March 16, 2024
Hartford, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack will return to the XL Center tonight, making a brief stop to welcome the Utica Comets to town before heading off on a four-game road trip.
Puck drop is set for 6 p.m., with coverage available on AHLTV and Mixlr.
Tape story:
This will be the second and final meeting between the Wolfpack and Comets this season. This is the Comets' only visit to the XL Center during the 2023-24 campaign.
The Wolfpack defeated the Comets 3-2 in their first meeting of the season on November 4th.th at the Adirondack Bank Center. The Comets took the lead 16:31 into the game when TJ Friedman converted a feed from Timur Ibragimov. Mac Hollowell scored his first goal for the club on a power play for the Wolfpack at 7:00 p.m.
Zach Versola gave the Wolfpack the lead 13:51 into the second period, scoring his first goal of the season in his season debut with the club. Versola was active on the right side and Erik Kallgren took a shot on the short side. One minute and 14 seconds later, Ryan Schmelzer tied it on a lucky bounce. Joe Gambardella's dump-in hit the post and bounced into the slot. Schmelzer was in the right position at the right time and scored his second goal of the season from this spot.
Adam Edstrom scored the game-winning goal 3:40 into the third period when he tipped in the rebound of Matthew Robertson's shot. Dylan Garland made 31 saves in the win.
The Wolfpack have won two straight against the Comets and have earned points in four of their last five head-to-head series (3-1-0-1).
Wolfpack Outlook:
The Wolfpack suffered a 4-0 loss to the Charlotte Checkers on Wednesday night, snapping their third straight loss.
Will Lockwood scored his sixth goal of the season 3:28 into the second period when Garland deflected a shot from Mike Benning. There should be enough power play markers for the night, as Spencer Knight made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season.
Wilmer Skoog, Patrick Giles and Macky Samoskevic also lit up the Checkers in the win.
It was only the third time this season that the Wolfpack lost a game in a shutout. They had previously been blanked by the Providence Bruins on both Nov. 11 and Nov.th and February 18thth.
Brett Berard leads the Wolfpack with 22 goals. Alex Belzile (16 goals, 25 goals) and Nic Petan (12 goals, 29 goals) each lead the team with 41 goals, while Hallowell leads the way with 34 assists.
On Friday, the NHL's parent company, the New York Rangers, recalled Edstrom from Hartford. Early this morning, the Wolfpack recalled forward Blade Jenkins from his loan to the ECHL's Worcester Railers.
Comet outlook:
The Comets defeated the Hershey Bears on home ice last night by a final score of 4-3. Phillip Ngalas and Xavier Parent scored goals at 2:43 and 6:15 into the hockey game, respectively, giving the Comets a 2-0 lead.
However, the Bears scored three goals and led 3-2 at the 8:28 mark of the second period. Riley Sutter put the Bears on the field at 19:13 of the first period, making it 2-1 after one inning. Alex Limoges then scored goals at 8:04 and 8:28 of the second period, turning a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead.
There was only 24 seconds between the goals.
Kyle Criscuolo scored 12 points.th He scored the goal of the season 3:31 into the third period, tying the game and ultimately sending the game into overtime.
Robbie Russo received a holding penalty just 46 seconds into overtime, but the Comets' penalty kill held and the game went to shootouts.
Ibragimov scored the only shootout goal in the bottom of the third, giving the Comets a 1-0 shootout victory and also winning the game 4-3.
Graham Clark leads the Comets with both 20 points and 41 points (20g, 21a). Meanwhile, Schmelzer leads the team with 26 assists.
Game information:
clock: AHLTV
listen: mixer
Wolf Pack play-by-play voice Alex Thomas will begin “Wolf Pack Pregame” live at 5:45 p.m. on both AHLTV and Mixlr.
The Wolfpack begins a four-game road trip tomorrow night when they visit the Hershey Bears. Puck drop is set for 5 p.m., with coverage beginning at 4:45 p.m. as “Wolfpack Pregame” on AHLTV and Mixlr.
The pack returns to the XL Center on Wednesday, March 27thth, when the Checkers come to town for the third time this season.Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased at www.hartfordwolfpack.com.
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About the Hartford Wolf Pack: The Hartford Wolf Pack has been the American Hockey League's premier franchise since the team's inception in 1997. The Wolf Pack is the top player development affiliate of the NHL's New York Rangers and plays at XL Center. The Wolfpack has featured several new faces from the Rangers, including Igor Shesterkin, Filip Chytil and Ryan Lindgren. Follow the Wolf Pack on Facebook. twitterInstagram, TikTok.
