Wolf Pack Blank Senators in Strong 4-0 Win

After a close loss to the Utica Comets last night, the Hartford Wolf Pack returned to action on Saturday night. They hosted their second North Division team in as many nights as the Belleville Senators made their sole visit to the Connecticut capital.

Strong goaltending and timely goals would lead the Wolf Pack to victory. They blanked the Senators and struck four times on their way to a 4-0 victory.

Scan You Believe It?

The Wolf Pack broke the ice just over six minutes into the opening frame. Brandon Scanlin forced a turnover at the Hartford blue line and chipped the puck around Garrett Pilon. Scanlin corralled the loose change and sped into the Belleville zone on an odd-man rush with Adam Sýkora. The defenseman elected to shoot and ripped a shot by the blocker of Mads Søgaard to give the Wolf Pack the game's first lead.

The goal was Scanlin's second of the campaign. It was also the first time the Wolf Pack have opened the scoring since January 20th, a 5-4 overtime win in Hershey against the Bears.

"Just came down, looked to see if I had guys with me, and I did," Scanlin told Blueshirt Banter following the contest. "Didn't want to force a pass, tried to get the puck on net. Got it on net and fortunately it went in."

Ant-On the Board

The Wolf Pack doubled their lead about eight minutes later. Anton Blidh poked the puck away from a Senator, and Jaroslav Chmelař corralled it. The two forwards powered into the offensive zone, and Chmelař fed Blidh as he streaked towards the net. Blidh went to the backhand and tapped the puck by Søgaard to put the Wolf Pack up by two.

The goal was Blidh's fourth of the campaign, and the Wolf Pack took the 2-0 lead into the first intermission.

Belleville got the better of the chances in the middle frame, but they couldn't put one past Spencer Martin. Olle Lycksell got the best bid with a partial breakaway, but he lifted it wide, keeping the visitors from getting on the board. At the other end of the ice, Søgaard made six stops in the frame to send the game into the second intermission with the score still 2-0 Wolf Pack.

Double Digit Dowls

The Wolf Pack pushed the lead to three just over eight minutes into the final frame. Jackson Dorrington sent a feed from behind the Hartford goal to Justin Dowling, who started the rush. Dowling fed Chmelař, who gained the zone and created space before dropping a feed back to Dowling. The veteran center skated to the slot and lasered a shot past Søgaard to triple Hartford's lead.

The goal was Dowling's tenth of the season, becoming the fourth Wolf Pack player to hit that mark. The assist gave Chmelař a multi-point night.

Gotta Blame It On My Juus

The Wolf Pack capped off the scoring just over two minutes later. Dylan Roobroeck found a loose puck in the left wing corner and sent a feed to Casey Fitzgerald in the high slot. The captain took a shot that Søgaard denied, and the rebound popped sky high. Juuso Pärssinen, stationed at the side of the net, waited for it to fall below the bar and batted it into the open cage to make it a 4-0 game.

The goal was Pärssinen's third of the season and his second in as many nights. From there, the Wolf Pack rode out the remaining time to earn a strong 4-0 win, their first on home ice following the All-Star break.

"That's the team we need to be, and it's repeatable success," Wolf Pack head coach Grant Potulny told Blueshirt Banter following the contest. "We got to the net front, a couple guys scored that hadn't scored in a while, and great goaltending."

In net, Martin made 20 saves, pitching his first shutout of the campaign.

"We definitely owed him a game and he stood on his head for us tonight," Scanlin told Blueshirt Banter after the contest.

The Wolf Pack now sit seven points out of the playoffs with 23 games to go.

Up Next

The Wolf Pack wrap up their three-in-three weekend tomorrow afternoon in Providence against the Bruins. Puck drop is set for 3:05 pm.

The Wolf Pack return to the PeoplesBank Arena on Wednesday, March 4th, hosting the Bruins. Puck drop is set for 7 pm.