Perreault, Dowling Lead Wolf Pack to 4-1 Win Over Checkers

The Hartford Wolf Pack returned to action at the PeoplesBank Arena on Wednesday night. They hosted the Charlotte Checkers as they looked to build on a strong win in Springfield last Saturday.

The Wolf Pack fell behind early, but they wouldn't let it demoralize them. They responded to the tune of four goals, earning a quality 4-1 win over the defending Eastern Conference Champions.

Trey Cool

A slow start once again plagued the Wolf Pack, as they began the opening frame stuck on their side of the ice. Dylan Garand made a number of key stops to keep the game scoreless early on.

Just as Hartford began to sustain pressure in the offensive zone, they conceded the opening goal. Tobias Björnfot collected the puck deep in his own zone and lofted it to neutral ice. There, Jack Devine got behind the Hartford defense and sped into the Hartford zone on a partial breakaway. Devine roofed a shot over Garand to give the Checkers the game's first lead.

However, the Wolf Pack would respond late in the frame. With Ludvig Jansson in the box for hooking, Trey Fix-Wolansky potted a power play goal to tie the game. Fix-Wolansky deflected a shot from Scott Morrow that trickled through Cooper Black and slowly crossed the red line. Officials reviewed the tally before awarding Fix-Wolansky his team-leading third goal of the season.

Morrow's assist on the goal was his first point with the Wolf Pack. The game would enter the first intermission tied at one apiece.

This Just In

The Wolf Pack took the lead just 30 seconds into the middle frame. Gabe Perreault corralled a loose puck and banked a pass off the boards for Justin Dowling. The veteran forward sped to the net, deked by a defender, and flipped a backhander by Black to put Hartford in front.

The goal was Dowling's first as a member of the Wolf Pack.

Gabe the Great

The Wolf Pack struck again about eight minutes into the period. Jaroslav Chmelař skated the puck into the Charlotte zone. Chmelař found Perreault sneaking by a defender and fed him the puck. Perreault cut to the net and slid a shot through the five-hole to make it a two-goal lead.

The goal gave Perreault goals in back to back games, as well as multiple points in back to back contests. The goal also chased Black from net, being replaced with Kirill Gerasimyuk. It's the second game in a row that the Wolf Pack have forced their opponents to lift their starting goaltender.

Double Dowls

The Wolf Pack struck for the third time in the final minutes of the frame. Dowling forced a turnover behind the Charlotte net, and some slick work from the top line gave Perreault a shot from the slot. Gerasimyuk fought it off, but Dowling potted the rebound for his second goal of the contest.

With the goal, Dowling became the first Wolf Pack player with multiple goals in a game this season. Hartford would take the 4-1 lead into the second intermission.

A Good Response

Charlotte pressed in the final 20 minutes of the contest, firing 12 shots at Garand. The fourth-year netminder turned them all aside, cementing the 4-1 victory for the Wolf Pack.

"It's two games in a row now," Wolf Pack head coach Grant Potulny told Blueshirt Banter when asked about the team's response to falling behind early. "You're gonna get scored on, and it's gotta be what's your response to it. Tonight and in Springfield, it was both very good."

The Wolf Pack conceded the first goal both on Saturday in Springfield and tonight. However, they stuck to their game, got the shots to fall, and walked away with two quality wins. It's been a much better process than some of their early-season games and it's promising to see the team maturing this early in the season.

The combination of Perreault, Dowling, and Chmelař on Hartford's top line contributed three goals and four assists on the night, and impressive showing for a unit that hasn't worked together much in the start of the season.

"Those guys can make plays," Chmelař told Blueshirt Banter after the contest. "I think I give them a little bit of an edge. I can forecheck hard, win some pucks down low, and be responsible for them. It's unbelievable what they can do with the puck, so I just try to find them."

Up Next

The Wolf Pack will return to action on Friday, hosting the Lehigh Valley Phantoms for the first matchup between the teams this season. Puck drop is set for 7:00 pm.