Wolf Pack Drop Three Over Holiday Weekend

The Hartford Wolf Pack experienced a challenging Thanksgiving
weekend, dropping three games in three days. (Photo by Chris Unger)

HARTFORD–While most Connecticut residents enjoyed a long holiday weekend celebrating Thanksgiving with friends and family, the Hartford Wolf Pack had a somewhat challenging time over this period, to say the least. The Pack dropped three games in three days in contests played in Bridgeport, Hartford and Springfield.

Bridgeport 7, Hartford 3

On Friday night, Adam Cracknell scored his first two goals as a member of the Hartford Wolf Pack, but the Bridgeport Sound Tigers broke open a close game with three third-period markers to earn a 7-3 win before 4,326 fans at the Webster Bank Arena. Josh Holmstrom, Seth Helgeson, Casey Bailey and Scott Eansor all had a goal and an assist each for the Sound Tigers, who outshot the Wolf Pack 37-21. Indeed, Bridgeport doubled up on Hartford with a 26-13 advantage in shots on goal over the final two periods.

Steven Fogarty had the other Hartford goal, while seven different players found the back of the net for Bridgeport.

“I thought there was blocks of that game where we were able to create some offense, get our defensemen involved, in the first period,” Wolf Pack head coach Keith McCambridge said, “but the second period, spending too much time on our heels, in our own zone.  We get ourselves close in the game, 4-3 game going into the third period, and then they’re just at will getting to the front of the net and being able to bury those second-chance opportunities.  This is a divisional opponent that we see a lot of, and have seen a lot of.  We have to find ways to win these games.”

Leading by the slimmest of margins, 4-3, after two periods, Bridgeport iced the game with three unanswered goals in the third period stanza, including goals by Sebastian Aho and Travis St. Denis just 42 seconds apart at a little more than five minutes into the period. Aho’s goal came at the 5:44 mark, while St. Denis followed at 6:26.

Bailey completed the scoring with a power-play goal at 10:51. With Hartford’s Adam Chapie off for hooking, Hartford goalie Alexandar Georgiev stopped a shot from the top of the right circle by Michael Dal Colle, but, with winger Ross Johnston and center Scott Eansor occupying defenders in front of the goal, the rebound came to Bailey on the left side, and the 6-3 right wing from Anchorage, AK, buried it.

Christopher Gibson stopped 18 of 21 shots between the pipes for Bridgeport, while Georiev turned aside 30 of the 37 shots he faced. Hartford went 0-for-3 on the power play, while Bridgeport scored one time in two shifts with a man advantage.

Hershey 4, Hartford 1

On Saturday night, a goal by Adam Tambellini with 2:47 remaining in the game allowed the Wolf Pack avert a shutout, but Hartford fell to the Hershey Bears, 4-1, before 4,571 fans at the XL Center. Tambellini’s late tally allowed the fans to finally throw the toys they brought to the game for the Wolf Pack’s annual “Teddy Bear Toss”, which benefits Operation ELF and Toys for Tots. By then, Hershey had built a 4-0 lead on goals by Mathias Bau, Riley Barber, Zach Sill and Mason Mitchell.  Hubert Labrie had two assists for Hershey.

Bau put the Bears on top only 3:18 into the game, when he used Wolf Pack defenseman Ryan Sproul as a screen and fired about a 35-foot shot past Wolf Pack starting goaltender Chris Nell. Barber made it 2-0 Hershey with 1:33 remaining in the period by putting in a backhand shot after a bid by Lucas Johansen was redirected in front of Nell.

Sill upped the Hershey lead to 3-0 when he scored shorthanded at 7:08 of the middle frame. Mason Mitchell then ended Nell’s night at 15:04, when he beat Nell’s glove after a Wolf Pack scoring opportunity failed to click at the other end. Alexandar Georgiev replaced Nell and was able to hold the Bears off the rest of the way, but the Wolf Pack were unable solve Vanecek until Steven Fogarty set up Tambellini in front of the Hershey goal with just 3:47 remaining in the contest. It was Tambellini’s sixth of the year.

The Wolf Pack controlled much of the play in the third, outshooting the Bears 16-7, but it proved to be a case of too little too late after having fallen behind by four.

“We had a good push,” Hartford head coach Keith McCambridge said. “But at that point, the game [was] out of reach.”

Springfield 4, Hartford 2

On Sunday, Thomas Schemitsch’s early third-period goal proved to be the game-winner as the Springfield Thunderbirds stopped the Wolf Pack, 4-2, before 3,755 fans at the MassMutual Center in Springfield.

Schemitsch gave the Thunderbirds a 3-1 lead at 4:46 of the third, on a shot from low in the right-wing circle that got past the glove side of Georgiev (35 saves), who had made a sparkling stop on Alexandre Grenier seconds earlier. That goal loomed large, as Ryan Gropp brought the Wolf Pack back to within a goal with 6:32 left, scoring from the slot off a sharp setup by Chapie.

The T-Birds ended the Wolf Pack’s comeback hopes at 18:21, though, when Denis Malgin scored into an empty net.

“I thought the guys did a real good job of trying to maintain their energy when they did have opportunities, trying to get traffic to the net,” said McCambridge.  “Our execution in the offensive zone, with the special teams, on the power play, wasn’t where it needs to be in games like this.  We know Springfield had a chance to sit idle [Saturday] night, and we had to do a better job of managing the game, and making sure that we’re executing at a high speed.”

After a scoreless first period, the Thunderbirds jumped on top 2:50 into the second frame.  Curtis Valk sent the puck toward the net from the left circle and Jayce Hawryluk deflected it on goal.  Hartford netminder Alexandar Georgiev made the save, but Francois Beauchemin pounced on the rebound and flicked it in.

The Wolf Pack tied the score at 7:38, three seconds after a Hartford power play expired.  Vinni Lettieri banged the puck up the slot and it caromed to Scott Kosmachuk, whose first bid was denied spectacularly by Springfield netminder Harri Sateri (27 saves).  Kosmachuk got his own rebound, though, with Sateri down and out, and Sateri had no chance on Kosmachuk’s second shot.
The tie lasted until there were only 58.3 seconds remaining in the period, when the T-Birds struck for a power play goal.  With Ryan Graves off for slashing, Malgin passed from the top of the left circle to Hawryluk along the goal line, and his backhanded feed found Blaine Byron alone on the weak side, and he easily put the puck in for a 2-1 Springfield lead.

The I-91 rivals will meet up again on Wednesday night, this time at the XL Center.  First puck drops at 7:00. Wednesday will give fans the opportunity to take advantage of a “Click It or Ticket Family Value Pack,” which includes two tickets, two sodas and two hot dogs for $40. Tickets for all 2017-18 Wolf Pack home games are on sale XL Center ticket office, online at www.hartfordwolfpack.com, and by phone by calling (877) 522-8499. Season ticket information for the Wolf Pack’s 2017-18 AHL season can be found on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com.  To speak with a representative about the Wolf Pack’s ticketing options, call (855) 762-6451.

                                                                                                    —Meghan O’Reilly contributed to this article