Wolf Pack Fall to WBS Penguins 2-1 in Season Opener

The Hartford Wolf Pack opened the 2025-26 season on Saturday night, hitting the road to take on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. After being swept by the Penguins last season, the Wolf Pack sought revenge as they aimed to start the season in the win column.

The Wolf Pack gained the game's first lead, but they couldn't solve Penguin netminder Sergei Murashov after that. The Penguins would notch a pair of goals to earn a 2-1 decision on opening night.

The Fix is In

The Wolf Pack controlled play early in the contest, recording seven of the first nine shots on goal. The relentless forechecking caused the Penguins to take a penalty. However, Hartford wouldn't require a power play bid.

With the extra skater out in favor of Garand during the delayed penalty call, Gabe Perreault took a cross-ice feed from Brennan Othmann and danced around a Penguin defender. Instead of shooting, Perreault slipped the puck to a crashing Trey Fix-Wolansky. The veteran forward fired a shot that rocketed off the back bar and out. Officials initially called it no good, but awarded Fix-Wolansky the goal after a review.

With the primary assist, Perreault recorded his first professional point. The Wolf Pack would take the 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

The Penguins would come out of the break with fire, tilting the ice in their favor in the opening minutes. They'd tie the score when Valtteri Puustinen rifled a shot over Dylan Garand eight and a half minutes into the middle stanza.

Both teams would get their first power play bids in the final minutes of the second period. However, their respective penalty killing units held strong, keeping the score knotted at one going into the second break.

No Cigar

The Wolf Pack would be shorthanded once again just 25 seconds into the final frame as Perreault went off for hooking. However, the penalty kill once again stymied the Penguin power play; they'd end up going four for four on the night.

Not long after Perreault exited the box, the Penguins would find the lead. Owen Pickering fired a shot into traffic that Garand got a piece of, but not enough to make the save. The puck found the net to give the Penguins their first lead of the night.

The Wolf Pack tried to work their way back into the game, but Murashov continued to stand tall. The netminder withstood one last flurry with the Hartford net empty, cementing the 2-1 score.

Up Next

The Wolf Pack will search for revenge against the Penguins next Friday, when they host a rematch at the PeoplesBank Arena in downtown Hartford. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m.