Pack Score two, but Lose 6-2 in Portland
Nov 11, 2015(Photo by Michael McSweeney)
The Wolf Pack snapped a franchise-record streak of three straight shutouts-against Wednesday night at the Cross Insurance Arena, but couldn’t avoid a fifth consecutive loss, a 6-2 defeat at the hands of the Portland Pirates.
Logan Shaw scored twice for Portland, and Kyle Rau had a goal and two assists. Tanner Glass and Luke Adam both scored their first Wolf Pack goals, in the first of back-to-back games between the Wolf Pack and Pirates.
“As a group we’re working hard right now, but you can talk about bounces, obviously those aren’t coming across very often for us right now,” Wolf Pack captain Ryan Bourque said. “But ultimately we’ve just got to continue to grow each day and we’ve got to fight through this. It’s definitely a tough time for us as a team, but I think from this you can almost look at it as a positive and learn from it, so that down the road, if we do face adversity like this, we know how to handle it.”
The Pirates grabbed the game’s first lead at 8:45 of the first, on a breakaway goal by Wade Megan. Megan knocked a Mat Bodie pass attempt down just outside the Wolf Pack blue line and broke in alone on Hartford goaltender Magnus Hellberg (22 saves). Megan’s low, hard shot beat Hellberg on the stick side.
The Wolf Pack replied only 1:51 later, at 10:36, on their first shot on goal of the game, breaking a team-record scoreless streak of 212:49. Brady Skjei stopped a clearing attempt by Pirate goaltender Mike McKenna (28 saves) at the left point and his feed went off of Brent Regner to Glass in the slot, and Glass fired a quick shot past McKenna’s catching glove.
Hellberg got a bad break only 2:06 after that, as a Rau pass caromed off the end boards and Hellberg whiffed on the puck as he tried to play it. As Hellberg sprawled down, Shaw poked the loose puck behind him and into the net.
After the Wolf Pack failed to convert on a two-man advantage of 1:41 that carried over from the first period into the second, Portland made it a 3-1 game at 2:38 of the second on a goal by Greg McKegg in a 4-on-4 situation. Regner played the puck from the left point across to the opposite circle and McKegg one-timed it behind Hellberg.
Hartford got one back at the 12:30 mark, as Adam, a former Pirate, scored in his first game back in the lineup after a nine-game injury absence. Adam won an offensive-zone draw and then went to the front of the net and deflected a shot by Raphael Diaz from the right point. The puck hit McKenna and went off of him and into the net.
The Pirates got that one back on a shorthanded goal, though, with 1:32 left in the period. Rau broke up a pass just inside the Portland blue line and was able to accelerate away from Diaz. As Rau broke in alone on Hellberg, he slid a backhander just inside the post to Hellberg’s right.
Portland then tacked on two more in the third, the first coming at 4:24 on a power play. Hellberg got a piece of a shot from the right circle by Rob Schremp, but the puck dropped down in the goal crease and John McFarland banged it in.
Shaw completed the scoring with his second of the game, with 53.9 seconds remaining. Shaw jumped on a loose puck on the right-wing boards and unloaded a quick shot that hit a Wolf Pack defender in front of the goal and deflected past Hellberg.
The loss dropped the Wolf Pack to 6-7-1-0 (13 points) on the season.
The Wolf Pack and Pirates will finish the two-game set this Friday night at the Cross Insurance Arena, with faceoff at 7:00. All of the action of that contest can be heard live on-line at www.979espn.com and on iHeartRadio. Video streaming is available at www.ahllive.com.
The Wolf Pack’s next home game is this Sunday, November 15, a 4:00 contest against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. All Wolf Pack Sunday home games feature the “Click It or Ticket” Family Value Pack. That includes two tickets, two sodas and two hot dogs, all for only $35. Also, fans are encouraged to bring their skates to that game, as there will be a free postgame skate on the XL Center ice.
Tickets for all 2015-16 Wolf Pack home games are on sale at the Agera Energy Ticket Office at the XL Center, on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499.
To speak with a Wolf Pack representative about season or group tickets, or any of the Wolf Pack’s many ticketing options, call (855) 762-6451, or click here to request more info.
Hartford Wolf Pack 2 at Portland Pirates 6
Wednesday, November 11, 2015 - Cross Insurance Arena
Hartford 1 1 0 - 2
Portland 2 2 2 - 6
1st Period-1, Portland, Megan 2 8:45. 2, Hartford, Glass 1 (Skjei, Brown), 10:36. 3, Portland, Shaw 3 (Rau, Racine), 12:42. Penalties-Glass Hfd (fighting), 0:03; Acolatse Por (fighting), 0:03; Schremp Por (interference), 18:38; McFarland Por (slashing), 18:57; Schremp Por (unsportsmanlike conduct), 18:57.
2nd Period-4, Portland, McKegg 5 (Regner, Matheson), 2:38. 5, Hartford, Adam 1 (Diaz, Megna), 12:30. 6, Portland, Rau 5 18:28 (SH). Penalties-McCarthy Hfd (tripping), 1:56; Matheson Por (slashing), 17:39.
3rd Period-7, Portland, McFarland 3 (Schremp, Regner), 4:24 (PP). 8, Portland, Shaw 4 (Rau, McKegg), 19:06. Penalties-Adam Hfd (holding), 0:49; Diaz Hfd (interference), 3:28; Racine Por (interference), 8:38.
Shots on Goal-Hartford 9-12-9-30. Portland 11-8-9-28.
Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 0 / 5; Portland 1 / 3.
Goalies-Hartford, Hellberg 5-6-0 (28 shots-22 saves). Portland, McKenna 3-4-0 (30 shots-28 saves).
A-1,668
Referees-Cameron Voss (78), Geno Binda (22).
Linesmen-Landon Bathe (80), Jeremy Lovett (78).