Pack Lose a Close one in Portland
Feb 17, 2015Tyler Gaudet’s goal with 3:40 left in the third period lifted the Portland Pirates to a 3-2 win over the Wolf Pack Tuesday night at Cross Insurance Arena in Portland, ME.
The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Wolf Pack, who were outshot 34-12 in the game, including 8-2 in the third period.
Ryan Haggerty and Tyler Brown scored the Wolf Pack goals, and Yann Danis made 31 saves. Phil Lane and Brendan Shinnimin had a goal and an assist apiece for the Pirates, and Louis Domingue got the win with ten saves.
“We had a pretty tired bunch, given the schedule and the travel,” Coach Ken Gernander said of the Wolf Pack, who played their fifth game in eight days and their sixth in 11 days. “And there’s obviously things we could have done better as far as managing our game and alleviating some of the pressure in the defensive end. [Danis] gave us a pretty good chance to win, but we’re not going to get much when you only generate 12 shots for the game.”
The Wolf Pack were close to getting the game to overtime, but the Pirates pinned them in their own end for an extended stretch late in the third, and finally capitalized when Gaudet poked a loose puck just inside the goalpost to Danis’ left, after a Shinnimin shot had gone over the goal and caromed off the end boards back toward the front of the net.
The Wolf Pack were outshot 15-6 in the first period, but they drew first blood in the game, on the evening’s first power play. With Greg Carey off for high-sticking, Chris Bourque set Haggerty up between the hash marks, and Haggerty ripped a quick snap shot past Domingue.
Portland responded with two goals before the end of the period, though, tying the score at one on a 5-on-3 man advantage at 14:36. Shinnimin wristed a shot past Danis from the top of the right circle, after Ryan Potulny had been sent off for interference at 14:05 and Joey Crabb for boarding 19 seconds later.
The Pirates took the lead at 18:07, taking advantage of a strong offensive-zone pressuring shift. Eric Selleck worked the puck to defenseman Joel Hanley, who carried down the left side and fed in front to Lane. Lane got inside position on the Wolf Pack defense and flicked the puck past Danis on the glove side.
The Wolf Pack were heavily outshot again in the second period, 11-4, but Hartford scored the only goal of the session.
After furious pressure by the Pirates in the first two minutes of the session, Chad Nehring sent Brown free deep in the Portland zone, and Brown beat Domingue with a shot high to the glove side at 2:48. That was Brown’s second goal in three games, after he went without scoring in his first nine contests with the Wolf Pack
The Wolf Pack are next in action this Friday night, February 20, when they travel to Springfield to visit the Falcons. Faceoff is 7:00 PM, and all of the action can be heard live on Fox Sports Radio 1410, and on-line at www.foxsportsradio1410.com and iHeartRadio. Video streaming is available at www.ahllive.com.
The Wolf Pack’s next home game is this Sunday, February 22, a 3:00 PM game at the XL Center against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The Wolf Pack’s “Click It or Ticket Family Value Pack” is again featured on Sundays this year. The Family Value Pack features two tickets, two sodas and two hot dogs, all for only $35.
Tickets for all 2014-15 Wolf Pack home games are now on sale at the XL Center ticket office, on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499. Wolf Pack tickets start as low as $12 for youth 12 years old or younger.
To speak with a Wolf Pack representative about season or group tickets, or any of the Wolf Pack’s many ticketing options, call (855) 762-6451, or click here to request more info.
Hartford Wolf Pack 2 at Portland Pirates 3
Tuesday, February 17, 2015 - Cross Insurance Arena
Hartford 1 1 0 - 2
Portland 2 0 1 - 3
1st Period-1, Hartford, Haggerty 10 (Bourque, Mueller), 11:15 (PP). 2, Portland, Shinnimin 10 (Oberg, Hodgman), 14:36 (PP). 3, Portland, Lane 2 (Hanley, Selleck), 18:07. Penalties-Carey Por (high-sticking), 10:42; Nehring Hfd (fighting), 11:32; Dziurzynski Por (fighting), 11:32; Potulny Hfd (goaltender interference), 14:05; Crabb Hfd (boarding), 14:24.
2nd Period-4, Hartford, Brown 2 (Nehring, Bodie), 2:48. Penalties-Bodie Hfd (slashing), 5:44.
3rd Period-5, Portland, Gaudet 5 (Lane, Shinnimin), 16:20. Penalties-McIlrath Hfd (boarding), 4:43; Bourque Hfd (slashing), 8:20; Spinell Hfd (tripping), 12:05; Miller Por (interference), 12:27.
Shots on Goal-Hartford 6-4-2-12. Portland 15-11-8-34.
Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 1 / 2; Portland 1 / 6.
Goalies-Hartford, Danis 9-10-1 (34 shots-31 saves). Portland, Domingue 9-5-0 (12 shots-10 saves).
A-2,523
Referees-Dave Lewis (46), Geoff Miller (28).
Linesmen-Joe Andrews (32), Landon Bathe (80).