The Hartford Wolf Pack couldn’t cash in on a strong first period, and that missed chance came back to bite them in a 4-1 loss to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Wednesday night at PeoplesBank Arena.
Hartford came out with the better of the early play, spending plenty of time in the offensive end but running into Lehigh Valley goaltender Carson Bjarnason. He turned aside 12 shots in the opening period, including several stops during a scramble around the crease, and the game stayed scoreless.
Callum Tung matched that effort at the other end. He stopped 11 shots in the first period, highlighted by a glove save on Carl Grundström during the Phantoms’ only power play of the frame.
Lehigh Valley finally broke through 16:21 into the second period, when Grundström scored his first goal of the season. Working off the rush, he received a pass from Jett Luchanko in the right-wing circle and beat Tung with a shot to the left pad side for a 1-0 lead.
Hartford answered almost immediately.
At 17:26, Cole Beaudoin moved the puck forward to Taylor Raddysh, who entered the offensive zone along the right side, cut to the backhand at the bottom of the circle and lifted the puck over Bjarnason’s right shoulder. The goal was Raddysh’s third of the season and tied the game at 1-1.
That was as good as it got for the Wolf Pack. The Phantoms reclaimed the lead 7:14 into the third period when Noah Powell found a loose puck in the left-wing circle and fired it through traffic past Tung for his first goal of the season.
Late pressure with the extra attacker didn’t change the outcome. Alex Bump scored into the empty net from his own zone at 18:26, and Cam Dineen added another empty-netter at 19:16 to close out the win.
The loss was Hartford’s third straight.
Next up, the Wolf Pack head to Charlotte, NC, for a back-to-back set against the Charlotte Checkers. Game one is Friday, Oct. 16 at 7:00 p.m., with coverage on AHLTV on FloHockey.
Hartford returns to PeoplesBank Arena on Friday, Oct. 23 to host the Providence Bruins. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m., with “Wolf Pack Pregame” beginning at 6:45 p.m. on AHLTV of FloHockey and Mixlr.
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