HARTFORD, Conn. — After a season full of coming up short against a familiar foe, the Hartford Wolf Pack were able to get some sweet revenge on the Atlantic Division-leading Providence Bruins, beating them 6–1 on April 10.
The Wolf Pack were able to build momentum early and consistently held a shot advantage throughout the game. It took most of the first period for Hartford to put a score on the board, but a wrist shot from forward Anthony Greco with under five minutes left snuck past P-Bruins goaltender Kyle Keyser and made the score 1–0. The goal was one that Keyser would have liked back as the puck was aimed towards his chest, but Keyser’s play in the first period is what kept the P-Bruins within striking distance. The young net minder made eight saves on the frame, including denying a barrage of late shots from the Wolf Pack that involved plenty of traffic in front of the crease.
The second period is where the game was burst wide open. Forward Paul Thompson made an effective screen on Keyser, which allowed a shot from defenseman Zach Giutarri to reach the twine within the first five minutes of the middle frame. Crowding Keyser’s crease proved to be an effective strategy for the Wolf Pack as just a few minutes later forward Ty Ronning used a screen to snipe the puck past Keyser on the power play to extend the lead to 3–0.
The third period saw continued dominance for Hartford. Within the first two minutes, defenseman Tarmo Reunanen fed the puck to forward Will Cuylle in the slot, and Cuylle fired the puck past Keyser for the Wolf Pack’s fourth tally. A few minutes later, Ronning found some open ice on the power play and performed a nifty deke that beat Keyser, extending the score to 5–0. About two minutes later, Providence defenseman Tommy Cross was able to get the P-Bruins on the board when he fired a slap shot past Wolf Pack goaltender Adam Huska. Wolf Pack forward Tim Gettinger made the score 6–1 with just under five minutes remaining when he buried a rebound shot past Keyser on the power play to give the game its final 6–1 score.
Keyser made 31 saves on 37 shots, while Huska turned away 22 of 23 shots. Providence (13–4–3) is off until April 16th, when they take on the Utica Comets for the first time this season. Hartford (8–6–1) takes on the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on April 13th.
