Charlotte, NC, – The Hartford Wolf Pack suffered its first shutout-against of the season Thursday night at Bojangles’ Coliseum, as two Charlotte Checker goaltenders combined for 23 saves to defeat the Wolf Pack 1-0, in the first of back-to-back games between the two teams in Charlotte.
Alex Nedeljkovic played the first two periods in the Charlotte net, stopping 17 shots, and Callum Booth took over for the third, denying six Wolf Pack tries. Alexandar Georgiev made 25 saves in his fourth straight start in the Hartford net.
The Wolf Pack were outshot 13-6 in the first period but had a 17-13 edge in shots the rest of the way, including 6-3 in the third frame.
“We liked our third (period),” Wolf Pack head coach Keith McCambridge said. “We thought we were able to play heavier game, with some more contact, get in their way and slow Charlotte down. I thought in the second period, and blocks of the first, we played more to their strengths, which, obviously, you can’t allow.”
The only goal of the game came at the 4:05 mark of the second period, with Checker defenseman Dennis Robertson scoring his third goal in 19 games on the year. Robertson took a pass from Aleksi Saarela and fired a perfect shot from below the left faceoff dot into the top corner on Georgiev’s catching-glove side.
“We had a couple of back-door plays that we weren’t able to finish on,” McCambridge said. “I like the fact we’re getting the chances, but those ones at crucial moments of games, those are ones we have to make sure we’re executing.”
The Wolf Pack drew five power plays in the game, to Charlotte’s two, but the Wolf Pack were unable to generate many scoring chances on the man advantage.
“Our entries into the zone, we struggled to get nice, clean entries,” McCambridge said, “and whenever we did have to give up possession, we didn’t have numbers to be able to get it back. I thought when we finally had our setup, and looked to find what we were trying to do on our power play, when there were shot lanes, you have to give credit to their penalty kill. They did a real good job getting in shot lanes.”
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