PRE-GAME REPORT: WOLF PACK VISIT PENGUINS IN FIRST HALF OF BACK-TO-BACK SET
Nov 11, 2022WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON, PA – The Hartford Wolf Pack hit the road this evening for a brief trip to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to take on the Penguins in the first half of a back-to-back set. The Wolf Pack will return home to Hartford to conclude the weekend tomorrow against the Charlotte Checkers.
Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. and coverage is available on both AHLTV and Mixlr. You can listen to play-by-play voice Alex Thomas’ call of the game by selecting the ‘away audio’ option on tonight’s feed.
Tale of The Tape:
This is the second of six meetings between the Wolf Pack and Penguins this season, and the first of three at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. The sides will not meet again until January 8th, when the Pack returns to Pennsylvania for a Saturday night battle. The Penguins make their next visit to Hartford on February 4th. The season series will conclude on April 14th, when the Penguins come to town for ‘Fan Appreciation Night’ at the XL Center.
The Penguins took the opening meeting of the season, 4-3 in the shootout, on October 22nd at the XL Center. Corey Andonovski scored his first career goal 17:30 in to open the scoring, tipping home a Ty Smith shot. Alex Nylander would extend the lead to 2-0 at 4:37 of the second period, while Filip Hållander pushed things to 3-0 at 11:22.
Julien Gauthier scored his second goal of the campaign, on the powerplay, at 15:32 of the middle frame to cut the deficit to 3-1. C.J. Smith would then score his first two goals with the Wolf Pack, lighting the lamp at 3:58 and 17:23 of the third period, to pull Hartford all the way back and force overtime.
After a scoreless five minutes of three-on-three overtime, the sides required a shootout. Nylander scored the only goal, while Filip Lindberg slammed the door shut for the Pens with three saves to preserve the two points and spoil the Pack’s home opener.
Louis Domingue made 30 saves for the Wolf Pack in the loss, while Matthew Robertson collected two assists on the night.
The Wolf Pack have a record of 3-2-1-1 against the Penguins in their last seven meetings dating back to last season. In that span, the Penguins hold a record of 4-2-0-1. The Wolf Pack went 0-2-1-0 in their three visits to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton during the 2021-22 season.
Wolf Pack Outlook:
The Wolf Pack charged back into the win column with a 2-1 shootout decision over the Springfield Thunderbirds on Wednesday night. Drew Callin opened the scoring for the visitors, wiring a shot over the glove of Domingue just 2:09 into the contest. The veteran goaltender would shut down the defending Eastern Conference Champions for the rest of the night, however, allowing the Pack to claw back.
Lauri Pajuniemi tied the game 1-1 6:23 into the second period, curling into the near faceoff circle and ripping a shot by Joel Hofer for his fourth goal of the season. The Wolf Pack outshot the Thunderbirds 10-5 in the third period but couldn’t solve Hofer a second time. After a scoreless overtime, the sides were forced to determine their tilt via the shootout.
Jonny Brodzinski put Hartford ahead in the second round, but Will Bitten kept the Thunderbirds alive with a goal in the bottom half of the third round. Will Cuylle beat Hofer to start the fourth round, while Nathan Todd struck iron with the game on the line to propel the Wolf Pack to a 2-1 decision.
Turner Elson leads the Wolf Pack in scoring with seven points (2 g, 5 a) through nine games. Brodzinski (2 g, 4 a) and Andy Welinski (1 g, 5 a) are tied for second on the team in scoring with six points each. Pajuniemi leads the club with four goals, while Brodzinski’s two powerplay goals are tops on the club.
Penguins Outlook:
After starting the season 6-0-1-0, the Penguins have dropped two straight in regulation time. Last time out, on Sunday, the Pens dropped a 4-3 decision to the Hershey Bears. The Bears struck twice in each of the first and second periods, as Shane Gersich, Mason Morelli, Ethen Frank, and Henrik Rybinski helped the home side build a 4-0 lead through forty minutes.
The Penguins would not go quietly, however, and stormed back in the final frame. Jonathan Gruden started things off with his first goal of the season 14 seconds into the period, while Hållander drew the Pens back within two at 11:41. Up two skaters thanks to a powerplay and empty net, Hållander would strike again at 18:38 to make it a 4-3 game. That would be as close as the Penguins got, however, as time ran out on their comeback bid.
Hållander leads the Penguins in scoring with nine points (4 g, 5 a) but was recalled to the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday. Nylander leads active Penguins in points with eight (5 g, 3 a). His five goals are also tops on the Penguins, while Valtteri Puustinen and Andonovski are second among active skaters with three goals each.
Game Information:
Play-by-play voice of the Wolf Pack Alex Thomas will have ‘Wolf Pack Pregame’ starting live at 6:50 p.m. tonight on both AHLTV and Mixlr. Be sure to tune in all season long for Hartford Wolf Pack hockey!
Be sure to join us tomorrow night, Saturday, November 12th, as the Wolf Pack host the Charlotte Checkers on ‘Hockey Fights Cancer’ night at the XL Center. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m., with tickets still 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.