Wolf Pack season grinds to a halt with loss to Hershey in AHL playoffs
HARTFORD — For the second year in a row the Hartford Wolf Pack ran into a playoff wall, the Hershey Bears.
With a 4-1 victory at the XL Center on Wednesday, Hershey completed a three-game sweep, ending Hartford’s hockey season in the AHL’s Atlantic Division final. The Bears, who had 53 wins in the regular season, move on to the conference finals, the Calder Cup semis.
The Wolf Pack, after defeating Charlotte and Providence in the first two rounds, were beaten twice in Hersey, Pa., and in the most competitive game of the series. The Bears also swept Hartford last May.
Hartford was outscored 10-3 in the first two games of the series in Hershey, but Jaroslav Chmelar gave the Wolf Pack faithful something to pound the glass about, scoring a shorthanded goal at 13:24 of the first period. It was the first lead of the series for the Pack, and it held into the second period.
Garret Roe scored twice in the first 7 1/2 minutes of the second, putting the Bears back in the driver’s seat. Former Quinnipiac captain Chase Priskie assisted on both goals. Hershey was awarded a penalty shot later in the period, but Bogdan Trinyev lost the handle as he approached goalie Dylan Garand. The Bears killed off a Wolf Pack power play as the second came to an end.
Hershey’s Hunter Shepard made the lead stand up, as the Bears, outshooting Hartford 32-17, played effective puck-control. Matt Strome scored with 7:08 left in the game to make it 3-1, then Mike Vecchione wrapped it up with an empy netter with 2:02 remaining.