Wolf Pack Drop Close Game to Comets 2-1

The Hartford Wolf Pack played their first home game following the All-Star break on Friday night. They welcomed the Utica Comets to town for the only time this season.

The Wolf Pack's offensive struggles continued, and it ultimately did them in. A pair of goals in the final frame was all Utica would need to take a 2-1 decision.

The Garand-master

The teams traded chances early in the frame. Utica would eventually find control, outshooting the Wolf Pack by an 11-5 margin. However, Dylan Garand stood tall in net, denying all of them. Garand saw a flurry of chances late in the frame, but prevented the Comets from finding the icebreaker.

At the other end of the ice, Nico Daws denied all five shots he saw, sending the game into the first intermission in a scoreless tie.

The second frame was a defensive battle between the teams, with just nine total shots on goal between them. Utica had a slight edge, 5-4, and also got the best chance of the frame when Angus Crookshank had an open back door. However, Garand went full extension, making an immaculate save to keep the game scoreless.

The Wolf Pack got the game's first power play bid when Ethan Edwards sat for hooking 12:30 into the frame. However, they also couldn't find the game's first goal. The sides eventually entered the second intermission in a scoreless tie.

Juus World

Utica finally broke the ice just over the halfway mark in the final frame. Garand scrambled to make a couple quality saves, but the Wolf Pack couldn't get the puck out of the zone. The puck ended up on the stick of Edwards, who fired a shot through traffic and past a screened Garand to give the Comets a lead they'd never lose.

Marc McLaughlin doubled the lead just over two minutes later, sniping a shot by the blocker to put the game out of reach.

The Wolf Pack cut the lead back to one in the final minutes of regulation. Travis Dermott entered the Utica zone and took a shot from the right wing circle. Daws turned it aside, and the rebound popped into the air in front of the Utica netminder. Juuso Pärssinen, crashing towards the slot, batted the puck out of the air and into the net to get Hartford on the board.

The goal was Pärssinen's second of the campaign. With the assist, Dermott picked up his first point as a member of the Wolf Pack; he made his team debut in the contest after inking a PTO with the club on February 7th.

Crunch Time

The Wolf Pack pressed for the equalizer late. However, they couldn't get another goal past Daws, and the Comets took a 2-1 decision.

"I think that's the story of the game," Wolf Pack head coach Grant Potulny told Blueshirt Banter when asked about the Wolf Pack's lack of offense in the contest. "We're in crunch time, and you can't have periods where you have a lapse, whether it's mental focus or physical energy."

With the loss, the Wolf Pack now sit eight points below the playoff cut line with 24 games to play. They've managed wins in just two of their last ten games and haven't scored more than three goals in a game since a 5-4 overtime win in Hershey exactly one month ago on January 20th. Things need to quickly and drastically improve if they want to avoid another spring of no playoff hockey.

Up Next

The Wolf Pack return to action tomorrow, hosting the Belleville Senators for the only time this season. Puck drop is set for 7:30 pm.