BY: Emily Vance, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack suffered back-to-back losses in Pennsylvania this weekend. The Wolf Pack quickly fell behind 3-0 but tallied two late third-period goals to get back in the game. Ultimately, the Penguins collected a 4-2 victory.
With the momentum clearly in the Penguins’ favor, Chris Bigras maintained possession in the offensive zone. The pass from Bigras rattled around the boards to a waiting Alexander Nylander, who wasted no time in finding Drew O’Conner, whose shot rattled in on the far side post for his 8th goal of the season.
The scoreboard through the first period remained blank in the final matchup of the weekend for the Wolf Pack. Hartford would go on two power plays during this opening frame, but Penguins goaltender, Louis Domingue, remained strong as he was forced to make 12 stops.
After the second Wolf Pack power play, the Penguins could spring Nylander from the penalty box for a breakaway opportunity, but Adam Húska made a huge stop for the Pack to keep the game locked at zero. The Penguins had a late power play chance at the 19:05 mark, which would carry over into the second period.
The Penguins open the scoring on a quick shot from Filip Hallander at the 1:16 mark. The power play that carried over from the first expired, but the momentum stayed with Penguins as Hallander skated by Wolf Pack defenseman Zac Jones and pulled it over Húska’s glove.
The Penguins took a 2-0 lead on a 5-on-3 power play advantage. After switching places with Juuso Riikola, Nylander received a pass from Riikola and scored on a one-timer that beat Húska. With their third unsuccessful power play advantage of the afternoon, the Wolf Pack continued to trail 2-0 after 40 minutes of play.
The third period started with an early 4-on-4 chance, but neither team could convert on the opportunity. Instead, the Penguins extended their lead to 3-0 on a one-timer from O’Conner.
The Wolf Pack tallied their first of the afternoon with four minutes remaining in the third period. With Húska on the bench and the Pack on the power play, Nils Lundkvist took a hard shot on the net with Anthony Greco securing the rebound before dishing it to the following Matt Lorito, who easily netted the Pack’s first. Ty Ronning added to the Pack’s late rush with a goal of his own with 15 seconds remaining in the game. Lorito and Ronning each have a goal in back-to-back games. Jonathan Gruden finalized the game’s scoring when with the Pack’s net empty, he potted an empty-net goal.
Húska made 28 saves on 31 attempts, with three of these critical saves on the Penguins’ breakaway attempts. This loss starts a two-game losing streak for the Pack, their fifth multiple-game losing streak of 2022. Hartford is now 27-17-5-2 this season.
The Pack will continue their road trip in upstate New York when they take on the Syracuse Crunch on Wednesday, March 16th. This first meeting of the season between the Crunch and the Wolf Pack is set for a 7:00 p.m. puck drop. The Pack is back at the XL Center on Wednesday, March 23rd when they host the Springfield Thunderbirds. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m., and tickets are still available at hartfordwolfpack.com.
