By Zachary Grenier
Hartford, CT, October 19, 2014 – Jason Missiaen made 36 saves for the Hartford Wolf Pack Sunday at the XL Center, but Casey Wellman’s rebound goal with 1.5 seconds remaining in overtime gave the Hershey Bears a 1-0 win.
With Dylan McIlrath in the penalty box for tripping and the Bears on a four-on-three man advantage, Missiaen stopped a Connor Carrick shot and the rebound came to Wellman on the left-wing side. Wellman’s shot hit Missiaen, went up in the air and dropped behind the Wolf Pack goaltender and slid over the goal line.
“I got the first one, and then the second one,” Missiaen said, “and I don’t know, I think the third one hit something and deflected in somehow, but it dropped right in front of the net.”
The Wolf Pack were outshot 37-15 in the game, including 11-4 in both of the first two periods.
One of the reasons for the shot disparity was penalties. Hershey had six man-advantages in the game, three in the first period. Hartford’s penalty kill was able to step up and kill off all but the last man-down situation of the game.
“My hat’s off to Missiaen,” Wolf Pack coach Ken Gernander said. “He kept us in it for 67 minutes. Unfortunately it didn’t pay off for him.”
“There’s things we need to work on,” Missiaen said, “and I think we know that we didn’t play our best tonight, but we got a point out of it and we have to move forward.”
The Wolf Pack’s next game is Tuesday night, when the Pack (2-0-1-0, 3 pts.) heads to Worcester to battle the Sharks in a 7:00 PM game. All of the action of that game can be heard live on Fox Sports Radio 1410, and on-line at www.foxsportsradio1410.com and iHeartRadio. Video streaming is available at www.ahllive.com.
The next home action for the Wolf Pack is this Friday night, October 24, as the Albany Devils visit the XL Center for a 7:00 faceoff. Once again this season every Friday night home game features $1 hot dogs and $2 beers through the start of the second period. Tickets for all 2014-15 Wolf Pack home games are now on sale at the XL Center ticket office, 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 Wolf Pack representative about season or group tickets, or any of the Wolf Pack’s many ticketing options, call (855) 762-6451, or click here to request more info.
Hershey Bears 1 (OT) at Hartford Wolf Pack 0
Sunday, October 19, 2014 – XL Center
Hershey 0 0 0 1 – 1
Hartford 0 0 0 0 – 0
1st Period- No Scoring. Penalties-Haggerty Hfd (holding the stick), 1:48; McIlrath Hfd (tripping), 6:22; Hughes Hfd (slashing), 11:19; Galiev Her (hooking), 13:37; Newbury Her (diving/embellishment), 17:28; McIlrath Hfd (cross-checking), 17:28; Landry Her (interference), 18:21; Allen Hfd (diving/embellishment), 18:21.
2nd Period- No Scoring. Penalties-Spinell Hfd (interference), 1:47; Wey Her (high-sticking), 6:33; Gazley Her (roughing), 12:17; Kundratek Her (roughing), 12:17; Bourque Hfd (roughing), 12:17; Galiev Her (interference), 14:48; Bourque Hfd (hooking), 16:22.
3rd Period- No Scoring. Penalties-Spencer Her (fighting), 2:54; Noreau Hfd (fighting), 2:54; Schilling Her (cross-checking), 6:32.
OT Period-1, Hershey, Wellman 3 (Carrick, Kennedy), 6:58 (PP). Penalties-McIlrath Hfd (tripping), 5:56.
Shots on Goal-Hershey 11-11-8-7-37. Hartford 4-4-6-1-15.
Power Play Opportunities-Hershey 1 / 6; Hartford 0 / 5.
Goalies-Hershey, Copley 2-0-0 (15 shots-15 saves). Hartford, Missiaen 0-0-0 (37 shots-36 saves).
A-2,037
Referees-Garrett Rank (48), Cameron Voss (78).
Linesmen-Glen Cooke (6), Mike Baker (11).
