The date is Friday, April 12th, 2024. The Hartford Wolf Pack are hosting their fierce rivals, the Springfield Thunderbirds, at the XL Center in downtown Hartford. With time running low, the Wolf Pack cling to a one-goal lead. A win will send them back to the Calder Cup Playoffs for the second straight season.
However, it’s been anything but smooth sailing for the Wolf Pack. Entering the game, the team lost 13 of their last 14 contests. Their last win came nearly three weeks ago, a 3-1 victory over the Belleville Senators. Nothing is going right – and yet, they find themselves a win away from a playoff birth.
The seconds slowly tick away. A crowd of 8,090, once raucous, nervously watch on. Springfield has scored the game’s last two goals, and now they’ve pulled their goaltender in favor of the extra skater. The Thunderbirds set up a play, firing a long shot on Louis Domingue. Domingue gloves the shot down and looks towards the empty Springfield net. Does he dare try it, with a one-goal lead and a pair of T-Birds crashing towards his net?
To find out, we must start at the beginning.
Coaching Carousel
The Wolf Pack enter the season under the leadership of fifth-year head coach Kris Knoblauch. Knoblauch is fresh off guiding Hartford to their first playoff birth since 2014-15, taking his team to the Atlantic Division Finals. It was a successful campaign for Knoblauch’s crew, despite being swept by the eventual 2022-23 Calder Cup Champions, the Hershey Bears. Now, entering the 2023-24 season, the hype for Wolf Pack hockey is much higher than in previous years.
The roster has significantly improved. Fan favorites like Domingue, Anton Blidh, and captain Jonny Brodzinski are back. New signings Riley Nash and Alex Belzile bring a veteran presence and winning mentality to Hartford. Top prospects like Brennan Othmann, Brett Berard, and Dylan Garand look to make their mark on the American Hockey League this season.
Things have started off incredibly well. The Wolf Pack are off to a torrid start, posting a 7-3-1-0 record in their first 11 games. Brodzinski is looking like an early MVP candidate, posting 12 points in those 11 games.
Then came November 12th, 2023.
Less than a day after Hartford dropped a 2-0 decision to the Providence Bruins at home, Knoblauch departed the Connecticut capital. The Edmonton Oilers have hired Knoblauch as their new head coach, replacing Jay Woodcroft.
It’s a shock to the system for the Wolf Pack, who have a rematch in Providence in just a few hours. Hartford quickly pivots, naming assistant coach and former NHL defenseman Steve Smith as the team’s interim head coach.
The gig is Smith’s first as bench boss, having previously served as an assistant coach in Calgary, Edmonton, Carolina, Buffalo, and Hartford.
Injuries and Recalls and PTOs, Oh My!
Smith’s first game ends in an overtime loss to the Bruins, but Hartford quickly rebounds. The Wolf Pack go on to win seven of their next eight games, keeping the momentum they had under Knoblauch. However, it’s far from smooth sailing.
Brodzinski, Domingue, and Connor Mackey are all called up for extended stints with the parent New York Rangers. Brodzinski’s recall eventually became permanent in late November when Filip Chytil suffered a concussion. Other players are recalled for stints in New York, including Belzile, Matthew Robertson, and Adam Edström.
Meanwhile, down in Hartford, injuries began to take their toll. Ben Harpur tears his pectoral in early November, ending his season prematurely. Nash suffers multiple lower-body injuries over the course of a few months. Blidh and Bobby Trivigno each miss a few games. At one point, the Wolf Pack are without eight of their 14 opening night forwards.
As a result, the Wolf Pack begin handing out professional tryout contracts (PTOs). Former Wolf Pack forward Artem Anisimov returns to the team in early January, having previously played 154 games with Hartford from 2007-09. Blade Jenkins and Bryan Yoon ink PTOs with the Wolf Pack, eventually converting them to one-year contracts. Eventually, Hartford’s transactions page on the AHL website is littered with players shuffling in and out on tryout contracts. The lack of stability in the organization eventually catches up to the Wolf Pack, and they begin a rollercoaster of a season. Each winning streak is matched with a losing streak. Each thrilling overtime victory is coupled with a crippling overtime defeat. However, the rollercoaster reaches its largest descent in March, and the Wolf Pack begin a difficult stretch of hockey.
Free Fallin’
On Friday, March 8th, 2024, the Wolf Pack would explode for seven goals against the Providence Bruins. Berard leads the way, scoring his first professional hat trick in the 7-4 win.
From there, a free fall that would make Tom Petty jealous begins.
It starts the next night, when the Wolf Pack drop a 3-2 shootout decision to the Bridgeport Islanders. They follow up with a 2-1 overtime loss in Charlotte on Tuesday, March 12th. They’re then blanked twice in a three-game span, once by Charlotte and once by Hershey. Olof Lindbom provides a brief glimmer of hope, making 37 saves as the Wolf Pack win a crucial game in Belleville 3-1 on March 24th.
From there, the bottom falls out. Hartford drops their next six games, failing to score more than two goals in a single game. The frustration is evident, with Smith telling The Calder Times that the Wolf Pack are “literally finding ways to lose hockey games.”
Yet, thanks to a similar collapse by Springfield, the Wolf Pack find themselves inching closer to clinching a playoff birth. Their magic number slowly lowers, eventually reaching four on the morning of April 12th. The Wolf Pack host the T-Birds on this night, and a regulation win will give them the four-point swing they need to return to the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Now, we return to our story.
The Shot Heard ‘Round the AHL
Nash and Mathias Laferriere trade goals in the first period. The Wolf Pack pull away in the second period, as Belzile, Jake Leschyshyn, and Blake Hillman each light the lamp. The Wolf Pack have a three-goal lead and are just 20 minutes away from returning to the Calder Cup Playoffs.
The Thunderbirds, however, won’t go away. Mikhail Abramov and Adam Gaudette each find the back of the net about a minute apart from each other early in the third period. Suddenly, the Wolf Pack find themselves clinging to a one-goal lead.
The T-Birds continue to challenge the Wolf Pack. They’re desperate to keep their playoff hopes alive. As minutes become seconds, Springfield pulls Colten Ellis for the extra attacker.
Jakub Vrana sets up the play. He finds Gaudette in the neutral zone, who takes the puck over the blue line and fires a long shot at Domingue. Domingue gloves the shot down and looks to play the puck. A pair of T-Birds crash towards his net, but Domingue doesn’t care. He launches a shot towards the empty Springfield net.
As the puck tumbles down the ice, the realization sets in for the Hartford faithful.
The puck slides into the net and the XL Center becomes unglued. Louis Domingue has scored a goalie goal to clinch the Wolf Pack’s spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
The Wolf Pack mob Domingue in elation. The hardships they faced throughout the last month are irrelevant – they’ve clinched their spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs. This is the turning point in their season, even if they don’t know it yet.
Cinderella Story in Charlotte
Domingue’s goalie goal has energized the Wolf Pack. They emphatically return to the win column, picking up victories in three of their final four games to end the regular season. They’re returning to form as the Calder Cup Playoffs begin – and then they see their opponent.
The Wolf Pack will take on the Charlotte Checkers in the opening round. Charlotte is the higher seed, and due to travel considerations, the entire series will be played in the Queen City – a nightmare scenario for Hartford. They’ve played four games in Charlotte this season, with all resulting in losses. They’ve been shut out twice in the Bojangles Coliseum. The path here hasn’t been easy, and it’s not getting easier. Yours truly even predicts the series will end in a Checkers victory.
Game One is tied at one in the final minutes of regulation. Matt Kiersted high-sticks Nash, drawing blood and giving the Wolf Pack a four-minute man advantage. But then, the Wolf Pack’s demons in North Carolina rear their ugly head. A neutral zone turnover allows Will Lockwood to break away shorthanded, and he converts to give the Checkers a late lead. Charlotte hangs on for the win, pushing the Wolf Pack to the brink of elimination.
However, this Hartford team refuses to quit. They force overtime in a back-and-forth Game Two. In the extra frame, Nic Petan sets up Belzile to bury the OT GWG, forcing a winner-take-all Game Three.
Garand leads the way for Hartford in Game Three, continuing his playoff heroics from last year. Garand stops 38 of 39 shots he faces. Goals from Nash, Berard, and Jaroslav Chmelař help the Wolf Pack clinch the series and keep their season alive.
Pushing Past Providence
The Wolf Pack’s upset in Charlotte sets up a playoff date with the Providence Bruins for the second straight season. It’s going to be another battle, with each team taking five of the ten regular season matchups they played.
The Wolf Pack ride their momentum from Charlotte to a 4-3 win in Game One. Veteran forward Tyler Pitlick takes charge, recording a goal and two assists in the victory. The Bruins answer back in Game Two, however, with a dominant 6-0 win to send the series back to the Connecticut capital tied at a game apiece.
The series returns to Hartford with a bang. Each team scores two goals in the opening 20 minutes of Game Three. After that, silence. Garand and Brandon Bussi keep the teams off the board for the rest of regulation time. Just under five minutes into the extra frame, Nash sends the Hartford faithful home happy, tipping a shot from Hillman into the Providence net. It’s Nash’s third point of a three-point night of his own, and Hartford is one win away from another trip to the Atlantic Division Finals.
Leschyshyn gives the Wolf Pack an early lead in Game Four, potting a power play goal. John Farinacci responds halfway through the third period, and for the second straight game, an extra frame is required in downtown Hartford.
The teams trade chances, with Providence desperate to keep their season alive and Hartford aiming to advance. Finally, Brandon Scanlin blasts a shot into traffic that ricochets across the ice. Victor Mancini crashes and takes a drive of his own, ringing the puck off the crossbar. The puck rockets off the iron, clips the skate of Leschyshyn, and trickles into the net. The Wolf Pack are heading back to the Atlantic Division Finals.
Heartbreak in Hershey
The Wolf Pack’s triumph over Providence sets up another rematch, this time with the Hershey Bears. However, just hours before the series begins, the Wolf Pack get some heartbreaking news. Goaltender Dylan Garand has been recalled by the parent New York Rangers, and he’s now unavailable for Game One.
The Bears, the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy winners and defending Calder Cup Champions, smell blood in the water. Their offense is relentless, peppering Lindbom and Talyn Boyko to take an emphatic 6-1 win in the opening game of the series.
Garand returns for Game Two, but now Hershey has momentum, scoring the game’s first four goals. At the other end of the ice, Hunter Shepard is stellar, preventing Hartford from getting on the board. Leschyshyn and Blidh score in the final minutes of regulation, but it’s too late. The series is coming back to Hartford with the Wolf Pack back on the brink of elimination.
The Wolf Pack get off to a hot start in the do-or-die contest, with Chmelař scoring the opening goal. However, Hershey is once again relentless in their attack, scoring four unanswered goals. The Wolf Pack have no answer, and their season comes to a heartbreaking close.
Epilogue
For many sports fans, a season that results in anything short of a championship is a failure. This is a claim I dispute, especially at the AHL level. 31 teams will see their season end without lifting the Calder Cup. I think it’s unfair to call each of those seasons a failure.
Despite failing to win the Calder Cup, the Wolf Pack’s season was certainly a success. Othmann and Berard finished fourth and fifth in points among AHL rookies, respectively. Mancini and Chmelař joined the team late in the season and made an immediate impact, playing themselves into key roles for next season. Scanlin, Adam Sýkora, and Ryder Korczak all took steps forward in their development. Mac Hollowell recorded Hartford’s first 40-assist since 2016-17. On top of all that, the Wolf Pack were one of the last eight teams standing in the AHL. That’s a very successful season, and it’s one Hartford would certainly like to replicate in coming years.
The Wolf Pack have a lot of decisions to make in the coming weeks. Smith still has the “interim” tag, and the Hartford bench boss was noncommittal about his future when speaking to The Calder Times after the Game Three loss to Hershey. Key contributors like Hollowell, Robertson, Trivigno, Nikolas Brouillard, and Karl Henriksson are set for free agency. Change will certainly come for the organization. but for now, the Wolf Pack can sit back and admire their successful 2023-24 season.
