Game Preview
Jan 5, 2018
Game Day Info:
Hartford Wolf Pack vs. Providence Bruins
Puck Drop: Friday, Jan. 5 at 7:05 p.m.
Game Preview:
The Hartford Wolf Pack will be hosted by the Providence Bruins tonight for the second time this season at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. This is the fourth overall meeting between the two teams, in which the Wolf Pack have gone 1-1-0-1. The Pack will next face the Bruins for a home-and-home series the first weekend of February.
The Bruins are coming off a 3-2 overtime loss against the Belleville Senators on December 30, and have just completed a season-long eight-game road trip. Providence sits in first place in the Atlantic Division with a 21-8-3-0 record and a 0.703 win percentage.
Last Time Out:
Last Saturday, the Wolf Pack played to a 5-4 loss to the Springfield Thunderbirds at the XL Center. Eric Selleck, Joe Whitney, Scott Kosmachuk and Neal Pionk all found the back of the net, but it wasn’t enough, as the Thunderbirds scored the game-winning goal in the waning seconds of the final period.
Thus far, the Pack are 13-15-3-3 on the season with a .471 win percentage, which places them seventh in the ultra-competitive Atlantic Division with 32 points from 34 games played. The Providence Bruins currently lead the division, while the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins fall close behind in the tight race.
Players to Watch:
#77 Tony DeAngelo
In 22 games played, Tony DeAngelo has scored two goals and notched nine assists for 11 points. DeAngelo’s 11 points places him third among Wolf Pack defensemen. The defender is in his first year with the New York Rangers organization, and played eight NHL games earlier in the season with one assist. The previous year, DeAngelo split the season between the Arizona Coyotes and their affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners. The defenseman logged 39 games with the Coyotes, contributing five goals and nine assists. DeAngelo was a first round pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, where he was selected 19th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
#27 Austin Czarnik
Austin Czarnik currently has nine goals and 19 assists for a team-leading 28 points in 26 games with Providence. The 24-year-old center was with the Boston Bruins for a large part of the 2016-17 season, scoring five goals and adding eight assists for 13 points in 49 games. In 17 games throughout the 2017 Calder Cup Playoffs, the Michigan native had three goals and four assists. Czarnik went undrafted during his two draft classes, but signed with Boston in 2015.
Coming Up Next:
The Pack will be back home at the XL Center tomorrow and Sunday for matchups against the Syracuse Crunch and Utica Comets. For tickets and information, visit the Hartford Wolf Pack ticketing site or call 866-762-6451.