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AHL Hartford Wolf Pack

Tambellini, Graves Power Wolf Pack to 4-3 Victory

October 24, 2015 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hartford Wolf Pack News Release


Syracuse, NY, October 23, 2015 - Adam Tambellini had the Hartford Wolf Pack's first two-goal game of the season Friday night at the War Memorial Arena, in a 4-3 victory over the Syracuse Crunch.

Defenseman Ryan Graves added a goal and an assist, his first pro points, for the Wolf Pack, who won their fourth straight game, and Chad Nehring's empty-net goal ended up being the game-winner.

"Those were some good plays made by a couple of guys," Tambellini said of his two scores, "(I was) lucky to get in a good shooting spot and let it go."

The Wolf Pack grabbed an early lead in the first period, on Graves' first pro goal, a goal from the left point at 3:33. After a faceoff win by Travis Oleksuk, Ryan Bourque dropped the puck to Graves, and his shot went through a Tyler Brown screen and got by the catching glove of Crunch goaltender Adam Wilcox (29 saves).

The Wolf Pack got into serious penalty problems for the rest of the period, taking five minor penalties. Among the Syracuse power plays were two-man advantages of 47 seconds and 1:17.

The Crunch weren't able to capitalize on either of the five-on-threes, but got a five-on-four goal from former Connecticut Whale Jonathan Marchessault at 5:58 to tie the score. Marchessault's shot from the middle of the blue line appeared to re-direct in front of the net, and found its way through the legs of Wolf Pack goaltender Magnus Hellberg (33 saves).

With the five shorthanded situations, the Wolf Pack were outshot 15-6 in the first frame.

The Wolf Pack turned the tables in that department in the second period, though, with a 17-7 shots advantage, and Tambellini scored both of his goals in the frame.

The 1-1 tie lasted until the 12:42 mark, when Tambellini gunned a shot from the left faceoff dot up under the crossbar behind Wilcox. Brian Gibbons set up the play with a pass out of the corner.

Then, after the Wolf Pack had killed a pair of two-man advantages in the first period, they scored on a five-on-three at 18:46, after the Crunch were called for too many men on the ice at 17:12 and Jake Dotchin took a roughing penalty19 seconds later.

Again it was Tambellini doing the damage, this time taking a pass from out of the right-wing corner from Marek Hrivik and snapping a shot into the top corner past Wilcox' catching glove, from just inside the dot.

It remained 3-1 in favor of the Wolf Pack until the Crunch pulled Wilcox with 3:17 to play. Thirty-one seconds later, at 17:14, after Graves and Tanner Glass combined to get the puck out of the Wolf Pack zone, Nehring corralled the bouncing disc on right wing and popped it into the open net.

That appeared to be icing on the cake for the Wolf Pack, but it would turn out to be the winning goal, as the Crunch responded with a pair of scores in the final 57 seconds.

First, Dylan Blujus stepped into a loose puck at the top of the left circle and slapped a shot through Hellberg's pads at 19:03. Then Graves was called for delay of game at 19:10 for putting the puck out of play, and the Crunch lifted Wilcox again.

The Pack were able to withstand the six-on-four skater advantage until there were only two seconds left. Matthew Peca, an ex-Quinnipiac Bobcat, fired the puck in off of a goalmouth scramble at 19:58 to make it a one-goal game, but there was not enough time left for Syracuse to pressure any further, and the Wolf Pack emerged victorious in their first road game of the season.

The Wolf Pack continue a three-game weekend road trip Saturday night in Hershey, taking on the Bears at 7:00 PM. All of the action of that contest can be heard live on News Radio 1410 WPOP, and on-line at www.newsradio1410.com and iHeartRadio. Video streaming is available at www.ahllive.com.

The Wolf Pack's next home game is Halloween night, Saturday, October 31, a 7:30 game vs. the Providence Bruins. Tickets for all 2015-16 Wolf Pack home games are on sale at the Agera Energy Ticket Office at the XL Center, on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499.

To speak with a Wolf Pack representative about season or group tickets, or any of the Wolf Pack's many ticketing options, call (855) 762-6451.

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American Hockey League Stories from October 24, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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