HARTFORD, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack made the short trip from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA to Allentown, PA to visit the Lehigh Valley Phantoms at the PPL Center for the first time in 18 months.
The opening period saw a lot of back-and-forth action with each team trading scoring opportunities. The Phantoms opened scoring with 36 seconds left in the first. Max Willman scored a shorthanded goal for the Phantoms after Morgan Frost capitalized on the Pack’s turnover in the neutral zone.
Early in the second period, the Phantoms controlled play with Adam Húska making several key stops for the Pack to keep the deficit at one. Later in the second, Tanner Fritz won a battle in the corner against German Rubstov, sending the Wolf Pack on an odd man rush. Ronning, who was joined by Fritz on the rush, fired a backhander on net with the rebound ricocheting off of Garrett Wilson’s skate and into the net to tie things up at 1. Pajuniemi and Fritz recorded assists on the goal. From then on, the Wolf Pack controlled play outshooting the Phantoms 12-7 in the second frame.
Heading into the third, things remained tied at 1. Adam Húska remained strong in net as he faced a flurry of shots. By the end of the game Húska would have faced 22 shots, turning away 21 of those.
Off an offensive zone faceoff, Captain Jonny Brodzinski found himself alone in front of the net with 5:06 left in the third and was able to capitalize on a one timer from Anthony Greco, putting the Pack up 2-1. However, that wouldn’t be the final tally from the Pack, as Ty Ronning connected with Anthony Bitetto for an empty net goal, securing the 3-1 win for the Pack.
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