The Hartford Wolf Pack have continued their late-season struggles, failing to get back in the win column last week. Despite the skid, the club inches closer to clinching a spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Wednesday – Bridgeport Islanders 4, Hartford Wolf Pack 1
On Wednesday, the Wolf Pack hosted their in-state rivals for the final installment in the Battle of Connecticut this season. Hartford got a boost on the blue line, as defenseman Brandon Scanlin drew in for the first time since March 16th. Scanlin was assigned to Hartford by the parent New York Rangers a day prior.
The teams played an even first ten minutes, trading early chances at the icebreaker. Alex Jefferies eventually started the scoring just over the halfway point of the opening frame. Jefferies’ initial bid was denied by Dylan Garand, but the netminder couldn’t corral the rebound. Jefferies grabbed the loose puck and flipped it over Garand to put Bridgeport on top for good.
Bridgeport doubled their lead about two minutes into the middle stanza. A sloppy turnover in the Hartford slot popped right to Aidan Fulp. The rookie blueliner ripped the puck home to put the Islanders up by two.
The Wolf Pack cut the lead back to one just over the 15-minute mark in the second period. Bobby Trivigno slid a pass to Ryder Korczak, who carried the puck into the Bridgeport zone. Korczak rifled a shot from the right circle that snuck over the pad of Ken Appleby to get Hartford on the board.
However, the one-goal deficit wouldn’t last long. During a four-on-four sequence about a minute and a half later, Ruslan Iskhakov found William Dufour on the backdoor of the Hartford net. Dufour promptly snapped a shot into the open net to reinstate the two-goal lead.
The Wolf Pack pushed for the equalizer in the third period, launching twelve shots at Appleby. However, they were unable to solve the Bridgeport netminder. Carsen Twarynski delivered the dagger, nailing the empty net late in the final frame to deliver a 4-1 victory to Bridgeport.
Saturday – Charlotte Checkers 4, Hartford Wolf Pack 0
After the disappointing loss to their in-state rivals, the Wolf Pack hit the road, heading down to Charlotte for a weekend series with the Checkers. However, the Bojangles Coliseum continued to be a cursed building for the club.
Gerry Mayhew opened the scoring late in the opening stanza on Saturday. Mayhew grabbed a loose puck in front of the Hartford net and snapped it by Louis Domingue to give the Checkers a lead they wouldn’t lose.
Mackie Samoskevich doubled the lead twelve minutes into the second period. The Newtown, Connecticut native blasted a one-timer by Domingue to put the Checkers up by two.
A pair of scrums in the waning seconds of the middle frame resulted in a Checkers powerplay to begin the third period. On the ensuing man advantage, Mayhew would pot his second goal of the night. Mayhew slipped behind the Hartford defense and crossed up Domingue to push the Charlotte lead to three.
Former Wolf Pack forward Will Lockwood capped off the scoring just over the ten-minute mark in the third period. Lockwood and Justin Sourdif charged into the Hartford zone on an odd-man rush. Lockwood took a pass from Sourdif, went to the backhand, and slipped the puck into the Hartford net. Meanwhile, Magnus Hellberg made 20 saves to blank Hartford, the third time the Wolf Pack have failed to score against the Checkers this season.
Sunday – Charlotte Checkers 4, Hartford Wolf Pack 1
The same ghosts that haunted Hartford on Saturday reappeared for their matinee rematch with Charlotte on Sunday.
For the fourth straight game, the Wolf Pack conceded the opening goal. This time, it came off the stick of Mitchell Vande Sompel. Vande Sompel threw the puck on net off a faceoff win by Rasmus Asplund, and a screened Dylan Garand couldn’t find the puck before it found the twine.
Wilmer Skoog was up next, doubling the lead about five minutes into the middle frame. Brandon Scanlin attempted to exit his own zone, but the Hartford defenseman got tangled up with Mackie Samoskevich. As both men went down, the puck popped to Skoog at neutral ice. Skoog skated towards the left circle before ripping a shot past the blocker of Garand.
Will Lockwood scored his second goal in as many nights about two minutes later. Lockwood took a feed from Justin Sourdif in the right circle before lasering a shot bar down over Garand to triple the Charlotte lead. It was Lockwood’s third goal against his former team on the campaign.
Mackie Samoskevich continued to be a thorn in Hartford’s side, scoring his fifth goal in seven games against Hartford just over the halfway point in the final stanza. Samoskevich collected a loose puck along the left wall and walked towards the slot. The rookie forward snapped it home from between the hash marks to balloon the lead to four.
Spencer Knight was masterful, stopping 25 Wolf Pack shots. Knight was four seconds away from recording his sixth shutout of the year when Brett Berard decided to play spoiler. Berard jammed a loose puck by Knight to prevent Hartford from getting shut out in consecutive games.
However, it wouldn’t matter, as Charlotte collected a 4-1 win and swept the weekend series.
They’re Still Standing
The Hartford Wolf Pack have not been playing their best hockey lately, to put it lightly. They’ve dropped 13 of their last 14 decisions. Despite Hartford’s intense struggles, they still sit firmly in playoff contention with just five games to go in the regular season.
The seventh-place team in the Atlantic Division, the Springfield Thunderbirds, have gone through their own skid. Springfield dropped a pair of games last weekend, dropping Hartford’s magic number down to four without Hartford winning a game. Springfield’s struggles also set up a clinching scenario for the Wolf Pack on Friday. If Hartford beats Springfield in regulation on Friday, they’ll officially punch their ticket to the Calder Cup Playoffs. Any other result will force the Wolf Pack to wait before officially entering the dance.
For all Calder Cup Playoff news and scenarios, check out the Calder Cup Playoff Primer using this link.
The Pack Gets Bigger
The Wolf Pack had yet another AHL debut last Wednesday. Defenseman Victor Mancini drew in for his first AHL game.
The former University of Nebraska-Omaha blueliner agreed to a two-year entry-level contract with the parent New York Rangers and an amateur tryout agreement (ATO) with Hartford a day prior. In his first AHL game, Mancini recorded two shots on goal. Despite a disappointing performance from the Wolf Pack, interim head coach Steve Smith had a lot of praise for Mancini postgame, telling The Calder Times:
There was only one thing that was right in tonight’s game, and that was Victor Mancini. I thought he played really well. He looks like a great athlete, he moved the puck well, he skated well, he was physical. I think he did everything right tonight.
Wolf Pack interim head coach Steve Smith on Victor Mancini’s AHL debut, 4/3/24
Hartford also added a pair of forwards on ATOs earlier this week. Forwards Kalle Väisänen and Maxim Barbashev joined the Wolf Pack on Tuesday.
Väisänen agreed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Rangers last Tuesday. The native of Kotka, Finland recorded 14 points (9 G, 5 A) in 58 games with Liiga’s TPS this season. He’s also represented his homeland at the World Juniors twice, earning a silver medal in 2022.
Barbashev, meanwhile, recorded 35 points (14 G, 21 A) in 59 games between the QMJHL’s Shawinigan Cataractes and Rimouski Oceanic this season. Barbashev was a fifth-round draft pick by the Rangers in 2022, and his draft rights expire on June 1st of this year. He is the younger brother of Vegas Golden Knights forward Ivan Barbashev, giving the Wolf Pack two sibling connections to the Vegas organization – Wolf Pack forward Ryder Korczak is the younger brother of Golden Knights defenseman prospect Kaedan Korczak.
Up Next
The Wolf Pack return to action tonight, hosting the Springfield Thunderbirds with a chance to clinch a spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs. Puck drop is set for 7:00 pm.
The Wolf Pack wrap up the weekend on Sunday, hosting the Charlotte Checkers for the final meeting between the teams this season. Puck drop is set for 3:00 pm.
