JUSTIN DOWLING THE SHOOTOUT HERO IN WOLF PACK’S 5-4 TRIUMPH OVER PHANTOMS
Feb 28, 2026ALLENTOWN, PA – The Hartford Wolf Pack trailed 2-0 and 4-2 on Saturday night in Allentown but never relented against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The Pack battled back to force an eventual shootout, won in the 12th round by Justin Dowling. The Pack’s 5-4 victory was their third straight win.
The Phantoms struck twice in 46 seconds to jump out to a 2-0 lead by the 5:33 mark of the opening stanza.
Devin Kaplan opened the scoring 4:47 in. Kaplan drove down the left-wing side and cut to the net. His initial shot was denied by Spencer Martin, but the rebound went off a defender and beat Martin by the right pad to make it 1-0.
At 5:33, Lane Pederson made it 2-0. An Oliver Bonk shot was blocked by Connor Mackey, but the rebound popped into the slot right to Pederson. He fired a quick shot that beat Martin for his 17th goal of the season.
The Wolf Pack made a goaltending switch at that time, putting Dylan Garand in for Martin.
Garand made eleven saves on eleven shots the rest of the period, keeping the Phantoms at bay.
That allowed the Wolf Pack to get their footing. Once they did, the Wolf Pack were able to largely control the flow of play.
They got on the board at 10:13 when Mackey fired a shot into traffic. The shot eluded Carson Bjarnason for Mackey’s fourth goal of the season.
27 seconds later, Adam Sýkora evened the affair. A puck dumped in by Brandon Scanlin evaded Bjarnason, who wandered behind the net to play the puck. Sýkora pounced on the loose puck and buried his tenth goal of the season at 10:40 to make it 2-2.
The goal gave Sýkora goals in three straight games.
Phil Tomasino restored the lead for the Phantoms just 2:05 into the middle frame. Tomasino took a pass from Max Guenette in the left-wing circle and blasted a drive that beat Garand for his ninth goal of the season.
Oscar Eklind then snuck a puck by the right pad of Garand at 11:35, beating him with a wraparound attempt.
Despite the two-goal hole, the Wolf Pack refused to backdown.
Juuso Pärssinen drew the club back within a goal at 17:48, scoring his third goal in four games. After some sustained pressure in the offensive zone, Travis Dermott fired a shot from the left-wing side that clipped Pärssinen in front. The redirection was enough to beat Bjarnason and make it a 4-3 game.
In the final minute of the period, the sides played four-on-four with Adam Ginning and Brett Berard in the penalty box. After a good look for the Phantoms, the puck popped out to center ice and was corralled by Trey Fix-Wolansky.
Fix-Wolansky entered in on the left-wing side on a two-on-one with Brennan Othmann. He fed Othmann in the right-wing circle, where he snapped home his seventh goal of the season at 19:40 to tie the game 4-4.
For the fourth time in five meetings, the sides went to overtime after neither side could find a goal in the final frame.
Berard had the best chance in the extra session, but the sides would go to a shootout for the second time in as many meetings.
In the shootout, Alex Bump put the Phantoms ahead in the second round. Othmann would counter in the third round, keeping the Wolf Pack alive.
Christian Kyrou and Dylan Roobroeck traded goals in the eighth round, keeping the skills competition going.
In the 12th round, Jacob Gaucher put a shot high and over the pad of Garand, setting up Dowling with the game on his stick. Dowling walked in and ripped a shot by Bjarnason to give the Wolf Pack the their third straight victory.
The Wolf Pack and Phantoms conclude their back-to-back set tomorrow afternoon back at the PPL Center. The puck drop is set for 3:05 p.m. ‘Wolf Pack Pregame’ is set to begin at 2:50 p.m. on AHLTV on FloHockey and Mixlr.
The Pack is back at the newly renovated PeoplesBank Arena on Wednesday, Mar. 4, when the Providence Bruins come to town. The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m., with ‘Wolf Pack Pregame’ set to begin at 6:45 p.m. on AHLTV on FloHockey and Mixlr. Tickets are available 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 PeoplesBank Arena. The Wolf Pack has been home to some of the Rangers newest faces including Igor Shesterkin, Will Cuylle, and Matt Rempe. Follow the Wolf Pack on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, and TikTok.