ALBANY, NY – Artem Anisimov and Mike Bell both netted a pair of goals as the Hartford Wolf Pack beat the Albany River Rats 5-1 Friday night at the Times Union Center.

 

River Rats left wing Tomas Pospisil gave his club a 1-0 lead by scoring just 1:45 into the game on a big slap shot from the high slot that eluded Hartford goalie Matt Zaba; rookie Ryan Weston assisted on Pospisil’s first goal in an Albany uniform.  The Wolf Pack responded at 14:29 when Bobby Sanguinetti sent a backhand pass from the low slot to the side of the net where Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau slipped a quick shot behind Albany goaltender Justin Peters.  In the final minute of the period Artem Anisimov gave Hartford its first lead of the game on a great individual play; the center broke up a River Rats break-out in the neutral zone, raced into the offensive zone on a partial breakaway, shielded the puck from an Albany defenseman and beat Peters with a quick move to the far post.  The Wolf Pack out-shot Albany 8-7 in the frame and took the 2-1 lead to the locker room.

 

Weston almost tied the game in the opening minute of the second period when he sent a one-timer from Pat Dwyer square into the post behind Zaba; the Hartford goaltender would not allow another shot passed him for the rest of the game.  Midway through the frame the Wolf Pack had a more fortunate shot off-of the iron at the other end of the ice.  Left wing Mark Bell took a hard wrist shot from the slot, which clanked loudly off of two parts of the goal frame; although the goal judge did not turn on the red light, the referee quickly ruled that one of the “pings” had come from inside the net, giving Hartford a 3-1 lead.

 

The Wolf Pack made it 4-1 midway through the third period on the power play with Bell’s second of the game.  The Hartford unit moved the puck well on the man advantage and their patience paid off when Parenteau found Bell alone in front for another quick shot around Peters.  The Wolf Pack put the game out of reach with another power play goal that made it 5-1, this one from Anisimov on a rebound from defenseman Brian Fahey’s long blast at 17:52.

 

Hartford goalie Matt Zaba stopped 19-of-20 shots faced and earned the win as the Wolf Pack improved to 41-26-3-3 on the season. Albany goaltender Justin Peters allowed five goals on 22 shots and took the loss as the River Rats fell to 31-33-3-4 on the year. Hartford out-shot Albany 22-20 in the game and went 2-for-4 on the power play; the River Rats were 0-for-5 on the man advantage.

 

Albany will complete their weekend schedule on Saturday, March 28^th as they host the Springfield Falcons at 7:00 pm at the Times Union.

 

River Rats flex ticket packages and individual game tickets are on sale now at the River Rats office and the Times Union Center Box Office. For more information please contact the Albany River Rats at (518) 487-2244 or online at www.albanyriverrats.com.