
Wolf Pack Eye Revenge as Crunch Come to Town
November 18, 2023 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hartford Wolf Pack News Release
HARTFORD, CT - The Hartford Wolf Pack returns to the XL Center this evening to wrap up a home-and-home set with the Syracuse Crunch. Tonight is 'Military Appreciation Night' and also the first postgame skate with Wolf Pack players of the season!
The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. and coverage is available on both AHLTV and Mixlr.
Tale of The Tape:
This is the second and final meeting between the Wolf Pack and Crunch during the 2023-24 season. It wraps up a home-and-home set for the foes. Last night, they opened the set with a meeting at the Upstate Medical University Arena in Syracuse.
A back-and-forth affair went in the favor of the Crunch by a final score of 5-3 thanks to three goals in the third period.
Maxim Groshev opened the scoring 9:32 into the contest, ripping a shot over the right shoulder of Dylan Garand for his eighth goal of the season. Hartford answered just two seconds into their first powerplay of the night, as Riley Nash won a faceoff back to Matthew Robertson. Robertson slid a pass to Jonny Brodzinski in the left-wing circle, where the captain blasted a one-timer home for his ninth goal of the season at 13:05.
2:32 later, at the 17:37 mark, Anton Blidh put Hartford ahead when a Blake Hillman shot rocketed off the pads of Brandon Halverson, off of Blidh, and into the net. The goal was Blidh's third of the season.
The Crunch evened the contest 10:25 into the middle frame, as Daniel Walcott tipped home a point shot from Phillipe Myers to send the game into the final period deadlocked 2-2.
Just 3:21 in, Walcott broke the tie with his second of the game, converting a two-on-one with Gabriel Dumont. Hartford would respond at 6:52, scoring their second powerplay goal of the night. Brodzinski fired another one-timer from the left-wing circle, this time set up by Brennan Othmann.
Unfortunately for the Pack, the Crunch would wrestle the lead back for good at 13:23. Dumont scored his fourth goal of the season after a loose puck found his stick. He curled into the left-wing circle and beat Garand for the game-winning tally. Dumont added an insurance goal at 18:34 to complete a four-point night.
Wolf Pack Outlook:
The Wolf Pack's 5-3 loss to the Crunch last night snapped a five-game point streak (3-0-2-0) on the road for the club.
Brodzinski became the third Wolf Pack player to score two powerplay goals in a game this season, joining Othmann (10/13/23 @ PRO) and Nash (10/29/23 @ LHV). He leads the Pack in powerplay goals with five and is second in the AHL in that category.
The Wolf Pack's 22 shots on goal last night were a season-low. Their previous low was 23 in a 3-2 victory at Utica on November 4th.
Including tonight, the Wolf Pack will play six of their next seven games at home. Their lone road contest in that span comes on November 24th in Springfield.
Brodzinski leads the club in both goals with ten and points with 16 (10 g, 6 a). His ten goals are tied for second most in the league, and his 16 points are tied for sixth. Mac Hollowell and Alex Belzile are tied for the team lead in assists with nine each.
On Friday, the parent New York Rangers (NHL) recalled defenseman Connor Mackey from Hartford.
Crunch Outlook:
The Crunch won their third consecutive game on Friday night. They have also defeated the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins 6-3 on November 11th and the Bridgeport Islanders 5-4 on November 14th during this winning streak.
The Crunch are 6-1-0-0 in their last seven games against the Wolf Pack. Their lone loss in that span was a 4-1 home defeat on February 25th, 2023.
Groshev is second in the AHL in goals amongst rookies with eight this season. He only trails Logan Stankoven of the Texas Stars, who has nine goals.
Dumont led the way with four points (2 g, 2 a) for the Crunch last night. It was his first four-point outing since February 26th, 2022, against the Utica Comets (1 g, 3 a). Walcott collected two goals and three points (2 g, 1 a) in the win. It was his first two-goal performance since April 14th, 2023, at Laval. It was his first three-point showing since October 22nd, 2022, against the Rochester Americans.
Groshev (8 g, 5 a) and Felix Robert (6 g, 7 a) are tied for the team lead in points with 13. Groshev's eight goals lead in that department, while Gage Goncalves' nine assists pace the club.
Game Information:
WATCH: AHLTV
LISTEN: Mixlr
Play-by-play voice of the Wolf Pack Alex Thomas will have 'Wolf Pack Pregame' starting live at 6:45 p.m. on both AHLTV and Mixlr.
The Pack is back at the XL Center on Thanksgiving Eve as they welcome the Providence Bruins to town for the second time this season. The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m., and tickets are available at www.hartfordwolfpack.com.
American Hockey League Stories from November 18, 2023
- Colton Dach Puts on Show with Hat Trick and Shootout Winner in 4-3 Hogs' Victory - Rockford IceHogs
- Stars Score Seven to Sweep Grand Rapids - Texas Stars
- Monsters Drop 7-5 Loss to Amerks - Cleveland Monsters
- Iowa Forces Overtime with Late Goal, Drops Shootout to Rockford - Iowa Wild
- Penguins Defeat P-Bruins, 2-1 - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
- Wolf Pack Score Three Unanswered Goals in the Second Period to Power Past Crunch 5-2 - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Eight Is Great. Blowout in Belleville - Lehigh Valley Phantoms
- Bears Sweep Week With 4-0 Win Over Islanders - Hershey Bears
- Silver Knights Come up Short, 3-2, Against Canucks in Shootout - Henderson Silver Knights
- P-Bruins Bested by Penguins - Providence Bruins
- Wolves Throttle Admirals 5-1 - Chicago Wolves
- Crunch Downed by Wolf Pack, 5-2 - Syracuse Crunch
- Comets Blast Rocket, Win 6-3 - Utica Comets
- Bears Blank Islanders - Bridgeport Islanders
- Tristen Nielsen Scores the Winning Shootout Goal as Canucks Extend Win Streak to Five - Abbotsford Canucks
- Moose Fall to Marlies - Manitoba Moose
- Morning Skate Report: November 18, 2023 - Henderson Silver Knights
- Dylan McIlrath Loaned to Hershey - Hershey Bears
- Game Preview: Iowa Wild vs. Rockford IceHogs - Iowa Wild
- Wolf Pack Eye Revenge as Crunch Come to Town - Hartford Wolf Pack
- Bridgeport Islanders Host Hershey for 'Hockey Fights Cancer' - Bridgeport Islanders
- Weekend Stretch Continues for Hogs in Iowa - Rockford IceHogs
- Game Preview: Bears at Islanders, 7 p.m. - Hershey Bears
- Game #13: Tucson Roadrunners vs. Coachella Valley Firebirds - Tucson Roadrunners
- Tampa Bay Lightning Recall Forward Cole Koepke from Syracuse Crunch - Syracuse Crunch
- Wranglers Down Reign in Shootout - Calgary Wranglers
- Silver Knights Fall to Canucks, 3-2, in Overtime - Henderson Silver Knights
- Firebirds Snap Losing Streak with Shootout Win Over Roadrunners - Coachella Valley Firebirds
- Waeber Shutout, Dalpe Tally Lead Checkers to 1-0 Win in San Diego - Charlotte Checkers
- Jack Studnicka Scores Overtime Winner as Canucks Win 3-2 in Henderson - Abbotsford Canucks
- Reign Fall in Shootout - Ontario Reign
- Bailey Scores Again but Barracuda Comeback Comes up Short - San Jose Barracuda
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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