PRE-GAME REPORT: WOLF PACK MARCH INTO WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON TO BATTLE PENGUINS
Jan 7, 2023
WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON, PA – The Hartford Wolf Pack continue their four-game road trip tonight as the club pays a visit to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for the second half of their weekend back-to-back set.
Puck drop is set for 6:05 p.m. and coverage is available on both AHLTV and Mixlr.
Tale of The Tape:
This is the third of six meetings between the Wolf Pack and Penguins this season, and the second of three at Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. The sides will meet next on February 4th at the XL Center, then again for the final game in Pennsylvania on March 26th. The season series concludes in Hartford on April 14th.
The Wolf Pack took home two points in the last meeting, taking a 3-1 decision in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on November 11th. Tim Gettinger opened the scoring 14:34 into the game, scoring the team’s first shorthanded goal of the season. Drew O’Connor tied the contest 1-1 7:35 into the second period, snapping home a powerplay goal to send the sides to the third period even.
In the third period, Lauri Pajuniemi would score 1:54 in to put the Wolf Pack ahead for good. Gettinger potted his second of the night into the empty net at 19:52 to cement the victory.
The Wolf Pack have collected three of a possible four points from the Penguins this season, posting a record of 1-0-0-1. The Penguins scored a 4-3 shootout victory in Hartford on October 22nd.
Wolf Pack Outlook:
The Wolf Pack dropped their second straight game in the shootout and third game overall on Friday night, falling 3-2 to the Utica Comets in the shootout. The Wolf Pack opened the scoring with a powerplay goal from Ryan Carpenter 12:18 into the game, then found the insurance marker just 3:22 into the second thanks to Brandon Scanlin’s second goal of the season.
The Comets battled back, however, getting goals from Joe Gambardella and Graeme Clarke to tie the game and force overtime. The sides required a shootout, where Clarke would score the only goal to push the home side to victory.
Turner Elson, who skated in his 500th career AHL game last night, leads the Wolf Pack in scoring with 18 points (6 g, 12 a). Carpenter, meanwhile, leads the club in goals with nine. Tanner Fritz’s 13 assists are tops in that category.
On Friday, the New York Rangers assigned forward Gustav Rydahl back to Hartford. Rydahl was previously recalled by the Rangers on Thursday morning.
Penguins Outlook:
The Penguins dropped a 4-2 decision on home ice last night to the Charlotte Checkers, splitting a two-game set between the teams. Filip Hållander and Alex Nylander scored at 5:17 and 15:00 of the first period to put the Penguins ahead 2-0, but the Checkers would take over from there.
Grigori Denisenko first scored at 17:22 to bring the Checkers within one, then would tie the game 2:17 into the second period. Riley Nash put the Checkers ahead for good at 5:08 of the second, while Santtu Kinnunen tacked on the insurance marker at 6:02.
The game was called with 1:12 remaining in regulation following a scary moment, as Hållander was upended in the offensive zone and was tended to by Penguins and Checkers medical personnel.
Valtteri Puustinen leads the Penguins in points with 27 (13 g, 14 a) on the season. Puustinen and Nylander are tied for the team lead in goals with 13 each, while Hållander leads the club in assists with 17.
On Friday, the Penguins recalled goaltender Tommy Nappier from loan to the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers. The club also released forward Justin Addamo from his PTO, while the parent Pittsburgh Penguins reassigned defenseman, Josh Maniscalco, from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to ECHL Wheeling.
Game Information:
WATCH: AHLTV
LISTEN: Mixlr
Play-by-play voice of the Wolf Pack Alex Thomas will have ‘Wolf Pack Pregame’ starting live at 5:50 p.m. on both AHLTV and Mixlr. To listen to Alex’s call, click the ‘away audio’ button when selecting tonight’s contest.
The Wolf Pack’s road trip continues Tuesday night when they open a back-to-back set in Charlotte against the Checkers. The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. 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.