The Hartford Wolf Pack completed their first three-in-three of the 2023-24 season this past weekend. It was a rollercoaster weekend for Hartford, but a bounce-back performance on Sunday helped keep the Wolf Pack near the top of the Atlantic Division.
Friday – Springfield Thunderbirds 5, Hartford Wolf Pack 2
The Wolf Pack suffered their first defeat of the season on Friday night. Adam Gaudette put Springfield ahead with a powerplay goal at 9:56 of the first, and the T-Birds never looked back. The Thunderbirds cruised to a 5-2 victory thanks to a pair of goals from Gaudette and a 37-save performance from Vadim Zherenko.
Alex Belzile had a multi-point night, scoring a goal in the second period and recording an assist on Anton Blidh’s tally in the third period. The former Laval Rocket captain has been a welcome addition to the Wolf Pack this season. His eight points through seven games are good for second on the team, trailing only Jonny Brodzinski.
Saturday – Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 4, Hartford Wolf Pack 2
If Friday night was a scary movie, Saturday night was a nightmare. The Wolf Pack allowed four goals in the first fourteen minutes of the contest. Valtteri Puustinen broke the ice at 3:24 of the first. He was followed up by Joona Koppanen, who scored shorthanded, Jonathan Gruden, and Rem Pitlick, who scored on the powerplay. After the first, the Wolf Pack found themselves trailing 4-0. Dylan Garand was flawless in the final 40 minutes, stopping all 23 Penguins shots he faced. However, Hartford’s offensive woes continued in the second period, as they managed just three shots on goal. One of those shots managed to find the back of the net, with Turner Elson recording his first goal of the season.
The Wolf Pack made a push in the third period, with Brodzinski lighting the lamp just 39 seconds in. Nonetheless, the hole proved to be too deep as Hartford suffered their second defeat in as many nights.
Sunday – Hartford Wolf Pack 4, Lehigh Valley Phantoms 1
The Wolf Pack had enough of the tricks through their first two weekend contests and treated their fans to a 4-1 win in Allentown on Sunday evening. Riley Nash had his best game in his brief Wolf Pack career, recording two goals and an assist in the victory. Nash’s first goal came on the powerplay late in the first period. Brennan Othmann found Nash stationed in front of the net, and the veteran forward beat Parker Gahagen with a backhand shot to break the ice.
Nash tallied his second powerplay goal of the night in the second period. Mac Hollowell took a shot from the top of the offensive zone that Gahagen turned away. Nash grabbed the rebound and buried it home on the backhand once again, stretching the Wolf Pack’s lead to two. Nash’s second goal stood as the game-winner.
Olle Lycksell drew the Phantoms within one at 11:04 of the third period. However, goals from Brodzinski and Adam Edström prevented the Phantoms from coming back, and Hartford salvaged the weekend with two points.
In addition to Nash’s impressive game, Brennan Othmann recorded his first three-point game in the AHL. The Rangers prospect had three assists in the contest, recording the primary assist on Nash’s first goal and earning the secondary helper on Nash’s second goal and Brodzinski’s tally. The rookie forward has six points through his first seven AHL games, tied with Charlotte’s Jake Wise and Ontario’s Brandt Clarke for fourth most among rookie skaters.
O Captain! My Captain!
Wolf Pack captain Jonny Brodzinski has gotten off to a hot start this season. Through the team’s seven games, Brodzinski leads the Wolf Pack in goals, with six, and points, with eleven. Brodzinski has recorded a point in all seven games, the second-longest streak in the American Hockey League.
Additionally, the captain finds himself near the top of the AHL leaderboards. His six goals are tied for third in the league with Lehigh Valley’s Olle Lycksell, Rochester’s Jiri Kulich, and Colorado’s Riley Tufte. His eleven points are also tied for third with Springfield’s Adam Gaudette. Brodzinski was a key figure in Hartford’s Calder Cup Playoff push last season, and he remains a focal point on offense this year.
Mac Attack
Mac Hollowell leads the Wolf Pack in assists, with seven on the campaign. Hollowell has recorded one assist in all seven Wolf Pack games, tying him with Brodzinski for the second-longest point streak in the AHL.
Hartford came into the season with a new look on defense. Five key defenders from 2022-23 – Ty Emberson, Zac Jones, Adam Clendening, Wyatt Kalynuk, and Libor Hajek – are no longer with Hartford. In their place are Hollowell, Nikolas Brouillard, Connor Mackey, and Ben Harpur, forming a new but formidable blue line group. Hollowell has stood out, running the top powerplay unit and showcasing his puck-moving prowess through Hartford’s first seven contests.
What needs work?
The Wolf Pack are among the leaders in penalty minutes in the AHL. Through seven games, the Wolf Pack have recorded 126 penalty minutes. This figure is good for third in the AHL, tied with the Phantoms and trailing the Toronto Marlies (128) and Iowa Wild (129). Hartford needs to work on taking less penalties. Head coach Kris Knoblauch noted this while speaking to local media after Friday’s game, saying it “interrupts the flow of our game.”
In addition, Hartford special teams struggled throughout much of the weekend. On Friday, the Wolf Pack allowed two powerplay goals and a shorthanded goal. In contrast, Hartford went 0/6 on the man advantage. The special teams woes continued early Saturday as Hartford allowed a powerplay goal and a shorthanded goal. The Pack began to right the ship after that, recording a powerplay goal on Saturday and two on Sunday. Overall, less penalties and cleaner special teams will be key to continued success for the Wolf Pack this season.
Up next
The Wolf Pack return to Allentown on Friday for a rematch with the Phantoms. Puck drop is set for 7:05 pm.
On Saturday, the Wolf Pack make their only trip to Utica for a matchup with the Utica Comets. The two teams split a home-and-home last season, with the home team winning each game. The Comets took a 3-2 shootout decision on January 6th in Utica. Graeme Clarke scored in the first round of the shootout while Nico Daws prevented the Pack from finding twine. The Wolf Pack got revenge, however, a month later on February 3rd. Sammy Blais scored twice in the third period to lead the Pack to a 4-3 comeback win. The puck drop is set for 7:00 pm.
