Hartford, CT, March 26, 2017 – Taylor Beck and Michael Joly scored for the Hartford Wolf Pack Sunday at the XL Center, and Magnus Hellberg made 34 saves, but three second period goals by the Providence Bruins proved to be too much for Hartford to handle in a 5-2 loss.
The Wolf Pack struck first at 2:43 of the opening period. Steven Fogarty played the puck toward the front of the net, and it eventually made its way through Ty Ronning and on goal. Bruin goaltender Zane McIntyre (21 saves) made the stop, but Taylor Beck was there to rap in the rebound.
At 13:45, Beck was found guilty of interference, giving the Bruins a power play. With 35 seconds remaining in the penalty, Austin Czarnik fed a pass to Alex Grant at the right point, and he fired a shot over the Hellberg’s left shoulder to even the game at one, at 15:10.
The Bruins then claimed their first lead early in the second period, after scoring two goals within six seconds of each other.
The first goal was recorded at 2:33, when Chris Porter’s shot from the right side hit Wolf Pack defenseman Garrett Noonan and knuckled into the back of the net, for 2-1 Providence lead. Ryan Fitzgerald and Emil Johansson were credited with the assists on Porter’s tally.
Directly off of the center-ice faceoff, Porter took the puck down the right side of the ice and passed into the middle to Tyler Randell, who beautifully redirected the puck past Hellberg at 2:39, to increase the lead to 3-1.
The Wolf Pack failed to convert on a 64-second two-man advantage later in the period, and then went to the power play again at 19:05, when the Bruins’ Tommy Cross was called for slashing.
The Bruins would score shorthanded, however, as Austin Czarnik took a pass from Jake DeBrusk and deposited it past Hellberg from the right circle at 19:26.
Grant scored his second of the game at 8:53 of the third, on a shot from the right side that went off of the Wolf Pack’s Michael Paliotta and through Hellberg’s pads, making the score 5-1.
At 9:50, Providence’s Colby cave was booked for delay of game. The Pack were finally able to convert on a power play, when Joly beat McIntyre with a backhand shot, converting the rebound of a Paliotta blast.
“We thought we played our best game in a while last night, and didn’t follow that up,” Beck said, referencing the Wolf Pack’s 4-3 home win over Bridgeport the night before. ”We have a lot of young guys, and we have to learn. The older guys certainly have to teach the way.”
The Wolf Pack’s next action is this Friday night, March 31, when they wrap up a four-game homestand at the XL Center against the Hershey Bears. That is a 7:15 PM game, and, as at all Friday-night Wolf Pack home games, fans can enjoy $1 hot dogs and $2 beers through the start of the second period.
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