TWO MINUTES FOR THOUGHTS: DECEMBER 1ST, 2022
Dec 1, 2022
Hello, Wolf Pack fans! I hope you all enjoyed Thanksgiving last Thursday and have enjoyed the start of the holiday season. As the calendar flips from November to December, we exit both the fall and early portions of the AHL season. Now, we are onto the winter and the grind of the season.
The Wolf Pack’s schedule will get congested starting this weekend, with two games on tap before a busy run right up until Christmas. The Rockford IceHogs come to town on Saturday night before a visit to the Providence Bruins on Sunday afternoon. Then, it’s a mad dash to the holiday.
Onto the blog!
Milestones Reached
When it comes to the win/loss column, this past week wasn’t what the Hartford Wolf Pack was looking for. The club suffered three losses, going 0-2-0-1 in games against the Bridgeport Islanders and Hershey Bears.
There were some positives in the week, including a pair of milestones hit by a veteran forward and rookie goaltender. On Wednesday night in Bridgeport, Tim Gettinger became the 25th player in Wolf Pack history to play 200 games with the club. He was honored in game 201 on Friday night at the XL Center against the Bears, a game in which he scored his team-leading 6th goal of the season.
Head Coach Kris Knoblauch and Gettinger himself both touched on the milestone ahead of that game in Bridgeport on Wednesday. You could tell just by listening to the Wolf Pack coach how much respect and admiration he has for Gettinger and what he has achieved in his career. You can hear the comments here.
On Saturday night, Dylan Garand posted 38 saves in a 1-0 shootout loss to become the first Wolf Pack rookie goaltender to collect a shutout since Igor Shesterkin did so three times during the 2019-20 campaign. Garand was sensational in the loss to the Bears, providing the club with his best performance as a pro to date.
Garand is just the third goaltender in Wolf Pack history to post a shutout in a loss, joining Cedrick Desjardins on December 6th, 2014, Vs. Springfield and Stephen Valiquette on December 3rd, 2004, against the Lowell Lock Monsters. You probably weren’t expecting a Lock Monsters reference today, were you?
Some other interesting facts? That was just the sixth 1-0 shootout game in Wolf Pack history. The club is now 3-3 in those games. In fact, the first-ever shootout in Wolf Pack history was a 1-0 victory over the Houston Aeros on November 1st, 2004. Jason LaBarbera was the winning goaltender that night.
Fresh Faces
December will feature three fresh faces on the Wolf Pack schedule. This Saturday night, the Rockford IceHogs come to town for the first-ever meeting between the opponents. Hartford will visit Rockford on December 17th for the final installment of the two-game season series.
The IceHogs, AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, will bring a familiar face to town. Jared Nightingale played parts of six seasons with the Wolf Pack and Connecticut Whale during his lengthy career as a defenseman. Nightingale is currently in his second season as an Assistant Coach on the IceHogs staff.
Next weekend, the Milwaukee Admirals and Grand Rapids Griffins will come to town on December 9th and 10th, respectively. For the Admirals, AHL affiliate of the Nashville Predators, it’ll be just their second-ever trip to Hartford. The Admirals last appeared at the XL Center on February 14th, 2003. It’ll be the third meeting between the teams in their franchise histories.
The Griffins, AHL affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings, will also be making their second trip to Hartford. The Griffins and Wolf Pack have met twice before, with Grand Rapids’ only prior appearance at the XL Center coming on January 2nd, 2009.
The Wolf Pack will make a rare visit to the Midwest later in the month, starting in Milwaukee on December 14th. They’ll stop in Grand Rapids on December 16th and wrap up the trip with the above-mentioned game in Rockford on the 17th.
This N’ That
The IceHogs coming to town marks a very rare occurrence for the Wolf Pack: A game against a Western Conference opponent. This marks the first time that the Wolf Pack will face a Western Conference opponent since February 11th, 2011. On that night, the Pack defeated the Hamilton Bulldogs 3-2 at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton. That season, the Pack played four games against opponents from the west, two against the Bulldogs and two against the Toronto Marlies.
Forward Ryan Lohin has rejoined the Wolf Pack after being recalled from loan to ECHL Jacksonville this past weekend. Lohin has scored five points (1 g, 4 a) in nine games this season with the Icemen. The native of Chadds Ford Township, PA will wear #18 with the Wolf Pack. He joined the organization on an AHL contract back in July and played in 12 AHL games with the Charlotte Checkers last season.
We’ve got a lot of fun events coming up at the XL Center this month! It all starts on Saturday night with the first of two Hockey ‘N Hops and Hockey ‘N Vine events of the season! Be sure to wear your ugly sweater to sample some of Connecticut’s local breweries and wineries. Among those joining us will be Harpoon, Elicit, Two Roads, Urban Lodge, City Steam Brewery, CT Valley Brewing Company, Brignole Vineyards, and more!
For tickets to the event, click here.
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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.