Wolf Pack Fall to Phantoms 4-1

After a disappointing weekend saw them drop their first two home games, the Hartford Wolf Pack returned to action at the PeoplesBank Arena on Wednesday night. They welcomed the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to town as they sought their first home win of the campaign.

The teams played a tight game, but the Phantoms would eventually wrestle away control for good. They tacked on a pair of late empty-net goals to make it a 4-1 decision.

Raddical

Both sides had chances in the opening frame, but neither team could find the twine. Each team received power play opportunities, but the penalty killing units were up to task. In net, Callum Tung denied all 12 shots he faced, while Carson Bjarnason turned aside 11 bids to send the game into the first intermission in a scoreless tie.

The Phantoms thought they had the icebreaker when Cam Dineen rifled home a power play goal early in the second period, but it was immediately waved off for goaltender interference, keeping the game scoreless.

The visitors would finally open the scoring in the final minutes of the frame. Jett Luchanko fed Carl Grundström on an odd-man rush, and the veteran forward beat Tung to give Lehigh Valley the game's first lead.

However, Hartford would respond just over a minute later. Cole Beaudoin chipped the puck around a defender, allowing Taylor Raddysh to collect it. Raddysh got Bjarnason out of position and promptly shoveled a backhand bid over the netminder's blocker to even the score.

The goal was Raddysh's third of the season, while Beaudoin picked up his team-leading sixth point. Additionally, Matthew Robertson earned the secondary assist on the goal, recording his first point with the Wolf Pack since April 9, 2025, when he recorded an assist in a 3-2 win over the Bridgeport Islanders.

The teams took the 1-1 tie into the second intermission.

Ups and Downs

The Wolf Pack got a power play opportunity early in the third period, but they couldn't get their looks to fall. They got a key penalty kill about midway through the frame, but they couldn't keep the momentum going. Noah Powell snuck a shot under Tung's glove to give the opposition the lead again, this time for good.

Alex Bump and Cam Dineen added empty-netters in the waning minutes of the contest to cement the 4-1 final.

"We had some good opportunities throughout the game to put it in the back of the net. Their goalie made some saves, so did ours," Wolf Pack head coach Jay Leach told Blueshirt Banter following the game. "We're having [what] I was kind of expecting with a young group that's playing a lot of important minutes very early on. Going through some ups and downs of playing in the American Hockey League. Gotta keep working and certainly learn from some mistakes."

One young player Leach highlighted was netminder Callum Tung, who made 31 saves on 33 shots in the contest.

"He's been great. He's kept us in pretty much every game," the Wolf Pack bench boss told Blueshirt Banter. "I can't say I remember a bad goal, which is not an easy thing to say for a goalie."

The Wolf Pack will now head on the road, traveling to Charlotte for a pair of games against the Checkers this weekend.

"The road, sometimes it simplifies your game," Leach noted after the contest. "Hopefully we're up for the challenge and we can come back with a good taste in our mouth when it comes to our game."

Up Next

The Wolf Pack hit the road for two games, traveling to Charlotte for contests on Friday and Saturday. Puck drop on Friday is set for 7 pm.