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PREMIER TEAM POSTS 1-2 RECORD AT EHL SHOWCASE

By S. Jacobs, 01/19/16, 10:00PM EST

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The Wolves Premier Team played well all weekend only to come away with disappointing results winning one of three games.  “We played pretty well and competed extremely hard all weekend but a combination of mistakes and penalties cost us in the 2 games we lost”, states Coach Steve Jacobs.  “The guys played hard throughout the weekend and our staff feels strongly that with this type of effort we will win games down the stretch”.

Applecore 2, Wolves 1

In the Wolves opening game of the showcase Saturday afternoon Applecore scored a late 3rd period goal and held off immense Wolves pressure with the extra attacker on to take a 2-1 win.

Zachary Sullivan scored on the power play 8 minutes into the first of the two 25 minute halves to give the Wolves a 1-0 lead.  The power play was strong all weekend and this one started it off as the Wolves moved the puck quickly before Trevor Mack took a hard low slap shot from the point that Sullivan tipped home.  Nick Chaoush also pick up an assist on the tally.  The Wolves continued to control the play throughout the half but were continually stoned by Applecore goaltender Tim Sestak as the half ended 1-1.  The Wolves came out strong again in the 2nd half applying consistent pressure but 4 penalties in a row slowed their surge and Sestak continued to stymie them with many outstanding saves including 2 point blank opportunities with his team short-handed and 5 minutes to go.  As time expired on the Wolves power play Applecore scored what prove to be the game on a transition rush with 4:02 left.  Kurt Gutting played well for the Wolves stopping 24 shots in the hard luck loss.

Wolves 4, Connecticut Nighthawks 1

The Wolves started fast taking a 3-1 half time lead and then rode the outstanding goaltending of Garrett Mello to take the 4-1 win in the 2nd showcase game Sunday night.  As he did in the opening game, Zach Sullivan gave his team the early 1-0 lead on a nice power play rush.  On the play Trevor Mack passed to Andrew Lee on the breakout and Lee quickly relayed the puck to Ryan Dunn streaking over the offensive blue line.  Dunn blew by the defense and zipped a cross ice pass to Sullivan who fired it into the open net.  Ryan Tierney made it 2-0 under a minute later at 13:10 when Matthew Toombs found him in a seam and sent him in alone.  Tierney didn’t miss on the opportunity firing a hard snap shot over the goaltenders shoulder.  Cam Armstrong also assisted on the play finding Toombs on the breakout.  The Nighthawks weren’t going away in this one and closed it to 2-1 with a power play goal of their own at 20:17 from the slot after Mello had made 2 consecutive stops.  Alex Sauer had the answer for the CT goal under 2 minutes later snapping home a hard shot from the left flank on the power play with assists to Chris Peters and Ryan Tierney and a 3-1 Wolves lead at the intermission.  The Nighthawks came out flying in the second half but Mello held them at bay with many outstanding saves and strong rebound control.  Trevor Mack sealed the deal for the Wolves with an open net goal from Sauer and Chaoush with 15 seconds left.

Hartford Wolfpack 6, Wolves 2

The Wolves drew the short straw on the schedule playing just 12 hours after the CT game, drawing the 8am tilt Monday morning.  Mistakes and penalties proved to be the downfall in this one as the Wolves led 2-1 five minutes into the 2nd half before taking 4 consecutive penalties and letting it slip away.  For the 3rd game in a row Zach Sullivan gave his team the lead 3:52 in converting on a hard wrister from Nick Chaoush. The game was fast and physical as the two teams traded opportunities before the Wolfpack tied it at 1-1 at 9:24.  Wolves goalie Garrett Mello and the Wolfpack goalie both  played well over the second half of the period stopping all shots as momentum swung both ways.  The Wolves came out strong again in the 2nd half and took the lead 2-1 when Chris Peters finished a nice passing play with Joe Flanagan and Jake Schultz on a quick release snap shot from close range.  The goal changed the momentum as the Wolves applied strong pressure over the next 5 minutes to no avail, and then got into penalty trouble.  The penalty killing unit was strong all weekend but Hartford tied it up in 2-2 in the second half of a double minor power play.  The momentum changed quickly at this point and the strong Wolfpack club stormed the net scoring at 7:28, 8:44 and 10:07 before icing it into the open net with 2 minutes left for the 6-2 win.

The Premier team will be back in action Friday (7:40pm) at the Junior Monarchs and Saturday (7pm) when the East Coast Wizards visit Waterville Valley.