Wolf Pack Recap: The Jay Leach Era Begins with Wins

Welcome to Wolf Pack Recap, a weekly column exclusively at Blueshirt Banter. Each week, we'll review the Hartford Wolf Pack's previous week, highlight top performances, and preview the upcoming slate.

The Hartford Wolf Pack officially kicked off the 2026-27 season this past weekend. They traveled to Pennsylvania for a pair of contests, visiting the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Saturday and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Sunday.

A new-look Wolf Pack team put up a pair of great efforts in the Keystone State, winning by a 5-2 score on Saturday and a 3-2 margin on Sunday. It's the first time they've started 2-0-0-0 since the 2023-24 season.

Let's take a look back at the Wolf Pack's opening weekend.

• First things first: It feels great to be back. It was quite a long summer, but we made it to the fall and the return of Wolf Pack hockey.
• Hartford kicked off the season in Allentown, taking on the Phantoms. It's the fifth straight year they've opened the season away from home and the third straight campaign they've started in Pennsylvania.
• Last time the Wolf Pack opened the season in Allentown? October 12, 2024, when they fell to the Phantoms 4-3 in a shootout. Louis Domingue was spectacular that night, stopping 46 of 49 shots he faced, while Brett Berard scored the Wolf Pack's first goal of the season.
• It's no secret that the Wolf Pack underwent a massive overhaul over the offseason, but it was still eye-opening to see that just eight of their 20 dressed players on opening night had played with the team a year ago.
• Who had Taylor Raddysh for first Wolf Pack goal of the season? That was a beauty of a shot to get Hartford on the board in game one.

• The goal was Raddysh's first AHL tally since May 5, 2021, when he scored three goals for the Syracuse Crunch in a 5-3 win over the Utica Comets. Fun facts: Wolf Pack goaltender Spencer Martin was the winning netminder for Syracuse that night, while Wolf Pack assistant coach John Stevens suited up for Utica.