WOLF PACK WEEKEND PREVIEW: MARCH 6th, 2025
Mar 6, 2025HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack have collected points in four of their last five outings. This weekend, the club will play a pair of games at the XL Center as they look to inch closer to a playoff spot in the Atlantic Division.
Friday, March 7th, 2025, Vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (7:00 p.m.): The Wolf Pack and Penguins meet for the fifth time this season on Friday night at the XL Center.
The Penguins have won each of the first four meetings, outscoring the Wolf Pack by a 17-4 margin. All four games have been determined in regulation time.
Most recently, on Feb. 21, the Penguins scored a 4-1 victory at the XL Center.
Rutger McGroarty opened the scoring 29 seconds into the game, beating Louis Domingue from the left-wing circle. Avery Hayes then made it 2-0 at 12:03, potting a five-on-three power play goal from the left-wing side. Boris Katchouk extended the lead to 3-0 at 15:58, potting his 16th goal of the campaign.
It marked the second straight visit to the XL Center that the Penguins built a 3-0 lead in the opening frame.
Maxim Barbashev’s first career AHL goal came at 7:34 of the second period, as he jammed home a rebound.
That was as close as the Wolf Pack drew it, however. Marc Johnstone hit the empty net at 19:31, cementing the two points for the visitors.
The Wolf Pack’s last victory over the Penguins came on Apr. 19, 2024, by a final score of 3-2 in Hartford.
Sunday, March 9th, 2025, Vs. Belleville Senators (5:00 p.m.): The Wolf Pack and Senators conclude their two-game season series on Sunday evening at the XL Center.
The Senators claimed a 6-5 overtime victory in the first meeting in Belleville on Jan. 29.
Alex Belzile put the Wolf Pack ahead 5-3 just 25 seconds into the third period on Jan. 29, but the Senators quickly stormed back to tie the game and force overtime. Wyatt Bongiovanni made it a 5-4 game at 1:26 of the third period, converting on a breakaway for his 15th goal of the season.
Oskar Pettersson then potted his fifth goal of the year at 3:17, making it 5-5 and sending the game to overtime.
In the extra session, Cole Reinhardt needed just 16 seconds to give the Senators two points in a game they never led in regulation.
Senators defenseman Jeremy Davies recorded four assists in the victory, while Belzile ended the night with two points (1 g, 1 a) in defeat for the Wolf Pack.
This is the Senators first visit to Hartford since Nov. 25, 2023. That night, the Wolf Pack scored a 4-3 comeback victory in overtime. Brennan Othmann tied the game at 18:46 of the third period, while Riley Nash potted the overtime winner at 4:19.
Quick Hits:
• Forward Jaroslav Chmelař has six points (3 g, 3 a) in his last five outings.
• Belzile recorded a goal and an assist in the Wolf Pack’s 6-3 victory over the Bridgeport Islanders on Wednesday night. His second period goal was his 100th point as a member of the Wolf Pack in his 113th contest.
• Forward Blake McLaughlin scored his first goal as a member of the Wolf Pack in the third period of Wednesday night’s victory.
• The Wolf Pack currently have points in four of their last five games (3-1-0-1). They have held a lead in the third period of all five of those games.
• Belzile recorded nine shots on goal on Wednesday against the Islanders. That is tied for the most shots on goal by a Wolf Pack player in a single game this season.
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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.
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