PRE-GAME REPORT: WOLF PACK OPEN WEEKEND SET IN CHARLOTTE AGAINST CHECKERS
Apr 6, 2024
CHARLOTTE, NC – The Hartford Wolf Pack open a brief two-game road trip this afternoon against the Charlotte Checkers at the Bojangles Coliseum.
The puck drop is set for 4:00 p.m., and coverage is available on AHLTV and Mixlr.
Tale of The Tape:
This is the sixth of eight meetings between the Wolf Pack and the Checkers this season. The sides will meet for the fourth and final time at the Bojangles Coliseum tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. The season series wraps up in Hartford on Sunday, April 14th, at 3:00 p.m.
The Checkers have won all five meetings in the season series to this point. Most recently, on March 27th, the Checkers blanked the Wolf Pack by a final score of 3-0 at the XL Center.
Wilmer Skoog scored the game-winning goal just 1:46 into the contest, lifting a rebound over Dylan Garand for his 17th goal of the season. The goal came just nine seconds into the first powerplay of the night for Charlotte.
Alexander True extended the lead to 2-0 at 14:06 of the third period, beating Garand for his third goal of the campaign.
Casey Fitzgerald then notched a four-on-four goal at 15:23 of the third period, teeing up a one-timer off a feed from Mackie Samoskevich.
Spencer Knight made 19 saves to collect his second straight shutout against the Wolf Pack. He also made 20 saves in a 4-0 victory on March 13th in Charlotte.
The Checkers currently have a 151:48 shutout streak going against the Wolf Pack. Karl Henriksson’s goal 9:04 into the second period on March 12th is the Wolf Pack’s last head-to-head goal against the Checkers.
While the Checkers are a perfect 5-0-0-0 in the season series, the Wolf Pack have pushed two games to overtime to post a record of 0-3-2-0.
Overall, the Checkers have won six straight against the Wolf Pack dating back to the 2022-23 campaign. Hartford’s last win against Charlotte came on January 11th, 2023, by a final score of 3-2 at the Bojangles Coliseum.
Wolf Pack Outlook:
The Wolf Pack dropped a 4-1 decision to the Bridgeport Islanders on Wednesday night at the XL Center. It was the club’s fourth consecutive loss and their eleventh defeat in the last twelve outings (1-8-1-2).
Alex Jefferies opened the scoring 10:41 into the hockey game, beating Garand by the glove on a rebound opportunity. Garand made a terrific left pad save on the initial bid by Jefferies, but the rebound came right to the forward who buried his second career goal.
Aidan Fulp ripped the game-winning goal home just 1:57 into the second period. Fulp collected a puck off a turnover between the hash marks and beat Garand by the glove for his first career AHL tally.
Ryder Korczak got the Wolf Pack on the board 15:05 into the middle frame, beating Ken Appleby by the glove. The goal was Korczak’s ninth of the season. 2:24 later, however, the two-goal lead was restored when William Dufour blasted a one-timer from the left-wing circle while the sides played four-on-four.
Carsen Twarynski hit an empty net at 18:12 to cement the Islanders’ second straight win in the ‘Battle of Connecticut’.
Brett Berard leads the Wolf Pack in goals with 23 on the season. Alex Belzile leads the club in points with 47 (18 g, 29 a), while Mac Hollowell leads the way in assists with 38.
Checkers Outlook:
The Checkers also lost to the Islanders in their last outing, falling 1-0 in overtime last Saturday night.
Despite a 36-19 edge in shots for the Checkers through 60 minutes, overtime was required at Total Mortgage Arena. 1:44 into the extra session, Dennis Cholowski fired home the winner for the home side. The goal was Cholowski’s sixth of the season, a new career-high. It was also just the second game-winning goal of his career and his first since the 2020-21 season.
Appleby made 36 saves to collect the shutout victory for the Islanders, while Knight made 21 saves in defeat for the Checkers. Cholowski’s overtime goal snapped a shutout streak of 213:23 for Knight, which is the longest streak in Checkers’ history. The previous record was 192:02, set by Michael Leighton.
Knight was also named the AHL’s ‘Goalie of the Month’ for March. He posted a record of 5-1-1 with a .947 save percentage, 1.29 goals-against average, and three shutouts.
Samoskevich and Skoog are tied for the team lead in goals with 18 each. Samoskevich leads the club in points with 45 (18 g, 27 a), while Rasmus Asplund paces the club in assists with 32.
Game Information:
WATCH: AHLTV
LISTEN: Mixlr
Play-by-play voice of the Wolf Pack Alex Thomas will have ‘Wolf Pack Pregame’ starting live at 3:45 p.m. on both AHLTV and Mixlr.
The Pack continue their playoff push tomorrow with the weekend finale in Charlotte. The puck drop is set for 1:00 p.m.
The Pack is back at the XL Center on Friday, April 12th, when the ‘I-91 Rivalry’ roars on at 7:00 p.m. against the Springfield Thunderbirds.
Tickets are available at 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 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.