The Hartford Wolf Pack had control for stretches Saturday night in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, but one late response from the Penguins turned a strong road effort into a 3-2 loss.
This was the third meeting in six this season between the division rivals, and Hartford spent a good part of the game dictating play before the final swing went the other way. The Wolf Pack also opened a season-long eight-game road trip with the defeat.
The first period had plenty of edge even without a goal. Hartford and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton stayed locked in a scoreless tie through 20 minutes, but it wasn’t quiet. Just 2:50 into the game, Justin Nachbaur and Lucas Ciona dropped the gloves in Nachbaur’s fourth fight since joining the Wolf Pack.
Callum Tung handled nine Penguins shots in the opening frame, while Hartford put 12 pucks on Taylor Gauthier and couldn’t break through. The deadlock held into the first intermission.
Hartford finally got on the board a little under five minutes into the second period. Nathan Aspinall tracked down a loose puck behind the Penguins net and slipped it to Glenn Gawdin in front, where the veteran forward buried it through Gauthier’s five-hole.
It was Gawdin’s second goal of the season and his team-leading eighth point. Jackson Dorrington earned the secondary assist, his first point of the year.
The Wolf Pack carried that 1-0 lead into the third after both teams had chances but no further scoring in the middle period. Then the game flipped fast.
Marc Del Gaizo appeared to stretch Hartford’s lead with a power-play goal midway through the third, but Wilkes-Barre/Scranton challenged for offside, and the replay wiped the goal away. Finn Harding tied it two minutes later, and four minutes after that Tristan Broz tipped home a shot to put the Penguins ahead for the first time.
Hartford answered. A hooking penalty on Harrison Brunicke gave the Wolf Pack a power play, and with Tung pulled for a six-on-four advantage, Justin Dowling found Juuso Pärssinen at the back door for the tap-in to make it 2-2.
Pärssinen’s goal was his second of the season, and Liam Greentree picked up the secondary assist to extend his point streak to three games. He has three points - two goals and one assist - over that span.
The tie didn’t last long. Less than a minute later, Owen Pickering uncorked a slap shot that beat Tung cleanly on the glove side and restored the Penguins’ lead for good. Hartford pushed late, but couldn’t get another one through, and the Wolf Pack left with a frustrating 3-2 result.
Hartford heads north of the border next week. The trip continues Thursday, October 29, with a visit to the Hamilton Hammers for the first time ever. Puck drop is set for 7 pm.
The Wolf Pack will be back in the Connecticut capital on Saturday, November 14, when they host the Springfield Thunderbirds for the first time this season. Puck drop is set for 7:15 pm.
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