WOLF PACK FALL 4-1 TO ISLANDERS
By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
BRIDGEPORT, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack took an early lead on Sunday afternoon, but four unanswered goals from the Bridgeport Islanders propelled them to a 4-1 victory in the regular season home finale.
Bryce McConnell-Barker gave the Wolf Pack a 1-0 lead 1:14 into the hockey game, as the Wolf Pack converted off a turnover. Anton Blidh picked off an outlet pass and fed the second-year forward. McConell-Barker ripped a shot by Marcus Högberg for his 13th goal of the season to break the ice.
3:47 into the game, the Wolf Pack went to the penalty kill when Brandon Scanlin was whistled for a double-minor for high-sticking.
Late in the power play, Matthew Maggio tied the game. Maggio took a pass in the slot from Matthew Highmore and beat Spencer Martin for his eleventh goal of the season at 7:19.
Ethan Bear put the Islanders ahead at 12:35. Off a turnover, Bear picked up the puck in the right-wing circle and snapped a shot that beat Martin for his fourth goal of the campaign.
Maggio picked up the secondary assist, his second point of the period.
The Wolf Pack had three power play opportunities in the second period but were unable to draw even. During their third power play attempt, the deficit grew to two goals.
Adam Beckman forced a turnover in the neutral zone, sprinted in on a breakaway, and beat Martin for his 28th goal of the season at 18:22. The goal, unassisted, was the 13th shorthanded goal allowed by the Wolf Pack this season.
Chris Terry put the Islanders out of reach 4:12 into the third period, burying a shot from the slot during a six-on-five sequence.
The Pack is back at the newly renovated PeoplesBank Arena on Apr. 15 when the Islanders come to town. The puck drop is set for 6:30 p.m., with ‘Wolf Pack Pregame’ set to begin at 6:15 p.m. on AHLTV on FloHockey and Mixlr. Tickets are available here.
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CALLUM TUNG STELLAR AS WOLF PACK DOWN THUNDERBIRDS 3-1
By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
SPRINGFIELD, MA – The Hartford Wolf Pack used three first period goals to knock off the rival Springfield Thunderbirds by a score of 3-1 on Saturday night at the MassMutual Center.
Anton Blidh opened the scoring 7:58 into the hockey game, beating Vadim Zherenko by the right pad. Bryce McConnell-Barker worked through the right-wing circle and sent a cross-ice pass to Blidh, who buried the feed for his eighth goal of the season.
Brendan Brisson extended the lead to 2-0 at 9:01 with his 17th goal of the campaign. On their first power play of the night, Trey Fix-Wolansky worked right-to-left through the neutral zone. He flipped a pass through a pair of defenders that Brisson was able to collect. Brisson danced to the front of the goal, went between the legs, and beat Zherenko for a power play tally.
39 seconds later, Soctt Morrow made it 3-0. A failed clearing attempt by the Thunderbirds ended up on the stick of Morrow along the right-wing boards. Morrow took a step, then blasted a shot through traffic that clipped the goal post, hit the back of Zherenko’s pad, and found the back of the net at 9:40.
Hugh McGing got the Thunderbirds on the board at 13:28. After a turnover in the offensive zone by the Wolf Pack, Zach Dean rushed up the ice and gained the Hartford zone on the right wing. Dean fed McGing on the left-wing side, where he snapped a shot by Callum Tung to make it 3-1.
Tung was the story in the middle frame, as he made 13 saves to keep the score 3-1 through 40 minutes of play.
Tung was terrific in the final frame, tossing aside 12 bids from the Thunderbirds to cement the victory for the Wolf Pack.
Hartford’s penalty kill was also outstanding on this night, going a perfect six-for-six against the Thunderbirds.
The victory snapped the Wolf Pack’s seven-game losing streak (0-5-1-1).
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WOLF PACK FALL 4-1 TO PROVIDENCE BRUINS
By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack dropped their seventh straight game on Friday night, 4-1 to the Providence Bruins at PeoplesBank Arena.
The Bruins opened the scoring 7:45 into the game, as Frederic Brunet potted his 12th goal of the season. John Farinacci was tangled up with Cooper Moore on the left-wing side but was still able to play the puck to the front of the Wolf Pack net. Brunet won a race to the puck, gained possession on the forehand, and beat Spencer Martin by the right pad to make it a 1-0 game.
Brunet’s goal made it five straight games in which the Wolf Pack have surrendered the first goal.
Georgii Merkulov extended the lead to 2-0 for the Bruins 2:36 into the second period. On their first power play of the night, Merkulov took a pass in the right-wing circle from Christian Wolanin and blasted his 22nd goal of the season by Martin.
Late in the period, the Wolf Pack were caught making a change. Brunet danced into the zone and uncorked a shot that rang the post. The rebound popped into the slot, where John Farinacci was able to find it and fire home his ninth goal of the season at 17:47.
Brody Lamb got the Wolf Pack on the board with a perfect shot at 16:31 of the third period. Lamb ripped a puck by the right shoulder of Michael DiPietro for his third goal in ten professional games since leaving the Univ. of Minnesota.
The Wolf Pack had some terrific looks in the final frame, but DiPietro made eleven saves to give the Bruins the two points.
Jake Schmaltz hit the empty net at 19:56, potting his ninth goal of the season. The goal came with a six-on-four advantage for the Wolf Pack, and counted as the club’s 12th shorthanded goal allowed this season.
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WOLF PACK LOSE 8-1 TO BEARS
By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack dropped their sixth straight game on Saturday night, 8-1 to the Hershey Bears at PeoplesBank Arena.
The Wolf Pack fell behind 2-0 in the opening stanza, as rookie Andrew Cristall lit the lamp twice for the Bears.
Cristall opened the scoring just 1:16 in, potting his 17th goal of the season. Ilya Protas sent a backdoor pass to Cristall on the left-wing side, where he beat Callum Tung to break the ice.
It marked the second straight meeting between the sides in which Cristall opened the scoring.
The rookie forward then tapped home his second goal of the game at 14:23 of the opening frame. Protas turned and fired a shot toward the goal from the right-wing wall that Cristall tipped by Tung at the backdoor.
Cristall’s second goal of the night was his 18th of the season, while Protas’ second assist of the night was his 31st of the year.
Bryce McConnell-Barker made it 2-1 just ten seconds into the second period, scoring his third goal in four games. Mitch Gibson misplayed the puck behind the net, allowing Aidan Thompson to pick up possession. Thompson flipped the puck to the front of the net, where McConell-Barker chipped it by Gibson for his 12th goal of the season.
Four goals in 7:59 for the Bears blew the game wide open.
Ilya Protas ripped a shot over the glove of Tung at 3:37, making it a 3-1 game. Moments later, at 5:19, Kyler Kupka buried his first career AHL goal to make it 4-1.
Two goals in 14 seconds chased Tung from the game. Bogdan Trineyev beat the rookie netminder by the glove from the right-wing circle at 11:22, making it 5-1 with his 14th goal of the season.
Dalton Smith then potted his second goal of the season at 11:36, beating Tung with a backhand bid.
Spencer Martin entered the game for the Wolf Pack at the 31:36 mark.
Martin settled things down in the crease for the Wolf Pack the rest of the way in period number two, making seven saves on as many shots.
The Bears tacked on two more goals in the final frame.
Trineyev notched his second goal of the night at 8:20, then Cristall completed the hat-trick at 16:25.
Protas assisted on both goals, completing a six-point night (1 g, 5 a).
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WOLF PACK’S RALLY COMES UP SHORT IN 4-2 LOSS TO ISLANDERS
By: Alex Thomas, Harford Wolf Pack
BRIDGEPORT, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack dropped their fifth straight game on Friday night, 4-2 to the rival Bridgeport Islanders at Total Mortgage Arena.
The Wolf Pack surrendered three goals in the first period, digging themselves an early hole that proved to be too large to overcome.
Daylan Kuefler opened the scoring 4:49 into the game. Victor Eklund won a footrace in the left-wing corner of the Wolf Pack zone, then flung a pass to Kuefler at the bottom of the left-wing circle. Kuefler cut to the net, went to the backhand, and beat Spencer Martin for his ninth goal of the season.
Cam Thiesing made it 2-0 at 14:16. Liam Foudy danced through the offensive zone before setting up along the right-wing boards. Foudy then sent the puck to the point for Thiesing, who sent a shot to the net. Thiesing’s bid beat a screened Martin for his ninth goal of the campaign.
Marshall Warren’s sixth goal of the season at 18:07 made it 3-0. After a failed clearing attempt, Warren received a pass from Eklund at the top of the left-wing circle. He ripped a shot by Martin’s glove to put an exclamation mark on the frame.
The Wolf Pack drew within two goals at 5:54 of the second period when Trey Fix-Wolansky fired a shot into traffic. Fix-Wolansky blasted a puck from the right-wing point that clipped Henrik Tikkanen and crossed the line to make it 3-1.
The goal was Fix-Wolansky’s team-leading 27th of the season.
Halfway through the period, the Wolf Pack went to a five-minute power play when Luke Rowe was assessed a major penalty and a game misconduct for an elbow to the head of Carey Terrance. Less than a minute into the power play, however, Fix-Wolansky was assessed a five-minute major for an illegal check to the head that forced the sides to play four-on-four.
Both Fix-Wolansky and Rowe’s nights ended with the additional game misconducts tied to the major penalties.
Early in the third period, the Wolf Pack drew it to a one-goal game. A turnover ended up on the stick of Bryce McConnell-Barker, who carried into the left-wing circle and snapped a shot that Tikkanen denied. The rebound popped right back to McConnell-Barker, however, and he beat Tikkanen for his eleventh goal of the season at 2:56.
The Wolf Pack’s push continued, as they fired 15 shots on Tikkanen. The Islanders’ netminder would not relent, however.
Matthew Highmore ended the intrigue at 18:47, hitting the empty net for his 15th goal of the season.
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WOLF PACK FALL 2-1 TO CHECKERS IN OVERTIME
By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack and Charlotte Checkers played an entertaining contest on Saturday night at PeoplesBank Arena in front of 6,977 fans. In the end, the Checkers were able to grab the extra point thanks to a 2-1 overtime victory.
Brian Pinho opened the scoring 8:17 into the game, striking shorthanded. MacKenzie Entwistle forced a turnover in the offensive zone, then cut to the net. Entwistle was denied by Callum Tung, but the rebound bounced right to Pinho. The puck went off Pinho and found the back of the net to make it 1-0.
The goal was the eleventh shorthanded goal allowed by the Wolf Pack this season.
Less than two minutes later, the Wolf Pack returned to the power play. This time, they struck to equalize the game 1-1.
Bryce McConnell-Barker snapped a shot from just inside the right-wing circle that beat Cooper Black at 10:58 for his tenth goal of the season. Brody Lamb picked up the primary assist on the goal, extending his point streak to five-games (2 g, 3 a).
Both goaltenders were perfect in the middle stanza, sending us to the final 20 minutes deadlocked 1-1. Tung made six saves in the net for the Wolf Pack, while Black turned aside seven Wolf Pack bids.
An entertaining third period also failed to produce a goal. The Wolf Pack outshot the Checkers 11-10 in the frame but were unable to solve Black.
In overtime, both sides created some chances, but it took until the final seconds to determine a winner. Pinho took a pass from Robert Mastrosimone in the right-wing circle and fired a shot that beat Tung at 4:41 to give the Checkers the second point.
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WOLF PACK SIGN F CAIGE STERZER TO ONE-YEAR DEAL
By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, CT – New York Rangers Associate General Manager and Hartford Wolf Pack General Manager Ryan Martin announced today that the club has signed forward Caige Sterzer to a one-year standard AHL player contract.
The contract will take effect for the 2026-27 season.
Additionally, the Wolf Pack have agreed to an amateur tryout agreement (ATO) with Sterzer for the remainder of the 2025-26 season.
Sterzer, 25, recorded 15 points (4 g, 11 a) in 34 games with the Univ. of St. Thomas this season. Over the course of two seasons with the Tommies, he appeared in 72 games and collected 29 points (10 g, 19 a).
Prior to joining St. Thomas, Sterzer spent two seasons with Lindenwood Univ. at the NCAA level. There, he set career-high marks with eight goals, 14 assists, and 22 points in 28 games during the 2023-24 campaign.
Overall, Sterzer skated in 126 career NCAA games, scoring 62 points (24 g, 38 a).
The native of Kimberley, BC, stands in at 6’5” and 227 pounds. He will join the Wolf Pack immediately.
Hartford Wolf Pack transactions during the 2025-26 season are powered by Verizon.
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DYLAN ROOBROECK STRIKES TWICE AS WOLF PACK DOWN CHECKERS 5-2
By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
CHARLOTTE, NC – The Hartford Wolf Pack swept a back-to-back set with the Charlotte Checkers on Wednesday night, scoring the first five goals in an eventual 5-2 victory at the Bojangles Coliseum.
The Wolf Pack rushed out to a 3-0 lead in the opening frame, chasing starting goaltender Kirill Gerasimyuk in the process.
Bryce McConnell-Barker broke the ice 1:41 into the game, potting his ninth goal of the season. A puck came to McConnell-Barker in the slot, where he turned and fired. The puck got by Gerasimyuk to open the scoring.
At 12:09, Dylan Rooboreck went top-shelf for his tenth goal of the season. Roobroeck entered in on the left-wing side and uncorked a wrist-shot that beat Gerasimyuk over the glove. The goal, which made it 2-0, chased the netminder after just seven shots.
Louis Domingue entered the game for Charlotte, but he too was beaten by a Wolf Pack forward.
On their first power play of the night, the Checkers saw the puck dumped into their own zone by Jackson Dorrington. Domingue went out to play the puck, but it never found its way out of the restricted area. Adam Sýkora found the puck, cut to the front of the net, and tucked the puck by the right pad of Domingue at 17:49 to make it 3-0.
The goal was the Wolf Pack’s fifth shorthanded tally of the season and was Sýkora’s third while down a skater.
Roobroeck’s second goal of the night made it 4-0 Wolf Pack 1:08 into the middle stanza. Roobroeck snapped a shot from the right-wing side that beat Domingue over the right shoulder for his tenth goal of the season. It marked the second-year forward’s first multi-goal game of the season.
The Wolf Pack kept their foot on the gas, ballooning the lead to 5-0. At the end of a strong shift in the offensive zone, Dorrington gained possession at the blueline off a feed from Daniel Walcott.
Dorrington fired a shot into traffic that fooled Domingue at 9:57, making it 5-0. The goal was Dorrington’s second of the season and gave Walcott an assist in back-to-back games.
Late in the period, the Checkers took advantage of a turnover in the neutral zone. The turnover led to a three-on-one rush up the ice, with Jack Devine carrying in on the right-wing side. Devine elected to shoot from the right-wing circle, beating Dylan Garand at 14:50 for his 15th goal of the season.
The Checkers pushed in the third period, firing seven shots on Garand. The netminder made six saves and was only beaten by Noah Gregor at 18:27. The goal, which made it 5-2, was too little, too late for the home side.
The Wolf Pack’s five-game road trip continues Saturday afternoon when they visit the Toronto Marlies for the only time this season. The puck drop is set for 4:00 p.m., with ‘Wolf Pack Pregame’ set to begin at 3:45 p.m. on AHLTV on FloHockey and Mixlr.
The Pack is back at the newly renovated PeoplesBank Arena on Saturday, Mar. 28, when the Checkers come to town. The puck drop is set for 6:00 p.m., with ‘Wolf Pack Pregame’ set to begin at 5:45 p.m. on AHLTV on FloHockey and Mixlr. Tickets are available here.
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.
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