PRE-GAME REPORT: WOLF PACK CONCLUDE REGULAR SEASON AGAINST BRUINS
Apr 21, 2024
PROVIDENCE, RI – The Hartford Wolf Pack conclude the 2023-24 regular season this afternoon at the Amica Mutual Pavillion as they take on the Providence Bruins in an Atlantic Division showdown.
The puck drop is set for 3:05 p.m., and coverage is available on AHLTV and Mixlr.
Tale of The Tape:
This is the tenth and final meeting between the Wolf Pack and Bruins this season. It is the fifth and final meeting at the Amica Mutual Pavillion.
The Wolf Pack can win the season series with a victory today. The club has won five of the first nine meetings, posting a record of 5-3-1-0. The Bruins, meanwhile, have collected points in six of the first nine meetings, posting a record of 4-3-1-1.
Hartford has claimed victories in each of the last two matchups, both coming in early March. On March 3rd, in the last meeting in Rhode Island, the Pack scored a 5-2 victory. In the last overall meeting, in Hartford on March 8th, the Pack ran away with a convincing 7-4 decision.
Brett Berard notched the first hat trick of his professional career in the win. Berard lit the lamp at 7:26 and 14:20 of the first period, helping the club jump out to a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes. His powerplay goal 2:35 into the second period, which made it 5-0, completed to this point the only hat trick for the club this season.
Blade Jenkins opened the scoring just 3:48 into the hockey game that night, while Alex Belzile and Ryder Korczak also contributed to a 6-0 lead by the 3:07 mark of the middle frame.
Patrick Brown scored at 6:30 of the second period to make it a 6-1 affair, but Nikolas Brouillard’s goal at 11:18 of the middle stanza put the Wolf Pack out of reach.
Three powerplay goals for the Bruins would make the score 7-4, but the Wolf Pack comfortably pushed two points over the finish line.
Wolf Pack Outlook:
The Wolf Pack picked up their fourth straight win on Saturday night, defeating the Springfield Thunderbirds 6-4 at the MassMutual Center.
On four separate occasions, the Wolf Pack found themselves trailing in the game. Each time, the club had a response before finally taking the lead in the third period.
Mathias Laferriere opened the scoring 6:15 into the game, beating Hugo Ollas from the right-wing circle. 57 seconds later, a heavy shot from the left-wing circle by Brennan Othmann beat Vadim Zherenko by the glove to even the affair 1-1.
Matthew Kessel’s blast from the point off a failed clearing attempt at 14:04 restored the lead for the home side. 2:23 later, however, Jaroslav Chmelař would draw the Pack even. Chmelař converted on a breakaway for his second goal in as many games at 17:27, sprung in thanks to a feed from Matej Pekar.
Jakub Vrana’s backhander would beat Ollas on a partial breakaway 15:01 into the second period, giving the Thunderbirds a 3-2 edge. Mac Hollowell made it 3-3 just 4:30 later, scoring his third goal of the season off a feed from Othmann. Hollowell cut to the net, went to the backhand, and stuffed home his first goal since January 13th at 19:31.
Zach Dean’s powerplay tally just 2:50 into the third period made it a 4-3 game, as he beat Ollas by the blocker from the right-wing side. Sahil Panwar checked in with his first career AHL goal at 9:58, deflecting a shot from Blake Hillman for Hartford’s fourth response goal of the evening.
Othmann gave the Wolf Pack their first lead of the night, sniping his fourth career game-winning goal by the glove of Zherenko after weaving his way into the slot. The goal, scored at 12:04, was Othmann’s 21st of the season and third point (2 g, 1 a) of the game.
Adam Sýkora’s empty-net tally at 18:36 completed the comeback.
Ollas made 14 saves in his professional debut to collect his first career victory.
Berard leads the Wolf Pack in goals with 25 on the season. Belzile, meanwhile leads the club in points with 50 (19 g, 31 a), while Hollowell leads the way in assists with 40.
Bruins Outlook:
The Bruins dropped a 4-1 decision to the Bridgeport Islanders last night at the Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport.
Ian Mitchell opened the scoring 2:38 into the game, scoring his sixth goal of the season to give the Bruins an early lead. That would be all the scoring they could manage, however, as Henrik Tikkanen slammed the door shut with 31 saves.
Alex Jefferies converted on a powerplay opportunity at 4:47 of the opening period, tying the tilt 1-1. After a second period that featured no goals, it would be the Islanders' powerplay that made the difference in the final stanza.
Julien Gauthier potted his sixth goal of the season 9:02 into the final frame, giving the Isles a lead they never lost. 28 seconds later, Gauthier struck five-on-five to make it 3-1, giving the Isles the needed insurance to pull away in their season finale.
Cole Bardreau hit the empty net at 18:49, sealing the Islanders’ third victory of the season over the Bruins.
Georgii Merkulov leads the Bruins in both goals with 28 and points with 63 (28 g, 35 a) on the season. His 35 assists are tied for the team lead with Fabian Lysell.
Game Information:
WATCH: AHLTV
LISTEN: Mixlr
Play-by-play voice of the Wolf Pack Alex Thomas will have ‘Wolf Pack Pregame’ starting live at 2:50 p.m. on both AHLTV and Mixlr.
The Wolf Pack opens the 2024 Calder Cup Playoffs this Thursday night! Game 1 of the club’s best-of-three First Round series will take place at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina as the Wolf Pack battle the Charlotte Checkers.
The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.
For playoff information, please visit www.hartfordwolfpack.com/tickets/playoff-information.
# # #
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.