Wolf Pack Battle Hard in Shootout Loss to Penguins
Oct 21, 2017Photo courtesy of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
The Wolf Pack built a 2-0 first-period lead against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins Saturday night at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre, PA, but the Penguins came back to post a 3-2 shootout win.
Scott Kosmachuk and Vinni Lettieri scored power-play goals in the first for Hartford, and Alexandar Georgiev made 41 saves. Gage Quinney and Jarrett Burton scored for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and Jean-Sebastien Dea had the only goal of the shootout. Casey DeSmith made 26 saves in the Penguin net, and went 3-for-3 in the shootout.
“With travel involved, and coming off a tough loss at home (a 5-1 defeat to the Belleville Senators Friday night), I thought the guys played really hard, love the response that we had,” Wolf Pack head coach Keith McCambridge said. “We corrected a few things that we needed to go over and discuss in our meeting this morning, especially being early in the season. I liked the compete and the push we had tonight.”
At 2:59 of the first, with Daniel Sprong off for slashing, Kosmachuk scored his first Wolf Pack goal, to go with five assists on the season. Adam Tambellini fired a shot from the top of the left circle that was blocked by Frank Corrado, but the puck caromed directly to Kosmachuk along the goal line. Kosmachuk whipped a quick forehand past DeSmith for a 1-0 Wolf Pack lead.
Then, after Andrey Pedan was sent off for tripping at 9:35, Lettieri scored his second of the season at 11:17 to make it 2-0. Cole Schneider worked the puck to Lettieri on the left side and Ryan Gropp screened DeSmith, allowing Lettieri’s fluttering shot to get by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton netminder on the glove side.
The Penguins got on the board only 34 seconds later, though, at 11:51. Georgiev stopped a sharp-angle shot from the right boards by Lukas Bengtsson, but Quinney was able to poke the rebound off of a Wolf Pack defender and into the net.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton would get the only goal of the second period, despite being outshot 12-11 in the session. With a penalty being signaled against the Wolf Pack, Dominik Simon fed the puck from the side of the net into the slot, and Burton let go a quick snap shot that found the top corner past Georgiev’s catching glove.
Georgiev was strong in the third period, in which the Wolf Pack were outshot 16-9, and in the overtime, with the Penguins having a 5-0 shots advantage. He could not stop Dea on Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s second shootout attempt, though, as Dea buried a shot to the stick side. DeSmith denied Kosmachuk, Joe Whitney and Tambellini to secure the extra standings point for the Penguins.
The Wolf Pack finish a three-game weekend Sunday, traveling to Bridgeport to take on the Sound Tigers. Faceoff is 3:00 PM, and all of the action can be heard live on News Radio 1410 WPOP, and on-line at www.newsradio1410.com and iHeartRadio. Video streaming is available at www.ahllive.com.
The next Wolf Pack home game is this Friday night, October 27, also against Bridgeport. That game is a 7:15 PM faceoff, and, as at all Friday-night Wolf Pack home games, fans can enjoy $1 hot dogs and $2 beers through the start of the second period, presented by Dave & Buster’s.
Tickets for all Wolf Pack 2017-18 home games are on sale now at the Agera Energy Ticket Office at the XL Center, on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499.
Season ticket information for the Wolf Pack’s 2017-18 AHL season can be found on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com. To speak with a representative about all of the Wolf Pack’s many attractive ticketing options, call (855) 762-6451.
Hartford Wolf Pack 2 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 3 (SO)
Saturday, October 21, 2017 - Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza
Hartford 2 0 0 0 - 2
W-B/Scranton 1 1 0 0 - 3
1st Period-1, Hartford, Kosmachuk 1 (Tambellini, Whitney), 2:59 (PP). 2, Hartford, Lettieri 2 (Schneider, Pedrie), 11:17 (PP). 3, W-B/Scranton, Quinney 3 (Sestito, Bengtsson), 11:51. Penalties-Sprong Wbs (slashing), 1:44; Lettieri Hfd (tripping), 6:09; Pedan Wbs (tripping), 9:35; served by Noonan Hfd (bench minor - too many men), 15:01.
2nd Period-4, W-B/Scranton, Burton 1 (Simon, Thomas), 15:44. Penalties-Graves Hfd (cross-checking), 2:30; Aston-Reese Wbs (interference), 11:31.
3rd Period- No Scoring. Penalties-Tambellini Hfd (tripping), 9:39.
OT Period- No Scoring. Penalties-No Penalties
Shootout - Hartford 0 (Kosmachuk NG, Whitney NG, Tambellini NG), W-B/Scranton 1 (Simon NG, Dea G, Sprong NG).
Shots on Goal-Hartford 7-12-9-0-0-28. W-B/Scranton 11-11-16-5-1-44.
Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 2 / 3; W-B/Scranton 0 / 4.
Goalies-Hartford, Georgiev 0-1-1 (43 shots-41 saves). W-B/Scranton, DeSmith 3-0-0 (28 shots-26 saves).
A-4,232
Referees-Liam Sewell (60), Olivier Gouin (54).
Linesmen-Tom DellaFranco (71), Jason Mandroc (17).