The Hartford Wolf Pack wrapped up a road-heavy January by kicking off a six-game home stand. They welcomed the Charlotte Checkers to town for the first meeting between the division rivals this season. However, the Hartford offense struggled to kick into gear, and Charlotte earned a 4-2 decision.
Henriksson’s New High
Karl Henriksson broke the ice just over eight minutes into the contest. Uvis Balinskis took the game’s first penalty, a slashing minor at 6:47. On the ensuing powerplay, Henriksson took a cross-ice feed from Brennan Othmann. The Swede promptly rifled a shot over the shoulder of Spencer Knight to give the Wolf Pack the game’s first lead. It was the eighth goal of the season for Karlsson, a new career high.
Additionally, Othmann’s assist extended his point streak to six games. It’s a new career best for the 2024 AHL All-Star, who has tallied a goal and five assists in his last six contests.
However, the Checkers would quickly respond with a pair of goals to grab the lead. Cameron Morrison tied the contest, burying the rebound off a shot from Alexander True. Lucas Carlsson followed up with a powerplay goal of his own. Anton Blidh was whistled for holding at 12:17 of the first period, giving Charlotte their first powerplay opportunity of the game. The Wolf Pack aimed to clear the puck down the ice, but Carlsson made a great play to keep the puck in the offensive zone. Carlsson promptly blasted a one-timer by Dylan Garand, giving Charlotte their first lead of the night.
The Comeback Falls Short
The Atlantic Division rivals played a quiet second period. The only major event was a kneeing minor to Connor Mackey, and Hartford successfully killed the penalty. The teams combined for just twelve shots in the middle stanza, with Garand denying eight while Knight stopped four, sending the game to the final period with Hartford trailing by one.
Hartford played with more intensity in the third period, at one point firing four shots at Knight in just over a minute of action. However, Hartford wouldn’t find the equalizer until they were on the penalty kill.
Blidh took a tripping minor at 10:30 of the third period, causing the Wolf Pack to play shorthanded. Balinskis attempted a pass, but the puck deflected off Henriksson and into neutral ice. Brett Berard collected the loose puck and darted into the Charlotte zone on an odd-man rush with Henriksson. Berard elected to shoot and ripped a shot by the glove of Knight, tying the score at two.
Unfortunately for Hartford, the tie was short-lived. Gerry Mayhew put Charlotte back in front just under three minutes later. Former Wolf Pack forward Patrick Khodorenko held the puck behind the Hartford net and snapped a quick pass to Mayhew. Mayhew swiftly tipped the puck by Garand to reinstate the Charlotte lead, this time for good.
Hartford elected to lift Garand for the extra skater late in regulation as they sought the equalizer. It wouldn’t matter, however, as Rasmus Asplund delivered the dagger by hitting the empty net. Just over a minute later, Charlotte took a 4-2 win.
Yoon Inks AHL Deal
Before Wednesday’s game, I received confirmation that the Wolf Pack would be signing defenseman Bryan Yoon to an AHL contract for the rest of the 2023-24 season. Yesterday, the club officially announced Yoon’s signing.
Yoon is the third defenseman Hartford has signed to a PTO this season. After impressing in three games with the club, the Wolf Pack decided to keep him on board. Having Yoon on a standard contract will help bring stability to the backend of Hartford’s blue line group. He’s yet to record a point at the AHL level, but he recorded 17 points, totaling three goals and 14 assists, in 35 games with ECHL Utah this season.
Up Next
The Wolf Pack continue their homestand this weekend, hosting the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday and the Springfield Thunderbirds on Saturday. Puck drop for both games is set for 7:00 pm.
