Wolf Pack Drop Shootout Decision to Bruins 2-1

The Hartford Wolf Pack wrapped up the pre-All-Star Game portion of their schedule on Saturday night. They welcomed the Providence Bruins to town for the second half of a weekend home-and-home set between the teams.

The New England rivals battled throughout the night, and 65 minutes wouldn't be enough to decide a winner. In the shootout, Providence would pick up the lone goal and the extra point as they took a 2-1 decision.

Big Mack

The opening frame saw the teams rack up 46 total penalty minutes between them. The festivities started just 29 seconds after puck drop, with Connor Mackey and Joey Abate dropping the gloves.

Tensions exploded just under the five minute mark in the first period. Spencer Martin was knocked over by Patrick Brown during a Providence power play bid, and the powder keg blew. The teams engaged in a massive scrum, highlighted by a fight between Brandon Scanlin and Matthew Poitras.

Eventually, Providence would break the ice. With Trey Fix-Wolansky in the box for tripping, Brett Harrison tallied a power play goal, beating a diving Martin to give the visitors the first lead of the game. The Bruins would take the 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

The Wolf Pack responded just over two minutes into the second period. During a four-on-four sequence, Casey Fitzgerald kept a loose puck in the offensive zone and worked down the left wall. Fitzgerald sent a centering feed to Mackey in the slot, who took a quick shot that Luke Cavallin made the initial stop on. However, the puck trickled through the Providence netminder and just over the line, tying the game at one.

The goal was Mackey's third of the campaign.

Both teams got chances throughout the remainder of the frame, but neither could pull ahead, sending the game into the second intermission with the score knotted at one.

Gotta Get Goals

Both teams got opportunities throughout the third period, with the Wolf Pack having a 7-6 edge in shots. However, Martin and Cavallin kept the game even at one apiece, sending it to overtime.

In the extra session, Providence had a power play bid when the Wolf Pack were whistled for too many men on the ice. However, the Bruins were called for their own too many men just over a minute later, negating the power play bid. Ultimately, neither team could find the game-winner in the bonus session, and the teams entered a shootout.

The first two rounds went by without a goal. In the top of the third round, Cavallin stopped Brendan Brisson at one end while Georgii Merkulov beat Martin to secure the victory for the visitors in the skills competition.

"I thought we played a good game, it was a good hockey game," Wolf Pack head coach Grant Potulny told Blueshirt Banter following the contest. "The part that's disappointing for us is that we've played a lot of games like this, where we play well enough to win and we just can't seem to get that next goal."

In five of their last six games, the Wolf Pack have managed just one goal. It's a bad time for the offense to be struggling as they enter a critical time crunch with the regular season winding down. Every game in the post-All-Star slate will matter for the Wolf Pack.

"Give yourself a chance to win every night, and hopefully, we can find some more pucks to go in," Potulny remarked.

Up Next

The Wolf Pack will kick off the post-All-Star portion of their schedule next Saturday, February 14th, visiting the Charlotte Checkers. Puck drop is set for 4 pm.

The Wolf Pack will return to the Connecticut capital on Friday, February 20th, hosting the Utica Comets. Puck drop is set for 7 pm.