BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings
MARLBOROUGH, MA – Adam Huska’s strong goaltending backed by timely goal-scoring made the Hartford Wolf Pack road trip up to Marlborough, MA, successful as they defeated the Providence Bruins 3-1 on Thursday afternoon.
The Wolf Pack record improves to 11-7-1-0 (23 points) and solidly in second place. They are now six points behind the first-place Bruins, who fall to 14-6-1.
The Wolf Pack will host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, winners of their last two games, on Saturday afternoon.
In the third period, the two starting netminder’s, Huska (21 saves) and the Bruins’ Dan Vladar (30 saves), kept things close with some terrific stops.
Cameron Hughes had an early scoring chance that Huska got a piece of it, sending it over the crossbar, and then made a pad/stick save on Jack Studnicka.
CHANCES COMING FOR BOTH TEAMS
The Wolf Pack had an open chance as Justin Richards was wide open for a chance at 2:35. The Bruins Tommy Cross (Simsbury/Westminster Prep) made a perfect dive to take the puck off his stick.
Cross would factor in the only Bruins goal on the power play after Will Cullye was hit with a mid-ice tripping call on ex-Yale Bulldog Curtis Hall.
Cross launched a low shot from the left point. Huska was screened by Paul Carey, who deftly redirected the puck for his third goal of the year through Huska’s five-hole at 4:50, the only shot to better the Pack netminder on the afternoon.
The Wolf Pack had a golden scoring chance on a three-on-one with 10:10 to play, but Jonny Brodzinski’s bid just went wide.
The Wolf Pack team defense made a difference in the last six minutes of action, killing off a penalty, getting good blocks first by winger Mason Geersten and then defenseman Patrick Sieloff in the last minute of regulation, thwarting the Bruins goal tying efforts.
Brodzinski ended any chance of Providence sneaking back into the game with an empty-net tally from center ice with 23 seconds left in the game to seal the win.
PACK BUILD A LEAD
The Wolf Pack, with a solid period of work, built a 2-0 lead in the first period on the back of the league’s second-best power play.
Tarmo Reunanen took a feed from Anthony Greco, who had snared the rebound of a Brodzinski shot and swept around the net and up to the left-wing circle and made a pass.
Reunanen was at the left point and let a shot go. Morgan Barron made another stellar redirect at 16:26 as the power play unit connected 22 seconds into the opportunity at 16:27 for Barron’s tenth of the season.
SECOND GOAL
43 seconds later, the Wolf Pack struck again.
Tim Gettinger blocked Cooper Cech’s point shot and raced out of the Wolf Pack zone up the right-wing side. He was walled off by Cech but maintained puck possession and position. Gettinger then spotted an open Ty Ronning.
Ronning received the pass, showed patience, and drifted into the left-wing circle. He waited for Vladar to make a move, then buried his ninth goal of the season over Vladar’s glove hand that proved to be the game-winner and staked the Pack to a 2-0 lead at 17:15.
The Wolf Pack team defense did a sharp job holding the P-Bruins to just four shots in the frame.
LINES
Richards-Gettinger-Ronning
Newell-Brodzinski-Barron
Rueschhoff-Thompson-Geersten
Khordorenko-Greco-Cullye
Raddysh-Reunanen
LoVerde-Skinner
Giutarri-Sieloff
Huska
Wall
THREE STARS
Adam Huska Hartford
Tim Gettinger Hartford
Dan Vladar Providence
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Morgan Barron
Darren Raddysh
Paul Thompson
SCRATCHES
Jeff Taylor
Alex Whalen
Michael O’Leary
James Sanchez
Ryan Dmowski
Zach Berzola
Francois Brassard
Gabriel Fontaine (upper-body, out for the season)
NOTES
Every Wolf Pack player had a least a shot on goal in the game
Darren Raddysh was at the top with four. Barron, Brodzinski, and Cullye had three.
Ian MacKinnon and Geersten had their second fight of the season
The Wolf Pack PP is second to Cleveland in the AHL at 29.6%
Providence wore a third jersey to honor Rhode Island First Responders. It was very similar to the St. Louis Blues jersey with the royal blue primary color with yellow trim.
On Tuesday, Brodzinski signed a one-year two-way deal for next season. He will get $700K-NHL and $200K-AHL.
CULLYE NEWS
Cullye was “called up“ for the 19-year-old signing a standard three-year two-way ELC deal $925K-NHL/$80K-AHL that will starts for the 2021-22 season.
Cullye’s OHL chances were ended yesterday as the league canceled the 2020-21 season formally because of the Ontario provincial COVID restriction, which is presently in lockdown until mid-May.
The WHL canceled its post-season with two weeks to go in its abbreviated regular season on Monday that affects Ranger prospects Braden Schneider and Matt Robertson.
This will have a profound impact on the summer NHL Amateur Draft.
MORE NEWS
Wolf Pack training camp for the 2021-22 season is shaping up to be the biggest prospect-laden camp in team history and will likely be adding another goalie and center to the mix.
Goalie Olof Lindbom 20, drafted in the second round 39th overall in 2018, split this season playing 24 games with an 8-14-0 record and a 3.46 GAA and .875 save percentage with Mora IK (Sweden-Allsvenskan). He will likely be with the Wolf Pack’s Double AA team, the Maine Mariners, who will be back lacing them up in the fall.
Center Karl Henriksson signed his NHL entry-level deal to start next season with a standard ELC package of $925K-NHL$80K-AHL for three years.
Henriksson, a 2019 2nd round pick 39th overall, played 47 games for Frolunda HC (Sweden-SHL) with one goal and eight points as 19-year/20-year-old playing in a men’s league.
