The Wolf Pack controlled the play for much of the contest - out-shooting the home team 15-3 in the first period and 13-5 in the second - but it wasn’t until the middle frame that they broke things open. Hartford posted three straight tallies in the second to put a stranglehold on the lead, then tacked on two more in the third to seal the deal.
Charlotte’s offensive attack was no match for veteran netminder Louis Domingue, who stopped all 21 shots he saw en route to a shutout of the Checkers.
QUOTES
Coach Geordie Kinnear on the gameI thought they (Hartford) came out and they set the tone and the pace. We didn’t have much space to be able to make plays, so full credit goes to them. We really couldn’t find our game at all.
Kinnear on if his team generated enough scoring chances
Not really. Obviously an elite goaltender at the other end. It’s a lesson learned as a group that you have to come prepared no matter what your schedule was previously. We came off the road for 12 days, came back and knew we were going to have a hungry group here. They skated tonight and we were just reacting. We didn’t make anything happen tonight.
Kinnear on tomorrow’s rematch
We’ve played some really good hockey but tonight was not one of them. You just move forward. Why didn’t we play well? I’ve got to figure that out and relay it to the group. They’ve got to take ownership themselves too and I have to take ownership. I got out-coached tonight and we got out-played, so move on, learn from it, dig in and get better tomorrow.
