Wolf Pack Drop Fifth Straight, Fall 3-1 to Bruins in Providence
PROVIDENCE, RI - The Hartford Wolf Pack’s recent struggles continued Friday night as they dropped their fifth straight game, falling 3-1 to the Providence Bruins at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Once again, it was a slow start that proved costly - and this time, the Bruins made them pay early.
For the sixth straight game, the Wolf Pack gave up the opening goal, and it came in the final minutes of the first period. Dylan Garand made the initial stop on a Brett Harrison shot from the left wing, but the rebound landed on the stick of Georgii Merkulov.
The Bruins forward didn’t hesitate, snapping it past Garand’s right pad to make it 1-0 with just over two minutes left in the frame. That tally marked Merkulov’s 15th of the season - and he wasn’t done yet.
The Bruins doubled their lead just 45 seconds later, capitalizing on a costly turnover in Hartford’s own zone. Frederic Brunet corralled the puck in a prime scoring area and picked his spot cleanly, beating Garand for his eighth goal of the year. Suddenly, the Wolf Pack were in a 2-0 hole heading into the intermission - and chasing the game once again.
To their credit, Hartford responded with a stronger second period. They outshot Providence 10-8 in the frame and finally found the back of the net on the power play.
With a five-on-three opportunity just expiring, Trey Fix-Wolansky stepped into a shot from the left circle and blasted it past Michael DiPietro at 13:59. It was a five-on-four goal, Hartford’s third power-play marker against the Bruins this season, and Fix-Wolansky’s team-leading 16th of the campaign.
The momentum nearly carried over into the third. Less than a minute in, Fix-Wolansky had a golden chance to tie things up.
He broke in alone on DiPietro, got the goalie down, and went to the backhand - only to hear the unmistakable ping of the crossbar. Inches away from a 2-2 game, the Pack were left to rue the missed opportunity.
Providence made sure they wouldn’t get another one. At 9:37 of the third, Merkulov struck again, this time taking a centering feed from Christian Wolanin and beating Garand glove-side to restore the two-goal cushion and effectively seal the win.
The loss drops Hartford to 1-3-1-0 against the Bruins this season and marks their fifth straight defeat in Providence - a building that’s been less than kind to them lately.
The Wolf Pack will look to snap the skid and get some revenge when the Bruins visit PeoplesBank Arena on February 7 to wrap up this home-and-home set. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., with pregame coverage beginning at 6:45 p.m. on AHLTV via FloHockey and Mixlr.