AHL Weekend Recap: Hartford Sweeps Weekend, Climbs Back Into Playoff Race

The Hartford Wolf Pack entered a tough weekend facing two teams at the top of their divisions. First on Friday night it was the Hershey Bears then on Saturday it was the Milwaukee Admirals. The Wolf Pack won Friday with a 4-3 victory. On Saturday another one goal game as they won 2-1 in overtime to pick up a much needed four points.

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Friday: Hartford Wolf Pack vs. Hershey Bears

The Wolf Pack fell behind on Friday just over 4.5 minutes in as Hendrix Lapierre scored his fifth of the season. Less than four minutes later Hartford tied it up with a shorthanded goal as Noah Laba scored with an assist from Anton Blidh. With just a second over seven minutes left in the opening period, Brad Hunt scored for Hershey to make it 2-1 Bears after 20 minutes. Hershey made it 3-1 in the second period as Riley Sutter scored his fourth of the year just over 3.5 minutes in. Halfway through the middle of the period, the Wolf Pack made it a one-goal game as Bryce McConnell-Barker scored his seventh of the season.

Later with just over 2.5 minutes left Dylan Roobroeck tied it at 3-3. In the third with just under 5.5 minutes remaining Hartford took the lead as Roobroeck scored to make it 4-3. That would end up being the game-winner as Hartford secures two points. Dylan Garand stopped 21 of the 24 shots he faced in the win while Clay Stevenson for Hershey stopped 26 of the 30 shots he faced.

Saturday: Hartford Wolf Pack vs. Milwaukee Admirals

In a low-scoring affair on Saturday neither the Admirals nor the Wolf Pack would find the back of the net in the first 40 minutes of the game. Just 19 seconds into the final period Brandon Scanlin gave Hartford the lead with his seventh of the season. With just under a minute and a half left the Admirals tied it with a Grigori Denisenko goal it was his 12th of the season. The game would go to overtime where just under two minutes in Nicholas Aube-Kubel scored his first as a Wolf Pack and gave his team the win. Garand got the start for the second consecutive night and stopped 33 of the 34 shots he faced. Magnus Chrona got the start for Milwaukee and he stopped 26 of the 28 shots he faced.

Next Week:

The Wolf Pack have two games this week. On Wednesday they face the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza. Puck drop is set for 7:05 PM EST. On Saturday the Wolf Pack face the Providence Bruins at 7:05 PM EST at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Another two games that Hartford needs points from. Hartford is 0-5-0-0 against the Penguins this season averaging a goal per game while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is averaging 4.8 goals per game. The Wolf Pack are also 3-5-0-0 against Providence this season and have been outscored 28-21 in those eight games. Hartford now sits just five points out of the final playoff spot in the Atlantic Division so four points against teams ahead of them could go along way.