The Hartford Wolf Pack’s struggles continued the week of March 18th, as they dropped the first two games of their road trip. However, the team got back in the win column thanks to a stellar performance from goaltender Olof Lindbom, who recorded his first American Hockey League win.
Wednesday – Rochester Americans 6, Hartford Wolf Pack 5
The Wolf Pack made their sole voyage to Rochester on Wednesday night for a matchup with the Americans. The sides played an absolute barnburner, featuring eleven goals and four lead changes.
Hartford broke the ice just eleven seconds into the contest. Riley Nash muscled toward the net and took a shot that Dustin Tokarski kicked aside. Nash grabbed his own rebound and stuffed it home to give the Wolf Pack the game’s first lead.
Ryder Korczak doubled the lead just over two minutes later. Bryan Yoon took a shot from the high slot, but the puck couldn’t make it through traffic and sat in front of the net. Multiple players jammed at the rebound before it popped to Korczak, who flicked a backhander into the goal to put Hartford up two.
Tyson Kozak got the Amerks on the board in the waning seconds of the period, ripping a low shot by the pad of Dylan Garand. However, Brennan Othmann reinstated the two-goal lead just over four minutes into the middle frame. The rookie forward chipped a pass from Nikolas Brouillard over Tokarski for his 15th tally of the campaign.
Rochester erupted from there, scoring three goals in a nine-minute stretch to wrestle the lead away from the Wolf Pack. With Matthew Robertson in the box for interference, Isak Rosén potted a powerplay goal to draw the Amerks within one. Ethan Prow evened the score about six minutes later, jamming a rebound by Garand. Brett Murray finished the flurry, rifling a shot into the Hartford net three minutes later to send Rochester into the second intermission with the lead.
A See-Saw Finale
About five minutes into the final frame, Viktor Neuchev was sent off for interference. Just over a minute later, the Wolf Pack tied the contest, courtesy of Othmann. Mac Hollowell took a shot from the point that Othmann deflected by Tokarski, evening the score at four.
Hartford then took the lead back about a minute and a half later. Nic Petan carried the puck down low and slid a pass to Karl Henriksson in front of the net. Henriksson’s initial bid was denied, but the Swede flipped his own rebound into the net to put the Pack back in front.
However, the Americans could not be held down. Jiri Kulich knotted the score at five apiece with a backhander by Garand’s glove. Michael Mersch finally put the game out of reach at 14:17 of the third period, grabbing the rebound off a Nikita Novikov shot and pushing it over the red line. Rochester survived a late push by the Wolf Pack to pick up a wild 6-5 win.
Saturday – Toronto Marlies 5, Hartford Wolf Pack 1
The Wolf Pack embarked on their final trip north of the border this season on Saturday for an afternoon matchup with the Toronto Marlies.
Hartford grabbed the game’s first lead in the waning seconds of the opening frame. Former Marlie Mac Hollowell flung the puck toward the Toronto net, and Luke Cavallin turned the bid aside. The rebound popped right to another former Marlie, Nic Petan, who flipped it into the empty net for his first tally as a member of the Wolf Pack.
Petan’s goal was Hartford’s only highlight in The Six, as the Marlies potted five unanswered goals in the back half of the game. Josiah Slavin stole the puck in the offensive zone and attempted to set up Ryan Tverberg. However, the puck ricocheted off a Wolf Pack defenseman and through the legs of Garand, tying the score at one.
Topi Niemelä scored the eventual game-winning goal just over a minute later. The Finnish forward snapped a shot from the slot by the glove of Garand to give the Marlies the game-deciding lead.
Dylan Gambrell doubled the lead just over six minutes into the final stanza. Gambrell went for a dump-in from neutral ice, but the puck took a last-second bounce and snuck into the Hartford net.
Nick Abruzzese rifled a shot over Garand’s shoulder on the powerplay at 9:49 to make the score 4-1 Toronto. Alex Steeves finally capped off the scoring at 11:56 with a top-shelf shot off an offensive zone draw. The loss extended Hartford’s losing streak to seven straight games, their longest skid of the campaign.
Sunday – Hartford Wolf Pack 3, Belleville Senators 1
The Wolf Pack wrapped up the road trip with their sole visit to Belleville to take on the Senators in a midday meeting.
Hartford broke the ice for the third straight game, this time just under two minutes into the contest. Leevi Merilainen attempted to push a pass to one of his defensemen, but Othmann got to the puck first. Othmann threw the puck on net from a sharp angle. Somehow, the shot trickled into the Belleville net to give Hartford the lead for good.
Alex Belzile doubled the lead at 14:25 of the opening stanza. The veteran set up in the slot and took a pass from Othmann. Belzile sniped a shot by Merilainen’s glove to put Hartford up by two.
The sides played a scoreless second period. Merilainen denied ten shots, while Olof Lindbom turned 13 bids aside. As a result, Hartford carried their 2-0 lead into the final frame.
Wyatt Bongiovanni ended Lindbom’s shutout bid just over halfway into the third period. Bongiovanni beat Lindbom up high off a centering feed from Garrett Pilon, cutting the Hartford lead in half.
However, Belzile reinstated the two-goal lead about four minutes later. Maxence Guénette collected the puck in his zone and attempted to slide a cross-ice pass to Dylan Heatherington. Belzile charged in and picked off the pass, immediately firing a shot at Merilainen. Merilainen’s initial bid was denied, but he couldn’t hang on to the rebound. The play drew the Belleville netminder out of position, allowing Belzile to tuck the puck into the empty net for his second tally of the night.
Belleville fired 17 shots on Lindbom in the final frame as they pushed for the equalizer. However, Lindbom slammed the door shut, collecting his first AHL win.
Hartford’s Dynamic Rookie Duo
Entering the 2023-24 campaign, much of the attention on the Wolf Pack was devoted to rookie forwards Brennan Othmann and Brett Berard. As the regular season enters its final weeks, I feel comfortable saying the two have lived up to the expectations.
Othmann has recorded 44 points on the season, tallying 17 goals and 27 assists. His 44 points are good for fifth among AHL rookies. Berard, meanwhile, has totaled 41 points on the campaign, notching 23 goals and 18 assists. Berard’s 41 points are tied for tenth among AHL rookies, and his 23 goals place him for third among rookies.
Othmann and Berard are just one of three sets of rookie teammates to record 40 points on the season so far. Joining them are Brad Lambert (49) and Nikita Chibrikov (41) of Manitoba and Shane Wright (43) and Logan Morrison (40) of Coachella Valley. The duo has been a key part of Hartford’s success this year, and they’ll be important pieces for a potential Calder Cup Playoff run.
Adding to the Pack
On Tuesday, the Wolf Pack announced a pair of signings. The club inked forward Jaroslav Chmelař and defenseman Ryan Siedem to amateur tryout contracts.
Chmelař signed a three-year entry-level contract with the parent New York Rangers a week ago. Chmelař spent two seasons with Providence College, recording 28 points (12 G, 16 A) in 59 games for the Friars. The Czech forward was teammates with Wolf Pack forward Berard during the 2022-23 campaign.
Siedem, meanwhile, spent three seasons at Harvard University before transferring to the University of Notre Dame for the 2023-24 season. In 135 games between the Crimson and Fighting Irish, Siedem totaled 65 points (10 G, 55 A). Siedem also inked a two-year AHL contract with Hartford, which will kick in next season.
Scanlin Steps into MSG
Last week, the New York Rangers recalled defenseman Brandon Scanlin from Hartford. Injuries to blueliners Jacob Trouba and Ryan Lindgren necessitated Scanlin’s recall. Scanlin was the seventh defenseman on the team, and was not expected to draw into the lineup anytime soon.
However, another Rangers defenseman went down on Saturday, as Erik Gustafsson left the team’s contest against the Florida Panthers after taking an elbow to the head. Gustafsson was held out of yesterday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers, allowing Scanlin to make his NHL debut. Scanlin became the fourth Wolf Pack player to make their NHL debut this season, joining Adam Edström (12/15/23), Brennan Othmann (1/4/24), and Matt Rempe (2/18/24).
Scanlin skated with veteran d-man Chad Ruhwedel, recording 10:46 of ice time as the Rangers picked up a 6-5 overtime win over Philly. Both coaches and teammates have raved about Scanlin’s work ethic and development in Hartford over the past two seasons. Seeing his hard work pay off with a promotion and a debut is exciting for Wolf Pack fans.
Up Next
The Wolf Pack wrap up March with a trio of home games. On Wednesday night, they fell to the visiting Charlotte Checkers in a pivotal game for playoff seeding.
Over the weekend, the Wolf Pack will receive visits from the Springfield Thunderbirds and Hershey Bears. The T-Birds come into town on Friday, with puck drop scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The Bears will make their final trip to Hartford on Saturday, and puck drop will be at 7:00 p.m.
