Wolf Pack Drop Hard-Fought Battle to Thunderbirds 4-1

The Hartford Wolf Pack capped off January by hitting the road. They traveled up to Springfield to take on the Thunderbirds in round seven of the I-91 Rivalry this season.

The close rivals had another hard-fought battle, but in the end, the Wolf Pack simply couldn't find the back of the net enough. Springfield pulled away in the second period to eventually take a 4-1 decision.

Briss Is How We Do It

The Thunderbirds broke the ice in this contest. Marc-André Gaudet found some open ice in the high slot and lasered a shot through traffic that beat Dylan Garand just under seven minutes into the game.

However, the Wolf Pack would respond midway through the frame. Tripping calls against Matthew Peca and Akil Thomas initiated a five-on-three power play bid for the Wolf Pack. On the ensuing man advantage, Derrick Pouliot slid a feed to Brendan Brisson, who sent it down to Justin Dowling in the right-wing corner. Dowling worked across the ice before dishing a feed back to Brisson, stationed in the right circle. Brisson uncorked a one-timer that zipped by Georgi Romanov to tie the game.

The goal was Brisson's 12th of the season, good for second on the team. Additionally, Pouliot's secondary helper on the play was his team-leading 21st assist of the campaign. The teams skated into the intermission with the score deadlocked at one.

Nothing Else in Net

Springfield would strike twice in the middle frame to regain the lead. Hunter Skinner put the home side back in front, picking a corner and wiring a shot over Garand.

Dillon Dube doubled the lead about five minutes later, finding some room on an open back door and tapping a feed into the net. The Thunderbirds would take the 3-1 lead into the second intermission.

The Wolf Pack pressed hard in the final frame, outshooting Springfield by a 9-2 margin. However, they simply couldn't find the back of the net. Chris Wagner capped off the scoring with an empty-net goal in the final minutes of regulation time to secure the 4-1 decision.

"I thought we competed hard, I thought we defended well," Wolf Pack head coach Grant Potulny told Blueshirt Banter following the game. "We just couldn't get the puck to roll and bounce the way we needed it to tonight."

The Wolf Pack have struggled heavily on offense as of late, recording just one goal in three of their last four games. They've generated chances, but haven't been able to finish on them. Potulny noted that his team needed to find ways to get inside defenders, find rebounds, and not pass up shots.

The Wolf Pack will kick off February with a home-and-home weekend against the division-leading Providence Bruins. Offense will be hard to come by against two of the league's top-five goaltenders. Finishing chances will be paramount for the Wolf Pack in those games.

"You just got to get back to offensive basics," Potulny remarked to Blueshirt Banter. "We defended hard tonight, that's part of the game. That's half of the game. Now we got to find the other half of it."

Up Next

The Wolf Pack will kick off February in Providence, taking on the Bruins on Friday. Puck drop is set for 7:05 pm.

The Wolf Pack return home next Saturday for a rematch with the Bruins. Puck drop is set for 7 pm.