HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack turned in a strong performance on Friday night, but were unable to pull out two points in a 4-1 loss to the Providence Bruins in front of 7,067 at PeoplesBank Arena.
The Wolf Pack outshoot the Bruins 15-9 in the opening stanza, controlling a portion of play at five-on-five. Michael DiPietro was perfect in net, however, denying all 15 Wolf Pack bids.
Matěj Blümel opened the scoring at 17:01 as the Bruins converted off a turnover. Riley Duran intercepted a pass on the right-wing side and fed Blümel in the slot. There, he ripped a shot by Spencer Martin to make it 1-0.
The goal was Blümel’s first in 12 games.
Brennan Othmann evened the tilt 1-1 9:13 into the middle frame, potting his fifth goal of the season. Trey Fix-Wolansky set up Othmann on the right-wing side, where he snapped a shot that beat DiPietro.
The goal extended Othmann’s scoring streak to three games.
Late in the period, however, the Wolf Pack saw another turnover turn into a goal against. This time, Riley Tufte fired a shot from the right-wing side that Martin was able to turn aside with his pad. The puck popped right to Dans Locmelis, however. He pounced on the rebound and buried his tenth goal of the season to make it 2-1 Bruins at 18:06.
The Wolf Pack pushed in the third period but were unable to find the equalizer.
The Bruins tacked on two empty net goals late in the final frame to cement the two points. Georgii Merkulov made it 3-1 at 17:42, then Locmelis made it 4-1 from the neutral zone at 18:27.
The Wolf Pack hit the road tomorrow to take on the Bridgeport Islanders at Total Mortgage Arena. The puck drop is set for 5:00 p.m., with coverage starting at 4:45 p.m.
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