HARTFORD, CT – After winning three out of four games on their home stand, the Hartford Wolf Pack hit the road aiming to keep the good times rolling. They faced off against the Providence Bruins in a matinee matchup on Sunday in the Rhode Island capital.
Unfortunately for Hartford, the momentum would not carry over into the road matchup. The Bruins potted three goals in the second period to take a 5-2 decision.
Sunday Ryde
Providence opened the scoring for the first time in the season series. Fabian Lysell carried the puck into the Hartford zone and snapped a centering feed for Patrick Brown. Louis Domingue denied Brown’s initial bid, but the Providence captain jammed the rebound by the right pad of Domingue to break the ice about nine minutes into the contest.
The Wolf Pack tied the contest in the final minutes of the opening frame. Max Jones took an interference penalty, sending the Wolf Pack to their second power play bid of the contest. Providence would kill the penalty, but before Jones could rejoin the action, the Wolf Pack got on the board. Matt Rempe corralled the puck down low and found Bryce McConnell-Barker along the left wall. McConnell-Barker then snapped a cross-ice feed to Ryder Korczak, who snapped a shot by Michael DiPietro to knot the score at one.
Neither team could take the lead in the final minutes, and the rivals entered the first intermission tied at one.
Sunday Scaries
Providence took the lead back, this time for good, in the middle frame. First, Matt Poitras put the Bruins back on top, hammering a feed from Vinni Lettieri by Domingue.
Former Wolf Pack forward Tyler Pitlick followed up just three minutes later. Matthew Robertson took a slashing call at 6:51 of the frame, but the Wolf Pack killed the penatly. However, before they could clear their zone, Pitlick jammed the rebound from a Riley Tufte shot by Domingue to put the game out of reach. Pitlick now has three points (2 G, 1 A) in three games against his former team this season.
Jaroslav Chmelař was whistled for tripping at 11:19, giving the Bruins another power play bid. This time, they’d capitalize on the man advantage. Lysell fired a shot that Domingue couldn’t handle. The rebound popped right to Jeffrey Viel, who cleaned up the loose change and made it a 4-1 game. The Bruins took that lead into the final period.
Easy Decision, Find Leschyshyn
Penalties against Viel for slashing and Brown for high-sticking early in the third period gave the Wolf Pack a five-on-three power play bid.
Jake Leschyshyn capitalized on the two-man advantage. Leschyshyn stationed himself on the backdoor and tipped a pass from Alex Belzile into the net to bring the Wolf Pack within two.
After scoring just one goal in his first 18 games, Leschyshyn has now scored six in his last five contests. Five of those goals have come on the power play, good for the team lead.
The Wolf Pack attempted to claw their way back into the game, even pulling Domingue with more than four minutes left in the game. However, they wouldn’t get any closer after Leschyshyn’s goal. Georgii Merkulov delivered the dagger, nailing the empty net to cement the 5-2 win for Providence.
Road Woes
After such a strong home stand that saw them beat two of the AHL’s top teams in Hershey and Laval, it was disappointing to see the Wolf Pack’s road issues return on Sunday afternoon.
The difference in home and road performance for the Wolf Pack is stark. At the XL Center, they’re one of the AHL’s best teams. They’re recorded 23 points at home, the most in the AHL, and they’ve scored 55 goals at home, tied with the Colorado Eagles for second in the league. However, on the road, they’ve totaled just four points, by far the least among AHL teams. Their 20 road goals is also at the bottom of the league, tied with Colorado. Six of those goals came in their 6-1 win over Bridgeport on December 5th.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – this is a talented Wolf Pack team. However, they need to solve their road issues fast, as time is running out. It may not seem like it as it’s only mid-December, but the Wolf Pack are in a tough division. If their road issues are not solved, they could very easily be on the outside looking in come Calder Cup Playoff time.
Up Next
The Wolf Pack will host the Bruins for a rematch at the XL Center on Friday. Puck drop is set for 7:00 pm.
