WOLF PACK SURRENDER SEVEN UNANSWERED GOALS, LOSE 7-1 TO PENGUINS
Mar 7, 2025HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack surrendered seven straight goals on Friday night, suffering their worst loss of the season. The club dropped a 7-1 decision to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and are now 0-5-0-0 in the head-to-head matchup.
For the first time in the season series, the Wolf Pack broke the ice. Nathan Sucese kept the puck in at the blueline then took two strides toward the top of the slot. From there, the veteran snapped home his seventh goal of the season at 16:09 to give the Wolf Pack a 1-0 lead.
Anton Blidh picked up the primary assist, his tenth of the season, while Louis Domingue collected his third helper of the season.
Domingue was perfect in the period in net, making seven saves. His best stop came nearly halfway through when he denied Atley Calvert from the slot.
The Penguins evened the game 6:54 into the middle frame, as Mathias Laferrière picked up his first goal as a Penguin. Marc Johnstone’s shot clipped the leg of a Wolf Pack defender but came right to Laferrière in the slot. His quick shot beat Domingue to make it a 1-1 contest.
Just 31 seconds later, Avery Hayes gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead when his shot from the right-wing side beat Domingue by the blocker. The goal was Hayes’ first in six games and gives him tallies in back-to-back tilts against the Wolf Pack. His goal would stand as the game-winning strike.
On the first Penguins power play of the night, it was the Wolf Pack who generated offensive looks. Their best chance came on a shorthanded breakaway for Adam Sýkora. Sýkora went to the backhand but was denied by the pad of Filip Larsson.
Valtteri Puustinen made it a 3-1 game with his eleventh goal of the season at 12:38. Puustinen walked down the left-wing side and snapped a shot that snuck through Domingue for the Penguins’ third goal in a span of 5:44.
Following the goal, the Wolf Pack lifted Domingue from the game for Dylan Garand. Domingue made ten saves on 13 shots in 32:38. Garand made eleven saves on 15 shots in 26:53 of work.
The Penguins erupted for four goals in the third period, putting the result out of doubt.
Vasily Ponomarev made it 4-1 4:44 into the period, potting his first goal in eleven games. Ville Koivunen then made it 5-1 at 5:21, burying his 18th goal of the season by the right pad of Garand.
Atley Calvert slammed home a backdoor feed from Laferrière at 9:07, his second goal in as many games. Rutger McGroarty finished the scoring at 11:57, scoring his eleventh goal of the season from the top of the blue paint.
It marked the second time in three games that the Wolf Pack gave up four goals in the third period.
The homestand concludes this Sunday when the Senators make their lone trip to Hartford this season. Join us for our ‘Sensory Awareness Game’! Our ‘Sensory Awareness Game’ will feature softer music at low volumes, a quieter goal horn, and a sensory area for those in need of a quiet space. This room will include sensory-friendly activities for all of those in attendance to participate in.
The puck drop is set for 5:00 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.