The Wolf Pack continued their winning ways Saturday night at the XL Center, as Gabriel Fontaine and Tim Gettinger each scored for the first time this year in a 4-1 defeat of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
The Wolf Pack hit the ground running, bombarding Bridgeport goaltender Jakub Skarek (30 saves) and maintaining strong pressure for most of the first period, but Skarek proved up to the test for most of the period.
After the Wolf Pack was unable to capitalize on two early power plays, Bridgeport got on the board first when Nick Schilkey capitalized on a turnover in front of goaltender Adam Huska (16 saves) to give the Sound Tigers the lead at 10:34 of the first period.
The Wolf Pack were able to settle down and adjust after the goal, however. “It’s hard when you’re trying to press too much, but the players settled things down on their own,” said head coach Kris Knoblauch. “It wasn’t a coaching change, the players really coached themselves.”
The Wolf Pack would do just that, determined not to end the period down by a goal. With 2:07 left in the period, Fontaine fired in his first goal of the season on a shot that bounced off the crossbar, then off Skarek, and finally into the net. Danny O’Regan and Vincent LoVerde had the assists.
Hartford picked up right where it left off in the second, scoring three unanswered goals in the middle frame.
With 7:47 left in the period, Joey Keane was able to capitalize on the power play for his team-leading fourth of the season to give the Wolf Pack the lead for the first time in the game. Vinni Lettieri and Filip Chytil assisted on the goal.
Just 42 seconds later, Gettinger scored for the first time on the year, off of assists from Mason Geertsen and Nick Jones. “Gettinger’s goal was a big one, it gave us separation,” said O’Regan.
Knoblauch echoed O’Regan’s sentiments. “Gettinger has been playing really well on both ends, he’s key on our penalty kill. Everyone felt really happy for him to get one.”
When asked about his own goal, Gettinger was quick to give credit to his teammates. “Jones made a great pass over to Geertsen, who made another great pass to the middle of the ice,” Gettinger said. “I just tried to get over there, and fortunately it went in.”
The Wolf Pack would continue to run away with things from there. O’Regan blasted a laser over the glove of Skarek with 4:11 left in the period, only 1:54 after Gettinger’s goal, to put Hartford up 4-1. O’Regan’s tally would prove to be the final one of the game.
“There was a great forecheck there by Fontaine and Newell to put pressure on the D,” said O’Regan.  “It forced them to turn it over right on to my stick.”
The final frame would prove to be scoreless, with both teams trading power play chances between the two strong penalty kills. Gettinger said of his team’s performance, “We’re playing well, our D are playing great. We’re playing fast, which makes us tough to defend. We’re a confident team right now.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.