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| The Wolf Pack rebounded from a tough loss to Springfield with a 4-3 win over the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins at the XL Center on Saturday night. |
John Gilmour, who had a goal and two assists in the game, knocked the puck away from Ben Sexton in the Wolf Pack zone, and sent Gropp and Gabriel Fontaine away on a 2-on-1. Gropp carried down the left side in the Penguin end and used Fontaine as a decoy, moving towards the middle and ripping a shot over the stick-side shoulder of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton netminder Tristan Jarry (28 saves).
"It feels really good,
obviously a big win for our team," Gropp said. “We just look to
keep getting better here. The last month I've been playing my best hockey. I'm
learning as I go and it's been fun."
"Over the years I know it
takes time for players to develop, and Ryan Group is a great example of
that," said Wolf Pack head coach Keith McCambridge. "Ryan has
taken grasp of his career and is playing the game the right way, getting
net-front, using speed to create scoring chances, shots on goal. I like
where he is going.
"I thought the group
responded well after last night’s loss. I thought all the pieces, all four
lines and goaltending, was pushing in the right direction tonight."
WBS got the jump early, opening the scoring 1:27 into the contest
on a goal by Joseph Blandisi. Anthony Angello carried the puck down the
right side in the Wolf Pack zone and fed it towards the middle. It
deflected off of Sam Miletic’s stick and found Blandisi at the left side the
slot, and he wired it inside the goal post to the left of Wolf Pack goaltender
Brandon Halverson (31 saves).
Hartford would respond with the next two, though, tying the
game just 1:48 later, at 3:15. Steven Fogarty and Gilmour combined to
work the puck to Gropp at the left hash mark in front of the net, and his
forehand shot beat Jarry on the stick side.
The Wolf Pack then took the lead at 12:09, with Ty Ronning’s
fourth goal in 14 AHL games on the year. Julius Bergman passed the puck
from the right point to Brandon Crawley at the opposite point, and he snapped a
shot that Jarry stopped with his left pad. Ronning crashed the net and
found the rebound, though, and banged it in from close range.
Gilmour made it 3-1 Wolf Pack only 1:38 into the second
period, one second after an interference penalty to Kevin Czuczman
expired. After Fontaine won a faceoff in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton zone,
Darren Raddysh fed the puck from the right point to Gilmour at the top of the
left circle, and his drive went through a Matt Beleskey screen and past Jarry’s
glove side.
That would be the only scoring in the middle frame, and the
Penguins would stop the run of three straight Wolf Pack goals by cutting the
lead to 3-2 only 39 seconds into the third period. Sexton got his stick
loose in front of the Hartford net and, on his backhand, deflected a pass from
the right-wing boards by Chris Wideman over Halverson and up under the
crossbar.
The Wolf Pack came close to nursing the one-goal advantage
through the rest of the third, but Halverson gave the Penguins some life with a
delay-of-game penalty at 17:12, after he covered the puck well out of the goal
crease.
Only 11 seconds into that man advantage, Hayes tied the game
with a shot from the right side of the slot. Blandisi started the play
with a pass from the half-boards to Jarrett Burton along the goal line, and he
quickly put the puck on Hayes’ stick.
Raddysh took another penalty only 33 seconds after Hayes’
goal, but the Wolf Pack were able to kill off that tripping minor, setting the
stage for Gropp’s overtime winner.
The Wolf Pack and Penguins play a rematch this Friday night,
March 8, in Wilkes-Barre, with faceoff at 7:05 p.m. All of the action of
that battle can be heard live on News Radio 1410 AM, and 100.9 FM, WPOP, and
on-line at www.newsradio1410.com
and iHeartRadio.
Video streaming is available at theahl.com/AHLTV.
The next home game for the Wolf Pack is on Sunday, March 10 vs. the Hershey Bears. First puck drops at 3 p.m. It will be a chance to take advantage of the Wolf Pack’s Click It or Ticket Family Value Pack, which includes two tickets, two hot dogs and two sodas for $40.
Tickets for all 2018-19 Wolf Pack 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. Tickets purchased in advance for kids 12 or younger start at just $13 each, and all tickets will have a $3 day-of-game increase.
Season ticket information for the Wolf Pack’s 2018-19 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, or click here to request more info.
—Staff Reports
THE SKINNY
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