Wolf Pack Controversially Fall to Monsters 3-1

After a disputable ending in their battle on Wednesday, the Hartford Wolf Pack and Cleveland Monsters met once again at the PeoplesBank Arena on Friday night. The Wolf Pack aimed to take the season series, while Cleveland eyed a split.

The sides played another close contest, but once again, officiating was the difference in the game. Cleveland capitalized on their chances to take a 3-1 decision and sweep the two-game set.

Brendan Gets the Bounce

Cleveland broke the ice for the second time in as many matchups. Guillaume Richard got behind the Wolf Pack defense and tapped a feed from James Malatesta by Dylan Garand to give the visitors the game's first lead just over three minutes into the contest.

However, the Wolf Pack would respond ten minutes later. Blake Hillman sent a stretch feed for Trey Fix-Wolansky in the neutral zone, and the former Monster gained the zone before dropping the puck to Brendan Brisson. Brisson sent it back to Fix-Wolansky, who attempted a wraparound. Zach Sawchenko denied the bid with the pad, but the rebound popped right to Brisson, who shoveled it home to tie the score.

The goal was Brisson's 16th of the season, good for second on the team. The teams would enter the first intermission with the score knotted at one.

Hard to Play

Hartford's biggest moment of the game came 13:34 into the contest. Fix-Wolansky was assessed a major penalty for goaltender interference, giving Cleveland a five-minute power play bid. The Wolf Pack penalty kill stood tall, however, and prevented the Monsters from pulling ahead.

Fix-Wolansky was controversially sent off the ice after exiting the box, as officials assessed him a game misconduct. While Fix-Wolansky's penalty did carry an automatic game misconduct, the additional penalty was not communicated to the teams or announced in house. Protests from the Wolf Pack bench fell unheard.

Richard would put the Monsters back in front in the final seconds of the frame, deflecting a puck by Garand. Cleveland took the lead into the second intermission.

As the teams prepared to start the third period, Dylan Roobroeck was informed that he had been assessed a two-minute roughing penalty and a ten-minute misconduct. That brought the Wolf Pack down to nine forwards for much of the final frame.

Nevertheless, Hartford pushed, generating a number of quality chances on Ivan Fedotov, who had replaced the injured Sawchenko in net. However, they simply couldn't find the tying tally. Jack Williams nailed the empty net in the final seconds of the contest to cement the 3-1 decision.

"I thought we had taken the game over," Wolf Pack head coach Grant Potulny told Blueshirt Banter following the game. "We're playing great. Fix-Wolansky's driving the net, and he gets pushed in[to the goaltender] by their defensemen, and we come out of that with a five-minute major. The rule book states that if there's a five-minute major call and there's an injury to it, it's an automatic game misconduct."

While this is accurate, the lack of communication from the officiating crew frustrated Potulny and his team.

"We just killed that penalty. It was a great kill. We had some much juice on our bench, and he comes out of the box...and then we find out he's out of the game," the Hartford bench boss remarked to Blueshirt Banter.

The Wolf Pack head out on a five-game road trip, starting tomorrow in Providence.

"It's a huge game tomorrow," Potulny told Blueshirt Banter. "Then we're down to Charlotte. Tough opponents. So we're going to have to be at our best."

Up Next

The Wolf Pack begin a five-game road trip tomorrow, visiting the Providence Bruins. Puck drop is set for 7:05 pm.