Wolf Pack Edged by Bruins 3-1

The Hartford Wolf Pack opened their last weekend before the All-Star break on the road on Friday night. They visited the Providence Bruins for the first matchup in a weekend home-and-home set.

The Wolf Pack hung with the top team in the Eastern Conference, but their struggling offense find the tying goal. Providence eventually skated to a 3-1 decision to extend Hartford's losing skid to five straight games.

Trey Scorez

Providence tallied a pair of goals in the opening frame. Georgii Merkulov opened the scoring, stuffing a rebound by the outstretched pad of Dylan Garand. Frederic Brunet doubled the lead just 45 seconds later, picking off an errant Wolf Pack pass and potting a goal to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

However, the Wolf Pack struck back late in the middle frame. With Riley Duran in the box for high-sticking, Trey Fix-Wolansky got the visitors on the board. Justin Dowling won an offensive zone faceoff, and Brendan Brisson corralled the puck. Brisson slipped the puck up the ice to Derrick Pouliot, who fed a waiting Fix-Wolansky. The veteran forward uncorked a one-timer that Michael DiPietro made the initial stop on, but the puck trickled through the Providence netminder and over the red line to cut the lead in half.

The goal was Fix-Wolansky's team-leading 16th goal of the season, and it sent the game into the second intermission with Providence ahead 2-1.

The Wolf Pack pushed late in the game, desperately searching for the equalizer. However, Merkulov's second goal of the game put the contest out of reach. The goal would eventually give the home side a 3-1 victory, and the Wolf Pack suffered their fifth straight regulation loss.

Up Next

The Wolf Pack and Bruins would meet for a rematch tomorrow in Hartford. Puck drop is set for 7 pm.