HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack picked up their first home ice victory in the ‘Battle of Connecticut’ this season on Friday night. The club scored three unanswered goals to knock off the rival Bridgeport Islanders 3-2 in front of 6,937 fans at PeoplesBank Arena.
The Islanders broke the ice 6:47 into the game. On the game’s first power play, Liam Foudy located a rebound to the right of netminder Dylan Garand. Foudy sent a backhander towards the goal snuck through Garand to make it 1-0.
Just over a minute later, at 7:53, the Wolf Pack were able to respond and draw even.
Trey Fix-Wolansky attacked the net from the right-wing side, then sent a pass to the left-wing for Juuso Pärssinen. The puck clipped Pärssinen and snuck by Henrik Tikkanen to tie the game 1-1. The goal was Pärssinen’s first as a member of the Wolf Pack in his second game with the club.
Brendan Brisson put the Wolf Pack on top at 10:55, potting his tenth goal of the season.
Brisson took a pass from Fix-Wolansky, worked into the left-wing circle, and fired a shot. Tikkanen got a piece of the puck, but the heavy shot trickled through the goaltender and made it a 2-1 game.
Fix-Wolansky’s assist was his second of the night, giving him back-to-back multi-point games after scoring a hat-trick on Tuesday night against the Hershey Bears.
Both sides had good looks in the middle frame, but neither was able to find the back of the net. Tikkanen made nine saves, while Garand stopped six bids off Islander sticks.
Late in regulation time, the Islanders pulled the goalie for the extra attacker. Justin Dowling hit the empty net at 18:23, making it 3-1.
The Islanders pulled Tikkanen again moments later, and this time were able to generate offense off of it. Chris Terry blasted a shot from the right-wing circle that beat Garand at 19:35, drawing it to a 3-2 score.
The was as close as the Islanders were able to get it, however. Garand slammed the door shut for the final 25 seconds, cementing a key victory for the Wolf Pack.
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