Wolf Pack End Road Trip with 5-2 Win Over Thunderbirds

The Hartford Wolf Pack capped off their season-long eight game road trip on Tuesday morning. They visited the Springfield Thunderbirds for round two of the I-91 Rivalry this season.

The Wolf Pack scored just over three minutes into the game and never looked back. They eventually lit the lamp five times on their way to a 5-2 victory over their rivals, ending the road trip with a 4-3-1-0 record.

Terring It Up

The Wolf Pack broke the ice on the first shot of the game. Nathan Aspinall skated the puck up the right wall and to the blue line. Aspinall fired a shot from the point that Carey Terrance got a piece of, sending the puck tumbling by Georgii Romanov and into the net to give the Wolf Pack the game's first lead.

The goal was Terrance's third of the season, and it sent the Wolf Pack into the first intermission with a 1-0 lead.

Right On (Fortes)Cue

The Wolf Pack doubled their lead 7:30 into the second period. The sides played four-on-four hockey with Jackson Dorrington in the box for tripping and Adam Jiříček sent off for interference. Dorrington exited the box, giving the Wolf Pack a 29 second power play bid. That's all they'd need, as Drew Fortescue snapped a shot on net that trickled through Romanov to put the Wolf Pack up by two.

The goal was Fortescue's second of the season, as well as his second in as many games. Fortescue potted his first professional goal on Saturday, netting the overtime winner in a 3-2 win over the Syracuse Crunch.

"It's been nice to get a couple and get some confidence," Fortescue noted to Blueshirt Banter after the game. "We just keep trying to play the same way and hopefully get a couple more."

The penalties continued, with Fortescue and Chris Wagner both sent off for roughing. On the ensuing four-on-four bid, Juraj Pekarcik won a faceoff for Arseni Koromyslov, who rifled a shot past Spencer Martin to cut the lead in half.

At the Raddy

The Wolf Pack reinstated the two-goal margin in the waning seconds of the middle frame. Dennis Cholowski took a shot that Romanov made the initial save on. The puck ricocheted off of Glenn Gawdin and pinballed through the slot. Taylor Raddysh eventually found the loose change and tucked it home to put the Wolf Pack in front 3-1.

The goal was Raddysh's fourth of the campaign, and the Wolf Pack took the 3-1 lead into the second intermission.

Class Dismissed

The Wolf Pack tacked on an insurance marker early in the final frame. During a yet another four-on-four sequence, Gawdin poked the puck away from a Thunderbird in the neutral zone and sped in on a partial breakaway. The veteran forward went to the backhand and lifted a shot over the outstretched pad of Romanov to give the Wolf Pack their biggest lead of the day.

The goal was Gawdin's fifth of the campaign, as well as his team-leading 14th point.

Springfield would cut the lead back to two when Pekarcik snuck a shot past Martin on the short side. However, that would be the final blemish on Martin's record.

Late in regulation time, Oskar Sundqvist was given a major penalty for boarding Liam Greentree, sending the Wolf Pack to a five-minute power play. Springfield pulled Romanov for the extra attacker to get it to five-on-five, but Greentree nailed the empty net to end the intrigue and give the Wolf Pack a 5-2 win.

"It was a wild game, as I thought it would be," Wolf Pack head coach Jay Leach told Blueshirt Banter following the game. "The kids brought the energy and it certainly carried over into the pace of play. I'm obviously happy with the victory."

The win caps off an eight game road trip for the Wolf Pack. They went 4-3-1-0 across the eight contests, picking up nine of a possible 16 points.

"Very proud of the group," Leach noted when asked about the team's performance on the road. "There have been some tough buildings, and we've had a couple tough nights. But I thought, for the most part, we stayed resilient and stuck to our game plan and found some identity within our group."

The Wolf Pack will now return to the Connecticut capital, where they'll play six of their next seven games.

"I think we're all excited," Fortescue told Blueshirt Banter when asked about the upcoming homestand. "It's been a long road trip, and it was fun being with all the guys, but it will be nice to just be sticking around [Hartford] for a little bit."

Leach agreed, noting that the stint will be an opportunity for the Wolf Pack to turn the PeoplesBank Arena into a place where other teams struggle to play.

"We really need to make that place a place where we're very comfortable, where we can win games, and where we can make it hard on opponents," the Wolf Pack bench boss told Blueshirt Banter.

Up Next

The Wolf Pack return to the PeoplesBank Arena on Saturday, hosting the Thunderbirds for round three of the I-91 Rivalry this season. Puck drop is set for 7:15 pm.