By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack return home to kickstart a brief two-game homestand this evening when they welcome the Bridgeport Islanders to town for a vital game in the Atlantic Division playoff chase.
Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m., and coverage is available on both AHLTV and Mixlr.
Tale of The Tape:
This is the eleventh of twelve meetings between the Wolf Pack and the Islanders this season. It is the fifth of six meetings between the foes at the XL Center in downtown Hartford. The sides will wrap up the season series in Hartford on Friday, April 7th.
The Wolf Pack have won three in a row in the season series, most recently taking a 3-2 decision in Bridgeport on March 18th. Cole Bardreau opened the scoring 58 seconds in, snapping the night’s first shot into the net for his 15th goal of the season. However, Hartford did all their damage in the middle frame, taking over the tilt for good.
Jonny Brodzinski tied the affair with a powerplay goal 29 seconds in, then Ryan Carpenter gave Hartford the lead for good at 7:54, taking a centering pass from Tim Gettinger off a turnover deep in the Islander zone. Brodzinski finished the period with the eventual game-winner at 17:06, scoring his second of the night on a breakaway.
Ruslan Iskhakov drew the Isles within one at 1:58 of the third period, but the Wolf Pack killed three penalties in the final at 16:41 and skated off with the two points.
Hartford also won the last meeting at the XL Center by a margin of 7-5 on March 15th. As a result, both sides enter tonight’s tilt with a 5-5-0-0 record head-to-head.
Wolf Pack Outlook:
The Wolf Pack got back into the win column with a 5-1 defeat of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Sunday in Pennsylvania. Zac Jones scored just 16 seconds in, snapping a shot from the left-wing circle that put Hartford ahead for good. Will Lockwood converted a two-on-one on a feed from Carpenter at 6:25, while Brodzinski fired home a one-timer on the powerplay at 13:33 to put Hartford ahead 3-0.
Anton Blidh tacked on an insurance goal at 10:27 of the second period, while Turner Elson hit the empty net at 19:24. Louis Domingue made 27 saves for his fourth consecutive victory. It is his longest winning streak of the season.
Brodzinski has thrived against the Islanders as of late. The captain scored two goals in Hartford’s last three meetings with the Islanders. That includes a four-point performance (2 g, 2 a) on March 4th in a 9-0 victory at Bridgeport.
Brodzinski (18 g, 23 a) and Will Cuylle (24 g, 17 a) are tied for the team lead in scoring with 41 points each. Cuylle’s 24 goals are tops on the club in that category.
Islanders Outlook:
The Islanders won last time out, notching their second straight victory via a 5-2 decision over the Belleville Senators on Friday night. Maxence Guenette and Erik Brown traded first-period goals, sending the clubs to the middle stanza deadlocked 1-1.
Iskhakov broke the tie just 86 seconds into the second period, giving the Isles the lead for good. Arnaud Durandeau popped home the game-winner at 9:11, making it 3-1. Durandeau scored his second of the night into an empty net in the third period, while Andy Andreoff also found the twine in the final frame.
Chris Terry leads the Islanders in scoring with 62 points (19 g, 43 a) on the season. Andreoff, meanwhile, is tops on the club in goals with 31. He is second in the league in goals, behind only Calgary’s Matthew Phillips.
Game Information:
Play-by-play voice of the Wolf Pack, Alex Thomas, will have ‘Wolf Pack Pregame’ starting live at 6:45 p.m. on both AHLTV and Mixlr.
The Pack is back at the XL Center on Friday night when they host the Providence Bruins. Join us for $2 beers and $1 hot dogs until the end of the first intermission! In addition, the Wolf Pack teamed up with the Miracle League of Connecticut for a sensory-friendly game this night. The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.; tickets are available at hartfordwolfpack.com.
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