, in his return to Cleveland, sent a pass to the left-wing side for Gabe Perreault. Perreault quickly returned the favor, setting Fix-Wolansky up for a tap-in goal at 16:01.
The Wolf Pack ran into penalty trouble, however, taking three minor infractions within a span of 3:17.
The first two penalties happened in a span of 20 seconds, giving the Monsters 1:40 of five-on-three time. Del Bel Belluz struck twice, tying the game 4-4.
Both of his goals came via one-timers from the right-wing circle. He struck on the five-on-three advantage at the 45 second mark of the third period, then tied the game at 2:13 while the Monsters worked five-on-four.
The Wolf Pack had a five-on-three of their own just minutes later but were unable to regain the lead.
Despite that, the Wolf Pack continued to work five-on-five and were rewarded at 11:16 with their fifth goal of the night. McConnell-Barker forced his way to the net and clipped the stick of Fedotov. He stuck with the play and jammed the rebound by Fedotov’s right pad to give the Wolf Pack the lead for good.
The goal gave McConnell-Barker his first career multi-goal game.
Fix-Wolansky cemented the win with his eighth goal of the season, hitting the empty net at 19:30.
With the win, the Wolf Pack improved to 4-0-0-0 all-time at Rocket Arena.
The sides conclude their weekend back-to-back set tomorrow night in Cleveland. The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m., with coverage starting at 6:45 p.m. on AHLTV on FloHockey and Mixlr.
The Pack is back at the newly renovated PeoplesBank Arena on Dec. 5 when the Springfield Thunderbirds return. The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m., with ‘Wolf Pack Pregame’ set to begin at 6:45 p.m. on AHLTV on FloHockey and Mixlr. Tickets are available here.
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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 are the top player-development affiliate of the NHL’s New York Rangers and play at PeoplesBank Arena. The Wolf Pack has been home to some of the Rangers newest faces including Igor Shesterkin, Will Cuylle, and Matt Rempe. Follow the Wolf Pack on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, and TikTok.
