TWO MINUTES FOR THOUGHTS: OCTOBER 31ST, 2024
Oct 31, 2024A three-game homestand came to a thrilling end on Wednesday night at the XL Center as the Wolf Pack stormed back to defeat the Grand Rapids Griffins by a score of 3-2 in overtime.
The win gave the Wolf Pack a 2-1-0-0 record on the homestand and sends them on the road with a record of 4-2-0-1.
This weekend, the Wolf Pack will play back-to-back road games for the first time this season against a pair of teams who are also off to a strong start.
Onto the blog.
1. Grant Potulny called Sunday’s loss against the Springfield Thunderbirds a “low energy game”. Over the course of a 72-game season, the reality is games like that are going to happen. What separates the contenders from the rest of the group in this league is how you respond to those kinds of games.
2. The Wolf Pack certainly responded on Wednesday night. After a relatively even first two periods, the Wolf Pack played arguably their best period of the season in the third to force overtime. 2:44 into the extra session, the Pack completed the comeback.
It was exactly the kind of response one would be looking for following a “low energy” outing. That’s a good sign for the makeup of this team.
3. The victory marked the first time this season that the Wolf Pack have won a game that they trailed after two periods and the first time that they have won a game when trailing by two or more goals.
What makes the win more impressive is that it came against a 6-1-0-0 Griffins team that had allowed the fewest goals in the AHL entering action on Wednesday night.
4. Matthew Robertson is putting together a really nice start to his season. The fourth year defenseman collected two assists, a +2 +/- rating, and three shots in the victory on Wednesday night.
He’s been one of the Wolf Pack’s best players to start this season and has formed a really strong pairing with Brandon Scanlin on the blueline.
5. Anton Blidh said pregame what makes his line with Jake Leschyshyn and Adam Sýkora click is that they “think the game the same way”. You can see how the three players mesh, as they are all responsible, two-way forwards.
They were the most consistent forward trio for the Wolf Pack on this homestand.
6. Sýkora really made an impact on Wednesday night. He got to the dirty area in front of the Griffins’ net to tip-in Robertson’s point shot late in regulation time to tie the game. He then made a really nice pass to Korczak for the game-winning tally in overtime.
The second-year forward is tied for the team lead in +/- with a +4 rating, and is up to five points (2 g, 3 a) in seven games.
7. Rookie forward Dylan Roobroeck is finding his footing in pro hockey. He’s scored in back-to-back games, with both goals coming from the ‘greasy’ area in front of the net.
Roobroeck’s line with Blake McLaughlin and Blade Jenkins was arguably the club’s best line through two periods on Wednesday night.
We’ll see if they get a look this weekend in either Syracuse or Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
8. Potulny called Wednesday night’s showing the best defensive game of the season for the Wolf Pack. I’d tend to agree. The Wolf Pack really cut down on the turnovers, the high-danger chances against, and surrendered a season-low 24 shots.
A big part of that performance was goaltender Dylan Garand, who made 22 saves to stay perfect on the season. The young netminder is 3-0-0 and will almost certainly get a chance to improve on that mark during this weekend’s back-to-back set.
9. As Potulny mentioned postgame on Friday night, forward Brennan Othmann is out four-to-six weeks with an upper-body injury he suffered on Oct. 19 against the Bridgeport Islanders.
Veteran forward Alex Belzile, tied for the team-lead in assists with five, has missed the last three games. He is listed as day-to-day.
10. Congratulations to forwards Blidh and Adam Erne! Blidh skated in his 400th career AHL game, while Erne dressed for his 200th AHL game last Friday night against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Both are well-respected veterans who are key parts of this Wolf Pack team on and off the ice.
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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.