HARTFORD, CT – After an uninspiring performance in Rockford on Friday, the Hartford Wolf Pack returned to action on Saturday, requiring a win to salvage their Midwest road trip. The Wolf Pack visited the Milwaukee Admirals to cap off the three-game swing.
The Wolf Pack put forth one of their best efforts of the season on Saturday night against the top team in the Central Division. Dylan Roobroeck led the way for Hartford, scoring a pair of goals as the Wolf Pack earned a 4-2 win.
Dylan’s Dealin’
The teams traded chances at the icebreaker in the opening frame. Milwaukee earned an early power play bid when Connor Mackey went off for tripping at 4:37. However, the Wolf Pack penalty kill did its job and prevented the Admirals from capitalizing.
At 17:48 of the opening frame, Matthew Robertson and Joakim Kemell both went to the box, Robertson for holding and Kemell for roughing. During the four-on-four sequence, the Admirals took the first lead of the game. Mark Friedman found Jesse Ylonen going to the goal and sent him a pass. Ylonen took the feed in stride and snapped a shot by Dylan Garand to give Milwaukee the game’s first lead. The Admirals took said lead into the first intermission.
However, the Wolf Pack would strike back just 17 seconds into the middle frame. Jaroslav Chmelař won a battle for the puck behind the Milwaukee net. Chmelař found Roobroeck in front, who stuffed the feed by Magnus Chrona to even the game at one.
Roobroeck struck again at 12:55 of the period. A hooking call against Kyle Marino gave the Wolf Pack their first and only power play bid of the night. During the man advantage, Mackey controlled the puck at the blue line and took a shot from the point. Roobroeck, stationed in front of the net, deflected it through Chrona’s five-hole to give the Wolf Pack the lead.
The goal gave Roobroeck his first multi-goal game as a pro.
Midwest Mackey
The Wolf Pack doubled the lead at the 17-minute mark of the second period. Alex Belzile carried the puck into the offensive zone before tapping it to Brendan Brisson along the right wall. Brisson quickly found Mackey powering into the slot. Mackey took a feed from Brisson and ripped a shot by Chrona to put the Wolf Pack up by two.
Mackey, a native of Tower Lakes, Illinois, had roughly 20 family members and friends make the hour-plus drive up to Milwaukee for the game. The group got to see Mackey score his sixth goal of the campaign, giving him a new career high.
Despite recording just four shots on goal in the frame, the Wolf Pack managed to score three times. They took the 3-1 lead into the second intermission.
Eddie Enters the Scoresheet
The Wolf Pack took their biggest lead of the night just over the halfway point in the final frame. Robertson found Adam Sýkora at the blueline, and the second-year forward fired a long shot on net. Lucas Edmonds got a piece of the shot, and the puck ricocheted by Chrona and into the net to give the Wolf Pack a three-goal margin.
Edmonds has tallied four goals and six points in 13 games since being acquired by the Rangers organization on January 25th.
Milwaukee lifted Chrona late in the contest as they attempted to get back into the game. Marino scored with the net empty; however, the Admirals couldn’t make it any closer. As a result, the Wolf Pack earned a 4-2 win over the top team in the Central Division, ending their road trip on a high note.
Standings Report
In addition to the win in Milwaukee, the Wolf Pack got some help in the standings this weekend.
Springfield, who the Wolf Pack are currently chasing for the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division, lost 8-3 to Syracuse on Saturday and 4-1 to Providence on Sunday. Lehigh Valley, who leads Springfield by just one point, also lost on Sunday, a 5-3 defeat at the hands of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Both teams burned games in hand on Sunday.
The Wolf Pack now trails Springfield by nine points and Lehigh Valley by ten. Both teams will play on Wednesday—Springfield against Hershey and Lehigh Valley versus Milwaukee—while the Wolf Pack is idle.
With just eleven games left for the Wolf Pack, making up at least nine points is a difficult task. I’ve said as much over and over again as of late. But if they can get a bit more help on Wednesday, the path to the playoffs at least becomes a bit more clear.
There’s no guarantee that said path to the playoffs even exists. But you’re not out until there’s an E next to your name. As of today, the Wolf Pack are still in it. If they can replicate Saturday’s performance in each of their last eleven games, they’ll give themselves a puncher’s chance at playing springtime hockey.
Up Next
The Wolf Pack return to the Connecticut capital on Friday, welcoming the Hershey Bears back to town. Puck drop is set for 7:00 pm.
