TWO MINUTES FOR THOUGHTS: DECEMBER 15TH, 2022
Dec 15, 2022
Greetings from the road, Wolf Pack fans! Currently, the Pack are on the road and traveling east from Milwaukee to Grand Rapids ahead of tomorrow night’s visit to Van Andel Arena. The club will then head back west to Illinois after the game, arriving in Rockford early Saturday morning ahead of Saturday night’s game against the IceHogs.
This week, we’ll take a deep dive into the club’s rare trip to the Midwest, the team’s recent strong play, and more.
Onto the blog!
Midwest Journey
The Wolf Pack are currently on a three-game road trip through the Midwest, one that opened in Milwaukee on Wednesday night. As mentioned above, the club will play in Grand Rapids tomorrow night, then wrap things up in Rockford on Saturday night.
How rare is this trip? Well, prior to departing on Monday, the Wolf Pack had played a combined two games in Milwaukee, Grand Rapids, and Rockford in franchise history. They are playing three on this trip.
Hartford’s 4-3 shootout victory on Wednesday night was their first victory in Milwaukee in franchise history. Granted, it was just the club’s second visit to UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and their first since November of 2002.
The Wolf Pack’s visit to Grand Rapids will be their second-ever, and their first since November 14th, 2008. As for Rockford, well, the Pack have never made the trip to the Illinois outpost. Saturday’s game will be the second meeting between the sides and the first in Rockford.
Winning Ways
Hartford’s 4-3 shootout victory on Wednesday night marked the first time that the club has won back-to-back games since November 9th and 11th. During that brief two-game stretch, the Wolf Pack won a 2-1 shootout decision at home against the Springfield Thunderbirds (11/9) and took a 3-1 decision in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton against the Penguins (11/11).
The win also marked the first time this season that Hartford has won three out of four games. A win on Friday will give the team their first three-game winning streak of the season, and their first since January 23rd – 28th of last season.
The wins haven’t exactly come out of nowhere. The Wolf Pack, despite their early season record, have been building toward this stretch in recent weeks. Head Coach Kris Knoblauch recently told me that he thought the club’s 3-1 loss in Providence on December 4th was their best performance of the season, and that despite losing in that game the club was building towards something with their process.
Defenseman Blake Hillman mentioned that the club’s mentality at the start of games had shifted, and they started to approach first periods as if they were already down a goal. Since then? Hartford has scored first in three of their last four outings.
Hartford has been playing their best hockey of the season as of late. They’ve done a great job preventing goals against at five-on-five, and their penalty kill is among the best in the league since November 1st. Offensively, Hartford quickly went from being the lowest-scoring team in the AHL to scoring eight goals in their last two games.
The process is starting to yield results, and you can see the confidence growing within the group on a game-to-game basis. Should the Wolf Pack win one or both of their games this weekend, this stretch of games could be the turning point of the 2022-23 season.
This N’ That
Will Cuylle is feeling it. The 60th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft has been outstanding as of late for the Wolf Pack. He’s scored in back-to-back games and three of the last four for Hartford and has notched the deciding goal in all three of Hartford’s wins in the last eight days.
His highlight reel goal against Lehigh Valley was the first game-winner of his career, while the ‘Teddy Bear Toss’ goal three nights later would be his second GWG. Last night, he scored the shootout winner, the second time he has done so this year. Cuylle had a goal and an assist in the win in Milwaukee and looks to have real chemistry with Tanner Fritz. Cuylle could be poised for a big second half of the season.
Frtiz, meanwhile, is playing arguably his best hockey with the Wolf Pack. He followed up his second three-assist night of the season on Saturday with another helper and the first goal of his season on Wednesday night. Since being put on a line with Cuylle and Bobby Trivigno, Fritz has been outstanding for Hartford.
Other performances to note? Austin Rueschhoff’s recent good play was rewarded with his first goal of the season in Milwaukee. He’s been very good lately, using his size and strength to create havoc in the offensive zone. Karl Henriksson, Matt Rempe, Cristiano DiGiacinto, and Brandon Cutler have also been doing good things for Hartford and making life difficult for the opponent.
A reminder, this Saturday’s game in Rockford is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. EST. That means Wolf Pack Pregame starts at 7:45 p.m. EST on AHLTV and Mixlr.
Talk tomorrow from Grand Rapids!
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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 are the top player-development affiliate of the NHL's New York Rangers and play 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.