WOLF PACK – THE HART BEAT – VOL 1, ISSUE 19
THE HART BEAT – VOL 1, ISSUE 19
By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack opened a season-long, five-game homestand on Wednesday night, turning in one of their best efforts of the season.
Despite that, the Wolf Pack dropped their second straight game and remain six points back of the Bridgeport Islanders for the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division.
The Week That Was:
Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026 – at Lehigh Valley Phantoms (5-4 SO W): The Wolf Pack battled back from down 2-0 and 4-2 on Saturday night, eventually claiming a 5-4 victory in the shootout over the Phantoms.
Down 2-0 just 5:33 into the contest, Dylan Garand entered the game in place of Spencer Martin. Garand made eleven saves the rest of the period, allowing the Wolf Pack to get their footing. Connor Mackey then got the Pack on the board at 10:13, then 27 seconds later Adam Sýkora evened the game with his tenth goal of the season.
The Phantoms regained their two-goal lead in the second period on goals from Phil Tomasino and Oscar Eklind. Once again, the Wolf Pack battled back. Juuso Pärssinen tipped home a Travis Dermott shot at 17:48 to make it 4-3, then Brennan Othmann took a feed from Trey Fix-Wolansky on a two-on-one and buried his seventh goal of the season.
After no goals in the third period and in overtime, the sides went to a shootout. The shootout lasted 12 rounds, where Jusitn Dowling ended it with a wrist-shot. Garand made ten saves on 12 shots in the skills competition.
Sunday, Mar. 1, 2026 – at Lehigh Valley Phantoms (3-6 L): The Wolf Pack fell behind 2-0 for the second straight game, as Eklind and Anthony Richard had the Phantoms ahead early. For the second straight game, the Pack battled back to tie the game. Anton Blidh and Pärssinen struck 3:21 apart, sending the game to the intermission tied 2-2.
The Phantoms again retook the lead early in the second period, this time for good. Alex Bump tipped home a Christian Kyrou shot at 1:34, making it 3-2. Cooper Marody and Lane Pederson tacked on goals to make it 5-2 before Othmann drew the Wolf Pack back within two at 7:52 of the third period.
Richard’s second goal of the game at 11:40 put the Phantoms out of reach.
Wednesday, Mar. 4, 2026 – Vs. Providence Bruins (2-3 L): The Wolf Pack fired a season-high 41 shots on goal on Wednesday night but could not get a third goal by Michael DiPietro.
Fix-Wolansky opened the scoring 2:38 into the game, striking from the right-wing circle. Derrick Pouliot then blasted a shot from the point at 6:36 of the second period, potting a power play marker that had the Wolf Pack up 2-0 and in control.
A controversial goal from Frederic Brunet at 12:32 got the Bruins on the board, making it 2-1. 1:28 later, a puck bounced to Riley Tufte in the slot on the power play. He quickly released a shot that beat Garand for his 23rd goal of the season.
Late in the third period, Matt Poitras found the puck in the right-wing circle and ripped his eleventh goal of the year home to put the Bruins ahead for good. The goal, scored at 18:11, was the second latest game-winning goal scored in regulation time against the Wolf Pack this season.
The Week Ahead:
Friday, Mar. 6, 2026 – Vs. Bridgeport Islanders (7:00 p.m.): The ninth of 12 meeting between the Wolf Pack and Islanders might just be the biggest yet. The sides are separated by just six points in the standings, with the Wolf Pack also holding a game-in-hand.
The Islanders have had the better of the season series to this point, winning five of the first eight matchups (5-3-0-0). The Wolf Pack are 3-5-0-0 in the head-to-head series.
The Islanders doubled up the Wolf Pack 6-3 in the last meeting on Jan. 30 at PeoplesBank Arena. The Islanders have won three of the four meetings in Hartford, shutting out the Wolf Pack 3-0 on Oct. 24 and 4-0 on Dec. 31 in addition to their 6-3 triumph on Jan. 30.
The Wolf Pack’s 3-2 victory on Jan. 23 is their lone home-ice victory in the season series to this point.
Saturday, Mar. 7, 2026 – Vs. Hershey Bears (7:00 p.m.): The Wolf Pack and Bears will meet for the third time this season on Saturday night.
The Wolf Pack won both of the prior meetings, both in Hershey, in January. The Pack scored a 3-2 overtime decision on Jan. 14, then won 5-4 in overtime on Jan. 20. Bryce McConnell-Barker scored the overtime winner on the 20th, while Brett Berard had the winner on the 14th.
Fix-Wolansky recorded the Wolf Pack’s lone hat-trick of the season in the win on Jan. 20.
Where To Watch & Listen:
You can watch both Wolf Pack games this weekend on AHLTV on FloHockey here!
Alex Thomas will have the call of the action on both days. ‘Wolf Pack Pregame’ starts 15 minutes prior to puck drop each day.
All three games can also be heard on Mixlr.
Quick Hits:
- The Wolf Pack’s 41 shots on goal on Wednesday night against the Bruins were a season-high. It marked the first time that the Wolf Pack hit 40 shots in a game this season.
- With his goal on Wednesday night, Fix-Wolansky now has points in four straight games (3 g, 4 a, 7 pts). This marks his second four-game point streak of the season.
- Sýkora recorded two assists in Wednesday night’s loss to the Bruins. This marked his fourth two-point game of the season and his fifth multi-point performance.
- Saturday’s shootout victory over the Phantoms was the club’s first of the season. They are now 1-2 in the shootout.
- The 12-round shootout was the second longest in franchise history. The Wolf Pack and Lowell Lock Monsters went 13 rounds in a shootout on Dec. 3, 2004. Mike Zigomanis of Lowell had the only goal in the shootout. Steve Valiquette was in net for the Wolf Pack that night.
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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, and TikTok.
