Wolf Pack Fall to Penguins 7-1 in Hone Opener

The Hartford Wolf Pack hosted the 2026-27 home opener on Saturday night. They welcomed the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to the Connecticut capital for the second matchup between the teams this season.

Hartford jumped out to an early lead, but the wheels fell off after that. The Penguins tallied seven unanswered goals, eventually cruising to a 7-1 decision and spoiling the Wolf Pack's opening night.

Money Trees

For the second straight night, the Wolf Pack broke the ice. Jake Livanavage took a slashing call just over the 11 minute mark in the opening frame, sending Hartford to the game's first power play bid.

On the ensuing man advantage, a clearing attempt clipped Glenn Gawdin, and the veteran forward corralled the loose puck. Gawdin fired a pass to Justin Dowling, working in on the left-wing side. Dowling then rifled a rink-wide feed to Liam Greentree, stationed at the bottom of the right circle. Greentree uncorked a shot that nailed the vacant cage to put the Wolf Pack on top.

The goal was Greentree's first of the season, as well as his first professional goal. Greentree is the third member of the Wolf Pack to record his first professional goal this season, joining Cole Beaudoin and Nathan Aspinall.

Both sides got chances in the remainder of the frame, but neither could find twine, sending the contest to the first intermission with the Wolf Pack up by one.

Murphy's Law

However, the Penguins would erupt for five goals in the middle frame. Bill Zonnon struck first, tucking a loose puck past Gabriel Carriere just over a minute into the frame. Atley Calvert followed up before Avery Hayes made it three for the visitors with a shorthanded marker. Zonnon potted his second of the frame at 10:52 before Mikhail Ilyin capped off the barrage with a power play goal at 17:11. The Penguins took the lead into the second break.

The Penguins tacked on two more tallies in the final frame, with Tanner Howe and Owen Pickering finding the twine and eventually cementing the 7-1 decision.

"We certainly had some fatigue in our game," Wolf Pack head coach Jay Leach told Blueshirt Banter following the contest. "But what's disappointing is we really didn't use our brains enough to get our of that mindset. It just started snowballing from there.

However, the Wolf Pack won't need to sit with the tough loss for long. They're right back in action tomorrow, hosting the Laval Rocket, and that quick turnaround can help them move right past tonight's result.

"We'll take that as a challenge," Leach told Blueshirt Banter when asked about playing just a day following a lopsided loss. "This is our first real test here as far as what kind of resolve we have as a group. Can we learn from our mistakes? We have a great opportunity tomorrow."

Up Next

The Wolf Pack cap off their first three-in-three of the campaign tomorrow, hosting the Laval Rocket. Puck drop is set for 3 pm.