Wolf Pack Fall to Americans in Overtime 4-3

After a tough five-game stretch saw the club go winless, the Hartford Wolf Pack returned to the PeoplesBank Arena on Friday night to kick off a six-game home stand. The Wolf Pack welcomed the Rochester Americans to town for the only time this season.

The Wolf Pack played a strong first period, but once again, they couldn't put the game away. Rochester stormed back, tying the game in the final minutes before taking a 4-3 decision in overtime.

He's the Hill-man

The Wolf Pack got off to one of their best starts of the season, finding the net not even two minutes into the game. Trey Fix-Wolansky won a board battle and got the puck to Bryce McConnell-Barker. McConnell-Barker avoided a pestering American and slid a pass to Blake Hillman at the blueline. Hillman promptly stepped into a one-timer that zipped through traffic and into the net, putting the Wolf Pack on top just 1:57 into the contest.

The goal was Hillman's second of the season. The assists gave McConnell-Barker and Fix-Wolansky each their seventh points of the season, tying them for the active team lead.

Backdoor Blidher

The Wolf Pack struck again just over five minutes later. Brennan Othmann blocked a dump-in attempt by Nikita Novikov and corralled the loose puck. Othmann sped towards the Rochester zone on an odd-man rush with Anton Blidh. Othmann waited out a sliding Rochester defender before feeding Blidh, and the veteran forward tapped the pass by Topias Leinonen to double the Wolf Pack lead.

The goal was Blidh's first of the campaign.

Rochester would strike back two and a half minutes later, with Olivier Nadeau rifling a shot by Talyn Boyko, off the post, and into the net to cut the lead in half.

More Goals for Jaro

The Wolf Pack tacked on their third goal of the opening frame in the final minutes of play. Jack Rathbone fumbled a puck in his own zone, and Jaroslav Chmelař pounced on it. Chmelař found Justin Dowling, who attempted to feed Brett Berard cutting to the net, but the pass was out of his reach. Berard corralled the puck and slipped it back to Chmelař, who tapped it into the net to make it a three-goal frame for Hartford.

The goal was Chmelař's third of the season, and the Wolf Pack took the 3-1 lead into the first intermission.

Rochester tilted the ice in their favor in the middle frame, outshooting the Wolf Pack 11-6 and cutting the lead back to one thanks to a goal from Trevor Kuntar. However, Boyko denied the other ten bids he faced, and the teams entered the second intermission with the score 3-2 in Hartford's favor.

Finding Ways to Lose

Rochester dominated the third period, outshooting the Wolf Pack 10-3. Hartford didn't get their first shot on net until nearly 14 minutes into the frame.

Fix-Wolansky took a tripping call in the waning minutes of the contest, sending Rochester to the power play. This time, they converted, as Kuntar tipped a shot by Boyko to tie the game. A few minutes later, the teams went to overtime with the score knotted at three.

In what's become a theme for the Wolf Pack, they once again failed to secure the extra point. Leinonen made a beautiful stop on a prime bid for Scott Morrow, and the Amerks took the puck the other way. Riley Fiddler-Schultz ripped home the game-winning tally, beating Boyko by the glove. The loss extended the Wolf Pack's losing streak to six straight games (0-2-4-0).

"Tonight, we quit playing," Wolf Pack head coach Grant Potulny told Blueshirt Banter following the contest. "It's been something that's been addressed on multiple occasions. We're finding ways to continue to hurt ourselves."

The Wolf Pack's lack of discipline on the ice was another area of focus for Potulny. A stick penalty ultimately led to the game-winning tally and the eventual loss.

"We've sat multiple players, in the game [and] out of the game. Players gotta play better. At the end of the day, we need some more out of some people."

Up Next

The Wolf Pack host the Laval Rocket tomorrow for game two of their six-game home stand. Puck drop is set for 6:00 pm.