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BY: Alex Thomas, Hartford Wolf Pack HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack will look to snap just their second three-game pointless streak of the season tonight when they continue their five-game road trip against the Laval Rocket. It is the first of two trips to Canada this season for the Wolf Pack and opens a back-to-back set that concludes tomorrow night in Belleville against the Senators. The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. Tale of The Tape This is the second and final meeting between the Wolf Pack and the Rocket during the 2021-22 season. The Wolf Pack skated to a 4-0 shutout victory at the XL Center on January 15th in the first showdown. Keith Kinkaid made 31 saves for his first shutout of the season. Austin Rueschhoff opened the scoring with the eventual winning goal just 1:36 into the hockey game, the first of two tallies he’d register on the night. Forwards Lauri Pajuniemi and Patrick Khodorenko would also score for the Pack. The 4-0 victory is, to this point, the only shutout registered this season by Hartford. This is Hartford’s first visit to Laval since November 1st, 2019. That night, the Rocket took a 2-1 shootout decision over the Pack. Alex Belzile scored the lone goal in the shootout for the home side. Wolf Pack Outlook The Wolf Pack have lost three straight games in regulation for just the second time this season. Their most recent defeat was a 4-2 decision at the hands of the Syracuse Crunch on Wednesday night. Justin Richards and Zac Jones scored for the Pack, but Hartford surrendered three goals in the final period to ultimately come up short. The Wolf Pack are 0-3-0-0 to start their five-game road trip and are 9-12-3-1 overall away from home this season. Hartford has yet to lose four consecutive games in regulation in 2021-22 but does have one four-game losing streak on their record (0-3-0-1), which came back in December. Anthony Greco leads the Wolf Pack in scoring with 42 points (12 g, 30 a) on the season. Jonny Brodzinski, currently on recall to the parent New York Rangers (NHL) is second on the club with 39 points (18 g, 21 a). In transaction news, the Rangers assigned forward Morgan Barron to the Wolf Pack on Thursday afternoon. Barron is expected to make his first appearance with the Pack since February 5th in tonight’s tilt. Rocket Outlook The Rocket enters tonight’s contest with a record of 26-21-3-0, good for a points percentage of .550 and a third-place standing in the North Division. The Rocket fell by a final score of 6-2 in their last outing on Saturday night against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Joël Teasdale and Rafaël Harvey-Pinard both scored in the loss. Sam Poulin had a hat-trick for the Penguins, while Chris Bigras, Felix Robert, and Alexander Nylander also lit the lamp. Like the Wolf Pack, the Rocket lost both of their games in Pennsylvania last weekend. They’ve dropped two straight games in regulation, with their last win being a 7-2 victory over the Rochester Americans on March 9th. Harvey-Pinard leads the Rocket in scoring with 30 points (13 g, 17 a) on the season. Jean-Sébastien Dea is second on the club with 28 points (16 g, 12 a). Dea’s 16 goals lead the club in that department.  Game Information WATCH: AHLTV The Wolf Pack conclude their five-game road trip tomorrow night when they visit the Belleville Senators in the second of four meetings this season. The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. The Pack will return to the XL Center on Wednesday, March 23rd. That night, the Pack plays host to the Springfield Thunderbirds in the first of four straight home games. The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. Tickets are available for all remaining home games at hartfordwolfpack.com. HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME Read the full article

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - Igor Shestekin’s 26 saves were good enough to secure his second career AHL shutout while Nick Jones’ two goals paced the Hartford Wolf Pack to a 4-0 victory and extended the team's winning streak to five games. The Wolf Pack has an unblemished record of 12-0-1-2 when leading after two periods. “We're playing good hockey right now. We lost five-in-a-row and that woke us up. We didn’t like the way we were playing. There were some close games, but we tightened things up and over the past five games we have made a great bounce back,” said defenseman Nick Ebert. The Wolf Pack (16-2-4-5) travels to Allentown tomorrow for the completion of the home-and-home with the Phantoms (10-11-1-4). The Wolf Pack remains in first place in the Atlantic Division with 39 points and are now four points ahead of the idle Providence Bruins. “Our passing was so good tonight that it allowed for good puck pressure and you want guys skating and using their legs. That was a good indicator of how well we can play,” Pack head coach Kris Knoblauch remarked. Jones scored twice in the third period with the first coming off a long rebound from a Darren Raddysh blast from 30 feet out. “I got a good rebound there. It was nice to get one of those bounces and get one in,” Jones said of his third goal of the season. Knoblauch has confidence and admitted he had been worried about his lack of points, but he paid him a huge compliment. The fourth line had three goals on the night. “He had been frustrated with his point totals. Sometimes they go in, and sometimes they don’t. Overall, he has been one of the most consistent players on our team. "The (fourth) line played very well tonight. Jonesy has been strong for us all year long. Everyone who plays with him has good games, and that’s a good indicator of how valuable a player he is. He makes his teammates better,” said Knoblauch of his rookie center. His play with Tim Gettinger is a prime example of his benefit to the team. The coach rewarded his play with some late-game power play duty. His standing in front of the net led to a perfect tip of Joey Keane’s low-riding, and hard slapshot at 19:25. It was his second goal of the night and fourth of the season. “It was nice to get out there. I’m usually only out there for the PK,” Jones said with a laugh. “Keane put it right where you want it.” Besides pitching his second shutout, Shesterkin tried to get into the record books attempting to become the fifth goalie in AHL history to score a goal. A Phantoms' glove blocked his shot and was the only thing preventing him from doing so. The Wolf Pack’s second goal was a result of good old-fashioned hard work. Lewis Zerter-Gossage was in on the forecheck and all over Phantoms forward, Isaac Ratcliffe. Zerter-Gossage stripped Ratcliffe of the puck and moved in on and beat goalie, Alex Lyon, to the far side notching his second of the season. The goal came at 6:46. “Lewis adds so much to the team with his size and speed. We could use a little more speed. He’s a very smart hockey player and he doesn’t take risks and made a smart play there." Shesterkin played in back-to-back games for just the second time this season and demonstrated just why he is so highly regarded. He stopped Andy Andeoff to start the second period just as he did at the end of the first. He denied Nicolas Aube-Kubel from off the right-wing side with 5:59 left in the period. Tyler Wotherspoon saw his shot from the right point stopped and then with 3:16 he drilled a shot over Shesterkin's glove hand. The puck went off the post and up the right-wing half wall where ex-Pack Chris Bigras was stationed. Bigras came off the left point and stepped into the shot with a wide-open cage, but Shesterkin slid over with his paddle down and used his blocker to prevent a goal. “That was one of about five-or-six saves that he made that were something else. He makes all look good. We're so lucky to have him,” said Jones. The Pack had some chances before Zerter-Gossage’s goal. Matt Beleskey had a breakaway at 1:58 and then Raddysh came down the right-wing with 14:46. Vinni Lettieri had a chance from the blue-line late at 18:47 and then Patrick Newell took a shot from off the right wing with 37.4 seconds left. The Pack had an early shot advantage of 7-1 and scored their first goal on the seventh shot. Ebert was at the left point and took a pass. The right-handed shot put the puck quickly to his backhand and with an outside position on the Phantoms, German Rubstov. The move got Rubstov turned outside and zipped it past him. He then went to a forehand shot that went off Lyon, a former Yale goalie, and it skittered over the goal line for the 1-0 Wolf Pack lead. “The player got a little aggressive and I was able to get around him and got the puck to the net. The key to the game now is getting pucks to the net and I think I caught their goalie sleeping a little bit,” said Ebert. Rubstov tried to atone for his error with a strong move to the net with 2:05 to go, but Shesterkin was able to come up with a dandy glove save. Andeoff came off the right-wing at a high rate of speed going airborne and was stopped with 1:17 remaining in the period. LINES: Andersson-Fogarty-Beleskey Nieves-Gettinger-Newell O’Regan-Lettieri--DiGiuseppe Jones--Zerter-Gossae-Gropp Raddysh-LoVerde Keane-Geersten Rykov-Ebert SCRATCHES: Jeff Taylor (healthy) Ryan Dmowski (healthy) Gabriel Fontaine (season-ending shoulder surgery) NOTES: The ceremonial face-off prior to the start of the game featured four women from Team USA women’s team. The four were Amanda Kessel, Emily Matheson, Lee Stecklein, and Alex Cavallini. Saturday night, Team USA and Team Canada will face-off in Game 1 of the Rivalry Series at the XL Center at 7 PM. The game will air live on the NBCSN. It was announced that the US roster will include Hilary Knight, a three-time Olympian who won two Silver and a Gold medal. She played at Choate Rosemary Hall (Wallingford) as well as the CT Polar Bears (Northford). Game 2 of the series to be played Tuesday night in Moncton, New Brunswick and will air live on the NHL Network. Mellissa Samoskevich (Sandy Hook/Quinnipiac University) didn’t make the final cut for the team. Adam Huska will be in net tomorrow for the Wolf Pack. Pack captain, Steven Fogarty, is not 100% after taking a puck off his hand on Wednesday night. “I don’t think he has been healthy since he was nine years old,” Knoblauch said with a laugh. “I have learned already he gets banged up, but just keeps on going, and if he's hurt he isn’t going to tell you about it. He is the captain for a reason in the way he plays and handles himself." Ville Meskanen, who was released on Wednesday, has signed a two-year contract with Ilves Tampere in the Finnish Elite League (FEL). He will play his first game next Friday. Meskanen's release was made to accommodate the return of Vitali Kravtsov, whose KHL contract with the Traktor Chelyabinsk in Russia was terminated. He was officially recalled from his loan by the Rangers and assigned back to Hartford. Kravtsov will not be in the lineup in Allentown, PA on Saturday against Lehigh Valley. He's already there and will meet the team, and skate with them on Sunday and Monday. Knoblauch stated he could play Tuesday in Charlotte. Read the full article

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - After a solid 53 minutes of hockey, the Hartford Wolf Pack effort fell apart over the final seven minutes and it resulted in their dropping a 4-1 decision to the red-hot Hershey Bears before the seventh-lowest crowd in team history, 1,563, on Wednesday night at the XL Center. The Bears ran their current winning streak over their last 11 games to 9-1-0-1. They are 17-1-0-1 over their last 19 and have surged to third place in the Atlantic with a 32-2-0-3 record (69 points) just behind second place Bridgeport. The Pack record drops to 23-24-6-3 (55 points). They are nine points behind the Providence Bruins with 18 games left. The Bruins also have two games in hand putting the Pack on the verge of being eliminated from contention for a playoff spot. The Pack's unraveling began with a very poor hooking call assessed to Shawn St. Amant. It was his second straight penalty and came with 7:29 left. The Bears capitalized 24 seconds later. AHL veteran, Nathan Walker, the first Australian to play North American pro hockey, sent a perfect net front feed to Riley Barber, who got behind Libor Hajak and redirected the puck past Pack netminder, Brandon Halverson, for his 25th of the season. The goal came with 7:05 left. Then, just 24 seconds later, the Bears struck again with what would prove to be the game-winner and the 2-1 lead. Beck Malenstyn won a one-on-one battle in the right corner and made a diagonal pass to Jonas Siegenthaler at the left point. Siegenthaler shot the puck from 55-feet out and amazingly it found the back of the net as Halverson was partially screened and may have gotten a piece of it. The Bears had the lead and momentum. Hershey made it a two-goal lead with 2:02 left on the clock. The play started on a major miscue by the Pack netminder. Halverson, usually a good puck handler, made a dreadful decision to go up the center of the ice with the puck, but it was intercepted by Barber, who tallied his second of the period. The goal was his 26th of the season and came on his seventh shot of the game. Barber is the eleventh leading scorer in the AHL. Nathan Walker sealed the Pack’s fate with an empty net goal from the Hartford blue line with 1:19 left. It was his 13th goal and with it, a seemingly strong defensive effort evaporated into a very difficult loss for the Wolf Pack. The Wolf Pack entered the third with a 1-0 lead. The team is now 14-3-2-2 when leading after two. The Pack's lone goal came as a result of a strong three-way power-play goal midway through the second period. John Gilmour, who had one of his stronger defensive games of the season, used his vaunted speed and quick passing to find Vinni Lettieri. He, in turn, fed Gabriel Fontaine who motored off the left-wing, cut to the inside on the Bears' Aaron Ness, and fired his seventh of the season past Illya Samsonov at 10:08. With the assist, Lettieri extended his point-scoring streak to six games that include five goals and three assists over that span. SCRATCHES: Rob O’Gara (lower body) Chris Bigras (ankle) Ville Meskanen (upper body) Brandon Crawley (healthy) Dawson Leedahl (healthy) Zach Tolkinen (healthy) Dustin Tokarski (healthy) PACK LINES: Fogarty-Lettieri-Gropp Gettinger-Beleskey-Butler Fontaine-Ronning-St. Amant O’Donnell-Melanson-Lynch Gilmour-Lindgren Raddysh-Hajak Bergman-Day NOTES: The Bears have won all three games with the Wolf Pack this season Julius Bergman, a right-handed defenseman, was acquired Monday from the Columbus Blue Jackets made his Wolf Pack debut. He wore number 63. The Pack is Bergman’s third NHL/AHL organization of the year. He started in Belleville with the Senators and then with the Cleveland Barons. He was originally drafted by the San Jose Sharks in the second round, 46th overall in the 2014 NHL Draft. Matt Beleskey had a team-high seven shots on goal, however, his goal scoring drought has reached 20 games. His last goal was scored on January 5th against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The effort is there, but the bucket is still empty. Not since Bob Errey in the Wolf Pack's first season has a quality veteran had a streak like this. Lettieri had five shots, and St. Amant season had a high four shots on goal. With 49 seconds to go in the game, Shawn O’Donnell and Connor Hobbs had a nice scrap. It was O’Donnell’s 5th fighting major on the year tops on the team. Read the full article

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The Providence Bruins captain, Jordan Swarz, went right to the net and redirected a Connor Clifton pass giving the Bruins to a 3-2 OT win over the Hartford Wolf Pack before a high-energy, season-best crowd of 8,608 at the XL Center. The Wolf Pack record drops to 22-25-6-3 (53 points), and remain eleven points behind Providence whose record improves to 28-197-1. The Wolf Pack record, when trailing after two periods, is 2-18-3-0. The game-winning play started with Clifton, a former QU Bobcat, came down the right-wing in the three on three OT session and was patient as he waited to get around a diving Steven Fogarty. He hit Swzarz perfectly just as he arrived at the net and the redirect went over Pack netminder, Brandon Halverson, for his 18th goal of the season. Pack Head coach Keith McCambridge looked at the game from a glass-half-full ideology. “I liked the way we played. I thought we played a hard, heavy game, took care of the puck, battled from behind twice, and overtime is anybody’s game, but I loved the effort of the group there.” Ty Ronning who had another strong game for the Wolf Pack with four shots on goal. ”I think our start was a little choppy, but I think we picked it up and we battled back. We tied the game up, and we, unfortunately, didn’t get that bounce in the end.” The Pack tied the game at two early in the third period. On a shorthanded play, Fogarty ziplined a perfect lead pass to Vinni Lettieri, who took a page from Ronning’s playbook with a right leg kick, and slipped his 17th goal under the Bruins Dan Vladar at 2:59. The Pack put everything into play seeking to win it in regulation. Even Halverson got into the act skating out to the blue line to retrieve a puck and did a spinarama to advance the biscuit. In the second period, the Wolf Pack couldn’t put two passes together and its first real quality shot didn’t occur till Tim Gettinger alone on the right was stopped by Dan Vladar at 9:15. On the next shift, the Wolf Pack got their first goal on a giveaway. The Bruins' Emil Johanssen was at the blue line along the left wing boards. He muffed his pass attempt and Ronning was right there. He snatched the loose puck and raced towards the net off the left wing and tallied his third goal, and second in as many games, low to the glove side past Valdar at 9:52. “I was just trying to read off the goalie. Right when I got the puck in that area, I do like to go backhand on that angle.  But just reading him, I stuck with my guns, realizing I kind of did the same thing last night.  I was kind of feeling it and lucky enough to get it in.” The Bruins had control over most of the first period and tallied the only goal. Casey Fitzgerald put a lead pass through the legs of Matt Finn to NHL veteran Lee Stempniak, playing his third game, for a clean breakaway. Halverson was not set properly allowing Stempniak to bury a backhander via the five-hole at 13:22. Sean Day, on a Wolf Pack powerplay, rang one off the crossbar. A turnover by the Bruins' Urho Vaakainen went right to Shawn O’Donnell. Vladar incredibly stretched out and kept it out of the net with his left skate. The Pack lost Ryan Lindgren in a first-period fight/wrestling match with former Yale Bulldog Michael Doherty because his tie down snapped. NOTES: Goaltender Chris Nell will get his first AHL start in Providence tomorrow against the Bruins. He will be the fifth Pack goalie this season. Pack not only lost Lindgren, but Ville Meskanen suffered an upper-body injury in the first period and did not return. SCRATCHES: Rob O’Gara (lower body) Chris Bigras (ankle) Brandon Crawley (upper body) Dustin Tokarski (healthy) Dawson Leedahl (healthy) Zach Tolkinen (healthy) Drew Melanson (healthy) LINES: Fontaine-Ronning-Meskanen Fogarty-Lettieri-Gropp Butler-Gettinger-Beleskey O’Donnell-St. Amant-Lynch Gilmour-Lindgren Raddysh-Hajak Day-Finn Former Wolf Pack players, Stefan Cherneski, and Richard Scott dropped the ceremonial opening game pucks. The PA announcer misidentified Cherneski as being a former Hartford Whaler. On Brady Skej Bobblehead Night, the former Wolf Pack defenseman scored a goal on the Rangers 5-2 win over New Jersey Saturday afternoon. Pack Fan jersey of the Night: #37 Bryan Rodney and 22 CT Whale Ryan Garlock. A changing of the guard in Wolf Pack-land. Director of Ice Officials, Bob Gurrente, stepped down officially due to his battling an illness. Gurrente has held his post since 1975 when he started with the New England Whalers, the entire Hartford Whalers period, and of course the Wolf Pack. That’s 44 years of service and he has seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of pro hockey in the city of Hartford. He's got an amazing sense of humor whether it's telling or hearing a good joke. He also served his country. He was in Cuba during the Cuban Missile crisis in 1962 where he was guiding Air Force recon runs over the island. Best wishes for a speedy recovery. Read the full article

BY: Bob Crawford, Hartford Wolf Pack Allentown, PA, February 9, 2019 – The Hartford Wolf Pack snapped a 0-7-1-1 drought Saturday night at the PPL Center, with a 2-1 win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the first of back-to-back games between the two teams in Allentown. Brandon Halverson made 25 saves in the Hartford net for his first AHL win of the season, and Ryan Gropp’s early third-period goal was the game-winner.  Jori Lehtera scored the only Lehigh Valley goal, and Alex Lyon made 31 stops in the Phantom net. “I thought the group as a whole did a lot of the little details that give you a chance to win hockey games,” said Head Coach Keith McCambridge of the Wolf Pack, whose last win had also been against Lehigh Valley, a 6-5 overtime victory at the XL Center January 18. The Wolf Pack controlled much of the action in the first period, outshooting Lehigh Valley 13-5, and came out of the frame with a 1-0 lead. Peter Holland put the Wolf Pack in front at the 8:13 mark, as the Wolf Pack broke a 0-for-24 power-play drought.  With Connor Bunnaman off for holding, Chris Bigras passed from the middle of the blue line to Holland just above the right faceoff dot, and his one-timer beat the catching glove of Lyon and flew into the top corner of the net. McCambridge said of the power play, “We made some adjustments there, to what our setup was in-zone.  And I thought that unit did a good job with the breakout, the entries, and finally were rewarded for their shots going to the net.” After a scoreless second period, the two teams combined for a pair of goals in a span of only 1:19 early in the third session. Gropp doubled the Wolf Pack lead at 3:52, with his second goal in three games.  After Lehigh Valley defenseman Reece Willcox had a pass deflected near his own blue line, Hartford’s Steven Fogarty moved down the right side in the Phantom end.  He got almost to the corner before sending a feed to Gropp in the slot, and he snapped a shot past Lyon on the stick side. That goal loomed large because Lehtera cut the margin back to one at 5:11.  Lehtera, who was making his Phantom debut after having been assigned by the parent Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, broke up an attempted Wolf Pack breakout feed near the blue line and sent a quick bid towards the net.  With Colin McDonald attacking the net, Lehtera’s shot eluded Halverson, ending his shutout bid. The Phantoms could get nothing else behind Halverson, who was making only his second Wolf Pack appearance of the year, though, despite getting Lyon to the bench for an extra attacker with more than a minute-and-a-half left, and exerting some strong pressure. “I thought , when there were breakdowns, he was in good position,” McCambridge said.  “And, obviously, having a goaltender that plays the puck as well as he does, was a big benefit to help our breakouts.” The Wolf Pack and Phantoms play a rematch Sunday afternoon at the PPL Center, with faceoff at 3:05 PM.  All of the action can be heard live on News Radio 1410 AM, and 100.9 FM, WPOP, and online at newsradio1410.com and iHeartRadio.  Video streaming is available at theahl.com/AHLTV. The next Wolf Pack home game is this Wednesday, February 13, a 7:00 PM contest vs. the Toronto Marlies.  That is another chance to take advantage of the Wolf Pack’s “Click It or Ticket Family Value Pack”, which includes two tickets, two hot dogs and two sodas, all for just $40. Tickets for all 2018-19 Wolf Pack home games are on sale now at the Agera Energy Ticket Office at the XL Center, online at hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499.  Tickets purchased in advance for kids 12 or younger start at just $13 each, and all tickets will have a $3 day-of-game increase. Season ticket information for the Wolf Pack’s 2018-19 AHL season can be found online at hartfordwolfpack.com.  To speak with a representative about all of the Wolf Pack’s many attractive ticketing options, call (855) 762-6451, or click here to request more info. Hartford Wolf Pack 2 at Lehigh Valley Phantoms 1 Saturday, February 9, 2019 - PPL Center Hartford         1 0 1 - 2 Lehigh Valley 0 0 1 - 1 1st Period-1, Hartford, Holland 18 (Bigras, Andersson), 8:13 (PP). Penalties-O'Donnell Hfd (tripping), 2:41; Bunnaman Lv (holding), 6:44; Goulbourne Lv (tripping), 13:05. 2nd Period- No Scoring. Penalties-Meskanen Hfd (tripping), 18:14. 3rd Period-2, Hartford, Gropp 5 (Fogarty, Gettinger), 3:52. 3, Lehigh Valley, Lehtera 1   5:11. Penalties-No Penalties Shots on Goal-Hartford 13-8-12-33. Lehigh Valley 5-11-10-26. Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 1 / 2; Lehigh Valley 0 / 2. Goalies-Hartford, Halverson 1-1-0 (26 shots-25 saves). Lehigh Valley, Lyon 11-10-1 (33 shots-31 saves). A-8,837 Referees-Beaudry Halkidis (48), Tim Mayer (19). Linesmen-Jud Ritter (34), Patrick Hanrahan (19). Read the full article

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT -  The Hartford Wolf Pack used 29 saves from Dustin Tokarski, and a two-point performance from Gabriel Fontaine and a full-sixty minute effort from the entire roster on Wednesday night before an announced crowd of 2,248 at the XL Center in shutting out the visiting Providence Bruins, 3-0. The game was the team's last home game before the Christmas break and broke a five-game losing streak. “It was nice for the guys to be rewarded from the last couple of games when they didn’t. We played the right way and we got some big goals from the power-play, capitalized on our chances and felt good about the win, ”Pack head coach, Keith McCambridge said with a bright grin on his face. The Pack (12-15-1-0) clinched the win with a late powerplay tally. Peter Holland was at the right point and took a Chris Bigras diagonal pass from the left wing corner and one-timed his shot into the top-shelf with a glove-side laser registering his seventh of the season and first goal in four games. Tokarski has not played in three weeks and was superb making several top-shelf saves, the most challenging coming with 4:00 to go through a rolling screen that he snagged on Connor Clifton’s shot. When asked if he was able to see the shot with the screen in front of him Tokarski said, “To be honest, no. I saw it at the very last second and made the reaction.” The Pack played a strong, 60 minutes. Tokarski knew that was what they needed. “It was a really good game by us. Whenever the momentum started to shift, we made a big play to take it back. A solid effort all around and it was fun to be a part of it." Tokarksi picked up his sixth win holding onto the same groove he was in when he left for New York. McCambridge couldn’t have been happier for the team than he was for their netminder. “The guys got confidence from him and any breakdowns he looked big in the net. They had some really good looks on their powerplay and he played really strong for us.” The team defense was solid throughout and especially when called upon to assist Tokarski. Ryan Lindgren blocking shots. Libor Hajak battled in front while forward Gabriel Fontaine backchecked hard and wrestled the Bruins' Anton Blidh to the ice when he got his elbows up on Tokarski after a stopped shot. The second period saw the Pack play a strong two-way game and any time Providence (12-12-5-0) got a break Tokarski slammed it shut. Just 20 seconds into the second period, Tokarski denied Cameron Hughes off the left wing. Then the same for Trent Frederic when he was at the side of the goal. Gemel Smith, just sent down by Boston earlier that afternoon, was denied as he cut across the net from the left wing. Tokarski gave him nothing to shoot and then smothered his attempt. The Wolf Pack got 10 shots on net. John Gilmour shot from the right point with Cole Schneider screening in front. Schneider had his deflection tip-in chance stopped by Zane McIntyre.  With 1:38 left, Holland had his quality scoring chance nullified. The period was a bit chippy not quite like the old days when the Bruins and Wolf Pack battles, with one fight erupting. The Bruins 6’7, Chris Breen, a veteran with 45 fights under his belt (courtesy of dropyourgloves.com) scored a TKO over 6’6, rookie Tim Gettinger who has just nine fights to his credit. Breen scored with an overhand right that sent Gettinger to the ice and to the locker room for a concussion check. Gettinger did not return and there was no post-game report on his condition. The gloves also dropped late in the second when the Bruins', Emil Johansson, was penalized on a play and clipped Holland on a rush off the left wing at the blue line. There were two scrums in the period. The Wolf Pack got their first two goals via the play of their special teams. While on the power play, Hartford gained entrance into the Bruins' zone. Finnish rookie, Ville Meskanen, sent a short pass to Fontaine, who went wide on the left wing. Fontaine sent a shot that went through the crease right to a wide-open Gettinger on the open left side. Gettinger easily deposited his eighth of the season past McIntyre at 6:03. “I've got to give credit to my coach and teammates for doing a lot of video with us. He told me to try to go to the net more, and it paid off,” Fontaine said with a laugh. The Wolf Pack tallied their second goal shorthanded late in the first period. Defenseman, Brandon Crawley, zipped a head-man pass to Schneider and the Pack captain got some distance and position on Clifton, a former QU Bobcat. Schnieder sent a pass to the right wing and Fontaine, like Gettinger before him, was wide open on the right wing side and able to bang the puck into the open net for his third goal of the season. This was Fontaine's first multi-point game in a little over a year (December 15, 2017) when he did so against the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins. “I was going fast and I felt I might go past the net," Fontaine said in his French-accented English. "Cole made a nice pass, so I was happy about that.” “I’m happy for Gabby," McCambridge said of his second year forward playing on the second powerplay unit. "That learning curve and development in his game takes time and he got some powerplay time tonight and made some strong plays all over the ice.” McCambridge was happy with Schneider’s work to set that play up. “He did a great job of keeping his feet moving and getting the separation from the 'D' and finding Gabby with a perfect pass." NOTES: Providence saw Jeremy Lauzon and Gemel Smith returned from the Bruins as they've reduced their injury list. PACK SCRATCHES: Dawson Leedahl Vince Pedrie. WOLF PACK LINES: Schneider* - Fogarty** - Lettieri Gettinger - Holland - Meskanen Belesky - Wallin - O’Donnell St. Armant - Fontaine - Butler Gilmour - Lindgren Bigras - O’Gara** Crawley - Hajak Tokarski *Captain **Assistant Captain Read the full article

BY: Bob Crawford, Hartford Wolf Pack Providence, RI, October 13, 2018 – The Hartford Wolf Pack built a 4-0 lead Saturday night at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center Providence and then hung on for a 4-3 win over the Providence Bruins, in the second half of a home-and-home set between the two teams. The Bruins had defeated the Wolf Pack 4-3 in overtime Friday night in the front end of the home-and-home, at the XL Center. Lias Andersson had a goal and an assist for the Wolf Pack, and Ryan Gropp, Michael Lindqvist, and John Gilmour also scored.  Marek Mazanec, who had a shutout through better than 57 minutes, before the Bruins awoke for three goals in the final 2:37, finished with 26 saves. “I thought we did a really good job of correcting some of the mistakes that took place in our game night,” Wolf Pack head coach Keith McCambridge said.  “We did a better job of managing the puck, our forecheck was in place, and I thought the support was in areas that we needed to have success.  Feeling really good about the game, and then the last couple of minutes, we were not aware of where the puck is, and we give them momentum.” The Wolf Pack went up 2-0 in the first period, on an even-strength goal by Gropp and a shorthanded goal by Andersson. Groupopened the scoring at 14:17, on a rebound of a Bobby Butler shot.  Peter Holland intercepted a Peter Cehlarik pass in neutral ice and sent a pass to Butler on the right wing.  Bruin goaltender Dan Vladar (26 saves) stopped Butler’s drive, but the rebound went off of Vladar’s pads into the slot, and Gropp jumped on it for a forehand finish. Then, at 17:52, with Chris Bigras in the penalty box for cross-checking, Andersson scored the Wolf Pack’s second shorthander of the season.  Gabriel Fontaine broke up a pass in the defensive zone and carried all the way into the Bruin end on the left-wing, before feeding across at the last second to Andersson, who easily beat Vladar. he Wolf Pack controlled much of the second period and added to their lead at 14:47, on Lindqvist’s second goal of the season.  Libor Hajek moved the puck down the right boards in the Providence zone to the back of the net and then was foiled on a wraparound try.  The puck stayed loose, though, and Lindqvist was able to knock it in from amidst multiple players in front of the goal. Gilmour notched his second of the season 4:25 into the third, picking up the puck just outside the Bruin blue line and carrying to within 25 feet of the Providence net, before firing a shot past Vladar’s stick side. That extended the Wolf Pack lead to 4-0, and the Wolf Pack protected it easily until they were called for too many men on the ice at 15:41.  They were nearly able to kill that penalty, but Zach Senyshyn buried a shot from the slot at 17:23, putting Providence on the board. Just 15 seconds after that, at 17:38, Colby Cave made it a 4-2 game, knocking the rebound of an Anton Blidh shot into the net from Mazanec’s right. The Bruins then got Vladar to the bench for an extra attacker, and Blidh would pull Providence to within one with 15.9 seconds left, set up in front of the goal by Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and Cave. That would be as close as Providence could get, though, and the Wolf Pack would improve to 3-1-1-0 on the young season. “I’m disappointed for in net because he played such a strong game,” said McCambridge, “but at the end of the day, we’ll take the points out of this game and make sure that we learn from that momentum shift.” Saturday’s game started a stretch of four straight and nine out of 11 on the road for the Wolf Pack, who are next in action this Wednesday night, October 17 at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec against the Laval Rocket.  Faceoff is 7:30 PM and all of the action can be heard live on News Radio 1410 WPOP, and online at newsradio1410.com and iHeartRadio.  Video streaming is available at theahl.com/AHLTV. The next Wolf Pack home game is Wednesday, October 24, a 7:00 PM contest vs. the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.  That is another opportunity to take advantage of the Wolf Pack’s “Click It or Ticket Family Value Pack”, which includes two tickets, two sodas, and two hot dogs, all for just $40. Tickets for all 2018-19 Wolf Pack home games are on sale now at the Agera Energy Ticket Office at the XL Center, online at hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499.  Tickets purchased in advance for kids 12 or younger start at just $13 each, and all tickets will have a $3 day-of-game increase. Season ticket information for the Wolf Pack’s 2018-19 AHL season can be found online at hartfordwolfpack.com.  To speak with a representative about all of the Wolf Pack’s many attractive ticketing options, call (855) 762-6451, or click here to request more info. Hartford Wolf Pack 4 at Providence Bruins 3 Saturday, October 13, 2018 - Dunkin' Donuts Center Hartford     2 1 1 - 4 Providence 0 0 3 - 3 1st Period-1, Hartford, Gropp 2 (Butler, Holland), 14:26. 2, Hartford, Andersson 2 (Fontaine), 17:52 (SH). Penalties-Bigras Hfd (cross-checking), 17:35. 2nd Period-3, Hartford, Lindqvist 2 (Andersson, Schneider), 14:47. Penalties-Andersson Hfd (fighting), 5:22; Blidh Pro (fighting), 5:22. 3rd Period-4, Hartford, Gilmour 2   4:25. 5, Providence, Senyshyn 1 (Fitzgerald, Cehlarik), 17:23 (PP). 6, Providence, Cave 1 (Blidh, Fyten), 18:02. 7, Providence, Blidh 2 (Forsbacka Karlsson, Cave), 19:44. Penalties-Lauzon Pro (tripping), 7:15; Pond Pro (high-sticking), 9:30; served by Meskanen Hfd (bench minor - too many men), 15:41. Shots on Goal-Hartford 9-12-9-30. Providence 10-7-12-29. Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 0 / 2; Providence 1 / 2. Goalies-Hartford, Mazanec 2-1-0 (29 shots-26 saves). Providence, Vladar 0-2-0 (30 shots-26 saves). A-6,423 Referees-Carter Sandlak (6), Andrew Wilk (57). Linesmen-Jack Millea (23), Chris Millea (33). Read the full article

BY: Bob Crawford, Hartford Wolf Pack Providence, RI, October 13, 2018 – The Hartford Wolf Pack built a 4-0 lead Saturday night at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence and then hung on for a 4-3 win over the Providence Bruins, in the second half of a home-and-home set between the two teams. The Bruins had defeated the Wolf Pack 4-3 in overtime Friday night in the front end of the home-and-home, at the XL Center. Lias Andersson had a goal and an assist for the Wolf Pack, and Ryan Gropp, Michael Lindqvist, and John Gilmour also scored.  Marek Mazanec, who had a shutout through better than 57 minutes, before the Bruins awoke for three goals in the final 2:37, finished with 26 saves. “I thought we did a really good job of correcting some of the mistakes that took place in our game night,” Wolf Pack head coach Keith McCambridge said.  “We did a better job of managing the puck, our forecheck was in place, and I thought the support was in areas that we needed to have success.  Feeling really good about the game, and then the last couple of minutes, we were not aware of where the puck is, and we give them momentum.” The Wolf Pack went up 2-0 in the first period, on an even-strength goal by Gropp and a shorthander by Andersson. Gropp opened the scoring at 14:17, on a rebound of a Bobby Butler shot.  Peter Holland intercepted a Peter Cehlarik pass in neutral ice and sent a pass to Butler on the right wing.  Bruin goaltender Dan Vladar (26 saves) stopped Butler’s drive, but the rebound went off of Vladar’s pads into the slot, and Gropp jumped on it for a forehand finish. Then, at 17:52, with Chris Bigras in the penalty box for cross-checking, Andersson scored the Wolf Pack’s second shorthander of the season.  Gabriel Fontaine broke up a pass in the defensive zone and carried all the way into the Bruin end on the left wing, before feeding across at the last second to Andersson, who easily beat Vladar. The Wolf Pack controlled much of the second period and added to their lead at 14:47, on Lindqvist’s second goal of the season.  Libor Hajek moved the puck down the right boards in the Providence zone to the back of the net and then was foiled on a wraparound try.  The puck stayed loose, though, and Lindqvist was able to knock it in from amidst multiple players in front of the goal. Gilmour notched his second of the season 4:25 into the third, picking up the puck just outside the Bruin blue line and carrying to within 25 feet of the Providence net, before firing a shot past Vladar’s stick side. That extended the Wolf Pack lead to 4-0, and the Wolf Pack protected it easily until they were called for too many men on the ice at 15:41.  They were nearly able to kill that penalty, but Zach Senyshyn buried a shot from the slot at 17:23, putting Providence on the board. Just 15 seconds after that, at 17:38, Colby Cave made it a 4-2 game, knocking the rebound of an Anton Blidh shot into the net from Mazanec’s right. The Bruins then got Vladar to the bench for an extra attacker, and Blidh would pull Providence to within one with 15.9 seconds left, set up in front of the goal by Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and Cave. That would be as close as Providence could get, though, and the Wolf Pack would improve to 3-1-1-0 on the young season. “I’m disappointed for in net because he played such a strong game,” said McCambridge, “but at the end of the day, we’ll take the points out of this game and make sure that we learn from that momentum shift.” Saturday’s game started a stretch of four straight and nine out of 11 on the road for the Wolf Pack, who are next in action this Wednesday night, October 17 at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec against the Laval Rocket.  Faceoff is 7:30 PM and all of the action can be heard live on News Radio 1410 WPOP, and online at newsradio1410.com and iHeartRadio.  Video streaming is available at theahl.com/AHLTV. The next Wolf Pack home game is Wednesday, October 24, a 7:00 PM contest vs. the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.  That is another opportunity to take advantage of the Wolf Pack’s “Click It or Ticket Family Value Pack”, which includes two tickets, two sodas, and two hot dogs, all for just $40. Tickets for all 2018-19 Wolf Pack home games are on sale now at the Agera Energy Ticket Office at the XL Center, online at hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499.  Tickets purchased in advance for kids 12 or younger start at just $13 each, and all tickets will have a $3 day-of-game increase. Season ticket information for the Wolf Pack’s 2018-19 AHL season can be found online at hartfordwolfpack.com.  To speak with a representative about all of the Wolf Pack’s many attractive ticketing options, call (855) 762-6451, or click here to request more info. Hartford Wolf Pack 4 at Providence Bruins 3 Saturday, October 13, 2018 - Dunkin' Donuts Center Hartford 2 1 1 - 4 Providence 0 0 3 - 3 1st Period-1, Hartford, Gropp 2 (Butler, Holland), 14:26. 2, Hartford, Andersson 2 (Fontaine), 17:52 (SH). Penalties-Bigras Hfd (cross-checking), 17:35. 2nd Period-3, Hartford, Lindqvist 2 (Andersson, Schneider), 14:47. Penalties-Andersson Hfd (fighting), 5:22; Blidh Pro (fighting), 5:22. 3rd Period-4, Hartford, Gilmour 2   4:25. 5, Providence, Senyshyn 1 (Fitzgerald, Cehlarik), 17:23 (PP). 6, Providence, Cave 1 (Blidh, Fyten), 18:02. 7, Providence, Blidh 2 (Forsbacka Karlsson, Cave), 19:44. Penalties-Lauzon Pro (tripping), 7:15; Pond Pro (high-sticking), 9:30; served by Meskanen Hfd (bench minor - too many men), 15:41. Shots on Goal-Hartford 9-12-9-30. Providence 10-7-12-29. Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 0 / 2; Providence 1 / 2. Goalies-Hartford, Mazanec 2-1-0 (29 shots-26 saves). Providence, Vladar 0-2-0 (30 shots-26 saves). A-6,423 Referees-Carter Sandlak (6), Andrew Wilk (57). Linesmen-Jack Millea (23), Chris Millea (33). Read the full article