Wolf Pack Doubled Up by Phantoms 6-3

Fresh off a marathon shootout victory last night, the Hartford Wolf Pack returned to action on Sunday afternoon. On the docket was a rematch with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in another game with massive playoff implications.

For the second straight night, the Wolf Pack survived an early hole and forced a tie. However, they couldn't complete the comeback, eventually falling to the Phantoms by a 6-3 final score.

Blidh It Out

For the third time on the weekend, the Wolf Pack would fall behind by two goals. Oscar Eklind stuffed home a rebound off a Zayde Wisdom shot to give the Phantoms the game's first lead.

The home side doubled the lead when Maxence Guenette set up Anthony Richard going to the goal, and the veteran forward tapped the feed home to make it 2-0 Phantoms.

However, for the third time on the weekend, the Wolf Pack would strike twice and erase the deficit. Brett Berard collected a loose puck in the right-wing corner and took it for a ride to the top of the zone. Berard fired a shot that Anton Blidh got a piece of and Aleksei Kolosov couldn't stop, cutting the lead in half.

The goal was Blidh's fifth of the campaign, while Berard picked up his second point in as many games since being assigned to Hartford by the parent New York Rangers on February 26th.

Pärs Five

The Wolf Pack tied the game at two just over three minutes later. Berard fed Travis Dermott at the left point, and the veteran defenseman fired a shot into traffic. The shot was deflected wide, but it rocketed off the back wall and right onto the stick of Juuso Pärssinen. The Finnish forward hammered it home to draw the teams even.

The goal was Pärssinen's fifth of the season, as well as his fourth in his last five games. Pärssinen and Berard each collected their second points of the period on the play; Pärssinen recorded a goal and an assist in the frame, while Berard notched two helpers as the teams entered the first intermission tied at two.

For the second time in as many nights, the Wolf Pack fell behind by two goals in the middle frame. A Christian Kyrou shot clipped Alex Bump and ricocheted into the Wolf Pack net to reinstate the Phantoms' lead just over a minute into the second period.

In the final minutes of the stanza, Jacob Gaucher forced a turnover and set up Cooper Marody in front of the net. Marody wired a shot past the glove of Spencer Martin to give the home side a 4-2 lead heading into the second intermission.

Turn This TV Oth

The Phantoms would find their largest lead of the night just over six minutes into the final period. With Connor Mackey in the box for holding, Lane Pederson potted a power play goal to make it a three-goal margin.

However, the Wolf Pack would respond just over a minute later. Jackson Dorrington kept the puck in the offensive zone and sent it down low for Trey Fix-Wolansky. The veteran forward worked up the wall and slipped a feed to Brennan Othmann in front of the net. Othman quickly snapped the bid by Kolosov to draw the Wolf Pack back within two.

The goal was Othmann's eighth of the season, as well as his sixth in his last eight AHL games. Fix-Wolansky's assist gave him six points (2 G, 4 A) over his last three games.

The Wolf Pack were unable to draw any closer, however. Richard potted his second goal of the night, tapping a rebound past Martin, to reinstate the three-goal lead, this time for good. The Phantoms would eventually take the 6-3 decision.

The win, combined with a 3-2 Bridgeport loss to Providence, allowed the Phantoms to leapfrog the Islanders for the fifth seed in the Atlantic Division. As a result, the Wolf Pack now trail Bridgeport by six points for the sixth and final playoff spot in the division. The Wolf Pack have two games in hand over their in-state rivals and will meet them four more times this season.

Up Next

The Wolf Pack return to action on Wednesday, hosting the Providence Bruins to kick off a five-game home stand at the PeoplesBank Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 pm.