Cole Beaudoin wasted no time making an impression in his AHL debut, and the Hartford Wolf Pack made sure the night ended with a win.
Hartford opened its season Saturday at the PPL Center with a 5-2 victory over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, scoring four straight goals after falling behind early. The Wolf Pack also got three points from Beaudoin in his first game at the level, a head-turning start in a game that flipped once Hartford found its rhythm.
Lehigh Valley struck first at 5:32 of the opening period. On a power play, Jack Studnicka worked the puck down the right side to Ilya Pautov, whose initial chance was turned aside by Gabriel Carriere. Jacob Gaucher was there for the rebound, and he backhanded in the season’s first goal for either team.
Hartford answered at 11:34. After Urho Vaakanainen rang a shot off the crossbar, Taylor Raddysh finished the play by taking a feed from Beaudoin in the slot and burying the equalizer. It was Raddysh’s first goal with the Wolf Pack.
Gaucher pushed the Phantoms back in front early in the second, scoring 1:39 into the period. He carried the puck down the left side of the offensive zone and beat Carriere blocker side for Lehigh Valley’s first five-on-five goal of the season.
That lead didn’t last long. Hartford’s second power play of the night produced the tying goal at 10:05, with Marc Del Gaizo starting the sequence from the left side after a cross-ice pass from Liam Greentree. The puck deflected off a Phantom and landed on Juuso Pärssinen’s stick, and he beat a diving Alexei Kolosov for his first goal of the season.
The turning point came early in the third, when Pärssinen forced a turnover and quickly turned it into offense. At 5:03, he sent a pass into the left circle for Lucas Vanroboys, who stepped into a shot that got past Kolosov and gave Hartford a 3-2 edge.
Beaudoin then put his stamp on the night at 8:23, scoring his first career goal. His shot beat Kolosov, hit the iron, and dropped in to make it 4-2.
Vincent Iorio added an empty-net goal at 18:07 to finish off the 5-2 result.
Carriere earned his first win with Hartford, stopping 27 shots.
The Wolf Pack continue their three-game road trip Sunday with a visit to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Puck drop is scheduled for 5:05 p.m., with coverage on AHLTV on FloHockey.
Hartford’s home opener is set for Saturday, Oct. 10, at PeoplesBank Arena against the Penguins, with puck drop at 6:00 p.m.
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