PRE-GAME REPORT: WOLF PACK FINISH 2022 WITH VISIT FROM RIVAL THUNDERBIRDS
Dec 31, 2022
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack return home to conclude the 2022 portion of their schedule tonight as they play host to the Springfield Thunderbirds at the XL Center. The game is Hartford’s lone home contest in a stretch of seven games.
Puck drop is set for 5:30 p.m. and coverage is available on both AHLTV and Mixlr.
Tale of The Tape:
This is the fifth of twelve meetings between the Wolf Pack and Thunderbirds during the 2022-23 season. It is the third of six meetings at the XL Center, and the final game of three in a span of just nine days. The sides will not meet again until February 22nd at the MassMutual Center.
The Thunderbirds have won three of the first four meetings, including a 7-4 triumph on Wednesday night in Springfield. Austin Rueschhoff and Will Cuylle both scored to give the Wolf Pack a 2-0 lead before Matthew Highmore and Turner Elson traded goals to make it a 3-1 spread.
The T-Birds would score six unanswered goals from there, with both Martin Frk and Jake Neighbours lighting the lamp twice. Mitchell Hoelscher and Will Bitten also struck in the victory. Ryan Carpenter stopped the bleeding for Hartford, scoring at 9:40 of the third period, but it would not be enough to spark a rally.
The T-Birds are 3-0-0-1 against Hartford this season, while the Wolf Pack are 1-3-0-0 in the ‘I-91 Rivalry’. Hartford’s lone victory was a 2-1 shootout decision at the XL Center on November 9th.
Wolf Pack Outlook:
The Wolf Pack saw their brief two-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday night in Springfield. The club is 6-6-0-0 in the month of December. A victory tonight would give the Wolf Pack their first winning month of the 2022-23 season.
Carpenter’s goal on Wednesday gives him goals in three straight games. That is the longest scoring streak by a Wolf Pack player this season. He has six goals in that span. He also leads the club in points-per-game with 1.11, scoring ten points in nine games.
Forwards Carpenter (6 g, 1 a), Elson (1 g, 3 a) and Rueschhoff (1 g, 4 a) all have three-game point streaks. Elson currently leads the Wolf Pack in points with 17 (6 g, 11 a) on the season. Carpenter and Cuylle, meanwhile, are tied for the team lead in goals with eight each.
On Friday, the Wolf Pack loaned G Parker Gahagen and F Zach Jordan to the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen.
Thunderbirds Outlook:
The Thunderbirds won their second straight game on Friday night, doubling up the Bridgeport Islanders 6-3 on home ice. Cole Bardreau opened the scoring for the visitors with a shorthanded goal 10:08 into the game, but Drew Callin would tie things up at 14:23 with his fifth goal of the season. Hugh McGing cashed in on a chance at 17:22, giving the T-Birds a lead they would not lose.
Nikita Alexandrov would tack on two goals in the final forty minutes, while Jake Neighbours and Greg Printz would also light the lamp. Alexandrov’s second goal of the night, and Printz’s lone tally, were empty-net goals.
Highmore leads the Thunderbirds in points with 31 (7 g, 24 a) on the season. Alexandrov, meanwhile, leads the club in goals with eleven.
The Thunderbirds signed D Andrew Peski to a professional tryout (PTO) on Friday.
Game Information:
WATCH: AHLTV
LISTEN: Mixlr
Play-by-play voice of the Wolf Pack Alex Thomas will have ‘Wolf Pack Pregame’ starting live at 5:15 p.m. on both AHLTV and Mixlr.
The Wolf Pack kick off 2023 with a four-game road trip. The club begins the road trip in Utica when they take on the Comets at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, January 6th. The Pack is back at the XL Center on Saturday, January 14th, when they host the Providence Bruins at 7:00 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 is the top player-development affiliate of the NHL's New York Rangers and plays 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.