Wolf Pack Weather Long Delay, Stop Sound Tigers 2-1

By Bob Crawford

The Hartford Wolf Pack traveled to Bridgeport to take on their instate
arch-rivals, the Sound Tigers, on Saturday night. (Photo courtesy
Bridgeport Sound Tigers)

BRIDGEPORT–Dan Catenacci scored his first goal of the season midway through the third period to lead the Hartford Wolf Pack to a 2-1 victory over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers before 5,012 fans at the Webster Bank Arena on Saturday night. The game was delayed for more than 45 minutes at the start of the third period by a problem with the ice around one of the nets.

The Wolf Pack scored on the game’s first shift, taking only 15 seconds to grab a 1-0 lead. John Gilmour snapped the puck at the net from the left point, with Joe Whitney screening, and, after Sound Tiger goaltender Christopher Gibson (23 saves) made the stop, Whitney dove to his right to backhand in the rebound.

Bridgeport answered that on a power play at 7:28, just 12 seconds after Ryan Sproul was sent off for slashing. Devon Toews shot the puck from the right point through a screen set by Steve Bernier, and former Wolf Pack captain Ryan Bourque was able to slide home the rebound, just inside the post to the left of Hartford goaltender Alexandar Georgiev (43 saves).

The second period was scoreless, despite a 16-6 shots-on-goal advantage for Bridgeport, and then came the long wait to start the third.

The Wolf Pack had to kill a hooking penalty called against Gilmour just 1:53 into the final period, and then Catenacci, after Gibson had stopped an earlier bid of his, grabbed the puck high in the zone and fired a shot past Gibson’s stick side from the top of the circles.

Georgiev held the fort after that, and the Wolf Pack skated off with a second straight win.

The Wolf Pack outshot Bridgeport 13-11 in the third period—a complete reversal from the previous two periods in which the Sound Tigers had a combined 33-12 shots advantage.

“I thought the focus of the group was real strong,” Wolf Pack head coach Keith McCambridge said. “Obviously it was different than your normal American Hockey League game, with the delay, but I thought the players did a really good job staying on task and coming out with some jump in that third after the delay.”

Tickets for all Wolf Pack 2017-18 home games are on sale now at the Agera Energy Ticket Office at the XL Center, on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (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 all of the Wolf Pack’s many attractive ticketing options, call (855) 762-6451.