WELINSKI RECORDS 100TH CAREER AHL ASSIST, BUT WOLF PACK FALL 7-3 TO CRUNCH
Jan 28, 2023
HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack hosted the Syracuse Crunch at the XL Center on Saturday night for the first matchup between the teams this season. The Wolf Pack could not withstand a four-goal second-period flurry from the Crunch, who cruised to a 7-3 victory.
Gabriel Dumont scored the eventual game-winner for the Crunch. Positioned in the slot, Dumont took a pass from Alex Barré-Boulet and blasted a one-timer past Dylan Garand early in the second period. The goal was the first of four for Syracuse in the middle stanza and stood as the game-winner.
For the second night in a row, the Wolf Pack opened the scoring. Andy Welinski took a shot from behind the right circle that Max Lagace blocked. Ryan Carpenter pounced on the rebound and snapped a shot over the glove of Lagace, giving the Wolf Pack the game’s first lead. The score extended Carpenter’s point streak to eight games, the longest streak by a Wolf Pack player this season.
Additionally, Welinski’s assist on the goal was the 100th of his AHL career. Welinski leads all Wolf Pack defenders with twelve assists on the campaign.
The Crunch would answer to the tune of three goals in quick order, however. Darren Raddysh began the flurry, sniping a shot from just beyond the right circle through the five-hole of Dylan Garand, evening the score.
Jack Finley put the Crunch on top three minutes later. Jack Thompson fired a slap shot from the blue line which Garand denied. Finley followed the rebound and buried it into the Hartford net, giving the Crunch a lead they would not surrender.
Gabriel Fortier finished the flurry just under five minutes later, redirecting a shot from Trevor Carrick past Garand to pad the Syracuse lead. The goal was Fortier’s first point of an eventual three-point night.
The Pack would get one back a minute and a half later, as Sammy Blais scored his second powerplay goal since joining the Wolf Pack on January 23rd. Blake Hillman fired a shot from the blue line that Lagace turned away. The puck trickled away from Lagace, and Blais tipped it over the red line and into the net to draw the Wolf Pack within one. Carpenter also earned an assist on the play, his ninth point during his eight-game point streak.
The goal gave Hartford powerplay goals in three straight games, the first time this season they have done that.
Dumont lit the lamp 2:19 into the second, putting the game out of reach for good.
The Crunch tallied three insurance goals in the remainder of the middle stanza. Lucas Edmonds scored on a breakaway, taking a pass from Gemel Smith, and snapping a shot past the blocker of Garand to push the Syracuse lead to three.
At that point, Garand was lifted for Olof Lindbom, who made his AHL debut. Garand made eight saves on 13 shots.
Phillipe Myers added the second insurance tally nine minutes later, launching a shot from the blue line that deflected off Brandon Scanlin and into the Hartford net.
Barré-Boulet capped off the Syracuse scoring, taking a pass from Fortier and snapping a shot from the left circle that Lindbom couldn’t stop. The assist was Fortier’s third point of the night.
Jonny Brodzinski would add a powerplay goal in the final minute of the third period, taking a pass from Zac Jones and blasting a one-timer past Lagace. The goal marked the third time the Wolf Pack powerplay has struck multiple times in the same game.
Additionally, the goal extended Brodzinski’s point streak to four games. Brodzinski has recorded a point in all four games since being assigned to Hartford by the New York Rangers on January 22nd.
The Wolf Pack returns to the ice on Wednesday, February 1st, hosting the Providence Bruins in the second game of a five-game homestand. The puck drop is set for 7:00 pm. To get tickets, visit 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 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.