LOUIS DOMINGUE EARNS THIRD SHUTOUT OF THE SEASON AS WOLF PACK BLANK BRUINS 5-0
Mar 31, 2023HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack picked up their third straight victory in convincing fashion on Friday night behind a superb game from Louis Domingue. The veteran netminder made 25 saves, while five different Wolf Pack players scored as Hartford cruised to a 5-0 victory over the Providence Bruins.
Ryan Carpenter broke the ice late in the opening stanza, kickstarting the evening. A high-sticking call on Justin Brazeau gave the Wolf Pack their first powerplay opportunity of the night. Zac Jones held the puck at the blue line before firing a shot into traffic in front of the Providence net. Carpenter managed to deflect the puck past Kyle Keyser and into the goal, giving the Wolf Pack a lead they would not lose. The tally was Carpenter’s 18th on the campaign and stood as the eventual game winner.
Additionally, Jones’ assist on the goal was his 30th point of the season. Jones became the ninth member of the Wolf Pack to earn 30 points on the campaign.
Anton Blidh, in his first game against his former team, pushed the lead to two at the end of the first period. Tanner Fritz collected the puck in the right corner and sent a centering pass to Blidh. Blidh promptly snapped a shot past the blocker of Keyser, doubling the lead with just 2.2 seconds left in the period.
Fritz’s assist on the tally was his 29th of the season, setting a new career-high for the veteran forward. His previous best came during the 2017-18 season, when Fritz earned 28 helpers as a member of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
The goaltenders kept the second period scoreless, with Keyser denying eleven Wolf Pack shots and Domingue turning away nine Bruin bids. Each team had powerplay opportunities, Hartford with two and Providence with one, but neither could find twine, sending the game to the final stanza with the score still 2-0.
The Pack tacked on three goals in the first nine minutes of the third period. Carpenter attempted to muscle his way to the goal, but instead pulled up and fired a pass to Will Lockwood. Lockwood skated to the right circle before snapping a shot through the five-hole of Keyser, stretching the Hartford lead to three. The goal was Lockwood’s first on home ice as a member of the Wolf Pack and his career-high 15th on the season.
Fritz followed up just over a minute and a half later, sneaking behind the defense and deflecting a pass from Blidh into the Providence net to extend the lead to four. The goal was Fritz’s eighth of the campaign. Fritz’s 37 points are good for fourth on the team.
Jake Leschyshyn capped off the scoring nine minutes into the final stanza, taking a drop pass from Brodzinski and blasting it by the blocker of Keyser. The goal was Leschyshyn’s second in as many games and was his eleventh point in fourteen games with Hartford.
Domingue would be tested in the later stages of the period, as the Bruins had three powerplay opportunities. The Hartford penalty killed stayed strong and Domingue slammed the door shut to earn his third shutout of the season and a 5-0 win for the Wolf Pack.
The Wolf Pack hit the road for a matchup with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms tomorrow, April 1st. The puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. The Pack return to the XL Center on Wednesday, April 5th, hosting the Toronto Marlies for the only time this season. The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. To get tickets, visit 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.