PRE-GAME REPORT: WOLF PACK MAKE LONE TRIP TO SYRACUSE TO BATTLE CRUNCH
Mar 16, 2022HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack continue their five-game road trip tonight with a midweek visit to New York state to take on the Syracuse Crunch. The tilt opens the second leg of the Pack’s road trip, which will see them in Laval on Friday night and Belleville on Saturday evening.
Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.
Tale of The Tape:
This is the first of just two meetings this season between the Wolf Pack and the Crunch. It’s the lone visit during the 2021-22 season to Syracuse for the Wolf Pack, who will host the Crunch at the XL Center on Saturday, April 2nd. This is the first meeting for the Wolf Pack and Crunch since November 23rd, 2019. That night, in Syracuse, the Crunch came away with a 6-3 decision thanks to a pair of goals from Chris Mueller. Ross Colton would be credited with the winning goal for the Crunch.
Syracuse won the season series 2-0 in 2019-20, also claiming a 3-1 decision over the Pack at the XL Center on November 20th. Hartford’s last head-to-head victory over the Crunch came back on February 9th, 2018. That night, in Syracuse, the Pack scored a 4-3 shootout victory. Adam Tambellini and Ryan Gropp scored in the shootout, while Alexandar Georgiev made 43 saves for the win.
The Wolf Pack are just 1-5-0-0 against the Crunch over the last five seasons and have lost four straight head-to-head meetings.
Wolf Pack Outlook:
The Wolf Pack suffered a 4-2 defeat last time out on Sunday afternoon against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Hartford fell behind 3-0 before Matt Lorito and Ty Ronning both scored with an extra attacker to get the game to 3-2. Jonathan Gruden’s empty-net goal at 19:59 cemented the victory for the Penguins. The Wolf Pack went 0-2-0-0 on their two-game trip to Pennsylvania and are now just 9-11-3-1 on the road in 2021-22.
Anthony Greco leads the Wolf Pack in points with 42 (12 g, 30 a) on the season. The veteran forward has points in eight straight games entering play this evening. Jonny Brodzinski, currently on recall to the parent New York Rangers (NHL) is second on the club with 39 points (18 g, 21 a). In transaction news, the Rangers assigned forward Tim Gettinger to the Wolf Pack on Sunday afternoon.
Crunch Outlook:
The Crunch enter tonight’s contest with a record of 25-21-6-2, good for a points percentage of .537 and a sixth place standing in the North Division. The Crunch took a dramatic 4-3 overtime decision over the Rochester Americans last time out on home ice on Sunday. After trailing 2-0 through forty minutes, Ryan Jones, Gage Goncalves, and Cole Koepke scored in the first 10:28 of the third period to put the Crunch ahead. JJ Peterka evened the affair 3-3 at 11:07 of the third period, forcing overtime. There, Darren Raddysh would score his fifth goal of the season at the 59 second mark to propel the Crunch to victory.
Gabriel Dumont leads the Crunch in scoring with 47 points (24 g, 23 a) on the season. Charles Hudon (21 g, 14 a) and Alex Barré-Boulet (8 g, 27 a) are tied for second with 35 points each. Dumont’s 24 goals are tops on the club, while Hudon is second with 21 tallies.
Game Information:
WATCH: AHLTV
The Wolf Pack continue their five-game road trip on Friday night when they visit the Laval Rocket. The Pack will return to the XL Center on Wednesday, March 23rd. That night, the Pack plays host the Springfield Thunderbirds in the first of four straight home games. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.
Tickets are available for all remaining home games 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.