Mar 23, 2024
TORONTO, ON – The Hartford Wolf Pack jumped out to a lead on Saturday afternoon in Toronto but couldn’t hold off a push from the AHL’s highest scoring product. The Toronto Marlies scored five unanswered goals to pull away and beat the Wolf Pack 5-1 at the Coca-Cola Coliseum. The loss was Hartford’s seventh in a row.
Topi Niemelä notched the game-winning goal for the second time in as many meetings between the foes. Niemelä took a centering pass from Tate Singleton in the slot and snapped a shot over the glove of Dylan Garand at 14:42 to push Toronto ahead 2-1 at the time. The goal was Niemelä’s seventh of the season and his third in three career games against the Wolf Pack.
A strong opening road period by the Wolf Pack was rewarded at 19:44, as Nic Petan broke the ice with his first goal as a member of the club. Mac Hollowell fired a shot from the right-wing wall that Luke Cavallin denied, but the rebound popped right to Petan. The veteran forward wasted no time burying the rebound for his 13th goal of the season and first since February 17th.
The Wolf Pack penalty kill started off the middle frame with two big kills, keeping the 1-0 lead intact. The penalty kill started the afternoon three-for-three, limiting chances against.
The Marlies finally broke through at 13:37, as Josiah Slavin took advantage of a turnover to bury his ninth goal of the season. Slavin intercepted a pass in the offensive zone and then tried to feed Ryan Tverberg at the backdoor. The pass went off a Wolf Pack defenseman and trickled by Garand to even the affair 1-1.
Just 65 seconds later, the Marlies took their first lead of the afternoon on Niemelä’s goal.
Dylan Gambrell extended the lead to 3-1 at 6:17 of the third period. Gambrell dumped the puck into the Wolf Pack zone from center ice, but the puck took a wild bounce and ended up finding the back of the net.
Nick Abruzzese struck short-side at 9:49, labelling a shot over the shoulder of Garand for a powerplay goal that ballooned the lead to 4-1. Alex Steeves wrapped up the scoring with his 21st goal of the season at 11:56 of the final frame, ripping a shot top shelf off a faceoff win by Gambrell.
The Wolf Pack conclude their four-game road trip tomorrow when they visit the Belleville Senators. The puck drop is set for 2:00 p.m.
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