PRE-GAME REPORT: WOLF PACK OPEN KEY BACK-TO-BACK SET IN CHARLOTTE
Mar 12, 2024
CHARLOTTE, NC – The Hartford Wolf Pack have arrived in North Carolina for the first of two trips to the Queen City this season. Tonight, the Wolf Pack open a back-to-back set against the rival Checkers.
The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. and coverage is available on AHLTV and Mixlr.
Tale of The Tape:
This is the third of eight meetings between the clubs this season. It is the first of four at the Bojangles Coliseum, where the sides will meet again tomorrow night. The Checkers return to Hartford on March 28th, then the series shifts back to Charlotte for two games on April 6th and 7th.
The season series will conclude at the XL Center on April 14th.
The Checkers have claimed victory in each of the first two meetings this season. The series opened with a 4-2 triumph for the Checkers on January 31st at the XL Center. Last time out, Mackie Samoskevich was the overtime hero in a 2-1 road victory for Charlotte.
After a goalless first period, Matt Kiersted opened the scoring 4:19 into the middle stanza. The defenseman scored his fourth goal of the season from the left-wing circle on a feed from Samoskevich.
The Wolf Pack drew even 4:36 into the third period, as Blake Hillman and Blade Jenkins sprung in on a two-on-one. Hillman sent a perfect pass to Jenkins, who buried his first goal with the club to force overtime.
Samoskevich earned the second point for the Checkers 3:48 into overtime, scoring his 14th goal of the season. The rookie forward danced down the right-wing side and beat Louis Domingue for victory.
A season ago, the Wolf Pack went 2-1-1-0 at the Bojangles Coliseum. They are 3-1-1-0 in their last five games in the building. All-time, however, the Wolf Pack are 3-16-1-1 in Charlotte.
Wolf Pack Outlook:
The Wolf Pack extended their current point streak to five games on Saturday night (3-0-1-1) but saw their three-game winning streak snapped by the Bridgeport Islanders 3-2 in a shootout.
After neither side was able to draw blood in the opening frame, Brian Pinho finally broke the ice 5:05 into the second period. William Dufour found a loose puck along the right-wing boards and threaded a pass to Pinho in front of the Wolf Pack goal. Pinho got inside and lifted a shot by Dylan Garand for his sixth goal of the season.
Alex Belzile tied the affair 6:48 into the third period, jamming home a rebound for his 16th goal of the season. Nic Petan wandered into the high slot and fired a shot that Jakub Skarek denied. The rebound popped to the top of the crease, however, where Belzile stuffed it home.
3:53 later, at 10:41, Jake Leschyshyn gave the Wolf Pack their first lead of the night. Adam Edström powered into the offensive zone and set up Leschyshyn on the doorstep. The goal was Leschyshyn’s sixth of the season.
The lead lasted a mere 1:22, however, as Dufour tied the game at 12:03 with a shot from the right-wing circle. Dufour’s 13th goal of the campaign would be enough to force overtime.
The Wolf Pack got an early penalty kill in overtime, then had a chance to end the game when Brett Berard snuck in all alone. Berard was robbed by Skarek, however, forcing a shootout.
Matthew Maggio and Petan traded goals in the opening rounds of the shootout, sending the sides to the bottom half of the third round tied 1-1. There, Ruslan Iskhakov sent the crowd home happy with a brilliant goal, going between the legs for the game-winner.
Berard leads the Wolf Pack in goals with 22. Belzile (16 g, 25 a) and Petan (12 g, 29 a) lead the team in points with 41 each, while Mac Hollowell leads the way in assists with 34.
Checkers Outlook:
The Checkers split a weekend set with the Hershey Bears on home ice on March 8th and 9th. After opening the weekend with a 5-3 victory on Friday night, the Checkers fell 3-2 on Saturday evening.
Matthew Phillips opened the scoring 4:36 into the hockey game, burying his first goal of the season in his Bears debut. Samoskevich got the Checkers even at 8:56, but Jimmy Huntington broke the tie for good at 15:55.
Huntington tacked on his second goal of the game and his 13th goal of the season on the powerplay 3:29 into the middle frame, ballooning the lead to 3-1. That goal would stand as the eventual game-winning tally.
Patrick Giles hit the ten-goal mark at 19:01 of the second period, scoring a shorthanded goal that drew the home side within one.
Despite outshooting the Bears 10-1 in the third period, the Checkers could not solve Clay Stevenson. The netminder slammed the door shut with ten saves in the final frame to pick up his 19th victory of the season.
Samoskevich leads the Checkers in goals with 16, while defenseman Lucas Carlsson leads the club in assists with 24 and points with 39 (15 g, 24 a).
Game Information:
WATCH: AHLTV
LISTEN: Mixlr
Play-by-play voice of the Wolf Pack Alex Thomas will have ‘Wolf Pack Pregame’ starting live at 6:45 p.m. on both AHLTV and Mixlr.
The Wolf Pack conclude their three-game road trip tomorrow night with a rematch against the Checkers. The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.
The Pack is back at the XL Center on Saturday, March 16th, for ‘Hartford Hockey Heritage Night’ against the Utica Comets! The puck drop is set for 6:00 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.