Wolf Pack Weekend Preview: December 19th, 2024
December 19, 2024 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hartford Wolf Pack News Release
HARTFORD, CT - 'Twas the games before Christmas. The Hartford Wolf Pack have just two games remaining before the annual holiday break, a back-to-back set against the rival Providence Bruins.
The sides will meet on Friday night in Hartford, then wrap up the pre-holiday slate on Saturday night in Rhode Island.
These two games will conclude a stretch of three straight for the Wolf Pack against the Bruins.
Friday, December 20 th, 2024, Vs. Providence Bruins (7:00 p.m.)
Saturday, December 21 st, 2024, @ Providence Bruins (7:05 p.m.): The Wolf Pack and Bruins will meet for the fourth and fifth times this season on back-to-back nights.
The Bruins hold a 2-1 edge in the head-to-head matchup, having won 5-2 last Sunday at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Patrick Brown and Ryder Korczak traded first period goals, sending the teams to the middle frame tied 1-1.
Three goals in a span of 6:47 would give the Bruins a 4-1 lead and enough of a cushion for their sixth consecutive victory. Matthew Poitras broke the tie at 6:03, burying a centering feed from Vinni Lettieri for his sixth goal of the season.
Tyler Pitlick then pounced on a rebound at 9:01, making it 3-1 for the Bruins. Pitlick's goal would stand as the game-winning tally. Jeffrey Viel capped the scoring stretch with a rebound goal of his own on the power play at 12:50.
Jake Leschyshyn got the Wolf Pack within two just 2:35 into the third period, deflecting home a backdoor pass from Alex Belzile on a five-on-three power play.
Despite a strong push from the Wolf Pack, which included three goalposts hit, 4-2 was as close as they got it. Georgii Merkulov hit the empty net at 16:09, cementing the victory.
The Bruins also claimed a 4-2 victory on home ice on Nov. 10, with Marc McLaughlin scoring the game-winning goal 2:12 into the third period.
The Wolf Pack's lone victory in the head-to-head matchup came on Nov. 16, as they doubled up the Bruins 4-2. Connor Mackey scored the game-winning goal in that contest.
Quick Hits:
- On Tuesday, the parent New York Rangers assigned Mackey to the Wolf Pack. He played two games with the Rangers during his most recent recall.
- In a corresponding move, the Wolf Pack loaned defenseman Ryan Siedem to the ECHL's Bloomington Bison on Tuesday afternoon.
- Wolf Pack forwards Belzile (3 a) and Adam Sýkora (1 g, 2 a) have scored three points each in three games against the Bruins this season.
- Belzile has assists in three consecutive games and currently sits tied for eighth in league scoring with 25 points (9 g, 16 a).
- Defenseman Matthew Robertson has recorded an assist in four straight games (6 a). He has recorded 13 assists in 23 games this season. His previous career-high in assists is 18, accomplished during the 2022-23 campaign.
- Leschyshyn has scored a goal in five straight games. He has recorded six goals during that span, with five of them coming on the power play.
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