WOLF PACK LOSE FOURTH STRAIGHT, 6-5 TO SENATORS

Jan 29, 2025

BELLEVILLE, ON – The Hartford Wolf Pack had two two-goal leads on Wednesday night at the CAA Arena in Belleville but could not put away the Belleville Senators. Two goals early in the third period by the Senators forced overtime, where they completed the comeback for a 6-5 overtime victory.

Garrett Pilon sprung Jeremy Davies into the Wolf Pack’s zone in the opening seconds of the overtime period. Davies, seeing his shooting lane had evaporated, elected to pass to Cole Reinhardt. Reinhardt, in his first AHL game since Dec. 14, snapped home the game-winning goal 16 seconds into overtime.

His goal was the third straight by the Senators, completing their comeback victory.

Brennan Othmann extended his goal-scoring streak to four games just 20 seconds into the game. Alex Belzile ripped a shot from the right-wing side that Michael Simpson denied, but the rebound came right into the slot. Othmann found the puck and deposited his seventh goal of the season to make it 1-0.

Stephen Halliday drew the Senators even at 9:50, scoring on the club’s first power play. Halliday made his way to the net and beat Dylan Garand through the five-hole. Initially, the play was called no goal on the ice, but after a very lengthy review, the call on the ice was overturned.

The goal extended Halliday’s goal-scoring streak to three games.

Moments later, Anton Blidh intercepted an outlet pass and quickly fed Dylan Roobroeck in the right-wing circle. Roobroeck snapped a shot over the glove of Simpson for his eighth goal of the season at 11:11, restoring the lead. 

The assist gave Blidh points in three straight games (2 g, 1 a). 

Blidh extended his goal-scoring streak to three games 6:07 into the second period, jamming home a rebound for his 13th goal of the season. Connor Mackey fired a shot that Simpson denied, but the rebound came right to Roobroeck. Roobroeck was unable to put the loose change home but was able to find Blidh for a tap-in goal.

Two power play goals for the Senators, however, would tie the game 3-3.

First, it was Jan Janik jamming home a rebound at 12:23 for his sixth goal of the season. Garrett Pilon muscled his way to the goal but was denied by Garand. Janik located the rebound and poked it home to make it a 3-2 contest.

Just under five minutes later, at 17:10, Angus Crookshank found a loose puck to the left of Garand and lifted a backhander over the goalie’s left shoulder. The goal, Crookshank’s team-leading 16th of the season, pushed the Senators to three-for-three on the power play through 40 minutes.

87 seconds after Crookshank’s goal, the Wolf Pack retook the lead with their fourth five-on-five goal of the game. Jamieson Rees blew a tire along the right-wing boards, allowing Adam Sýkora to gain possession and fling a pass up to Jaroslav Chmelař. Chmelař entered the zone on a two-on-none and elected to shoot, snapping his sixth goal of the season by Simpson at 18:37.

Belzile restored the two-goal lead 25 seconds into the third period. Bo Groulx won an offensive zone faceoff on the left-wing side to Belzile, who snapped a quick shot by Simpson for his 13th goal of the season.

The Sens responded just 61 seconds later, making it a 5-4 affair. Blidh was denied on a breakaway by Simpson, with the rebound going right to Davies. Davies sprung Wyatt Bongiovanni in on a breakaway, and he beat Garand at 1:26 for his 15th goal of the season.

Moments later, Garand tried to play the puck up the wall, but Keean Washkurak was able to knock it down and gain possession. Washkurak sent a centering pass to Oskar Pettersson in front, who hit an empty net at 3:17 to tie the game.

In overtime, Reinhardt struck on the first shift to hand the Wolf Pack their second loss this season when leading after two periods of play. 

The road trip continues on Friday night when the Wolf Pack head to Place Bell to take on the Laval Rocket. The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.

The Pack is back at the XL Center on Friday, Feb. 7, when they welcome the Charlotte Checkers to town. Join us for $2 drafts and $2 hot dogs until the end of the first intermission! 

The puck drop is set for 6:00 p.m. 

Tickets are 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.