Wolf Pack push series to the limit

In the fourth consecutive defensive struggle between the teams, the Hartford Wolf Pack staved off elimination on Tuesday night with a 2-1 victory over the Providence Bruins in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center.

The winner-take-all Game 5 will be played Friday night in Hartford.

Yann Danis (2-2) continued his stellar play in the series with 28 saves for the Wolf Pack, who ended a six-game losing streak in games when facing playoff elimination.

After a scoreless first period, Hartford struck first for the fourth consecutive game as Marek Hrivik broke into the Bruins zone and found a trailing Mat Bodie, who snapped a shot home at the 3:06 mark of the second.

Then 2:04 into the third period, Tyler Brown redirected a Tommy Hughes point shot past Malcolm Subban (1-1) to give the Wolf Pack a 2-0 lead.

Providence killed off a four-minute Hartford power play later in the frame, and then converted on their own man-advantage with 7:06 remaining when Seth Griffith‘s long shot from the right point found its way in for his second goal of the series.

Hartford weathered some late Bruins pressure and held on for the victory to force Game 5, marking the fourth consecutive playoff series between these teams that will go the distance.

Subban finished with 15 saves on the night.

Eastern Conference Quarterfinals – Series “C” (best-of-5)
3-Hartford Wolf Pack vs. 6-Providence Bruins

Game 1 – Wed., Apr. 22 – HARTFORD 3, Providence 1
Game 2 – Sat., Apr. 25 – Providence 2, HARTFORD 1
Game 3 – Sun., Apr. 26 – PROVIDENCE 2, Hartford 1 (3OT)
Game 4 – Tue., Apr. 28 – Hartford 2, PROVIDENCE 1
Game 5 – Fri., May 1 – Providence at Hartford, 7:00
   *if necessary… All times Eastern