By: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack hosted the Providence Bruins at the XL Center for the second of ten meetings this season. Olof Lindbom made seventeen saves in his first start in the AHL for the Wolf Pack, but Michael DiPietro shut the door from every angle in a 2-0 shutout win for the Bruins.
Both teams exchanged strong chances to begin the hockey game, with Adam Edström being denied on a breakaway by the blocker of DiPietro on the game’s first chance. The Bruins responded with a chance of their own, which resulted in the game’s first goal at the 2:57 mark.
Curtis Hall beat Lindbom with a shot from between the hash marks for his first goal of the season. Hall, recently recalled from the Maine Mariners (ECHL), recorded his third point in as many AHL games this season.
A glove save on Riley Nash capped DiPietro’s strong performance in the first period to keep the Wolf Pack off the board. Nash was set up to the left of DiPietro on the club’s first powerplay.
The Bruins opened the middle stanza with several quality chances, including Justin Brazeau ringing a shot off the crossbar. A follow-up try from Trevor Kuntar was snagged by the glove of Lindbom, who turned in a strong frame with nine saves.
Nash headed to the box for tripping at 9:14, giving Providence their second powerplay of the game. A strong kill by Hartford was followed by a double-minor penalty for high-sticking by Zach Berzolla, who caught Luke Toporowski up high with his stick.
The Bruins were held to just two shots in their four minutes of powerplay time, with Hartford’s penalty kill receiving a loud ovation for their efforts. The Wolf Pack generated some offense of their own in the final minutes, but DiPietro stood tall. A scrum in the closing seconds of period two resulted in Parker Wotherspoon and Anton Blidh receiving penalties, which started the final period with two minutes of four-on-four time.
Hartford exploded with six shots in the opening minutes of period three. However, DiPietro continued to stand tall amid consecutive high-octane shifts by the Wolf Pack.
Dan Renouf extended Providence’s lead to 2-0 at the 8:34 mark, hammering a shot above the left shoulder of Lindbom. The goal was Renouf’s third of the season.
Renouf’s goal proved to be the needed insurance, as Providence fought off a 19-2 shot deficit in the 3rd period to emerge with the shutout victory. The 19 shots tied a single-period high for the Wolf Pack this season, while the two shots allowed were the fewest in a single period this year for Hartford.
DiPietro recorded 34 saves in a shutout performance, his first as a Bruins.
The Wolf Pack hit the road for a rematch against the Bruins tomorrow afternoon at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Puck drop is slated for 3:05 p.m., with ‘Wolf Pack Pregame’ beginning at 2:50 p.m. on AHLTV and Mixlr.
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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 is the top player-development affiliate of the NHL’s New York Rangers and plays at the XL Center. The Wolf Pack has been home to some of the Rangers’ newest faces, including Igor Shesterkin, Filip Chytil, and Ryan Lindgren. Follow the Wolf Pack on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
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