Filip Chytil (72), the youngest player in the AHL since 1974, had a field

day Saturday night with a goal and two assists to lead the Wolf Pack to a

4-3 victory over the Thunderbirds in Springfield on Saturday. Photo by Danny Baxter



SPRINGFIELD–Filip Chytil scored the game-winning goal and picked up two assists to lead the





The game was tied 1-1 after two periods, but the Wolf Pack erupted for three goals in the first 9:41 of the third to put the game away.





Boo Nieves scored his second goal of the year, and second in as many games, just 11 seconds into the third. With the Wolf Pack on a power play that carried over from the second period, Scott Kosmachuk rushed up the middle in the Springfield end and fired a shot that was stopped by Thunderbird goaltender Harri Sateri (34 saves). Nieves drove to the net, though, and backhanded the rebound in.

Hartford made it a 3-1 lead at 6:49, on a shot from the right point by John Gilmour. Chytil won a faceoff back to Gilmour and screened Sateri, and Gilmour’s wrist shot found its way through for his first goal of the season.





Chytil then scored his first North American pro goal less than three minutes later, at 9:41. Lettieri set Schneider up in front for a close-in shot, and this time it was Chytil, the youngest player to suit up in the AHL since 1974, who jumped on the rebound. It was 4-1 Wolf Pack at that point, but that goal would turn out to be the winner, as the T-Birds would come back with a pair of scores in the final 3:47 of the game.





Reece Scarlett cut the lead to 4-2 at 16:13, after the Wolf Pack failed to get the puck out of their zone near the blue line. Juho Lammikko passed off the boards to Scarlett, who moved down the left side and snapped a shot past Hartford netminder Chris Nell (33 saves).





Springfield got to within one goal with 15.7 seconds left, with Sateri on the bench for an extra attacker and Lettieri in the penalty box for slashing. A shot by Curtis Valk deflected to Lammikko at the right side of the goal mouth, and Lammikko flicked it in. The Thunderbirds were unable to threaten again, however, and the Wolf Pack earned their third straight victory.





Springfield outshot the Wolf Pack 15-11 in the first period, but the Wolf Pack came out of it leading 1-0. The T-birds put solid pressure on the Wolf Pack net early aided by a pair of power plays, and Ryan Horvat put a shot off of the crossbar behind Nell at the 11-minute mark, but the Wolf Pack would finish a rush at 15:05 to open the scoring.





Lettieri tallied his first professional goal to put Hartford in front, speeding down the left side and putting a backhand shot over the right shoulder of Sateri and just under the crossbar.





The Thunderbirds scored the only goal of the second period, the first of the year for Jayce Hawryluk at 7:50. After a Wolf Pack power play expired, Springfield hemmed the Wolf Pack in their own zone, and Denis Malgin maintained puck possession until he found Hawryluk at the middle of the blue line. Hawryluk uncorked a hard slap shot that got by Nell on the glove side.





The Wolf Pack are now off until Friday night when the Belleville (Ontario) Senators visit the XL Center. First puck drops at 7:15 p.m., and, as with all Friday-night games, hot dogs are $1 and beers are $2 through the start of the second period, presented by Dave & Buster’s.





Tickets for all Wolf Pack 2017-18 home games are on sale now at the Agera Energy Ticket Office at the XL Center, on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com and by phone at (877) 522-8499. Season ticket information for the Wolf Pack’s 2017-18 AHL season can be found on-line at www.hartfordwolfpack.com . To speak with a representative about all of the Wolf Pack’s many attractive ticketing options, call (855) 762-6451.

—Staff Reports

Hartford Wolf Pack past the Springfield Thunderbirds, 4-3, before 6,793 fans at the MassMutual Center Saturday night. It was the first points scored in North America for Chytil, an 18-year-old center from the Czech Republic.