TWO MINUTES FOR THOUGHTS: MARCH 13TH, 2025
Mar 13, 2025The Hartford Wolf Pack opened a three-game road trip with a solid road game on Wednesday night in Grand Rapids, MI. Despite their strong effort, two late penalties did the club in.
A late goal from Austin Watson on a five-on-three power play gave the Grand Rapids Griffins a 2-1 victory in regulation time, keeping the Wolf Pack ten points back of a playoff spot.
Onto the blog from Rockford, IL.
1. Lost in Wednesday night’s disappointing result was a strong performance form Brendan Brisson in his third game with the Wolf Pack. The third-year forward picked up an assist, his first point with the club, and had three shots. He was all over the puck and looks to be getting comfortable in his new home.
2. Hartford’s other new addition up front, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, did not play on Wednesday night after leaving Sunday’s game against the Belleville Senators with a lower-body injury. He is listed as day-to-day and is with the club in the Midwest.
3. Jake Leschyshyn picked up the 100th point of his AHL career on Sunday evening, tipping home a Chad Ruhwedel shot late in the first period to tie the game 1-1 against the Belleville Senators.
A hard-working pivot that has been so good in the faceoff circle this season, Leschyshyn has been relied upon in every area by Head Coach Grant Potulny.
Great to see him reach this milestone with the Wolf Pack and fitting that it came on a redirection in front.
4. Leschyshyn had three points (2 g, 1 a) in that 4-1 victory over the Senators on Sunday, then tacked on a goal on Wednesday night in Grand Rapids to make it four points in his last two games.
His goal on Wednesday night was a power play tally, his team-leading seventh of the season.
5. Matthew Robertson is the latest Wolf Pack player to enjoy a career-high this season. Thanks to two assists on Sunday against the Senators, Robertson has a new career-high in assists.
He’s up to 20 helpers after picking up the secondary assist on Leschyshyn’s goal on Wednesday night.
6. Wednesday night’s loss puts the Wolf Pack in a really difficult spot when it comes to the Atlantic Division playoff chase. The Wolf Pack are ten points back of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms with just 13 games remaining. The Phantoms have also played one less game.
The Wolf Pack will probably need to win ten of their final 13 games to give themselves a realistic chance at a playoff spot.
It will not be easy, but it is not impossible.
7. If the Wolf Pack are unable to recover and end up missing the playoffs, leaving points on the table will be the tale of the season. The Wolf Pack have found ways to leave points on the table too many times this season, with Wednesday night’s regulation loss being the latest example.
Other examples include losing a two-goal third period in Belleville on Jan. 29, losing leads of 3-0 and 4-1 in Laval on Feb. 1, giving up the go-ahead goal in the final minute at home against Laval on Jan. 24, an own goal in a 3-2 shootout loss to Utica at home on Mar. 1, losing the lead with just seconds left in Charlotte on Feb. 16, and losing a late lead to Lehigh Valley at home on Nov. 27.
It’s happened far too often this season and is a big reason why the Wolf Pack are where they are in the standings.
8. The Wolf Pack will need to do a much better job of staying discipline down the stretch. The club ranks third in the league in penalty minutes with 861, trailing only the Manitoba Moose (862) and Laval Rocket (896).
The Wolf Pack took two late penalties, including a delay of game for puck over glass, in the final 2:30 of the game on Wednesday night. That led directly to a five-on-three for the Griffins, who scored the game-winning goal seven seconds later.
9. The only other two injuries for the Wolf Pack remain defenseman Ben Harpur (upper-body, month-to-month) and forward Bo Groulx (upper-body, week-to-week).
10. A reminder that Friday night’s game in Rockford against the IceHogs is at 7:00 p.m. CT/8:00 p.m. EST. That means ‘Wolf Pack Pregame’ goes at 7:45 p.m. EST on AHLTV on FloHockey and Mixlr, with the call of the game shortly after 8:00 p.m.
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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.