TWO MINUTES FOR THOUGHTS: FEBRUARY 16TH, 2023
Feb 16, 2023
25 games. That’s all that remains in the 2022-23 regular season for the Hartford Wolf Pack. As of this writing, on February 16th, the Wolf Pack sit seventh in the Atlantic Division, one point behind the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for a playoff spot.
This weekend, the Wolf Pack will play just their second three-in-three of the season. Two of the games will be at home, and two of the games will be against teams the Wolf Pack are directly competing with for a playoff spot in the Bridgeport Islanders and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. A big weekend? They all are from this point forward.
This week, we’ll dive into the weekend’s trio of games, look back at the weekend that was, and more!
1.) Let’s start off the ice. Tomorrow night is going to be an emotional night inside the XL Center. The Wolf Pack organization has done a terrific job preparing what should be a great tribute to Marcus Rogers. Marcus, 16, and his grandfather, William O’Leary, lost their lives on January 31st while driving to hockey practice.
Marcus, a student at Wolcott Tech, played for the Housatonic co-op team and wore #20. Marcus’ teammates will join us tomorrow night, and will get the chance to head to the Wolf Pack locker room to help Kris Knoblauch read the starters pregame. In addition, Tina Rogers will drop the ceremonial faceoff ahead of the game.
At the first intermission, the Housatonic co-op team will head to the Wolf Pack bench. There, they will watch a special tribute video in memory of Marcus that will be played on the jumbotron. For those unable to attend the game, we will be airing the video on our AHLTV broadcast, with the audio playing on Mixlr.
The Hartford Wolf Pack Community Foundation will be donating proceeds from the night’s 50/50 raffle, Chuck-A-Puck, and jersey raffle to the ‘Marcus Rogers Memorial Foundation’. In addition, Marcus’ #20 jersey will hang on the Wolf Pack bench during pregame warmups.
2.) Some sad news on Thursday, as Paul Jerrard passed away following a battle with cancer. Jerrard played ten seasons of professional hockey as a defenseman, including a stint in the AHL. In fact, Jerrard finished his career with a Calder Cup Championship as a member of the Hershey Bears in 1997.
In addition to his playing career, Jerrard served as an assistant coach in the AHL with the Lowell Lock Monsters (1998-99), Hershey Bears (2003-05), Iowa Stars/Chops (2005-09), Texas Stars (2009-11), and Utica Comets (2013-15). He also spent time behind the bench at the NHL level with the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, and Calgary Flames.
Jerrard was in his fifth season as an assistant coach at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, where last year he coached current Wolf Pack defenseman Brandon Scanlin.
Our thoughts go out to Jerrard’s wife Cheryl, his daughters Catherine and Meaghan, and all of his family and friends.
3.) Back on the ice, the Wolf Pack experienced some tough luck in Hershey on Saturday night. The Pack outplayed the Bears from start to finish, outshooting them 34-20. The Wolf Pack also held a strong edge in scoring chances when the night was done. It was a game the club probably deserved two points in.
In the end, however, deserves got nothing to do with it.
Hunter Shepard was terrific, making 33 saves, while the Pack struck iron three times. Games like this will happen, but there are positives to take away. The Wolf Pack played well enough to win against one of the best teams not just in the division, but in the entire AHL. Play like that this weekend, and the Wolf Pack will be in position to bank some important points.
4.) Let’s give a little love to Tanner Fritz, shall we? Thanks to the primary assist on Will Cuylle’s goal on Saturday night, Fritz now has a team-leading 22 assists on the season. He’s also tied Turner Elson for the team’s scoring lead with 26 points (4 g, 22 a). Fritz’s 22 assists puts him in position for a career year in this department.
Last season, Fritz scored 23 assists in 62 games. He’s one assist from tying that mark in 20 less games. His career-high in this category? 28. That came back during the 2017-18 season as a member of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. With 25 games left, Fritz certainly has the chance to hit 30 assists for the first time in his professional career.
5.) Here’s how the Wolf Pack stack up this weekend against three divisional foes. First, the Islanders come to town on Friday night for a 7:00 p.m. puck drop. The Pack are just 2-4-0-0 against the Isles this season but have won two of the last three meetings. A 6-2 loss on January 25th left a bad taste in Hartford’s mouth, and the club is excited for the chance at revenge. The teams are separated by just a point, so the importance of this game can’t be overstated.
The Wolf Pack and Providence Bruins have played some classics this season. The Wolf Pack are 3-3-1-0 against the Atlantic Division’s top dog, and recently went 3-2-1-0 in a stretch of six meetings in nine games. All six of those games, by the way, were determined in the third period or later. This matchup has been insanely tight all season and has produced some awesome matchups. Don’t expect Saturday to be any different.
Lastly, the Wolf Pack and Phantoms have split two meetings this season. The Pack won 3-2 on December 7th, while the Phantoms got revenge with a 5-2 decision last Friday night. Both teams will be at the end of long travel weeks, so it’ll be interesting to see the pace in this one. One thing to note? Samuel Ersson, the goaltender in both games for the Phantoms earlier this season, has been recalled to NHL Philadelphia. The Pack likely will see Troy Grosenick or Pat Nagle.
6.) We started the blog telling you that there are 25 games remaining. Here’s a quick breakdown of the games, just to give you a little idea of how intense the final two months are about to be.
The Wolf Pack play the Bridgeport Islanders six more times. The teams are separated by just one point currently. They play the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins twice more, who they also are just separated from by a point. Twice more the Lehigh Valley Phantoms pop up on the schedule. The Springfield Thunderbirds will appear seven more times. The Pack are just six points behind both of those teams.
Hartford will also play the Toronto Marlies twice, the Bruins three times, and the Charlotte Checkers, Rochester Americans, and Syracuse Crunch once.
A quick count shows that 17 of those games, against the Thunderbirds, Islanders, Penguins, and Phantoms, will essentially be four-point games for playoff position.
Buckle up, friends. It’s going to be one wild ride.
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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.