Nov 7, 2024
How often is a 2-1 hockey game wildly entertaining? The answer is more often than you think. Wednesday night was another great example of that, as the Wolf Pack defeated the Syracuse Crunch 2-1 in overtime at the XL Center in a wildly entertaining contest.
The win snaps a brief two-game losing streak for the Pack, who are on the road for two more games this weekend.
As the club hits the road to Rochester, let’s get down to business, shall we?
Onto the blog!
1. Grant Potulny repeatedly mentioned in postgame media availabilities during October that he wanted his team to cut down on the “freebies” they were giving up to opponents and wanted to see the puck mistakes cut down.
It’s clear that the team has taken that message to heart, as you can see the responsible game Potulny is looking for take shape. Over the last four games, the Wolf Pack has held opponents to eight goals, a total of two goals against per game. Do that throughout a season, and you’ll win a lot more games than you lose.
2. We’ve said repeatedly on the broadcast this season that it was going to take time for the Wolf Pack to mesh with a new Head Coach and a number of new faces in the lineup.
Now that we are ten games into the season, you can see the improvement in the team’s on-ice play. This looks like a more cohesive group than a month ago, and one that looks comfortable playing the style Potulny wants them to play.
It was always going to take a little time, but the Wolf Pack are really starting to gel and look like the lockdown defensive team we expected coming into the season.
3. It was great to see Alex Belzile find the back of the net for the first time this season on Wednesday night. Before suffering an upper-body injury that cost him three games, Belzile was playing some of his best hockey as a member of the Wolf Pack.
His five assists led the team at the time of his injury and are currently tied for second with Bo Groulx.
After scoring 19 goals last season, Belzile was due to light the lamp. We’ll see if the overtime game-winning goal against the Crunch jumpstarts that part of his game.
4. Dylan Garand was sensational on Wednesday night. He made 31 saves to improve his record to 4-0-1 on the season. His best save of the game came with the Wolf Pack on the power play in the second period. Gabriel Szturc had a great opportunity in front that Garand somehow got his right pad on to kick away.
He’s been locked in this season and has given…
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