HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack collected their first victory of the season on Wednesday night, blanking the rival Springfield Thunderbirds 3-0 at PeoplesBank Arena.
The Wolf Pack’s penalty kill was the story of period one, as they killed off three power plays for the Thunderbirds. That included a five-on-three sequence in which goaltender Dylan Garand made three spectacular saves.
Garand twice denied Dalibor Dvorsky from the right-wing circle and stopped a shot from the slot off the stick of Samuel Johannesson.
In total, Garand made 13 saves in the opening frame.
Nikita Alexandrov appeared to open the scoring in the final minute with a drive down low, but his backhand attempt went off the post and never crossed the line.
Bryce McConnell-Barker opened the scoring 7:40 into the middle frame, ripping home his first goal of the season to make it 1-0. McConnell-Barker moved his way into the left-wing circle and snapped a shot over the right shoulder of Georgi Romanov.
Carey Terrance then extended the lead to 2-0 8:38 into the final stanza. Anton Blidh won a battle in the left-wing corner and sent a puck to Terrance near the top of the crease. The rookie forward quickly fired a shot that beat Romanov for his first career professional goal.
Adam Sýkora hit an empty net at 19:38, potting his second goal of the season to end the intrigue. The goal was the Wolf Pack’s second unassisted tally on the night.
Garand made 28 total saves in the victory, including 12 in the final period. The win was his 50th career AHL victory, and the shutout was the ninth of his career.
The Pack is back at the newly renovated PeoplesBank Arena on Friday night when the Bridgeport Islanders come to town for the ‘Battle of Connecticut’! The puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. Tickets are available here.
You must be logged in to post a comment.