PRE-GAME REPORT: WOLF PACK EYE WEEKEND SPLIT IN REMATCH WITH BEARS
Nov 20, 2022HERSHEY, PA – The Hartford Wolf Pack will look to turn things around this afternoon at the Giant Center when they visit the Hershey Bears to conclude a two-game visit to Chocolatetown.
Puck drop is set for 4:30 p.m. and coverage is available on both AHLTV and Mixlr. To listen to Play-by-Play broadcaster Alex Thomas’ call on AHLTV, select the ‘away audio’ option when clicking on the game.
Tale of The Tape:
This is the third of six meetings between the Wolf Pack and Bears this season, and the second of three at the Giant Center between the Atlantic Division rivals. Today’s contest continues a stretch in which the Wolf Pack and Bears will meet four times in a span of seven days. The sides will shift to Hartford next Friday and Saturday night for a pair of games at the XL Center. The season series wraps up on Saturday, February 11th, back in Hershey.
The Bears evened the season series with a dominating 6-1 victory last night in the first game of this back-to-back set. Mason Morelli opened the scoring 9:50 into the hockey game, finding a loose puck in the crease and jamming it home for his second goal of the season. Henrik Borgstrom scored the eventual game-winning goal from the high-slot at 16:50, while Garrett Pilon would score with less than two seconds left to make it a 3-0 game.
Sam Anas scored his 100th career AHL goal 5:50 into the second period, deflecting a Vincent Iorio shot home. Mike Vecchione would tack on a powerplay goal at 9:10 to make it 5-0, while Hendrix Lapierre would score at 19:46 to finish the scoring.
Andy Welinski scored Hartford’s lone goal in the loss, blasting home his second goal of the season 16:23 into the second period. The Wolf Pack outshot the Bears 9-7 in a scoreless third period.
The Wolf Pack have won six of the last eight meetings between the foes and have posted a record of 2-2-0-0 at Giant Center in their last four visits.
Wolf Pack Outlook:
The Wolf Pack saw their four-game point streak snapped last night at the hands of the Bears. Hartford’s loss also dropped their road record this season to 1-5-1-0. Last night’s 6-1 loss was the club’s first loss against the Bears since January 22nd, 2022. That night, the Wolf Pack would drop a 5-0 decision to the Bears in the first half of a back-to-back between the teams. Hartford responded with a 3-2 victory the next day.
Defenseman Andy Welinski (2 g, 7 a) leads the Wolf Pack with nine points this season. Jonny Brodzinski is second on the club in scoring with eight points (2 g, 6 a). Forwards Lauri Pajuniemi and Tim Gettinger, meanwhile, are tied for the team lead in goals with five each.
Forward Alex Whelan has scored points in three straight games. He has four points (2 g, 2 a) in that span.
Bears Outlook:
The Bears evened their record at 1-1-0-0 during their three-in-three weekend. Prior to last night’s 6-1 victory, the Bears dropped a 4-0 decision to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday night.
Hershey’s victory gives them a nine-game point streak on home ice to open the season. The Bears are 8-0-1-0 at the Giant Center, with their lone loss coming at the hands of the Penguins on October 29th in overtime. Hershey’s last regulation home loss came on April 24th, 2022, against the Syracuse Crunch,
Hendrix Lapierre, Mike Vecchione, and Mason Morelli are tied for the team lead in points with eleven each on the season. Lapierre and Vecchione have both scored four goals and seven assists, while Morelli has scored two goals and nine assists. Ethen Frank, meanwhile, leads the club in goals with five. Lapierre, Vecchione, and Anas are tied for second on the club with four goals each.
Game Information:
Play-by-play voice of the Wolf Pack Alex Thomas will have ‘Wolf Pack Pregame’ starting live at 4:15 p.m. this afternoon on both AHLTV and Mixlr. Be sure to tune in all season long for Hartford Wolf Pack hockey!
The Pack is back at the XL Center on Friday, November 25th when the Hershey Bears come to town. Join us for $2 beers and $1 hot dogs! 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.