Wolf Pack Drop Sixth Straight in Shootout Battle with Bruins
HARTFORD, CT - It’s been a tough stretch for the Hartford Wolf Pack, and Saturday night didn’t offer much relief. In front of a lively crowd of over 7,100 at PeoplesBank Arena, the Pack fell 2-1 in a shootout to the red-hot Providence Bruins, marking their sixth consecutive loss.
The story felt all too familiar for Hartford - for the seventh straight game, they gave up the opening goal. This time, it came midway through the first period on a Providence power play.
The Bruins moved the puck with purpose, and eventually it was Christian Wolanin threading a pass to Brett Harrison in the left circle. Harrison didn’t hesitate, ripping a shot past a sprawling Spencer Martin at 10:42 to put the Bruins on the board.
That tally was only the second power play goal Providence has managed against Hartford all season, but it came at a costly time for the home team.
The first period was less about rhythm and more about whistles. The two teams combined for 46 penalty minutes in the opening frame alone, with Hartford accounting for 30 of them - their highest total in a single period this season. The game had a chippy edge from the jump, and the penalty box saw more traffic than either net early on.
Things settled slightly in the second, but the penalties didn’t disappear. After another round of infractions early in the period, both sides found themselves skating four-on-four. And that’s when Hartford struck back.
With just seconds left in the four-on-four stretch, defenseman Connor Mackey found daylight. From the left wing, he fired a low shot that slipped through the five-hole of Bruins goalie Luke Cavallin and slowly trickled over the line at 2:11. It wasn’t flashy, but it was exactly what the Wolf Pack needed - a gritty goal to even things up at 1-1.
From there, the game tightened up. The third period saw Hartford outshoot Providence 7-6, but neither team could break through.
Both goaltenders stood tall, and overtime brought more of the same. Each side managed just one shot in the extra frame, but no winner emerged.
That left it to the shootout, and unfortunately for Hartford, Cavallin slammed the door. The Wolf Pack went 0-for-3 in the shootout, unable to solve the Bruins netminder. On the other end, Spencer Martin turned away the first two Providence shooters, but Georgii Merkulov came through in the clutch, beating Martin to seal the win and extend the Bruins’ winning streak to ten games.
For Hartford, the loss drops them to 0-5-0-1 over their last six outings - a frustrating stretch in which they’ve struggled to generate early momentum and capitalize on chances.
The Wolf Pack will now look to regroup during the All-Star break before hitting the road for a matchup against the Charlotte Checkers on Saturday, February 14. Puck drop is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
They’ll return to PeoplesBank Arena on February 20, when they host the Utica Comets in what they hope will be a bounce-back performance in front of the home crowd.