Wolf Pack win their second in a row, 4-0 over Providence

The Hartford Wolf Pack are off to a good start, winning their first two games. The latest was a 4-0 win over the Providence Bruins on Thursday afternoon.  It was more good news for the New York Rangers as some of their top prospects contributed to the scoresheet. Now, its up to the parent team to beat the Bruins as well.

After giving up the first two goals in their opener, the Pack have now scored nine straight goals.  The won on Sunday 5-2, scoring the last five goals of the game.

Thursday, it was late game magic as Hartford scored three third period goals.  They have now scored seven goals in the third periods of their two games.

Patrick Khodorenko got his first professional goal in the second period at 8:41 on assists from Will Cuylle and Zach Giuttari.

In the third period, Finnish defenseman Tarmo Reunanen scored his second goal at the 12:20 mark on an assist from Jonny Brodzinski.  It was a power play goal and came off a faceoff win.

The Pack broke the game open on two empty net goals, the first by Paul Thompson, assisted by Brodzinski and then by Tim Gettinger on assists by Gabriel Fontaine and Braden Schneider.

Reunanen leads the team with two goals and one assist.  Brodzinski shares the team lead in points with a goal and two assists.

Keith Kinkaid has been in goal for both Wolf Pack wins.

With only two goals allowed, he is off to a great start.

Who are the prospects?

Reunanen is trying to make a case for a promotion to the NHL.  He has been on fire offensively this season. He’s played 16 games in three different leagues and has five goals and nine assists.  This is his first taste of hockey in North America and he has shown a lot. He is getting some notice.

One thing about Reunanen is that he is not afraid to shoot the puck.  In his 14 games in Finland this season he had games when he took seven shots (3 times), nine, 10 and 12 shots.  That’s six of 14 games with seven plus shots on goal.

Reunanen is a left shot defenseman in the second year of a three year Entry Level Contract.  There are a lot of blueliners ahead of him on the Rangers, but the 22 year old is doing his best to move up depth chart.

Two 2020 draft picks, Will Cuylle and Braden Schneider, notched assists.  Both should be headed back to Canadian Juniors as soon as their schedules have been determined.

Cuylle, 19, is a big left winger who should be playing for the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL.  He scored in the Hartford opener and added an assist on the first Wolf Pack goal.  If he keeps this up, the Rangers may have to get him signed to his Entry Level Contract.  They have until June 2022, but he is already showing a lot.

Schneider added an assist on an empty net goal and was one of the five players who started the game.

The first goal was scored by center Patrick Khodorenko who was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan State University.  Scott Wheeler of The Athletic (subscription required) had Khodorenko ranked as the 18th best Rangers prospect, saying he has a “legitimate skill, a dangerous mid-range wrister and a pro frame.”   But can he win a faceoff?

The three stars

The three stars of the game were:

1. Patrick Khodorenko
2. Keith Kinkaid
3. Tarmo Reunanen

The Wolf Pack don’t play again until next  Wednesday, taking on the Bridgeport Sound Tigers at 1pm. The game will be available on AHLTV.