HARTFORD — The Hartford Wolf Pack played their 2,000th franchise game on Friday night, defeating the in-state rival Bridgeport Islanders by a score of 4-1.
The Pack came off the All-Star break with a victory at home after Hartford sent forward Brennan Othmann and defenseman Mac Hollowell to San Jose, California, for the event.
Wolf Pack interim head coach Steve Smith said that, while this was an important night for the team, the historic night was the least of their worries.
“We really didn’t talk about it too much,” Smith said. “We tried to stay focused. We had a group of guys that just spent four days away. We had a lot of things on our minds, and we were just trying to focus on our task.”
The Wolf Pack came back from a 1-0 deficit with goals from Ryder Korczak, Othmann, Bobby Trivigno, and an empty net goal by Adam Sykora.
The Islanders started the game with an early goal off Julien Gauthier’s stick before the Pack started their comeback halfway through the second period. The team scored four unanswered goals to seal the game despite being outshot 38-29.
“We weren’t very focused early on, but it felt like we built something as the game went on,” Smith said. “The first thirty minutes, we weren’t very solid, and our execution wasn’t very good, but we got a couple of breaks, and we ended up putting together an effort that was enough to win a hockey game.”
Trivigno’s goal came shortly after exiting the penalty box after serving a four-minute, double-minor penalty for high-sticking.
“When I came out, my legs were fresh, I had a little bit of time to rest,” Trivigno said. “[Brandon] Scanlin made a good play up the wall. To get a goal after that, it feels really good.”
Trivigno, a key player for the Wolf Pack since his arrival during the 2021-22 season, reflected on getting the win on this historic night for hockey in Hartford.
“It’s super meaningful,” Trivigno said, “just the history; our team, the Whalers before us, the arena, to play a good hockey game against a good team and to get the win, it’s huge.”
The Wolf Pack franchise debuted in the 1997-98 season, shortly after the departure of the NHL’s Hartford Whalers. PJ Stock scored the first-ever goal in Wolf Pack history and appeared in 160 games for the Pack.
The Wolf Pack have one Calder Cup Championship, coming in the 1999-2000 season. They were the first Connecticut-based professional sports franchise to win a major sports championship.
Hartford’s parent organization, the New York Rangers, has seen many stars emerge from the Pack over the years. Some of the most notable players include Igor Shesterkin, who won the Vezina Award for best goaltender in 2021-22, Ryan Callahan, Chris Kreider, Filip Chytil, Ryan Graves, Brady Skjei and Wolf Pack captain Jonny Brodzinski.
The Wolf Pack will take on the Providence Bruins in the second game of a back-to-back on Saturday at 7 p.m.
