HARTFORD, CT – After a three-game road trip, the Hartford Wolf Pack returned to the XL Center on Friday night. The Wolf Pack welcomed the Laval Rocket to town for the second of four matchups between the teams this season.
The Wolf Pack staged a wild third-period comeback, potting a pair of goals to tie the game late. However, Logan Mailloux played the role of heartbreaker, sniping home the game-winning tally with just 35 seconds to play to prevent Hartford from securing a point.
Bombs Away from Bo
Mailloux opened the scoring 7:45 into the contest. Vincent Arseneau attempted to muscle his way to the net, but Louis Domingue denied his shot attempt. The puck popped to Brett Berard, who attempted to clear, but he couldn’t get the puck to settle. Mailloux collected the puck and rifled a shot that beat Domingue through traffic.
Bo Groulx tied the contest about 15 minutes into the opening frame. The Wolf Pack earned their first power play bid of the game with Owen Beck in the box for tripping. On the ensuing power play, Berard gained control along the left-wing wall after some slick puck movement by Hartford. Berard found Jake Leschyshyn in the slot, who spun away from a pair of Rocket defenders and sent a backhand pass to Groulx in the right circle. Finally, Groulx uncorked a shot by Cayden Primeau to tie the game at one.
The goal was Groulx’s team-leading 14th of the season.
Laval restored the lead just over a minute later. Beck converted on an odd-man rush to put the Rocket up 2-1 heading into the first intermission.
Come Back Wolf Pack
Laurent Dauphin gave the Rocket their largest lead of the night in the middle frame. Domingue made the initial save on a shot from Mailloux, but the puck trickled through the Hartford netminder. Dauphin tapped it into the net to put Laval up by two, and they took that lead into the second intermission.
Hartford earned three power plays in the first half of the frame, but Primeau and the Laval penalty kill stood strong. Finally, the Wolf Pack cut the lead back to one courtesy of Berard. Blake Hillman faked a shot off a rush, drawing Primeau and a defender out of position. Hillman instead slipped a pass to Berard powering towards the net, and the second-year forward tapped it home to give the Wolf Pack a puncher’s chance.
With two minutes to play in regulation and the deficit still at one, the Wolf Pack pulled Domingue for the extra attacker. Ten seconds later, Brennan Othmann tied the contest. Anton Blidh corralled the puck in the right corner and tapped it to Groulx behind the net. Groulx avoided a crashing defender and sent a backhand pass to Othmann charging into the slot. Othmann promptly blasted a shot by the blocker of Primeau to draw the teams even at three with 1:50 to play.
The goal was the Wolf Pack’s first six-on-five tally this season.
Heartbreak in Hartford
However, the Wolf Pack’s comeback efforts would not be enough on this night. With just 35 seconds to play, Mailloux sniped home a shot from the slot to put Laval up 4-3. The score held, and the Wolf Pack lost out on a point.
“It’s a heartbreaker,” Wolf Pack head coach Grant Potulny told The Calder Times after the game. “I don’t know that you could say we deserved to win…but we most certainly were right there. We had a crack at it if we could’ve held on for 30 more seconds.”
Up Next
The Wolf Pack return to action tonight, hosting the Rochester Americans for the only time this season. Puck drop is set for 6:00 pm.
