Alexandre Giroux snapped a 1-1 tie with 13:44 remaining in regulation, and the Hartford Wolf Pack held on for a 2-1 victory over the Manchester Monarchs in Game 7 of their Atlantic Division semifinal series on Saturday night.
The Wolf Pack advance to meet the Portland Pirates in the second round, with Game 1 scheduled for Tuesday night.
Giroux took a feed from Martin Sonnenberg and snapped a shot home from the low slot, beating Adam Hauser to the blocker side.
Hartford shut down the Monarchs the rest of the way, with Chris Holt finishing with 26 saves for his second straight win.
Dany Roussin scored the only goal for Manchester, which suffered a first-round playoff defeat for the fifth straight year. Hauser made 34 stops on the night.
The Wolf Pack rallied from 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 series deficits to advance. Their second-round series against division champion Portland will be played in a 2-4-1 format, due to building conflicts at the Hartford Civic Center.
