Wolf Pack Fall to Bruins 4-1

The Hartford Wolf Pack kicked off the 2026 portion of their schedule on Friday night. They welcomed the Providence Bruins to the PeoplesBank Arena for the first time this season.

The Wolf Pack played a strong game, but once again, they simply didn't get the results. Providence struck four times to secure a 4-1 decision.

Marty Supreme

Hartford played a strong opening frame, firing 15 shots on Michael DiPietro throughout the opening 20 minutes. However, the Providence netminder stood tall in the frame, turning all 15 aside.

The Bruins would eventually break the ice in the final minutes of the opening frame. Riley Duran caused a turnover in the Wolf Pack zone and found Matěj Blümel alone in front of the net. Duran fed Blümel, who ripped a shot by Spencer Martin to give Providence the game's first lead. They'd take that 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

Early in the second period, Martin went to play a puck, but it took a nightmarish bounce right to the front of an open net. Martin dove to make a pair of incredible saves on Duran and Joey Abate to keep the deficit at one.

The saves would eventually allow the Wolf Pack to tie the contest.

Otter Rocket

The Wolf Pack evened the score at one midway through the second period. Scott Morrow danced down the left wing wall before feeding Derrick Pouliot at the point. Pouliot snapped a shot that DiPietro turned aside, but the rebound popped right to Trey Fix-Wolansky. Fix-Wolansky swung a pass to a crashing Brennan Othmann, who promptly rocketed a shot by the glove of DiPietro and into the net to knot the score at one.

The goal was Othmann's fifth of the season and his fourth over his last five games with the Wolf Pack.

However, the Bruins would regain the lead late in the frame. Hartford was unable to clear the zone, allowing Riley Tufte to take a shot from the slot. Martin denied the chance, but Dans Ločmelis buried the rebound into an open cage to put the Bruins up 2-1 heading into the second intermission.

Sometimes They Don't Go In

The Wolf Pack continued to press in the third period, but they simply couldn't solve DiPietro. Georgii Merkulov delivered the dagger with an empty net goal, and Ločmelis capped off the scoring with another empty netter.

"Today, we probably played as good of a game as I can remember," Wolf Pack head coach Grant Potulny told Blueshirt Banter after the game. "Sometimes they just don't go in. [The] puck didn't bounce our way."

It's a similar feeling to Wednesday afternoon's loss to Bridgeport, where the Wolf Pack were shut out despite a strong offensive effort.

"It's tough, because you ask [the team] for energy and structure and compete, and they checked every one of those boxes," Potulny remarked to Blueshirt Banter.

Up Next

The Wolf Pack return to action tomorrow, visiting the Bridgeport Islanders for round five of the Battle of Connecticut this season. Puck drop is set for 5 pm.

The Wolf Pack will return to the Connecticut capital on Saturday, January 10th, hosting the Bruins. Puck drop is set for 7:30 pm.