THE HART BEAT - VOLUME 1, ISSUE 24
Apr 9, 2026HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack suffered two defeats last weekend, falling to a pair of division rivals.
The club will embark on their final three-in-three weekend with just six games remaining in the 2025-26 campaign.
The Week That Was:
Friday, Apr. 3, 2026 – at Bridgeport Islanders (2-4 L): The Wolf Pack fell behind 3-0 in the opening frame on Friday night in Bridgeport. That deficit proved to be too much to overcome.
Daylan Kuefler, Cam Thiesing, and Marshall Warren all struck for the Islanders, with Warren’s goal at 18:07 proving to be the game-winner.
Trey Fix-Wolansky got the Wolf Pack on the board 5:54 into the second period, then Bryce McConnell-Barker drew it to 3-2 just 2:56 into the final frame. Despite a good push, the Wolf Pack failed to equalize.
Matthew Highmore ended the intrigue at 18:47 of the third period, potting an empty net dagger.
The Wolf Pack outshot the Islanders 25-13 in the final 40 minutes but could not find a third goal on Henrik Tikkanen.
Saturday, Apr. 4, 2026 – Vs. Hershey Bears (1-8 L): The Wolf Pack surrendered a season-high eight goals at home on Saturday night, falling to the Bears.
Andrew Cristall scored 1:16 into the game, giving the Bears a lead they never lost. He then potted the eventual game-winning goal at 14:23, making it 2-0 Bears.
McConnell-Barker struck just ten seconds into the second period for the Wolf Pack, converting off a misplayed puck by netminder Mitch Gibson. The goal, which made it 2-1, was the fastest goal to start a period for the Wolf Pack this season.
Six unanswered goals from the Bears put the game out of reach. Four of those goals came in a span of 7:59.
Ilya Protas, Kyler Kupka, Bogdan Trineyev, and Dalton Smith all lit the lamp in the second period, with Protas kicking off the scoring at 3:37. Smith’s tally ended the stretch of goals at 11:36, and ended the night for goalie Callum Tung.
Trineyev made it 7-1 with his second goal of the night at 8:20 of the third period, then Cristall completed the hat trick at 16:25.
Protas recorded six points (1 g, 5 a) in the victory for the Bears.
The Week Ahead:
Friday, Apr. 10, 2026 – Vs. Providence Bruins (7:00 p.m.): The Wolf Pack and Bruins conclude their ten-game season series on Friday night in Hartford.
The Wolf Pack are 2-5-1-1 on the season against the Bruins, who hold a 7-2-0-0 record in the head-to-head matchup. The Wolf Pack are just 1-2-0-1 at home against the Bruins this season.
The Bruins have won each of the last two head-to-head matchups. They claimed a dramatic 3-2 regulation victory in Hartford on Mar. 4, then cruised to a 7-0 triumph on Mar. 14 at the Amica Mutual Pavilion.
The Wolf Pack’s last victory against the Bruins came on Feb. 22 in Providence by a final score of 5-2. Hartford’s lone home victory against the Bruins this season was a 5-1 decision on ‘Teddy Bear Toss Night’ on Jan. 10.
Saturday, Apr. 11, 2026 – at Springfield Thunderbirds (6:05 p.m.): The Wolf Pack and Thunderbirds meet for the eighth time this season. The sides will face off three times in the final five games of the season. They’ll play a home-and-home set on Apr. 17 in Hartford and Apr. 18 back in Springfield.
The Wolf Pack hold a slight edge in the head-to-head series with a record of 4-3-0-0 through seven games. The T-Birds are 3-3-1-0 in that span. Hartford holds a road record of 1-2-0-0 in three trips to the MassMutual Center this season.
The Thunderbirds have won each of the last two meetings against the Wolf Pack. They claimed a 7-4 victory in Western Massachusetts on Jan. 9, then won 4-1 on home ice on Jan. 31.
The Wolf Pack’s last victory against the Thunderbirds came back on Dec. 5 in Hartford by a final score of 5-2. The Wolf Pack’s lone victory in Springfield was on Oct. 25, 6-3.
Sunday, Apr. 12, 2026 – at Bridgeport Islanders (5:00 p.m.): The final ‘Battle of Connecticut’ at Total Mortgage Arena takes place on Sunday evening in the home finale for the Islanders, who will relocate to Hamilton, ON, for the 2026-27 season.
This is the eleventh of twelve meetings between the rivals this season.
The Islanders hold an edge in the season series, having won six of the first ten meetings (6-4-0-0). The Wolf Pack are 4-6-0-0 in the head-to-head series.
The Islanders won the most recent meeting, 4-2, last Friday night in Bridgeport. The Wolf Pack are 2-3-0-0 in five prior visits to Bridgeport this season.
Where To Watch & Listen:
You can watch all three Wolf Pack games this weekend on AHLTV on FloHockey here!
Alex Thomas will have the call of the action all weekend. ‘Wolf Pack Pregame’ starts 15 minutes prior to puck drop each day.
All three games can also be heard on Mixlr.
Quick Hits:
- F Trey Fix-Wolansky is currently fourth in the AHL in shots with 192 on the season. He is second in the Eastern Conference, trailing only Belleville’s Arthur Kaliyev (1st, 241).
- Former Wolf Pack F’s Gabe Perreault (Apr. 4 Vs. Detroit) and Will Cuylle (Apr. 5 Vs. Washington) each recorded their first career NHL hat tricks for the parent New York Rangers over the weekend.
- On Tuesday, the Wolf Pack recalled F Kyle Jackson from loan to the ECHL’s Bloomington Bison.
- Wolf Pack F Carey Terrance is currently day-to-day with an upper-body injury and missed Saturday’s game against Hershey.
- F Justin Dowling is week-to-week with a lower-body injury and also missed Saturday’s game against the Bears.
- Wolf Pack F Caige Sterzer made his professional debut in the club’s game against the Islanders on Apr. 3.
Join the Wolf Pack for the 2025-26 season! Single game tickets are on sale now! To buy, 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 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, and TikTok.