ANTON BLIDH SCORES CAREER-HIGH 19TH GOAL, BUT WOLF PACK FALL 3-2 TO CHECKERS
Apr 16, 2025HARTFORD, CT – Anton Blidh continued a career-year for the Hartford Wolf Pack on Wednesday night at the XL Center. It was not enough to push the club to victory, however, as the Charlotte Checkers collected a 3-2 win in the season series finale.
John Leonard opened the scoring 3:35 into the hockey game, burying a rebound for his 35th goal of the season. Jack Devine fired a backhand shot that Talyn Boyko denied, but the rebound came right to Leonard.
The goal was Leonard’s fourth in the season series against the Wolf Pack.
Late in the period, the Checkers got a five-on-three advantage. The Wolf Pack killed off the first penalty, but Oliver Okuliar converted on the ensuing five-on-four to make it 2-0 at 19:54. Devine fired a pass from the right-wing side that clipped a defenseman in front of the net and found Okuliar on the left-wing side.
The goal was Okuliar’s 17th of the season.
Blidh tipped home a Chad Ruhwedel shot 16:38 into the second period, making it 2-1. Ruhwedel fired a shot from the right-wing wall that Blidh deflected in the slot for his career-high 19th goal of the season.
Just over a minute later, however, Okuliar restored the two-goal lead. Ben Steeves snuck behind the Wolf Pack defense and got a good look on Boyko that the goaltender denied. Steeves stayed with it and got a second look on the right-wing side but was denied by Boyko a second time. This time, the rebound popped to Okuliar in front of the crease, allowing him to secure his 18th goal of the season at 18:04.
The Wolf Pack pushed in the final period and were able to draw it to 3-2. Adam Sýkora stripped Michael Benning off the puck in front of the Charlotte goal, gained possession, and ripped a shot by the glove of Kaapo Kähkönen at 12:11.
Despite a good push late, the Wolf Pack were unable to find the equalizer on Kähkönen.
With the defeat, the Wolf Pack settled for a season series split with the Checkers. The Wolf Pack went 4-3-1-0 in the eight game series.
The 2024-25 regular season concludes on Friday night when the Islanders come to town! Join us for Fan Appreciation Night sponsored by Verizon! The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.
Tickets are available at www.hartfordwolfpack.com.
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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 are the top player-development affiliate of the NHL's New York Rangers and play 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.