Manchester, NH, April 4, 2014 – David LeNeveu set a Hartford Wolf Pack franchise record with his third straight shutout Friday night at Verizon Wireless Arena, making 37 saves in a 2-0 Wolf Pack win over the Manchester Monarchs.
The victory lifted the Wolf Pack to the .500 mark, 31-31-1-6 for 69 points, for the first time since November 29. LeNeveu had also shut out Bridgeport in the previous two Wolf Pack games, a 4-0 home win on Saturday and a 3-0 victory in Bridgeport Sunday.
The Wolf Pack, who were outshot 37-16, had consecutive shutouts eight previous times in franchise history, but had never had a third straight.
Danny Kristo and Aaron Johnson scored second-period Hartford goals for the game’s only offense, and Conor Allen assisted on both. J.F. Berube made 14 saves for Manchester.
The first period was scoreless, but the Wolf Pack were hit with a pair of penalty calls just 30 seconds apart in the final minute.
Darroll Powe went off for slashing at 18:55, and Ryan Bourque was called for slashing at 19:35. The Wolf Pack survived the rest of the first period without any damage, but 1:06 of the five-on-three carried over into the second frame.
The Wolf Pack killed that all off, though, and then scored twice in the second period, despite being outshot by a margin of 17-6.
Kristo opened the scoring in a four-on-four situation at 7:25, after T.J. Hensick won a faceoff. Hensick got the puck back from Allen and fed a great pass to the right side of the slot to Kristo, who faked Berube to the ice and slipped a forehand shot past his left pad.
Johnson then made it 2-0 with a power-play goal at 13:34. With Kevin Gravel in the box for closing his hand on the puck, Johnson took a pass from Oscar Lindberg and snapped a shot from the middle of the blue line, and it deflected off of a Manchester defender, went through a Marek Hrivik screen and past Berube on the stick side.
Manchester outshot the Wolf Pack 12-2 in the third period, but could not solve LeNeveu, who improved his Wolf Pack record on the season to 7-7-0.
The Wolf Pack are back on home ice Saturday night, hosting the Providence Bruins in a 7:00 PM game. Tickets for all Wolf Pack 2013-14 home games are on sale now at the Public Power Ticket Office at the XL Center, on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499. Wolf Pack tickets start as low as $12 for youth 12 years old or younger. To speak with a representative about season or group tickets, call (855) 762-6451.
Hartford Wolf Pack 2 at Manchester Monarchs 0
Friday, April 4, 2014 – Verizon Wireless Arena
Hartford 0 2 0 – 2
Manchester 0 0 0 – 0
1st Period- No Scoring. Penalties-Berube Mch (interference), 10:04; Haley Hfd (hooking), 13:01; Powe Hfd (slashing), 19:05; Bourque Hfd (closing hand on puck), 19:35.
2nd Period-1, Hartford, Kristo 22 (Hensick, Allen), 7:25. 2, Hartford, Johnson 5 (Lindberg, Allen), 13:34 (PP). Penalties-Syvret Hfd (slashing), 5:56; Weal Mch (high-sticking), 7:18; Fast Hfd (hooking), 9:02; Gravel Mch (closing hand on puck), 13:19.
3rd Period- No Scoring. Penalties-Syvret Hfd (tripping), 12:08; Andreoff Mch (roughing), 12:08.
Shots on Goal-Hartford 8-6-2-16. Manchester 8-17-12-37.
Power Play Opportunities-Hartford 1 / 3; Manchester 0 / 5.
Goalies-Hartford, LeNeveu 7-8-0 (37 shots-37 saves). Manchester, Berube 26-16-2 (16 shots-14 saves).
A-5,676
Referees-Geoff Miller (28).
Linesmen-Jeremy Lovett (78), Joe Ross (92).
