PRE-GAME REPORT: WOLF PACK VISIT ISLANDERS IN CRUCIAL ATLANTIC DIVISION BATTLE

Mar 18, 2023

BRIDGEPORT, CT – The Hartford Wolf Pack hit the road with an eye towards shaking off a tough loss on Friday night. Tonight, the Wolf Pack make the trek south to battle their Connecticut rivals, the Bridgeport Islanders.   

Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. and coverage is available on both AHLTV and Mixlr.

Tale of The Tape:

This is the tenth of twelve meetings between the Wolf Pack and the Islanders this season. It is the final meeting of the season at Total Mortgage Arena. The sides wrap their season series up with two games at the XL Center on March 29^th and April 7^th.

The Wolf Pack snapped a two-game home losing streak against the Islanders with a 7-5 comeback victory at the XL Center on Wednesday night. The Islanders jumped out to a 3-1 lead on goals from Ruslan Iskhakov, Kyle MacLean, and Andy Andreoff, finding twine on their first three shots of the night. Will Cuylle had Hartford’s lone goal in that span, then Lauri Pajuniemi gave the home team life with a goal at 14:39.

Jonny Brodzinski tied the game at 1:26 of the second period, scoring from a sharp angle. William Dufour put the Isles back on top at 7:33, making it a 4-3 game at the time with his shot from the point. That would be the score after two periods, but the Wolf Pack would not be deterred.

Ryan Carpenter tied the affair just 99 seconds into the final frame, then Tim Gettinger put the Pack ahead at 6:15. Brodzinski blasted home his second goal of the night at 12:59, making it 6-4. Tanner Fritz hit the empty net at 17:08, before Collin Adams scored at 19:10 to make things slightly tighter.

The Wolf Pack are 4-5-0-0 against the Islanders this season, and 2-3-0-0 at Total Mortgage Arena. However, Hartford has won their last two trips to Bridgeport, outscoring the Islanders 16-3 in the process. They took a 9-0 decision in their last visit on March 4^th, and won 7-3 on December 27^th.  

Wolf Pack Outlook:

The Wolf Pack lost in regulation for just the second time all season when leading after two periods of play on Friday night, falling 4-2 to the Springfield Thunderbirds. Anton Blidh and Will Cuylle both scored in the opening minutes of the game, with Blidh lighting the lamp at 4:32 and Cuylle at 5:55. Hartford would take that lead to both the first and second intermissions, before hitting a speed bump in the final frame.

Will Bitten scored twice, at 6:21 and 11:41, to tie the game 2-2. Martin Frk then gave the Thunderbirds the lead for…