Goaltender Chris Nell and Forward Zac Lynch Join Hartford Roster

BY: Bob Crawford, Hartford Wolf Pack 

HARTFORD, February 20, 2019:  Hartford Wolf Pack general manager Chris Drury announced today that the parent New York Rangers have reassigned goaltender Chris Nell to the Wolf Pack from the Greenville Swamp Rabbits of the ECHL and that the Wolf Pack has signed forward Zac Lynch to a Professional Tryout (PTO) agreement.

Nell, a 24-year-old second-year pro out of Bowling Green University (WCHA), has appeared in a total of 31 ECHL games this year between the Swamp Rabbits and the Maine Mariners, going 12-17-0 with a 3.15 goals-against average, a 90.0% save percentage and one shutout.  Since joining Greenville November 21, the 6-2, 201-pound Nell is 11-14-0, with a 3.09 GAA, an 89.9% save percentage and one shutout.

Last season Nell, who was signed as a free agent by the Rangers March 23, 2017, saw action in 18 games with the Wolf Pack, compiling an 8-8-0 mark with a GAA of 3.15 and an 89.2% save percentage.  In a total of 13 ECHL outings among the Road Warriors, the Adirondack Thunder and the Kansas City Mavericks, the Green Bay, WI native was 5-7-0 with a 3.10 GAA, a 91.0% save percentage and one shutout.

In 22 career AHL contests with the Wolf Pack Nell is 9-11-0, with a 3.32 GAA and an 88.9% save percentage, and his ECHL career numbers show a record of 17-24-0, a 3.13 GAA, a 90.3% save percentage and two shutouts.

Lynch comes to the Wolf Pack from the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers, for whom he has chalked up 15 goals and 37 assists for 52 points in 53 games.  The third-year man out of Robert Morris University (AHA) leads the Wheeling squad in points and assists and ranks fourth in the ECHL in assists and ninth in points.

The Pittsburgh-born Lynch, 26, who stands 6-0 and weighs 195 pounds, split the 2017-18 season between the Utica Comets of the AHL and the ECHL’s Manchester Monarchs.  In eight games with the Comets, he had two goals and an assist for three points, and Lynch tallied 22 goals and 24 assists for 46 points in 58 games for Manchester, good for second on the Monarch team in points.  He also topped the Manchester squad in playoff points and assists, with 3-7-10 in ten GP.

Lynch has logged 36 career games of AHL action, with the Comets, Portland Pirates and Springfield Thunderbirds, totaling five goals and three assists for eight points, along with two penalty minutes.  In 145 career ECHL contests with the Nailers and Monarchs, he has amassed 55 goals and 77 assists for 132 points, plus 142 PIM.

Prior to turning pro, Lynch finished a four-year career at Robert Morris in 2015-16 as the program’s all-time leading scorer, with 67 goals and 89 assists for 156 points, plus 172 penalty minutes, in 152 games.  He was the AHA’s Player of the Year as a senior in 2015-16, leading all AHA skaters, and finishing fifth among all Division I players, in points, with a Robert Morris single-season record of 55 (20-35-55).

The Wolf Pack’s next action is this Friday night, February 22, when they host the Springfield Thunderbirds at 7:15 PM at the XL Center.  As at all Friday-night Wolf Pack home games, fans can enjoy $1 hot dogs, and $2 beers and fountain sodas, through the start of the second period, presented by Nomads Adventure Quest.

Tickets for all 2018-19 Wolf Pack home games are on sale now at the Agera Energy Ticket Office at the XL Center, online at hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499.  Tickets purchased in advance for kids 12 or younger start at just $13 each, and all tickets will have a $3 day-of-game increase.

Season ticket information for the Wolf Pack’s 2018-19 AHL season can be found online at hartfordwolfpack.com.  To speak with a representative about all of the Wolf Pack’s many attractive ticketing options, call (855) 762-6451, or click here to request more info.

Swamp Rabbits goaltender returns to AHL

BY: Jordan Kuhns, Greenville Swamp Rabbits

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Greenville Swamp Rabbits goaltender Chris Nell has been called up to the Hartford Wolf Pack of the AHL. This call-up will be the third time that he has made an appearance at the AHL level.

Since his assignment to Greenville, Nell has played in 27 games, good for an 11-14-2 record, a 3.09 GAA and a .899 save percentage. The Bowling Green State University product is a career 17-24-2 with two shutouts, both with Greenville.

The 24-year-old Wisconsin native enters his AHL call-up on a hot streak, having won three of his last four games. He began his season struggling in four starts with Maine before being assigned to Greenville on November 21, and since then, has been a regular in the Swamp Rabbits’ crease.

Nell had a productive career at BGSU across three seasons, having posted a school-record four shutouts, a 1.91 GAA and a .930 save percentage in his sophomore season. That productivity saw him earn WCHA First Team All-Star honors.

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