Tung Shines as Wolf Pack Beat Thunderbirds 3-1

After being eliminated from Calder Cup Playoff contention with a loss to Providence last night, the Hartford Wolf Pack played the first of their five remaining games on Saturday night. They visited the Springfield Thunderbirds for round eight of the I-91 Rivalry this season.

Springfield fired 37 shots on goal, but they had no answer for rookie netminder Callum Tung. A trio of first-period goals was enough for Hartford to eventually secure a 3-1 victory and at least a split of the I-91 Rivalry this season.

Ant-On the Board

After conceding the first goal in their last five contests, the Wolf Pack found the icebreaker just under eight minutes into the contest. Springfield couldn't clear their zone, allowing Dylan Roobroeck to corral the puck and find Bryce McConnell-Barker going to the net. McConnell-Barker sent a pass across the slot to Anton Blidh, and the veteran forward buried the feed past Vadim Zherenko to give the Wolf Pack the game's first lead.

The goal was Blidh's eighth of the season, while McConnell-Barker collected his eighth point over his last nine games with the assist.

A Beauty from Briss

The Wolf Pack doubled their lead just over a minute later. A tripping call against Thomas Bordeleau gave the Wolf Pack their first power play bid of the contest. On the ensuring power play bid, Scott Morrow left the puck behind for Brendan Brisson. The Wolf Pack's 2026 AHL All-Star swung a feed to Trey Fix-Wolansky, who sped through the neutral zone. Fix-Wolansky shoveled the puck through a pair of defenders and found Brisson going to the goal. Brisson went between the legs to score a highlight reel tally and out the Wolf Pack up by two.

The goal was Brisson's 17th of the season, while Fix-Wolansky picked up his team-leading 47th point of the season.

5 for 55

The Wolf Pack made it a three-goal frame just 39 seconds later. The T-Birds once again couldn't clear their zone, allowing a loose puck to trickle to Morrow along the right wing wall. Morrow fired a howitzer that clipped the post, ricocheted off Zherenko's pad, and found the back of the net to put Hartford up by three.

The goal was Morrow's fifth of the season, and it gave him a multi-point night.

Springfield would respond about four minutes later when Hugh McGing potted a goal off an odd-man rush. The score remained 3-1 as the rivals headed into the first intermission.

Cal of Duty

Neither team could find the twine in the middle frame, but there was plenty of action, highlighted by a spirited tilt between Brandon Scanlin and Quinton Burns. Tung denied 13 shots in the period, while Zherenko stopped five to send the game into the second intermission with the score still 3-1 Hartford.

Springfield's push continued in the final stanza, but they simply couldn't solve Tung. The rookie netminder made 12 key stops in the final frame to prevent the Thunderbirds from pulling any closer.

The 3-1 score remained until the final horn sounded, snapping the Wolf Pack's seven game losing streak and giving them at least a split of the I-91 Rivalry this season.

Tung made 36 saves on 37 shots and was named the game's first star. It's a promising bounce back for the UConn product after a tough outing against Hershey in his previous start.

The Wolf Pack and Thunderbirds will play twice more this season. Hartford's final home game of the campaign will be against the T-Birds on Friday, with the series ending in Springfield next Saturday. That game will also be the Wolf Pack's season finale.

Up Next

The Wolf Pack wrap up their three-in-three weekend tomorrow in Bridgeport, taking on the Islanders in the penultimate Battle of Connecticut matchup and the final regular season game in Bridgeport. Puck drop is set for 5 pm.

The Wolf Pack return to the Connecticut capital on Wednesday, hosting the Islanders for the final Battle of Connecticut. Puck drop is set for 6:30 pm.