Wolf Pack Down Thunderbirds 5-2 Behind Perreault's Three Point Night

After a strong road weekend in Cleveland, the Hartford Wolf Pack returned to the PeoplesBank Arena on Friday night. They welcomed the Springfield Thunderbirds to town for round five of the I-91 Rivalry this season.

The Wolf Pack jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. They weathered a late push from Springfield, eventually cruising to a 5-2 win for their third straight victory.

Gabe Gets It Going

The Wolf Pack played a strong opening period. They got a number of good looks on Vadim Zherenko, but the Springfield netminder stood tall early in the action.

The Wolf Pack finally broke the ice just over the halfway point in the frame. After another extended sequence in the Springfield zone, Justin Dowling beat Jakub Stancl to a loose puck along the left wing wall. Dowling worked down low and found Gabe Perreault stationed alone at the side of the net. The veteran threaded a pass through the crease, and Perreault slammed it home to give the Wolf Pack a lead they'd never lose.

Perreault's goal was his ninth tally and team-leading 15th point of the campaign. The Wolf Pack carried the 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

Hartford Väis

The Wolf Pack doubled the lead early in the second period. Chris Wagner tripped and couldn't handle a rink-wide feed. Kalle Väisänen collected the loose puck and sped towards the Springfield zone. Väisänen fed Daniel Walcott and skated towards the net. Walcott waited before snapping a feed to the rookie forward, who deflected it by Zherenko to double the Hartford lead.

The goal was Väisänen's first career goal and point in the AHL. Additionally, the assist was Walcott's first point as a member of the Wolf Pack.

This is Your Captain Scoring

The Wolf Pack earned their largest lead of the night just over the 12 minute mark of the middle frame. During an extended sequence in the Springfield zone, Perreault held the puck in the slot. The rookie forward slipped a feed to Dowling, who sent one more pass to Casey Fitzgerald streaking towards the net. The captain tipped the feed past a diving Zherenko, putting the Wolf Pack up by three.

The goal was Fitzgerald's second of the year - both his tallies have come against the Thunderbirds.

However, Springfield would strike twice to cut the lead back to one. Theo Lindstein was first, slipping a loose puck by Dylan Garand during a four-on-four sequence. Chris Wagner earned the second goal after a shot from Michael Buchinger pinballed around and went in off the veteran forward. The game remained 3-2 in favor of the Wolf Pack entering the second intermission.

Tower of Gabe-l

Springfield continued to push in the opening minutes of the third period. However, Garand continued to weather the storm, preserving the Wolf Pack's one-goal lead.

The Wolf Pack eventually put the game out of reach just over the 14 minute mark of the final frame. Chmelař poked the puck away from a Thunderbird and created a rush for Perreault and Dowling. Perreault sent a cross-ice pass to Dowling, who promptly returned the feed, allowing Perreault to deflect the puck by Zherenko for his second goal of the night.

The goal was Perreault's tenth of the season, becoming the first Wolf Pack player to hit that mark on the campaign.

"Our line's been playing well," Perreault told Blueshirt Banter after the contest. "Me and Dowls have been playing together for pretty much the whole year, so we've found a lot of chemistry. Jaro doesn't get enough credit for what he's doing for us. We're kinda cooking as a line."

Briss is the End

Springfield lifted Zherenko in the final minutes of regulation, desperately trying to get back in the game. Again, Garand stood tall, making some incredible stops to prevent the Thunderbirds from getting any closer.

Late in regulation, Matthew Peca took a tripping minor, forcing Springfield to the penalty kill. They lifted Zherenko again to play five on five hockey, but Brendan Brisson nailed the empty net to cap off the scoring.

After the final horn, the Wolf Pack picked up their third straight victory.

"If you look back, our last seven, eight, nine games, I thought we've played pretty good," Wolf Pack head coach Grant Potulny told Blueshirt Banter following the game. "Now we're finding ways to finish games. That's the name of the game, you play the game to win the game."

Dowling agreed with his bench boss, telling Blueshirt Banter, "We've been playing good hockey. Even that stretch of seven straight losses, I thought we played some really good hockey. It would just be a five-minute stretch in every game where we'd kind of lose it. Good teams find ways to win, and I think we're doing that right now."

Up Next

The Wolf Pack will finish the weekend on the road, visiting the Bridgeport Islanders for the second round of the Battle of Connecticut this season tomorrow night. Puck drop is set for 7 pm.

The Wolf Pack return to the Connecticut capital on Wednesday, December 10, hosting the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Puck drop is set for 7 pm.